UNDERSTANDING PAUL
PART IV
From “Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
to “Take courage Paul, for as you testified at Jerusalem
so must you testify at Rome”
UNDERSTANDING PAUL
PART IV:
From «Saul, why Are you persecuting Me”- to “Take courage Paul, for as you testified at Jerusalem so must you testify at Rome”.
JAN LILLEBY
We cannot possibly overlook the way Paul was ‘handled’ by the Lord, aiming to have Paul come out to us Gentiles in due time!
Throughout his entire ministry for Christ, we find that the Lord spoke with His faithful servant times and times again.
To ‘pilot’ Paul ahead, to have him say and do the right things at the right time. Jesus Christ stood by Paul all the time.
To be able to understand Paul, we must check out what – and how – the Lord led him on.
The final words spoken to Paul while still on Israeli soil, is found in Acts 23:10, 11, NASB, - the night right after he was taken in custody at the temple site,
“10 And as a great dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.
11 But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also."
When letting our scrutinizing eyes read the text – as we find in Acts – we also notice one peculiar thing: Each time something came up as an utmost extra important issue in the eyes of the Lord, we find that it was the Lord Himself bringing the message at hand!
Yes, we know from Scripture that He mostly used to send His angels, especially in times before He came to earth as Jesus Christ and was crucified and resurrected, and taken up into heaven.
He sent angels in all important matters, but in extra-important matters He Himself made His appearances.
In Acts 7:55, 56, NASB, we find Jesus Christ appearing to Stephen when he was stoned, in that this first martyr in a vision saw Him standing by the Father’s throne in glory in heaven,
«55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
After this we find that Peter, actually two times, was rescued from prison by an angel who led him out of there, Acts 5 and 12. I quote from Acts 12:5-11, NASB, - as it happened in Passover 44 CE,
“5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.
6 On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands.
8 And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me."
9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
10 When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."
Shortly before this, we find that James had been killed by Herod Agrippa I…thus raising a considerable alarm within the Messianic congregation in Jerusalem.
The Lord did not allow anyone to harm Peter (executing him) – even if it shows that James had just been killed.
PAUL AT SEA, GOING TO ROME
We learn that when Paul and the crew onboard the ship were caught in a winter storm in the Aegean Sea, Acts 27-28, and the entire crew faced death by shipwrecking, - an angel of the Lord appeared to Paul at night, telling him not to despair, for they would strand on an island (Malta) and all would be rescued. Acts 27:22-26, NASB,
22 "Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
23 "For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,
24 saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.'
25 Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.
26 "But we must run aground on a certain island."
Regarding Paul, we find that he was visited by Christ in person – not just as a ‘vision’. The first time was as quoted above from Acts 23:11 – and Jesus stood in the room where Paul slept, in the Antonia Fortress. It clearly says that the Lord… ‘stood at his side, and said…’
But the second time Paul had such a visit by the Lord, is told by Paul himself, and not Luke who wrote the Acts.
Eph. 3:1-4, NASB,
“1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles -
2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you;
3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.
4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, “
The word ‘revelation’ can imply several things. It can mean that an angel told Paul of a certain secret, or it can mean that Paul had a vision of this, or it can actually mean that Paul was given the said revelation by the Lord Jesus Himself, visiting him in the jail cell.
Personally, I hold to the last alternative. Simply because of the extra-important nature of Paul’s mission to Rome: He was sent there to take the new REVEALED Grace Gospel by faith alone, out to us Gentiles.
Jesus could not entrust such an important and glorious message to angels alone; Jesus Himself had to bring this to Paul, making sure he would ‘catch on’ to this brand new salvation message, and bring this out. The Lord told him that the entire Law of Moses (including all ordinances) had been abolished, and that believers in Christ, both Gentiles and Jews, had been made to ‘one new man’ by faith in Christ.
When adding these Bible truths to the article series here, we are closing in on a more complete understanding of Paul and his immensely important message, that of the free Grace of God by faith alone….Eph. 2:8, 9, NASB,
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Paul’s Gospel message has nothing to do with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, let alone Acts! Paul’s Gospel stands all alone, and all by itself. A revelation brought forth by Jesus Christ.
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