Chapter 6 – New Sight (continued)
Paul did not waste time. Off to the synagogue he went, no embarrassment stopping him. People must be taught that Jesus was real, a living saviour.
Passages from the Hebrew scriptures now made perfect sense to him, and he could argue them clearly with any opponents. In just the same way as Stephen had bested his enemies, Paul could now excel. Conviction was in his voice and his words proclaimed a truth that made sense.
Sketch 6.3
It was Saturday, the Sabbath, and the synagogue was full of people. Crowded.
Every Jew in Damascus knew that Saul had arrived in their city. Many knew that he would be attending this very synagogue – which is why it was more crowded than usual.
Saul was said to have brought letters from the High Priest to all of the synagogues in Damascus. For the traditionalists, his presence was a welcome relief. Surely this man would stop the rot: root out the poisonous weeds infesting their synagogues and drag the trouble-makers off to prison in Jerusalem.
Since he had only recently risen to prominence, no-one in Damascus knew him by sight – hence the letters. Yet most had heard of his fame. A monumental intellect supported by an exhaustive knowledge of scripture and an irresistible determination, all wrapped up in a zealous commitment to the ancient traditions. His very existence had helped to sway many in the battle against those trouble-making followers of “The Way”. In taking up the fight against Jesus and his
followers, Saul had stopped those blasphemers from so easily sweeping aside the long-held understanding of Moses’ law. With such a reputation, many pictured him as a repeat of the king whose name he bore: a handsome giant who would stand head and shoulders above his compatriots and lead them fearlessly against the enemy.
Yet as Saul stood surrounded by the leaders of the synagogue, it became clear something was amiss with this comforting picture. However much members of the audience craned their necks to see him, the prosperous bulk of the synagogue leaders hid him completely from sight. Could it be that this dynamic reactionary was, God forbid, short?
Bewildered onlookers exchanged looks of surprise.
“Hey, Cephas, he’s not as tall as his namesake, is he?” whispered one of the audience to his neighbour, a noticeably diminutive man.
“Well, it’s not height that makes a man, Joseph,” responded Cephas, pointedly.
The first man smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Cephas,” he said, “but you know that great orators are normally tall so that they stand out in a crowd.”
“Perhaps this Saul will show you how wrong you are,” answered Cephas.
“But can you hear his voice? asked Joseph. “It stands out alright, but those aren’t the mellow, rich, inspiring tones of a powerful leader.”
“You could be right, but why don’t you listen to what he says? Surely that’s more important than how he says it?”
“I suppose so, but true leaders are people that others can look up to.” Seeing the flash in his pint-sized companion’s eyes, Joseph waved his hand conciliatingly. “I mean metaphorically, Cephas. How he presents himself and how he says things are important.”
Soon it was time for worship to begin, and the leader of the synagogue moved to the front, smiling and looking pleased with himself. “Brethren, we are gathered together once more on a Sabbath to celebrate our selection as a people by Yahweh, the creator of the universe and friend of our father Abraham. Of all nations under heaven, God chose us to be his people and gave us laws and commandments that keep us holy. You have all heard of Saul of Tarsus, defender of the faith
and messenger of the High Priest. Brother Saul is among us today to deliver a message, though he says that it is not at all what he was expecting to tell us when he left Jerusalem.
“I don’t know exactly what he means, so I’ll be listening with everyone else as brother Saul speaks to us and delivers this ‘surprising’ message. Brother Saul.”
Saul strode to the front, where he stood facing the congregation. Cephas and Joseph looked at each other. There was no doubt about it: Saul was small – and not exactly handsome, either.
As he introduced himself, describing his background as a member of the tribe of Benjamin, just like Saul the king, Cephas and Joseph exchanged glances again, for Saul’s voice was far from sweet! Yet his movements were quick and decisive and his words full of energy. Saul was intense.
At times, an audience may analyse the speaker more than his words – but if Saul’s audience was guilty of this for a few moments, it didn’t last long. Within just a few sentences, he had their undivided attention.
