September 24, 2024
Our Scripture passage for this week ends with Luke’s introduction of a “young man named Saul.” Philo of Alexandria, a hellenized Jewish philosopher, teacher and writer indicates that the term “young man” means someone who is between 21 and 28 years of age. Other sources postulate Saul may have been in his mid thirties or even 40.
The fact that he is called a “young man” may also indicate his marital status. Paul does write later that he is single, and if he had been married or widowed at the time Luke put quill to parchment, he would not have been called a young man. I could riff on that, but I will refrain.
Luke could also be hinting at his youthful zeal in persecuting the early church. The fact that the “witnesses” of Stephen’s “blasphemy”, who acted as more of a “lynch mob” than a court of law, “laid their cloaks at his feet” tells us a few things. First, Saul is in a position of authority regarding the execution of Stephen. And, he is “consenting” to Stephen’s death. This means he not only approves of the process but also of the punishment.
Later on in Acts we will learn that Saul was born in Tarsus into a family with a father who was a Roman citizen and was schooled at “the feet of Gamaliel” in Jerusalem. Gamaliel was a highly respected Rabbi and was the grandson of an even more highly respected and revered Rabbi named Hillel. He probably became one of Gamaliel’s “Talmudin” or disciples shortly after his “bar mitzvah” at around twelve years of age.
In his letter to the Philippians Saul/Paul claims to have been a “Hebrew of Hebrews” and a “Pharisee” which, according to him, was the strictest sect of Judaism at the time. He mentions that he came from the tribe of Benjamin, knowing that his readers would “connect the dots” and realize that he was named after the first Israelite King, Saul, who was also a Benjamite. He actually went on to claim that, with regard to his personal righteousness based on his obedience to the Laws of Moses, he was “faultless.” But then he immediately pivots from citing his great credentials and says;
4:7 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
When I read of Saul’s zealous efforts in cleansing Israel of supposed Christian “blasphemers”, his impeccable education and credentials, and all the high hopes that we can assume were pinned upon this brilliant young man by his teachers and his family, contrasted with his moving written confessions to the Philippians…that he had “lost all things” in order to “gain Christ”... it brings beautifully bittersweet revelations to mind.
I think about the mention that Paul was a “tentmaker” in Acts 18 and how he used this skill to provide for his needs and others who were a part of his ministry team. Tentmaking was a profession that literally “stank.” The process to produce the materials brought forth a truly ungodly smell. Perhaps this is why Luke mentions that Peter stayed with Simon the Tanner (same kind of process involved) who lived by the sea. The windy coast was a good choice for someone in this line of work, but those who lived downwind were probably not thrilled.
Paul met Priscilla and Acquilla in Corinth, a married couple that was chased out of Italy when all the Jews were expelled from there. We learn that they must have been brilliant in the Scriptures themselves because they pulled the great preacher Apollos aside and explained the Word of God to him!
Acts 18:24 At that time a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was an educated man from Alexandria. He knew the Scriptures very well. 25 Apollos had been taught the way of the Lord. He spoke with great power. He taught the truth about Jesus. But he only knew about John’s baptism. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they invited him to their home. There they gave him a better understanding of the way of God.
So what were these great Christian Bible teachers doing in Corinth? Were they teaching in the leading schools or giving lectures in a hired hall with students hanging on their every word?
Nope.
They were working in the same stinky business as the brilliant Paul! And because of the tools necessary to do this job, it means Paul, Priscilla and Acquilla had to “find a job” working for an existing business. It was difficult to “set up shop” in a Greco-Roman city. Permission from city leaders was necessary as well as admission to the important trade guilds which could be a very toxic environment for Christians.
Since Paul was human just like us, I wonder if there were days as he plunged his calloused hands into his disgusting work if he remembered “the good old days” when he was respected as a rising star amongst the Pharisees? I also wonder if a brilliant mind like his ever questioned why he had to resort to such “mindless” and demeaning labor just to fund his own ministry at times?
I suspect that each time a thought like that danced through his head, he immediately was flooded with painful memories of the faces of Christians he personally brutalized. He remembered their blood shot eyes, wet with tears, and heard the echoes of their cries, begging for mercy, and maybe even praying blessings upon him as he dragged them to prison or perhaps, like Stephen, to their death.
And that’s when he may have begun to “sing hymns” of thanks to himself and to God, as he did when his feet were locked in painful stocks in the Philippian jail cell. Those “spiritual songs” were songs of fresh commitment and deep gratitude that God had saved a wretch like him…like me…like us all.
PRN: God of Amazing Grace, thank you for making yourself known to us, in the fullness of time. When we are tempted to think that our lives are in any way inferior because we are Yours, or that living a truly authentic Christian life is too difficult, remind us of the great price you paid to cleanse our sin. Reset our affections. Remind us of what is most important. Help us to sing songs of true thanksgiving to you and to worship while we work. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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