THE TRAINING OF SAUL OF TARSUS

Saul on route to Damascus

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 20 April 2013

Hi all,

Apart from the Lord Jesus, two men stand out as exceptional Biblical thinkers throughout the ages. One is Moses. God went to great lengths with Moses’ training. Raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he was destined to become Pharaoh himself. He was raised in the traditions of the Hebrews having been instructed by his mother, masquerading as his wet nurse! He would have attended Egyptian University. It is also understood that he was one of the great generals of the Egyptian army. One day, Moses had a “light bulb” moment and killed an Egyptian, who was ill-treating a Hebrew slave. Moses fled to the land of Midian. While there, Pharaoh obliterated all reference to Moses from their historical records. Having been a leading figure in Egypt, Moses spent the next 40 years leading sheep! When he was 80, God called him to deliver the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Moses had been prepared by God to write, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Pentateuch; the first 5 Books of the Old Testament.

Moses at Burning Bush

The other man was Saul. (hereafter referred to as Paul) He went on to write, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, a large part of the New Testament. Paul had been well trained in Tarsus and in Jerusalem. His Jewish mentor was Gamaliel, one of the finest teachers of the Law among the Jews of that day. Paul didn’t murder an Egyptian. Instead he was largely responsible for the stoning of Stephen, one of the earliest Christian martyrs. Paul didn’t flee to Midian. Instead he pursued Jewish believers of “The Way”. He had them arrested sent to the Jewish authorities and executed. In the process of doing this, he had his “light bulb” moment on the road to Damascus. Then, after his conversion and a short spell in Damascus and Jerusalem with the apostles, he went to the Arabian Desert. He was there for some 3 years. There in the dry heat of the desert, He learned from Jesus and the Holy Spirit how to take care of Christ’s sheep.

JESUS RISES

It seems that those who are destined to do great things for God need to be highly educated and trained in the art of caring for sheep; of the human variety! You must be a “murderer” having died to yourself so that Christ can reign in you. You also need to spend time alone in the intense “heat” of a “desert”; a place where you can be moulded into a man of compassion and understanding. Do you qualify?

Paul

Today’s meditation looks at this in more detail.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 20 April 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THE TRAINING OF SAUL OF TARSUS
What is the greatest miracle in Scripture? The obvious answer must be the resurrection of Jesus. I’ve deliberately excluded the initial acts of creation. Not because they are less important, because we have no means of quantifying what took place. God spoke and it was so. These were mighty miracles. However, in the resurrection, the voice of God is not mentioned. Not at that time. Jesus referred to it and spoke of it Himself. You find the record of this in Matthew’s gospel concerning Jesus baptism. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." Then John consented. Mat 3:14-15 TNIV One of the aspects of “all righteousness” was a picture of Himself being raised from the dead. That’s exactly what John did. Jesus symbolically died and was raised from the dead in baptism. In fact this is probably the clearest reference to Jesus dying and being raised from the dead anywhere is Scripture. It’s exactly what takes place when believers are baptised. They die to self and are raised to new life in Jesus. Jesus would complete the event when He was raised from the dead. It’s only true for us if it was true for Him! The 2nd greatest miracle in the Scripture is the miracle of re-birth. Jesus referred to this in John 3. 3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." John 3:3 NLT Paul described it beautifully in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Cor. 5:17 ESV According to Jesus and Paul, every born again (born from above) believer has experienced this already. You may not feel any different. That doesn’t change the fact of our rebirth. As we are aware, the letters of Paul comprise a large percentage of the New Testament. His letters are instructive. A great deal of New Testament theology is derived from Paul’s letters. He didn’t “invent” a new theology. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul’s highly trained “Jewish mind” enabled him to “understand” what takes place in the hearts and minds of those who become Christians. From this point of view, Paul is surely one of the great “religious thinkers” of all time. God knew what humanity needed to take His Word, to all the world after Jesus ascended. God never leaves anything to chance. Furthermore, in God’s Kingdom, there are no coincidences. Thus at ± the same time as John the Baptist and Jesus were growing up into their ministries, He was doing the same with a man called Saul of Tarsus. That’s another miracle! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 "'Who are You, lord?' I asked. "And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting. Act 26:15 NLT 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." Matthew 14:27 ESV 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Isaiah 43:2-3 NLT 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 ESV 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (Meaning, God with us). Matthew1:23 ESV 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."  Matthew 1:20-21 ESV 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1 ESV 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Romans 8:34-35 ESV	“Who are you Lord?” Saul asked Him! It was as dark as night. He’d only just been blinded by the brightness of the light. Saul was somewhat frightened. He’d not “seen” this before. But why had he been blinded and he could see no more? I’m sure I would be terrified under those circumstances. “Perhaps I’ll never see again. O Lord what are the chances Of finding out what happened? Just how had it been done?” He didn’t know for certain, the “culprit” was God’s Son. This was Saul’s “light bulb” moment. If you’ll excuse the pun. He knew, in spite of what he’d thought, this was God’s Holy Son! Right at that very instant, Saul’s mind made a U-turn. His heart was right behind him and he began to burn With passion for Christ Jesus. The “light” which blinded him, Gave him his one obsession, and smouldered deep within. No longer Saul of Tarsus. This was apostle Paul, Destined to write the letters which still inspire us all. We know now just what happened. Damascus lay before. Where Christ restored his vision and sent him out once more. He started as a Pharisee and had been highly trained. Knowledge of the Scriptures, in him had been ingrained. It was the Jewish method. He knew God’s law by heart. The young boys had to study it until it was a part, Of everything they stood for. He knew the Pentateuch. He knew the whole thing off by heart without consulting books. The writings and the prophets were also in his head. Thus, he could say precisely, just what God’s Word had said. He may have once been married. Rabbinical tradition, Suggests it may have happened. It’s not above suspicion. He would have married willingly, if it had been required, To be God’s faithful follower, he’d do what God desired. Here we have a thumbnail of perhaps the greatest mind, From that time in our history. His like is hard to find. God sent him to the Gentiles; which some regard as odd. But don’t decide too early, He’s an all knowing God. Paul needed all that knowledge, to help to see him through, The terrible resistance that sprang up from the Jews. So let’s give thanks to Jesus and praise His Holy Name. Take away Paul’s letters; our Bible’s not the same! Jim Strickland Written 20th April 2013