And Saul, yet breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the
high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if
he found any of this Way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them
bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, and
heard a voice saying unto him, “Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me?” And he said, “Who art thou, Lord?” And the
Lord said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick
against the pricks.” And he trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do?” And the Lord said unto him,” Arise, and go into the city,
and it shall be told thee what thou must do” - Acts 9:1-6 (KJV)
INTRODUCTION
The question, “SAUL,
SAUL: WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME?” resonates with clarity today as it was
when it was first uttered by the Lord to Saul of Tarsus, persecutor per excellence. In today’s contexts, the Lord seems to
be asking modern day Christians, “Are You
A Persecutor or A Prosecutor?” Are you an Opponent or a Proponent?”
We will never appreciate the enormity of the original question
until we understand the circumstances that led to it.
It is ironical that someone would set out to do the
Will of God but end up doing the opposite. It is ironical that someone would
set out to fight for God but end up fighting against God.
Towards the end of His Earthly ministry, our Lord
Jesus Christ made references to how His disciples would be treated by religious
people whose warped senses of religiosities would drive them towards actions
that would be inimical towards His cause. It was in the course of this that He
revealed that some people would go as far as taking the lives of His disciples “thinking
that they were doing God service” (John 16:2).
No one exemplified that statement better than Saul of
Tarsus, a man’s whose religious fervor was so misdirected that he fought
against God, thinking that he was fighting for God. There has always been ways
that seem right unto men but the end are the ways of death (Proverb 14:12).
I have come to stark realization that to be zealous
for God does not amount to serving God. In God’s Kingdom dynamics, activity
does not in any way translate to productivity. The greatest form of service to
God is obedience to Him. When you obey God, you serve Him but when you live in
disobedience you fight against Him.
It is possible to be zealous for God without actually
serving Him or His Kingdom’s interests (Romans 10:1-3). However, it is not
possible to serve God without being zealous for Him. If you put the cart before
the horse, you will go nowhere, but if you put the horse before the cart, you
will make progress. When zeal proceeds before obedience, persecutions of grave
dimensions are bound to result. That was Saul of Tarsus’ worst premise and he
got a rebuke for it.
WHO WAS SAUL OF TARSUS?
Saul who was later known as “Paul” was born about AD 3. He was a
contemporary of Jesus and His apostles.
In Hebrew, Saul means “desired.” His Roman name was Paul, which means
“little.” Because one of the ancients called him Homo tricubitalis, Tradition says he was but four and a half feet in
height.
Saul was born in Tarsus, a city
of Cilicia, a free city of the Romans. In the Roman Empire, citizenship outside
of Italy was reserved for those who made significant contributions to the
Empire. It was possible that Saul’s family was wealthy and philanthropic, which
made him a Roman citizen.
We can say with certainty that
Saul’s father and mother were native Jews, which explains why Paul called
himself a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5).
He was of the kingly tribe of Benjamin. Saul’s father was a Pharisee. He grew
up to become one (Acts 23:6).
His early education was in the schools of Tarsus, which
was known as a “little Athens for learning.” There he become acquainted with
the philosophy and poetry of Greeks, which he later remembered and used (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12).
At the traditional age of 14,
young Saul was sent to the university at Jerusalem, where he studied the Torah
(Jewish law). His tutor was Gamaliel, an eminent Pharisee (Acts 22:3).
Saul was radicalized. He was too
zealous for his father’s religion. He saw Christians as apostates who should be
brought back to the Jewish fold at all costs. He took it upon himself to bring
these apostates to their knees. In view of this, he sought for Letter of Authority from the Chief Priest
to roam the whole country and beyond, binding and bringing Christians to their
senses and to Jerusalem. His approach was too radical that Bible says he “ravaged the Church” (Acts 8:1f; Acts
9:1f). It was while on his Mission, “OPERATION BRING THEM BACK!” that he
encountered Jesus on his way to Damascus where the Lord asked him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me…?” (Acts
9:4).
WHAT IS PERSECUTION?
