20Soon he went to the Jewish meeting places and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God. 21Everyone who heard Saul was amazed and said, "Isn't this the man who caused so much trouble for those people in Jerusalem who worship in the name of Jesus? Didn't he come here to arrest them and take them to the chief priests?"
22Saul preached with such power that he completely confused the Jewish people in Damascus, as he tried to show them that Jesus is the Messiah.
23Later some of them made plans to kill Saul, 24but he found out about it. He learned that they were guarding the gates of the city day and night in order to kill him. 25Then one night his followers let him down over the city wall in a large basket.
I "get it" that it had to be confusing to see the most notorious persecutor of Christians now preaching in the name of Jesus. But really...they decided to kill him? Is that the only plan the Jews of that day had? Jesus, Stephen and now Saul? If they don't like it...eliminate it.
Unfortunately, it's a response common to all mankind...not just the Jews. It comes from our human nature that says "I will do as much as I want to and as little as I have to." It's what causes war. It's what causes abortion. It's what causes divorce. And on...and on.
Logic would tell us that the Jewish community of Paul's day would flock to the message of Christ. The message was a complete liberation from the Law that had controlled them for centuries. Think again. You see, they didn't hate the law...they loved it. They devoted their lives to perfect obedience. They couldn't get enough of it. Their feeling of righteousness that came from obedience was intoxicating. They were their own salvation. There is no power greater than that. They had met God and they were him.
They loved the law...it's Jesus they hated. Why? Because he was a threat to their self-righteousness.
And so it goes. When you and I proclaim Christ we contradict the entire "works-righteousness" world view. When that happens, people feel very threatened. It implies they are wrong about their righteousness. It's not a giant leap from that to "let's get rid of them..." The fact that we are completely guileless in our intentions is irrelevant.
It also explains why 95% of Christians admit to never having shared the plan of salvation with another person...the precise thing that Jesus expects of us. They understand, intuitively, that it's not going to go well. It looks as though the human inclination to "do as much as we want to do and as little as we have to do" continues to influence the Body of Christ. I was sitting on the chapel steps at the Air Force Academy years ago when a cadet came up to me and sat down. "I think I need to become a Christian" he said.
Really...we pretty much "have to" pull out the 4 spiritual laws at that point!
So my question is this: Do we do it as much as we want to, or as little as we have to?
Live boldly out there today...
No comments:
Post a Comment