The Life of Paul Part 5 – First Encounters with Christians and the Damascus Road

A man who is teaching things concerning the law of Moses that we have never heard, things that have never been said, things that have never been thought or taught. Should he not die? This sect of Israel had to end. And then a very wise statement was made. The emperor is dying. He will die somewhere on Capri. He will be taken to the city, declared a god in Rome, and worshiped. And then, when the new man is chosen to take his place, at that time, all of the governors, all 100 of them, will make their way to Rome at the same time, coming on the ships, the endless ships the Romans had under their control, for Rome was not only a great physical ground, a military power, but an incredibly great naval power.

Those people would be taken to Rome immediately, and so would their associates and assistants, and all of them would kiss the ring, bow before the new emperor, kiss his ring, and verbally announce his total, absolute, unqualified allegiance and swear an oath to obey any and all orders given by the new emperor. Abide, bide your time. The man will die, and this city will be left alone, and Caesarea by the Sea will have no procurator, no governor, and so the plot was finished. It was now a matter of time.

So, everyone heard of the death of Tiberius. The details of the death would not be well-known for a while. One of the people who made his way to Rome to kiss the ring of the new emperor was himself being called home, and he would never be heard from again. His name was Pontius Pilate, who had just recently slain an entire group of pilgrims, all Samaritans going up to the sacred hill of Ebal, because there was a rumor that the two tablets of Moses had been discovered, and they were all following a prophet there. Pilate, in turn, had thought it was some sort of rebellion. He had heard that it was being led by men who had decided to break away from the empire. He and his soldiers came, found the people, and drove them into a fenced barricade and slaughtered every man, woman, and child. And Pilate had already been called back to Rome. A new man would come soon, and he would be coming back when everyone else came back from Rome, and they waited.

Who was the new emperor? He is a 25-year-old boy with a nickname. His name was Little Boots. His name was Gaius, and a large number of other names followed it. There were stories about him: that he looked very much like Germanicus, that he might have even looked like, in some ways, Augustus Caesar. There were also some other rumors that he enjoyed torturing small animals, that he was a young man given over to conniving and plots, but he had always stayed clear of any insinuations of anything but with total loyalty to Tiberius.

What had happened that day was that Tiberius was dead and pronounced dead, and the young man reached over and seized his ring and slipped it onto his own hand, declaring himself emperor. And about that moment, Tiberius stood up, sat up, and said, “I am hungry.” Macro, the prefect who had taken the place of Sejanus, with everyone else horrified, calmly walked over, took a pillow, and suffocated Tiberius to death.

And one month later, by the way, that was on March 16th of the year 37 AD. March 16, 37 AD. One month later, everyone else in leadership throughout the entire Roman Empire was on their way to Rome to participate in the choosing of the new emperor Gaius Caligulus. And what was known of him would never have been believed if anyone knew it anyway. And it was at this time that Stephen was debating, and he mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ and the resurrection. They grabbed him. He was pulled out through the streets, and there was a pit nearby, exactly 11 ft. deep, and there he was stoned, and the men took off their garments, symbolism of a dirty job to be done, but it must be done. Each man took his coat off and handed it to Paul of Tarsus while he stood near the abyss and watched Stephen die. Hatred flowed as great as it could in that man’s heart.

But still, some of the things that he said haunted Saul for the months that followed, which even brought him to greater rage. It was at this moment that the high priest himself sent a messenger to Paul, ordering him to come immediately to the high priest. The high priest had something very simple to say. We will destroy the gatherings of the followers of the way. A plan had already been set in motion, but because of his known zeal, the high priest of the Sanhedrin had chosen Paul to do some very special things, and they were very special indeed. To all the houses where they were known to be meetings. Paul was to enter and, with the rights of the high priest and the Sanhedrin, specially made up of, not the Pharisees, but the Sadducees, to move into every home, jail those people, and put them on trial. This was to be done in Jerusalem, and especially not only in Jerusalem but also in the immediate area around it.

And so, the jails were filled to overflowing until there were makeshift jails made in parts of the temple. And still the numbers grew home after home. Young women and men and then began the trials. They were swift. You had choices of getting beaten, fleeing, or being incarcerated for a long period of time. It is difficult for us to understand this until we understand a very simple thing. The high priest and the Sadducees owned almost every house in Jerusalem. They were rented to others. There were exceptions. One of them was the home of a man we would meet soon, whose name was Barnabas, a man who was perhaps of great wealth. In most of the city, the real estate belonged to the Sadducees and the Sanhedrin. Invested vested interest in seeing the city prosper and for peace to reign so that nothing be disturbed. Placate everyone at any cost, including crucifying a troublemaker. Real estate and money were at the heart of all of this.

And so, the weeks came into months. Followers of the way poured out of the city of Jerusalem to over a hundred towns, and Paul of Tarsus, while still an unbeliever, had become the most effective church planter in the first seven years of the church. Speaking of the great commission, the apostles had not obeyed it. They had not even left Jerusalem, except to go out to a few towns. But now the apostles, who had been in hiding, were going out to town after town to help bring forth approval of all the churches being born spontaneously in Judea and Galilee. All because of Paul of Tarsus.

Now the high priest called Paul in one day and said, “One of the largest concentrations of those who are followers of the way is in the city of Damascus.” Damascus was located on a straight route north from Jerusalem, along what had been called the Royal Road, and the King’s Highway had been built by the Persians hundreds of years prior. The young and zealous man, now 29 years old in the year A.D. 37, set out for Damascus with warrants for the rest of any followers of the way who might be meeting in the synagogue there, and a man who would have lived and died in obscurity is about to walk upon the pages of history. Even the book of Acts divides here from the day of Pentecost until this day, right here. The story has been with the apostles in Jerusalem and the Jews.

Now our young man is on his way, and he is breathing threats, and not only is he breathing threats, but he is hearing the words of a man he watched die from dozens, perhaps hundreds of small rocks and stones. A man who said, “I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father.” And he fell asleep. And this was not acceptable. This is not acceptable to this young man, who would have Jesus standing before God.

While this is going on, some very devout men in Jerusalem take the body of Stephen very quietly and bury it with great tears and with great emotion. Saul walks from Jerusalem to Damascus. He passes Bethsaida. He passes through Capernaum and comes out into the desert areas. It is the middle of the year A.D. 37. Still breathing threats, anger, and rage, and a company of people with him, some men who are accompanying him to Damascus, perhaps to bring their prisoners back. Saul is clutching a signed arrest warrant from the high priest.