2. Acts 22
“I was just as zealous for God
as any of you are today.”
Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but
brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was
thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just
as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted
the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men
and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high
priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even
obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus,
and went there to bring these people as prisoners to
Jerusalem to be punished.
3. Acts 22
“Who are you, Lord?”
“What shall I do, Lord?”
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a
bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the
ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do
you persecute me?’
8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’
he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did
not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
4. Acts 22
Humiliation Is the Best
Antidote to Pride
“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There
you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’
11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus,
because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a
devout observer of the law and highly respected by all
the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said,
‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very
moment I was able to see him.
5. Acts 9
Unaware, Causing Pain & Death
Painfully Aware, Hope Is Born
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it.
Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul,
the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road
as you were coming here—has sent me so that you
may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Immediately, something like scales fell from
Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and
was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he
regained his strength.
6. Galatians 1
From Persecutor to Preacher
From Enemy to Apostle
22 I was personally unknown to the churches of
Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the
report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is
now preaching the faith he once tried to
destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of
me.
7. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I (Paul) am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15
A Really Rude Awakening
Didn’t know God
Hurting, not helping
Devastated & humiliated
10. “Only as the People of God receive the stranger, the sinner,
and the immigrant, those who don’t play our game our way, do
we discover not only the hidden, feared, and hated parts of our
own souls, but the fullness of Jesus himself.
We need them for our own conversion…
11. “The Church is always converted when the outcasts are re-invited back
into the temple. You see this in Jesus’ commonly sending marginalized
people that he has healed back into the village, back to their family, or back
to the temple to ‘show themselves to the priests.’ It is not just for their reinclusion and acceptance, but actually for the group itself to be renewed.”
Richard Rohr
12. Acts 9:17-19
“Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on
the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you
may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus, whom do you love
that my pride compels
me to oppress or ignore?
