“Who are you, Lord?”

[Acts 9:1-9]

Are we truly changing?  The life of a Christian is one of transformation.  Faith is a willingness to change.  The church is a community of people who have not only experienced change, but also seek it (Internet).  However, there are times when we long for change, yet become disappointed and discouraged when we see our own habits persist.  Regarding this spiritual condition, author Robert Boyd Munger, in his book "A Pauper of a Prince?," says, ‘Many Christians today are despairing due to weakness, failure, and feebleness, unable to break free from the swamp of incompetence and helplessness.  Therefore, the author's desire is to give this amazing gift of a transformed life to us all.  The author's words, 'The amazing gift of a transformed life is more than forgiveness for the past or a promise for the future.'  This gift pertains to our current lives.  How can we all receive this amazing gift of a transformed life from God?  The author describes the method to achieve this as "exchange of seats.’  And such an exchange of seats always occurs in two directions.  In fact, the main reason most people cannot live a transformed life is because they still dominate some aspect of their lives.  Therefore, an exchange of seats can be seen as offering oneself to God, and receiving the Spirit of Christ from God to live within.  The first step in this exchange of seats is surrendering, yielding, or consecration, and the second step is trust, or reliance on God’ (Internet).

To undergo transformation, we must encounter Jesus.  In other words, we must grow in knowledge of knowing Jesus.  Look at Ephesians 4:13 - "Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." In today's passage, Acts 9:1-9, we see the scene of Saul encountering the risen and ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus. I hope and pray that meditating on Saul's transformation in today's passage will serve as a catalyst for our own pursuit of change.

First, look at Saul, who was a figure of threat and persecution (before he believed in Jesus).

Look at Acts 9:1-2: “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”  Here, we can see that Saul's conversion was the peak of his hostility (Park). As we've already meditated, even after Stephen's martyrdom, Saul continued to enter every house, and dragging off men and women, he committed them to prison (8:3). However, he was "still" engaged in threats and murder (9:1). When it says he was still engaged in threats and murder, it means that Saul was still spewing threats and murder against the Lord's disciples as naturally as he breathed. The breath he exhaled was a breath of threats and murder against the Lord's disciples (Yoo).  Therefore, Saul requested a letter to the synagogues in Damascus from the high priest (v. 2).  At that time, the Roman government had entrusted jurisdiction over Jews outside of Palestine to the Sanhedrin, and the high priest whom Saul met was the chairman of that Sanhedrin.  Because of this, Saul had the authority to demand the extradition of Jews who had fled to foreign lands back to their homeland.  That's why Saul met with the high priest (Park).  Why did Saul meet this high priest?  The reason is that, while still exhaling threatening and murderous breath, he intended to go to Damascus and bind anyone, whether man or woman, who followed the Way, and bring them bound to Jerusalem. At that time, Damascus was a very important ancient city located at the crossroads of trade routes for camel caravans in Syria.   It is said that tens of thousands of Jews lived in this city. It took about six days to travel from Jerusalem to Damascus on foot. Saul intended to go all the way to Damascus to bind the disciples of Jesus and bring them to Jerusalem. After his transformation, Saul confessed in Philippians 3:6, "as for zeal, persecuting the church..." (Phil 3:6). Why did Saul zealously persecute the church in this way? We can find the answer in 1 Timothy 1:13: "though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.  But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief." The reason Saul persecuted the church with zeal was unbelief and ignorance. He did not hesitate to persecute and even kill the believers who confessed and believed in Jesus Christ, who was crucified, because of his strict adherence to the Jewish faith (Yoo).  From his staunchly Jewish perspective, the crucifixion of the Nazarene Jesus was something that could never be accepted as a fact that the crucified Jesus was the Son of God, the Christ.  This is because, for Jews, the Son of God, the Messiah, could never be subjected to crucifixion (Yoo).  For Saul, opposing and persecuting Christianity was a matter of duty, and he believed it was what God demanded.

We cannot deny that, like Saul, we were once in a state of unbelief and ignorance before believing in Jesus.  Even if we may have been born into a Christian family, if we did not truly believe in Jesus and instead held a distorted or misguided faith, failing to live a righteous Christian life or a biblical faith, there may have been times when we did not contribute to the body of the Lord and even obscured the glory of God.  What's even more astonishing is the fact that, even after believing in Jesus, we can still sin against God due to unbelief and ignorance. Especially concerning our pastors, I am concerned that ultimately, the saints may also be abandoning the knowledge of God due to the abandonment of knowledge by our pastors (Hos. 4:6).  The result of this ignorance is unbelief, and the result of unbelief is disobedience.  What should we do?  We must heed the words of Paul and also make the same confession: "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing my Lord Christ Jesus..." (Phil. 3:8).

Second, look at Saul who fell to the ground (at the moment of encountering Jesus).

