‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’ That is generally speaking very good advice. People who succeed in life tend to be people who have this quality of determination. The person whose story we are looking at this morning was himself a very determined young man; but his determination led him in the wrong direction.

Saul first appears on the scene as an opponent of Christianity. He had been the leader of a systematic persecution of Christians that had broken out in Jerusalem following Stephen’s death. You may recall how the Jews had stoned Stephen to death for his faith in Christ. The effect of this persecution however, had not been to stamp out the church but to spread its influence.

But Saul was not going to be put off his task of stamping out this new belief in Jesus. If the Christians had taken their false beliefs to other places, then he would just have to go and deal with them there. And so we find him with the full authority of the Jewish religious leaders setting out for Damascus in an attempt to hunt down Christians.

But on that long journey, (Damascus is about 150 miles from Jerusalem,) something was to happen that was to turn Saul’s life around. From being an opponent of Christianity, he became one of its greatest advocates. On the road to Damascus, Saul met Jesus. We find that in later life Paul looked back to this experience time and again. In his letters he refers to it, and Luke tells us in the book of Acts of two occasions where Paul re-tells the story. This encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road gave Saul a new direction and purpose in life.

First we’ll look at the process that led up to this turn-around for Saul and we’ll start with Saul’s background. He was born in the city of Tarsus in what is today Turkey. But his family were Jewish. It would seem that his parents were part of the Diaspora, which is Jews who had been dispersed to different parts of the world over the years, but who faithfully practiced the Jewish religion.

It seems that Saul’s father was quite a prominent man, as he was also a Roman citizen. He would have enjoyed the privileges that that entailed, as did his son. As well as being called Saul which was his Jewish name, he also had a Latin or Roman name- Paul which is the name by which we know him best.

But it would seem that Saul was first and foremost a Jew. From what Saul says elsewhere we know he was a Pharisee, one of that strict group who insisted not only on a very rigid obedience to the Old Testament law, but also to the customs and traditions that had developed around the law. His teacher was none other than Gamaliel, a highly respected Jewish Rabbi who also crops up in Acts chapter 5 where he argues that it would be wrong to persecute the Christians.

No doubt Saul had watched with interest as the Church began to grow in Jerusalem. There would have been much debate over what was happening, as there was deep division over the question of Jesus. Many joined the church. We are even told in Acts 6 v7 that many of the priests became obedient to the faith. But there were also those who opposed Christ strongly.

They refused to accept that this group of Galilean fishermen could be right, and the official Jewish religious leadership wrong. A decisive event that occurred at this point was the incident with Stephen. He had been presenting the Christian faith so effectively to a group of Jews who are referred to as the Synagogue of the Freedmen who had taken issue with him.

Saul may well have been one of this group, as we are told that some of them were from Cilicia; because Tarsus, Saul’s hometown was in Cilicia. When this group found that they were unable to answer Stephen’s arguments, they stirred up trouble for him and had him put on trial accused of blasphemy. But there was something very different about Stephen. His face had a strange, radiant look about it.

Even before the court, Stephen spoke so powerfully that in effect he put the boot on the other foot by accusing those who were trying him of being guilty of betraying and murdering Jesus. This was more than his hearers could take. And then a strange thing happened. Full of the Holy Spirit, Stephen looked up and saw a vision of Jesus standing at God’s right hand in heaven, and he told all those present what he could see.

The court in a frenzy rushed at Stephen, dragged him outside the city and began to stone him. As the stones showered down on him his last words were ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them. This event had a powerful impact on Saul. We are told that he consented to Stephen’s death, and immediately launched out on his vicious campaign of persecution against the Christians.

If up to that point he had felt that Gamaliel was right, and the Christians should be left alone; now he had caught the fear and hatred of the mob that stoned Stephen. He had made up his mind; yes, these Christians must be silenced. The traditions that he held dear must be defended. Saul was a devout young man falling under evil influence; something that we are painfully aware happens to young men today.

But maybe even at this stage, there was something going on in Saul. He had heard Stephen arguing from the Old Testament that Jesus was the Messiah. He had watched as Stephen before the council had told of his vision of Jesus standing at God’s right hand. Perhaps the thought had come into his mind; ‘what if after all these Christians are right?’

