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Genesis 2 Feb. Again…think about how specifically God prepared Saul to become the great evangelist to the Gentiles even as a Jew of the highest order.
His mentor was the smartest man in the Temple who had a soft spot in his heart for the Gentiles. So, Saul received his education from Gamaliel; Gamaliel is the president of the Sanhedrin; and clearly Saul is a young man with great zeal and intelligence. Do you see how that helps us fill in some blanks?
If so, that means that Saul would have likely seen Jesus in the flesh; he would have likely witnessed the crucifixion; he would have likely seen Peter and John flogged; he would have likely been at the trial of Stephen, and we know for a fact that he was at the stoning of Stephen and that he approved of his execution.
Do you see how the dots are now starting to connect? Saul is a prodigy. He is on the fast track to becoming one of the most highly esteemed, most powerful men in his country and in his religion. He has all the credentials, he speaks three languages, he has a thriving trade as a tent maker, he has above average intelligence, he attended the right schools, he comes from the right family, and he has religious zeal.
Some Jewish scholars have even theorized that Saul would have been the natural successor to Gamaliel to take leadership over the rabbinical school in Jerusalem. But notice…Saul has not adopted the maturity of his mentor.
Gamaliel is a man of peace, patience, and thoughtfulness. Remember in Acts 5 when the Sanhedrin were so furious at Peter and John that they were planning to kill them both? Do you remember how Rabbi Gamaliel spoke prudence, wisdom, and self-control at that moment? Eventually Gamaliel convinced the Sanhedrin to let the disciples go. But what did young Saul think of that outcome? Saul is a young man with great ambitions.
He is proud, intelligent, driven, and fiercely loyal to his Jewish convictions and heritage. No doubt he is beginning to think that old man Gamaliel is losing his edge.
Like most prodigies, Saul begins to believe that he is just that smart…just that right…and his arrogance grows with every compliment and admiring look from the council. Word around the temple is that Saul is the up and coming superstar…the guy you want to know and befriend if you have any hopes of sitting at the head table in a couple of years. Rest assured that the Chief Priests have taken notice of this young man as well…they see his drive, his charisma, his passion.
They also see that he is ambitious to advance…he has no problem doing what needs to be done to squash this new group of Jesus followers who are causing such a ruckus.
So the Chief Priests stir the pot. They include Saul in the trials; they expose Saul to the floggings; they make sure that he is standing by when Stephen gets stoned.
How many of you like Star Wars? I am a big fan of the Star Wars movies. As I was thinking about Saul, I could not help but reflect on the character of young Anikin Skywalker.
If you remember your Star Wars movies, you might recall that young Anikin was a prodigy from the beginning. But then something goes terribly wrong with Anikin. Saul has great talent, great religious convictions, great intentions…but somewhere along the way Saul becomes convinced that the Christians are the enemies of God, and with a completely clean conscience, Saul takes on the role of a righteous persecutor…like so many before and since, he unleashes his own jihad against the Christians.
Saul is not alone. Luke writes that Saul was ravaging the church, entering house to house, dragging off men and women and committing them to prison.
Luke writes in that Saul was breathing threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus, and how his obsession with ravaging the church leads him to pursue those who have escaped Jerusalem into other cities and villages. In our text this morning we read that Saul is now on his way to Damascus to find whatever Christians might be in that town so that he can drag them back to Jerusalem and throw them into prison. What I can say for sure is that he did approve of the arrest and killing of Christians.
I know this because Acts mentions this fact. We can assume that this was not his first involvement in arresting believers and we can assume that, although he may not ever have been the one to actually throw stones, he was a ringleader behind people being killed. It is more likely that he saw to the deed happening and let others do it for him. Like I already said, whether he did the actual killing or only instigated or approved of it does not seem to matter all that much for us.
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