Look at Acts 9:4 - "And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'"  As Saul was on his way with the letter from the high priest to go to Damascus, when he came close to Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him (v. 3).  At that moment, Saul fell to the ground and heard the voice of the risen and ascended Jesus: 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'  The light that shone on Saul was reflected from the ascended Jesus (Yoo). How can we know this?  We can see that Ananias said to Saul, "The Lord who appeared to you on the road by which you came" (v. 17).  The light that suddenly surrounded Saul was from the ascended Jesus.  The voice of the ascended Lord that he heard in this light was, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"  This voice of Jesus contains the truth that persecuting Christians is equivalent to persecuting Christ himself (Park).  We frequently encounter this truth in Paul's letters as well.  That is, he metaphorically compares the church to the body of Jesus Christ and identifies Jesus as the head of the church.  Therefore, the relationship between Jesus and the church is an inseparable union.  So, the fact that Saul was persecuting the church means he was persecuting Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church.  When Saul heard the voice, he asked, "Who are you, Lord?" (v. 5).  Here, when Saul addressed Jesus as "Lord," it is evident that Saul knew that the one speaking to him in the light was a divine being.  However, Saul did not yet think that this divine being was necessarily Jesus (Yoo).  But when Jesus said to Saul in response to his question, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (verse 5), Saul was greatly shocked. At that moment, all of Saul's theology completely crumbled.  This moment was the dramatic moment when the persecutor Saul became a proclaimer who risked his life to testify that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.  In addition to receiving salvation by the glorified Lord on the road to Damascus, Saul was also called to be the one who would take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth (Yoo).  In other words, on the road to Damascus, there was Saul's conversion and his calling (commission) by the glorious Lord.

Did we, like Saul of Damascus, have a turning point in our life?  Did we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and receive His calling?  Didn’t we live, like Saul, in ignorance without believing in Jesus, but then accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, and now are living with a sense of calling from the Lord?  The greatest encounter in life is with Jesus Christ.  When we meet Jesus Christ, a turning point occurs in our lives.  Every great person has a turning point in their life.  No one is born living a great life.  A great life always starts from a great turning point.  There is a dividing line that separates before and after.  There was a turning point in Paul's life too.  Whenever Paul encountered a question about the change in his life, he must have remembered the road to Damascus.  It was because the event of turning point in his life happened on the way to Damascus.  Paul, who was living captivated by a purposeless life, or rather (much more dangerously) captured by a wrong purpose, met the turning point in his life on the road to Damascus (Internet).

Third and last, Saul being led by human hands (after he believed in Jesus).

Look at Acts 9:8 - "Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.  So, they led him by the hand into Damascus." Saul, who met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus and experienced the greatest turning point in his life, asked Jesus, "What shall I do, Lord?" (22:10).  The Lord told him, "Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do" (9:6).  The reason was that when Saul entered the city, the Lord had revealed to Ananias, the Lord's disciple, that he would tell Saul what he must do.  The companions with Saul at the time heard the sound but did not see anyone (v. 7).  Here, the author of Acts, Luke, emphasizes that Saul not only heard the voice of the Lord but also saw the risen Jesus (Yoo).  However, in Acts 22:9, those who were with Saul say, " My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me."  Instead of seeing this as a contradiction, it can be understood that they are explaining different facts.  In other words, in Chapter 9, the emphasis is on the fact that the companions heard the voice but did not see anyone, while in Chapter 22, the emphasis is on the fact that Saul did not understand (comprehend) the voice of the one speaking to him (Yoo).  Later, Saul got up from the ground, opened his eyes, but could not see anything, and was led by the hand of his companions into Damascus (9:8).  And Saul spent three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank (v. 9).

After meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, observe the weakened state of Saul.  Until he encountered Jesus, Saul was still filled with threats and violence, even going to the synagogues in Damascus to bind both men and women and bring them to Jerusalem (9:1-2).  However, after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, we see a different image of Saul being led by his companions into the city (9:8).  How does it appear for a person, who was supposed to lead Christians from Damascus to Jerusalem, to be led by others into Damascus instead?  We truly witness Saul's pitiful state of helplessness.  Imagine Saul, unable to see, spending three days without eating or drinking.  How thoroughly weakened Saul must have been.  We, too, need to become thoroughly weakened.

As I reconsidered Ezekiel 29:15-16 during this week's morning prayer meeting, I reflected on God's promise to make the nation of Egypt a lowly nation.  When thinking in relation to today's passage, Acts 9:1-9, there are three reasons why God makes us powerless:

• The first reason is to prevent us from exalting ourselves.

Look at Ezekiel 29:15: "It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations ...."  We, who are at risk of becoming too prideful, need to become powerless.

• The second reason is to prevent us from ruling again.

Look at Ezekiel 29:15: "... I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations."  This word signifies that, rather than relying on the Lord's rule, we are at risk of trying to rule ourselves, allowing our sinful nature to govern us.  God makes us powerless to prevent this.

• The third and final reason is to prevent us from relying on anything other than God.

Here, God's intention is to make us stop looking to the things we used to rely on outside of God, so that we will no longer remember our sins.  Look at Ezekiel 29:16: "Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her."  This is God's way of ensuring that we recognize Him as the Lord God and rely on Him alone.

                Today's reflection on this passage can be described as the testimony of the Apostle Paul.  In other words, it speaks of Paul's life before believing in Jesus, at the moment of belief, and after believing.  Before believing in Jesus, Saul was filled with threats and violence.  He even went to the synagogues in Damascus to obtain letters from the high priest, requesting permission to bind the followers of Christ and bring them to Jerusalem.  The reason was that he intended to capture those who followed the way of Jesus and bring them to Jerusalem.  The moment Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus was when he met the risen Lord, which led to his transformation, and he received a calling from the Lord.  After believing in Jesus, Saul's life took a different turn.  He found himself unable to see and was led by the hand into Damascus.  There, he encountered a disciple of Jesus named Ananias.  The central theme of this entire process is the risen Lord.  Saul encountered the Lord, experienced a rebirth, received salvation, and obtained a calling from the Lord.  May the Lord grant this same grace of salvation to our fellow believers.

Understanding how a sinner is transformed and receives salvation through the grace of God is something beyond our comprehension.

James Kim

(Praying for a deepening knowledge of knowing Jesus, recognizing its highest nobility)