According to Mirriam Websters
Dictionary, Persecution is an act of harassment or punishment in a
manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict. Specifically,
persecution
is hostility and ill-treatment; persistent annoyance or harassment.
Wikipedia Free
Encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution) conceives Persecution as the systematic mistreatment
of an individual or group by another individual or group. It says that the
most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution and political
persecution. Another form of persecution is psychological
persecution.
Succinctly stated, Persecution
is an act of aggression directed towards
certain individuals or organizations with a view to frustrating them. When people
arise to stand against a movement, the objective is to frustrate its
activities. This is somewhat explained in Acts 5:34-39,
Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named
Gamaliel, a doctor of the Law, had in reputation among all the people, and
commanded to put the apostles forth a little space, and said unto them, Ye men
of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom
a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all,
as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man
rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people
after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were
dispersed. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone:
for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it
be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against
God.
What Gamaliel explained here is that historically certain
groups were frustrated out of existence through the instrumentality of persecution.
He, however, warned that if care was not taken, hey would be seen to be
fighting against God while thinking that they were fighting for Him.
Going by Dr. Gamaliel’s counsel, we may sometimes be
committed against a cause thinking that we are doing God a service not actually
knowing that we are actually standing against God.
Persecution could exist within a commonwealth. For
instance, under the commonwealth of the nation of Israel, Jewish religion
persecuted Christianity. In the same vein, Carnal minded persons are in the
business of persecuting spiritually-minded persons. Galatians 4:29 states,
But as then he that was
born after the flesh persecuted him
that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now
(KJV).
In the course of this, psychological persecutions are
effectively employed to frustrate activities of these minded persons. Sometimes,
these brethren are tools in the hands of Satan without knowing it and while
claiming to do the Lord’s Work, they end up becoming hindrances to the Kingdom
business.
WHY DOES GOD ALLOW PERSECUTION?
In the early
days of the Church, anyone would precipitate persecution against Jesus’ followers.
The world seemed to take pleasure in persecutions against the Church. Tertullian, a Church historian observed, “If the Tiber rises too high, or the Nile
too low, the remedy is always feeding Christians to the lions.”
Why does God
allow persecutions of His servants? In
his book, The Cost of
Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote,
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him
come and die.” Jesus knew that persecutions would come upon those who serve
and work for Him. He said to us, “If they persecuted Me, they would also
persecute you…” (John 15:20). Even though, persecution is a hard experience to
undergo, it has its numerous spiritual benefits. Apostle Paul said in Acts
14:23, “For by many tribulations, we
shall enter the Kingdom of God.” Richard Sibbes observed, "God takes a safe course with His
children, that they may not be condemned with the world; He permits the world
to condemn them, that they may not love the world, the world hates
them...."
Persecution,
if it does discourage, has capacity to keep a Christian on course with its
purifying effects. It was said that the “blood
of martyrs were the seeds of the Kingdom.” Charles Spurgeon, a notable Baptist
Church preacher wrote,
"Never did the church so much prosper and so
truly thrive as when she was baptized in the blood. The ship of the church
never sails so gloriously along as when the bloody spray of her martyrs falls
on her deck. We must suffer and we must die, if we are ever to conquer this
world for Christ."
IMPORTANT QUESTION: ARE
YOU A PERSECUTOR OR A PROSECUTOR?
Are you for the Lord or are you against him? At Matthew 12:30 Jesus said, “He who does
gather with Me scatters…” Sometimes we think we are for, unaware that we are
against. Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing God a service, not knowing that he
was doing God a disservice. Whatever we do to anyone doing God a service, we
indirectly hurt the Lord.
“Saul,
Saul: Why Are You Persecuting Me?” was the question that our Lord
posed to Saul to stop the religious madness of this Jewish persecutor against
Christians. In view of this, we now ask, “Are
You A Persecutor or A Prosecutor?”
This question goes to every Christian who is
politicizing God’s work, to everyone who is standing as a stumbling block to
the growth of the Gospel, to those whose activities are stifling the growth of
our local congregations.
Brethren, some of the greatest enemies of the Church
are her members. These are people who are standing at the entrance to the
Kingdom, they would not go in nor allow those who want to go in to do so
(Matthew 23:13).