It could have been to block out these very thoughts that Saul launched himself into persecuting the church. You see, when a Christian faithfully speaks God’s word, seeds are being sown. And Stephen’s words were seeds in the heart of Saul. That says something to us. When we faithfully speak out for truth and for Christ, even though the immediate response may be negative, yet that truth you have planted is a seed that may yet grow, and that God can work through.

And so Saul’s campaign against the church brought him on this journey to Damascus. We don’t know what thoughts went through his mind on that journey, particularly as he went through Galilee, the place where Jesus had spent much of his ministry. Perhaps Saul had heard of the healing miracles he had performed there, or how he had fed the 5000. Maybe these thoughts bothered him; we don’t know.

But as he neared Damascus, something occurred that was to turn his life around. As I said before, this same incident is also recorded in Acts 22 and 26 where Paul himself tells his story, so if I refer to things that were said or done that you can’t see in chapter 9 you would be able to find them in one of the other accounts.

A light flashed around Paul and his companions that was so bright, and so frightening that they fell to the ground. A voice spoke to him. ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Saul asked; ’who are you Lord?’ The reply came; ‘I am Jesus.’ Saul had met Jesus. Jesus was not just a heretical troublemaker, he had appeared to Saul. Now he knew he was the messiah, the one who the prophets of the Old Testament had foretold. Jesus was alive and active. Dead heretics just don’t burst into your experience in this way. The Christians were right after all and he had been kicking against God.

For three days Saul could not see, and he neither ate nor drank. Saul had been fighting God; he had persecuted Jesus. Something of the enormity of what he had done dawned on him. No doubt it was all part of the process of true repentance. But then someone else comes on the scene. There was already a group of Christians in Damascus. One of them was a man names Ananias. God spoke to Ananias in a vision and told him to go to the house where Saul was, and lay hands on him to restore his sight.

Ananias is understandably reluctant to do this, he has heard of some of the things that Saul has done to Christians. But in the end he puts his reservations aside and does as God has asked him to. He addresses Saul as a brother, and Saul’s sight is restored. Saul found that through Jesus, God was willing to accept him, not because of all the good things he had done, but rather in spite of the bad things he had done. He had discovered the marvellous truth of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul had already known that God’s law had come into the world through Moses; now he discovered that God’s grace had come to us through Jesus.

Finally we will look at Paul’s response to his meeting with Jesus. In Acts 22 Paul recalls what Ananias said to him: ‘and now, what are you waiting for? Get up; be baptized washing your sins away, calling on his name.’ Paul responded by becoming one of that group which he had persecuted. He was baptized and joined the fellowship of the church.

But Paul also has a new mission and purpose in life. God has chosen him to share the good news of the gospel, he is God’s chosen instrument to carry the name of Jesus before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. Not only that but God tells Ananias he will show Paul how much he will have to suffer for the name of Jesus. The call for anyone who follows Jesus is to take up the cross.

We find that Paul was soon experiencing the suffering that goes with Christian disciple ship. Before long they were attempting to kill him in Damascus because of his faith. When he came to Jerusalem, initially even the Christians were against him. Once he had started preaching the gospel there, it wasn’t long before they were plotting to kill him as well, and he had to leave there too. But Paul persevered in his newfound faith.

He was obedient to the heavenly vision of Jesus that God had given him. You know something of that experience of having our eyes opened should be the experience of every Christian. The most marvellous truth that anyone can ever discover is that the Son of God loves you. When you or I really grasp the wonder of God’s unconditional love for us, then we can be free from the burden of having to win God’s approval; instead, with the Holy Spirit’s help we can show God’s unconditional love to others, and so share the truth we ourselves have found.

Much to the surprise of many people in the modern western world, in the twenty-first century religion is just as hot a topic as it was in Saul’s day. Just as the gospel changed lives in those early days, so the gospel can change lives in our world today. We are called as Christians to unashamedly declare our faith in Jesus. We may face opposition or even hatred. But God will honour our faith. Nothing can separate us from his love in Christ.

Amen.

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