You Would Think It Was Enough
Acts 22:17-22 NKJV
“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, andguarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”
You would think Paul’s history in Jerusalem would be enough. The fact that he persecuted the church to such an extent that the Jews would have listened. Our verses for today are from Paul’s address to the angry mob in the temple that was trying to kill him. He spoke to them in Hebrew and outlined how he came to know the Lord. Even the road to Damascus experience should have stood for something. You would think it was enough.
This passage is a standout example of the blindness of religion. The mob was listening to Paul until he mentioned one word:Gentiles. The Jews in Jerusalem were so intent on separation from the Gentiles that when Paul repeated the word that Jesus had told him in a vision, they went crazy. Paul had pushed back on the Lord when Jesus informed him that the Jews in Jerusalem would not receive his testimony. Paul thought that the history of his conduct before Jesus would be enough. Paul knew that his resume included the imprisonment and beating of Christians. He knew that he was the one standing by when Stephen was stoned to death. Paul knew what his story was like before Christ, and maybe by even addressing the mob, he thought it would be enough.
But religious hate and religious blindness are ugly things. One of the foreign ministries that The Ark supports is a church in Israel. This is a Messianic church that reaches out to the Jewish people. And the persecution they have received is amazing. The pastor told me one Sabbath morning, over 300 orthodox Jewish men stood in their parking lot cursing and spitting on church members as they walked into the building. And this was a recent event, not something that took place in Paul’s time. That religious anger defies logic. Even though this church reaches out to many of the refugees coming from the Ukraine and other European countries where anti-Semitic persecution has increased. Even though this church has blessed the hurting and needy, there in that part of Israel. You would think it was enough. But it was not enough for Paul and not enough for this church proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.
Application
The only thing that I gain from this passage is to make sure that I am not opposing anyone who loves Jesus but has different doctrinal beliefs. As I have written before, my mother, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, was in effect kicked out of a church over doctrine, not Jesus.
No church is perfect. No church leaders are perfect. The only One who is perfect is the One we worship and call Savior and Lord. We will never all agree on points of doctrine, but we can agree on Jesus. And that is enough. In fact, that is more than enough.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for my fellow members of the Body of Christ. We can agree that You are Savior and Lord, and that is enough for me.