HOW DO WE PERSECUTE
JESUS TODAY?
Remember the parable of Matthew 25:41ff? The morale of
our Lord’s homily was: “whatever you do
to any of these, you do it also to Me.” Simply stated, whatever we do to
any child of God for or against, we are doing it to Jesus. That is to say that
there exists a vicarious relationship between us and the Lord. If we become a
blessing, Jesus feels it, but if we are a thorn in any Christian’s personal
life or effort to attain the Heavenly Call, we are indirectly dealing with the
Lord.
In view of this, we persecute the Lord when we:
“Shoot Our Wounded”
In warfare, there are rules of engagement. You do not
chance upon a fellow wounded soldier and rather than attend to him or her to
make this fellow soldier recover and continue the warfare, then you decide to
shoot this wounded soldier.
How does this analogy apply to the Christian Faith?
There is no gainsaying the fact that in the Christian race, there coexists both
weak and strong. The strong are to certain extent bear with weaknesses of the
weak (Romans 14:1f), help them to grow towards maturity. Those who are spiritually
strong should assist those who are caught in the thicket of one moral weakness
or another (Galatians 6:1-2). This principle was strongly advocated because
that is the nature of God’s personal dealings with each of us (Isaiah 42:3).
It is becoming increasingly troubling that as a church
we are becoming more and more hard-hearted than compassionate. After observing
the hard hearted treatment of some people by religious Pharisees, Jesus said to
them, “Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew
9:13). In God’s economy, “…Mercy would
always triumph over judgement” (James 2:13).
When we observe the way Brethren are being treated or
matters that concern them are being discussed, I feel the Lord’s countenance fall
when He sees we treat each other! We disfellowship our “weak brethren” with
reckless abandon. We discard matters that concern them with waves of the hand. We
seem to take pleasure in driving them away from the Lord than we are at drawing
them closer to the Lord. We seem to have acquired notoriety for being hard-hearted
than being a people of compassion.
When you live against His Will
Hebrews 6:4-9 provides one of the most touching
scenarios, which portray people who persecute Jesus. What would be more
terrifying than to “Crucify the Lord a second time”?
For it is impossible
for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God,
and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them
again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,
and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is
rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we
are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though
we thus speak (KJV).
It was Chuck Swindoll who
asked, “If you believe like you should,
why then do you behave the way you shouldn’t?” When we live the way we are
not supposed to live, we bring shame upon the Lord, thereby maligning the name
of the Lord. When King David committed adultery with Beersheba and subsequently
murdered her husband, Uriah, the question that Prophet Nathan asked was, “… why
have you given the enemies of the Lord an occasion to blaspheme…?” (II Samuel
12:14).
Persecution is not just a
physical thing but a behavioural phenomenon. Igbos would say that the blaspheming of a prince is worse than his
murder (“Nkalu nwa ogalanya ka ogbugbu ya njo”). When I live against God’s Will for my life,
what the Lord seem to be asking is, “Hilary,
Hilary, why persecutes thou Me?....”
Romans 2: 24 speaks of the “…Name of the Lord being blasphemed among
the Gentiles” because of some of us. How is the name of the Lord being
blasphemed? One of such takes place when “…we
eat on the Lord’s Table and also eat on the table of demons….” (I
Corinthians 10:21-22). When we do this, we simply PROVOKE the Lord.
When We Discourage Genuine Servants/Workers of the Lord
At II Corinthians
7:5, Apostle Paul expressed fears of internal persecutions aside the external
ones that he and other genuine servants of God were subjected to. He wrote:
For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no
rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were
fears.
Paul was not alone in
his lamentations. Our Lord Jesus expressed the same emotions when He addressed
Jewish religious leaders at Mathews 23:29-35:
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the
sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our
fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the
prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children
of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and
some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in
your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come
all the righteous bloodshed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel
unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple
and the altar.
