Monday, May 10
Read Acts 22
Think About It:
- “And he said, The God of our forefathers has destined and appointed you to come progressively to know His will [to perceive, to recognize more strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with His will], and to see the Righteous One (Jesus Christ, the Messiah), and to hear a voice from His [own] mouth and a message from His [own] lips;” (Amplified Classic Translation). Acts 22:14 is the duty of everyone before God. What three things does Ananias tell Paul God has chosen him to know?
- Verse 22 tells us that the mob that had tried to kill Paul, and had then listened intently to his whole sermon, erupted into rage over the utterance of one word. That one word was “Gentiles.” The Jewish mob was enraged that God’s salvation could be given freely to believing Gentiles. Paul had his audience all up until this point. In their minds, they didn’t mind all this talk about Jesus, but they could not stand the idea that God might save Jews and Gentiles alike and in the same way. These Jews of that day did not have a problem with Gentiles becoming Jews. But they were incredibly offended at the thought of Gentiles becoming Christians just as Jews became Christians, because it implied that Jews and Gentiles were equal, having to come to God on the same terms. Likewise, many people today are offended that “good people” must be saved the same way “sinners” are; they want a gospel that will keep them separate from the “riffraff” of society. The Jewish mob expressed their hatred of others through violent rage; do we express our disdain of the perishing through indifference? We may not riot like the mob in this chapter did, but we may say by our inaction: “I won’t give you the gospel; I don’t really care if you perish in hell!”
- Paul was an extremely rare individual. It was uncommon to find such an educated, intelligent, devout Jew who was also a Roman citizen. God would use Paul because of his unique background in a special way, even as He wants to use you in a special way because of your unique background.
Family Time:
- Who spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus?
- Why did God send Saul/Paul to the Gentiles? (verses 17-20)
- Paul was going to be beaten for wanting to teach the Gentiles about Jesus. They were going to scourge him – which was a beating most people died from. It was illegal to scourge a Roman citizen. Once Paul told them he was a Roman, they immediately stopped persecuting him. This is a good reminder that God knows what He is doing. Paul was born into a Roman family according to His plan. Paul did many great things but had Paul been born a Jew, he most likely would have died on this day. God is always in control. I wonder why you were born into the family you have now.
