Pray The Paul Out Of Your Saul

Paul is a fascinating biblical character. Most of us know the usual list of peculiarities: he survived a shipwreck, a viper bite, repeated floggings, amassed an army of enemies who were impotent in their efforts against him, he argued with Peter (and won!), he was radically converted and blinded by the glorious, resurrected Jesus (after murdering and imprisoning Christians), he’s responsible for more than 2/3 of the New Testament, and he started 14 churches!

That’s quite a resume. It’s at least intimidating to any would be followers. I can think of other remarkable characters. Moses, Daniel, Joseph, Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale, President Lincoln, and Harriet Tubman to name a few. This short list is hardly exhaustive but it possesses one common trait; all of these people did remarkable things despite impossible odds. I will here resist my nerdy inclination to tell you all their stories and suggest you look them up if unfamiliar to you.

But how does Paul fit into that framework? He had every advantage which would lend him to greatness. He was born in Tarsus. This alone provided him conveniences as a jew in Roman ruled Israel that many of his contemporaries lacked. Unlike other provinces, Tarsus was a Roman colony and its inhabitants were awarded roman citizenship. The value of such a token can hardly be overstated. Secondly, Paul was born into a wealthy family, capable of providing him every opportunity. As such, Paul advanced through the ranks of rabbinical training in so far as to reach the highest rung: talmid to Gamaliel. Gamaliel remains one of the most renowned rabbis in history and Paul was one of his best students. So what really makes him an unlikely hero? Well, let’s see…

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out,

“Lord Jesus, Receive my spirit.” And falling on his knees he cried out with a loud voice,

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day,

a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered… But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women

and committed them to prison. (Acts 7:59-8:3)

His potential as the future messianic apostle is looking bleak! Later in Paul’s eager assault against the church, he gets permission to take his rampage into the surrounding territories to hunt down other messianic believers. With official letters in hand, he made his way intent upon squelching this fledgling yet long awaited dawn of Jewish faith:

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the

high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2)

Here let me point out how vehement is Paul’s stance. In middle eastern culture, women are allowed a long leash in venting their feelings publicly. Whether this is honorable deference or disregard for the significance of their thoughts, women get away with stuff men don’t. Notice the men were huddled in the upper room hiding after Jesus’ crucifixion while the women went out in public and approached his grave, thereby identifying themselves as his followers. In that culture, they were less likely to be punished for their affiliation (for more on this consider reading Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey). But here we have Paul in hot pursuit of men and women. He’s out for blood! Let’s continue…

…and suddenly a light from Heaven shone around him.

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”

And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city,

and you will be told what you are to do.” (Acts 9:3b-6)

You may know the story, Paul goes to Damascus, blind. Seeing the glorified Lord, his eyes are ruined and he becomes helpless. For three days he remains infirm and fasting until a man shows up. Ananias is a messianic disciple whom the Lord spoke to in a vision and instructed him to go pray for Paul to receive his sight. Boldly, the man counters God and says, ‘but that dude is killin’ folks…you sure?’ God says, ‘Psh…please, I got this.’ Realy, God says something very profound:

Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before

gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. (Acts 9:15b)

And off Ananias goes to bless the man responsible for his dead and imprisoned kindred. He prays for Paul, gives him some instructions, and scales fall off of his eyes. He’s radically transformed:

…and immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He

is the Son of God. And all who heard him were amazed and said,

“Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name?”

(Acts 9:20-21)

Paul became so transformed that he’s now got jews attempting to kill him for the stir he’s creating around the name of Jesus! He escapes them and travels to Jerusalem. Thrilled with his knew discovery he attempts to meet up with the apostles in Jerusalem. It says in verse 26:

And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

Barnabas has to shove him into their gathering and demand they hear him out. Think about it, Peter, James, John, Phillip…men who’ve already pronounced healings, resurrections, divine judgment unto death, are HIDING from this man…for good reason. And now here he is, so changed by the presence of God that he’s on THEIR team! It’s shocking!

But really, what’s that got to do with you. Do you have a Saul in your life? Is there someone who has set themselves against you so intently that you can see no good in their existence? Certainly you have enemies. We all do, even if we are too “Christian” to admit it. An enemy is simply a person who regards you in a way opposite to the Lord’s view of you. Your enemy may be your own parents, spouse, siblings, children, or best friend. We often shy away from identifying an enemy because we feel it is unloving and thereby unchristian. But Jesus said to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I can think of little more loving than to bless someone who hurts you with the full recognition that they are doing so. It’s actually spiritual empowerment to recognize those who oppose you, disregard you in a way God does not, and love them anyway. So let’s not get caught up in pretending we don’t have enemies and forfeit this advantageous position on God’s battle field.

But what to do with our enemies? Some enemies are ready to change sides. These we approach the way Ananias did Saul. Some are not. Earlier in Acts it says that all the followers save the apostles fled Jerusalem when Saul’s persecutions began. They took to safety and no amount of “loving confrontation” on their parts could have wooed Saul. The disciples even hid themselves from Saul. That is not cowardice, it’s wisdom.

The Saul in your life may not be ready to change sides yet. So back off. Pray for them, hoping against hope that they may have a transformative encounter with the living God and keep your heart ready to receive them. But let God do the Holy Spirit work. Even in your suffering, God is accomplishing much! He sent the gospel to all the ends of the earth by scattering the comfy Christians in Jerusalem. Let God transform you while you recognize and commit to loving your enemies and praying for them.

The Messianic community rightly identified Saul as their enemy. He was a steamroller intent on their destruction. As true as that was, God recognized in Paul, tenacity, perseverance, and unwavering boldness that would be indispensable to the spread of his kingdom . Your enemy has the same potential, though it is not up to you to draw it out. Never forget, like Satan himself who had the greatest potential for wisdom and beauty but chose to turn from God, your enemy has as much potential for good as they may be practicing evil. Chose to prayerfully call out what God says of them and silence the enemy’s declarations of them in your wounded memories. Pray Pauls out of your Sauls!