Acts 9:19b-25 Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues

After the amazing encounter that Saul had with the resurrected Christ, he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues. Jesus impacted his life so powerfully that he could not hold back from proclaiming him. He went directly to the synagogues to share Jesus. What has been the impact of Jesus upon my life? Am I willing to proclaim his name? or am I still hiding in the shadows afraid of what people may think of me? Paul did not care one bit what his own fellow Jews would think of him. All that mattered was to proclaim Jesus and it was a priority, not just an accident. Am I making the proclamation of Jesus a priority in my life?

His message was simple: "He is the Son of God." Referring to Jesus as the Christ, the promised one, the Messiah. Paul set out to prove that Jesus was the one the Jews were waiting for and he used the Scriptures to do so. He even confounded the Jews with his message, he amazed many with the power of his argument. It is not enough for me to believe that Jesus existed. It is not enough to believe that he was a good man, a healer who was concerned for the sick. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was a prophet with a powerful message and wisdom that no one could oppose. It is necessary that I believe and proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God, God incarnate, God among us, the Christ who died for my sins, resurrected from the dead, and now at the right hand of the Father.

Saul's conversion and message is one of the most powerful evidences of our Christian faith even today.  How do you explain the change of heart of a man who was learned in the Law and was set against the Church willing to kill Christians to defend his beliefs and spare the world from such heresies? How do explain the behavior of a man willing to risk his status and reputation among his fellow Jews to the point of risking his own life? The transformation of a man like this is due to the power of the Gospel, the reality of an encounter with Christ himself. There is no other way to explain it.  Jesus Christ touched Saul's life and changed it forever!

The Jews were amazed and confounded by Saul's conversion and preaching, but still they plotted against his life. The man who went to Damascus with authority to capture and drag Christians back to Jerusalem to be judged, became a believer himself and his life was in danger. The hunter became the hunted, not because the original prey became the hunter; he abandoned the other hunters to join the prey. Saul was lowered in a basket through a hole in the wall to avoid a certain death in the hands of the Jews. Am I willing to take such risks for the sake of my beliefs? Am I willing to accept the fact that while in this world, Christians will always be hated and hunted given the opportunity? Christians are like sheep in the midst of wolves. Would I rather be a wolf?

Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ to the world. Help me understand clearly his work on my behalf on the cross so that I may proclaim him without fear or reservation. Fill me with boldness and courage to proclaim his name. Help me stand firm in my faith until the end. Amen.