Having Peace – July 21, 2024 – Eddington Presbyterian Church

Psalm 108, Acts 9:19-31
July 21, 2024

I have to admit, part of the reason for this sermon title was it’s curb appeal. I thought of using “From Persecution to Peace,” or “Learning to Trust your Enemy,” or something like that. But knowing how much our world is seeking peace, I thought the title “Having Peace,” out on our sign, might compel more people driving by to think about us. And maybe they might come in and find out what “Having Peace” means.

What we’re looking at today is what I see as the second half of the story of the conversion of Saul. That’s why I included a little of last week’s reading at the beginning is of this week’s. Briefly, the story started back in chapter 8, with “Saul ravaging the church,” and then receiving letters from the Chief priest to the Synagogues in Damascus. We might call those letters “search and seizure” orders. Remember, they came from the head of the religious council, which was also their legal authority. Then, on the way to Damascus, he was “knocked off of his donkey” and blinded by Jesus. And after receiving his sight by the hands of Ananias, he began proclaiming Jesus, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

So that’s the first part of this story. With that as the background, the second part begins in verse 23. “When many days passed,” and we have to assume that means many days of him proclaiming Jesus in Damascus, “the Jews there plotted to kill him.” And as a side note here, wasn’t there too much violence in the world in those days, violence that was too often used as a resolution to issues and problems? And does that sound familiar? We saw more of that in our world last weekend!

So the Jews in Damascus were plotting to kill Saul. And you’ve got to love how this is played out! His former friends, now his enemies, were “watching the gates of the city day and night,” hoping to catch him leaving. And then, in an almost Hollywood style escape, his former enemies, now his friends, “Took him by night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket!” I’ve always loved that story! I can picture Ananias and his friends, sneaking to the wall in the dark with a rope, getting Saul in this basket and lowering him down. It was one of a number of dramatic, and sometimes miraculous, escapes in the book of Acts!

Well, Saul went back to Jerusalem and met with the believers there. And, as we would expect, they believers didn’t believe he had changed. And as Luke tells us, they were actually “afraid of him.” And why wouldn’t they be? After all, he was on the way to Damascus to persecute the believers there, but he hadn’t done so yet! In Jerusalem, he had already “ravaged the church!” And you have to wonder how many of those he met there had family and friends who had been imprisoned by him. Maybe there were some who had been imprisoned themselves! No wonder they were afraid of him! And they didn’t trust that he had become a believer. After all, what better way to ferret out the believers than by pretending to be one of them?

So, this was a rocky start for Saul as a new believer! It was a rocky start for this man, who would become a future leader of the church, and the great apologist for the faith! But his new friend, and soon to be colleague, Barnabas, helped smooth things over with the believers. He told them the story of what happened to Saul on the road to Damascus. And their trust in him grew. By the way, he’s still called “Saul” until chapter 13. But if I slip and refer to him as Paul, I think you’ll be fine with that.

So he’s back in Jerusalem. And in verse 28, we’re told that, “He went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of Jesus.” And I have to think how strange that must have seemed to the people of that city! Remember, it wasn’t long since many of them had heard Jesus speak. It wasn’t long since they had seen him executed by the Romans. And it was no secret that he had been handed to them by their own religious leaders. And now one of those same leaders – maybe even a prominent one, maybe one who spoke out against Jesus – was now proclaiming him to be the Son of God!

I’m sure some were amazed. I’m sure some were dumbfounded. And some were angry there, too! We’re told that Saul “disputed with the Hellenists.” And the Hellenists were the Jewish people who had integrated themselves into “Hellenism” which is what the Roman culture was called. Remember the Roman culture was patterned on Greek culture of the previous empire of Alexander the Great. It was called the “Greco-Roman” world. And the prevailing language was Greek, which was the language of our New Testament.

Those were the Hellenists. And Saul “disputed” with them. And remember that a big thing in the “Greek culture” was their love of debate! And I’m sure that’s at least part of what we’re talking about here. Saul debated with the Hellenists. And he was good at it! But it must have gotten ugly, because we’re told that the Hellenists were now seeking to kill him! And that stands out to me as another statement that’s hard to fathom! Again, it’s solving problems and issues by violence, and even murder! That’s unfathomable to me! And it would get worse for Saul. So at this point, the believers took Saul down to Caesarea, and sent him off to his home town of Tarsus. And Tarsus was a town in what is now south central Turkey.

So, those were the circumstances surrounding the conversion of Saul – both parts of the story. But what I wanted you to see this morning is, that even with all that intrigue and drama and threats of violence surrounding this man Saul, we’re told that the church “had peace” and prospered! That’s the ending of this. And I have to believe that Saul was responsible for a lot of that! Despite his troubles, he still stood up for the faith and promoted peace in the church. And that would be the hallmark of his ministry and of his own faith. “Having Peace.”

But of course, it was peace, which did not necessarily mean “the lack of conflict.” Because again, Paul would have to deal with that conflict throughout his ministry. And he did! But he told the Philippians, “I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in [Christ] who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

Here in Acts, he was learning to have that peace. And I believe he was demonstrating that peace to the church, even though there was always this adversity surrounding him. That peace through adversity would follow him throughout his ministry and we would see it in many of his writings. And so here, in this story, we see it in the last verse of this chapter. “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up, walking in the “fear” of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. And the word “fear,” used this way, has the meaning of “awesome respect.”

So when we’re thinking of “having peace,” that’s a good thing to think about. “Walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” Do we do that? Because we all face adversity at one time or another. Some of us a lot of the time! Maybe you’re facing some right now. Paul would tell you that you can still have peace, if you concentrate on those two things – walking in the fear of the Lord, and being aware of the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

And I’m sure Saul would have agreed with these words of the prophet Micah, which I’m sure he learned in his youth. But I’m also sure made more sense to him now that he had come to his faith in Jesus. Micah wrote, “He has showed you what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To seek justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8)

Prayer

Eternal God, we thank you for the peace you do give us, despite the adversity of this life. Help us to be more aware each day of your power in our lives and of that promised comfort of your Holy Spirit. We do worship and honor you for all you have done for us. And we pray in our Savior’s name, Amen.