True, his voice was neither honeyed nor euphonious, and, yes, he was small, but those eyes were irresistible – and how well he used them to engage the congregation’s attention! It was as if he was able to see inside them, assess their responses and address their individual questions.
Smoothly, he moved from introducing himself to explaining why his planned work in Damascus had changed. He took his audience with him as he left Jerusalem, letters in hand and helpers at his side. He described his excitement and anticipation as he travelled towards Damascus. They forgot his height deficit and the timbre of his voice in the fascination of his story. Many felt discomfort, almost horror at the frank description of what he planned to do to any followers of
The Way he found in Damascus. Yet overall, they were with him. After all, most of the followers of The Way, forewarned about the coming of their enemy, had stayed away – not that they were very welcome in the synagogue anyway.
“But then everything changed,” said Saul, “and I want to tell you how.” He looked around the synagogue, assessing his audience, deciding how best to present his experience. “I’m sure everyone knows that Jesus of Nazareth was killed by the Romans at the instigation of our chief priests.” Saul looked around again, nodding a little to encourage their responses. It seemed that he was right: his listeners knew the background well. Saul continued, “Well, I was convinced
that was where it had all ended for Jesus. A blasphemer had been killed, and that was that. That’s what I thought, and I’m sure many of you feel the same.” More nods.
“So you can imagine my utter shock when, as I was approaching Damascus, I suddenly saw a bright light, so intense that it was clearly no ordinary light. It was brighter than the sun, far brighter than my eyes could cope with. I fell down on the ground and heard a voice speaking to me. It was Jesus, and he had instructions for me.
“Now think about that for yourselves. I knew Jesus was a dead blasphemer – yet here he was alive in glory and telling me that I was choosing a hard path. And just to make sure that I couldn’t question his presence or his power, when his light disappeared, I was blind. I had to be led into the city, and I stayed blind for three days.
“Brothers, what would you do in that situation? I had been a determined opponent of Jesus and his followers – but that was when I was sure he was dead.” Saul’s eyes challenged them all to consider what they would do if their own certainty was upended as suddenly as his had been. He appeared satisfied with what he saw, for he continued: “Now I know that he isn’t dead. Oh, no! He’s very much alive, and I can’t deny it any more. So I had to understand what was
going on. I endured three days of complete blindness, proof enough of the power of Jesus, and an inescapable reminder that I hadn’t imagined that light!
“I’ve always believed the prophets and knew that the followers of The Way claimed Jesus had fulfilled many prophecies in our scriptures. Yet I dismissed this as nonsense even though I had to admit that their arguments were hard to disprove. In fact, Jesus told me that I was kicking against a sharp goad: fighting; struggling; wrestling; refusing to believe something that should have been completely obvious to me.”
Saul scanned the congregation and then he held up three fingers. “I spent three days going over prophecies of scripture in my mind. How Moses said that God would raise up from among us a prophet like Moses, a prophet who would speak the very words of God. Isaiah said a virgin would conceive and bear a son. Micah said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Zechariah spoke of the Messiah entering Jerusalem seated humbly on a donkey. Isaiah spoke of God’s
servant suffering and dying for others while many would think he deserved it.
“Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled all of these prophecies and many, many more. Every prophet in scripture provides prophecies or signs of Jesus. How could I have been so blind as to refuse to see them?
“So instead of him being a blasphemer, I found I was one myself. I had set myself up as a persecutor, spending my time fighting against God’s word.
“And you, brethren, will you not listen to God? Don’t do what I did and keep fighting against God and his son Jesus. The prophecies are clear. You know, there is even a prophecy in Psalms that God would not let his holy one see corruption. Do you remember that Jonah spent three days in the belly of a huge fish? But God didn’t abandon him. Well, Jesus spent three days in a tomb, but God didn’t abandon him either or leave him to decay. Jesus was raised
from the dead, and now he lives, never to die again. I have seen him.”
Saul paused again and Cephas and Joseph drew in deep breaths and looked at each other. Saul’s message was challenging, alright. Certainly nothing like what they had expected to hear when they came to listen to Saul, the defender of Pharisaic tradition!
Should they rethink their own choices?
[To be continued]