It is discouraging that we are in the business
of mauling down our warriors. A warrior is hardly killed on battle fields but
at home. Igbos say that when warriors are slain at peace times when war erupts
we say, “Oh, how we wish this and that warrior is alive to fight our wars….” Is
it not appalling that we “kill” our frontline brethren by either “badmouthing”
them and discouraging them out of relevance and service to our King.
A little down Matthew
chapter 23, particularly Matthew 23:37-39 our Lord Jesus Christ lamented:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets,
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye
shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord.
These Prophets
according to II Chronicles 36:15-16 were
sent by God to serve His purpose amongst His people. Rather than encourage
them, they maltreated them until God could endure no longer. II Chronicles 36:15-16 says:
And the LORD
God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and
sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling
place: But they mocked the messengers of
God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the
LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Some of us have
become devils’ advocates. Satan is the “Accuser
of our Brethren” (Revelations 12:10). Many preachers, for instance, have
been deliberately boxed into very tight corners by some brethren in certain
congregations and when as much as take a step, would be accused by those who
set them up and brought out with premeditated allegations with a view to
frustrate them out of ministry. That was what Satan did to Joshua, the High
Priest of God. Zechariah 3:1-3 says:
And he shewed
me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan
standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The
LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke
thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy
garments, and stood before the angel.
Satan had set
machineries in motion for “a brand to be
plucked out of a burning fire” (Zechariah 3:2). If not for Divine
Intervention, Joshua would have been disgraced for no fault of his own. His
garment was smeared with dirt by the same Satan who turned around to accuse him
of filthiness. May God deliver His servants from their accusers and reveal the
true sources of their troubles and accusations in Jesus’ name!
Over the many years
of active pulpit work, I have heard some brothers who gloated over the fact
that they engineered the sack of certain preachers. What a shame! Let me say
this to you: if you have been in the business or are in the business of
discouraging preachers from their work or you are a preacher discouraging
Brethren from their services to the LORD, be informed of this Scripture:
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world
because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that
man by whom the offence cometh! (Matthew 18:6-7)
How many preachers
and genuine servants of God have we not “killed” or “chased out”?
HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO PERSECUTIONS?
It is one thing to be
persecuted, but another thing to handle persecution. For every one who is being
persecuted, our Lord has taught us to develop positive mental attitudes towards
persecutions. At Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said:
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you (KJV).
Apostles of our Lord “…counted themselves worthy” having being persecuted (Acts 5:41). Do
not allow persecutors and persecutions to dampen your zeal for the Lord. Demonstrate
resilience. Be the cat with nine lives.
Keep your persecutors guessing where your strength is drawn from when you
refuse to be pushed down and out. Take a
cue from Grandeurs of our Faith who refused to be put out of the Race by
persecutions and persecutors. Hebrews 10:32-39 says:
But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were
illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; partly, whilst ye were
made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye
became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my
bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that
ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away, therefore,
your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of
patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the
promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not
tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man drawback, my soul shall
have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition;
but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
John Bunyan, popularly known across Christian history for
his classic book, The Pilgrim’s Progress
was severally persecuted by both infidels and fellow journeyers in the Race to
Heaven. When asked what sustained his resolve wrote,
"… I bind these lies and
slanderous accusations to my person as an ornament; it belongs to my Christian
profession to be vilified, slandered, reproached and reviled, and since all
this is nothing but that, as God and my conscience testify, I rejoice in being
reproached for Christ's sake."
John Wesley, founder of Methodism quipped:
"If we suffer persecution and affliction in a right manner, we
attain a larger measure of conformity to Christ, by a due improvement of one of
these occasions, than we could have done merely by imitating his mercy, in
abundance of good works."
CONCLUSION
“Saul, Saul why are you persecuting Me?...” is a
question every well-meaning meaning, Heaven-bound Christian should prayerfully
answer. Are we persecuting the Lord or are we prosecuting His Work? Are we Opponents of the Faith or Proponents of the Faith? Are helping the work of the Lord or are we promoting
the Lord’s Work?
We must destroy every spirit of “If I
do not rule, I will ruin” that has become prevalent amongst us. Let us work
together to make the Work of the Lord count.
God bless us all in Jesus’ name!
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