I Was Blind - Part I

Have you ever hated a person or a group of people because of their race or religion? It's not uncommon today to see or hear it in the news. There is so much violence in the world because of people's attitudes, beliefs and convictions. Feelings that one group is right or better than another. Who determines who's right or who's wrong? We see people who hate black people and others hate white people. Some hate Americans and other hate other nationalities. Many Arabs hate the Jews. Some people hate gays and others hate Republicans or Democrats. Some hate other people because of their religious beliefs. There are people who hate their ex-spouse or the neighbor's dog. And then there are those who hate everybody, including themselves.

There are spiritual forces behind angry words, especially the word HATE. Such forces want to steal, kill or destroy relationships. People should be embraced rather than hurt or eliminated. This is a very disturbing and angry world we live in, and people's hate often comes from ignorance, because people don't fully understand or know all the issues involved or the source of those feelings. It is satan who wants you to hate, and he especially doesn't want you to know the Truth. Hate is a very strong word which blinds people to the truth, as we will see in the story of one man who hated Jesus, his disciples, and his followers.

The man's name was Saul, and he had a passion for his religious beliefs and the God he thought he served. He had been raised by his family to follow in the footsteps of his father as to be a religious leader in the community, but as he grew up his ambition and zeal took him well beyond the boundaries of his small town. He had the best of training for Pharisees, and his teachers knew this bright young man was destined to be a brilliant leader and a role model, one that even God would be proud of. He was bold and willing to confront those who would not obey the Laws of God. Even the laws his mentors had established were worthy of compliance, or face the disciplines of the Sanhedrin Courts or banishment from the synagogues. The threat of whippings or beatings usually kept most people in line, but sometimes Saul thought it to be necessary to set an example. After all, God and His Laws must be obeyed.

Saul was also a citizen of Rome because of where he had been born, and this gave him an extra clout that was useful at times even though he hated the Romans for what they had done and continued to do to the Jewish people. The suppression was offensive, but he was determined to see that his people would not forget to obey God, by whatever means he believed was necessary. And God would someday free them from the grip of Roman tyranny. The Greeks had their gods, and so did the Romans, also the other nations. But, his people and countrymen needed to know and serve the one true God, YHWH.

Saul had been raised in another country, far from the city of Jerusalem and the land his forefathers were promised by the Lord. And news from the Holy City often took a long time to reach the land of Cilicia and the city of Tarsus, where Saul lived. Word had reached him that there was a man named Jesus who had been going around the land of Israel doing signs and wonders for some time. And many people were beginning to follow him, even though he claimed that God was his Father. Some of these people were even calling him a Prophet or possibly "The Messiah."

This was an outrage to Saul; something had to be done and he was just the man to do it. It took some time to clear some family matters and finish his schooling, but he was finally ready for the trip. He had always wanted to go to Jerusalem but under different circumstances. Maybe this was to be his mission—to confront this impostor, Jesus of Nazareth. Who does he think he is? Just saying the name was already leaving a bad taste in his mouth, and he was reluctant to even speak it and wondered how he could destroy this trouble maker.

The voyage was long, but he finally reached the fatherland of his faith. Moses and Abraham would be proud of him and his goal. But, he had not even been on dry ground a day when he had heard that this self-proclaimed Messiah had been crucified months before by the Romans. Just his luck; now what was he going to do? But, there were also all kinds of rumors following his death, but none that made any sense to him. Jesus' death had taken some of the wind out of his sails. He had so long wanted to see the man and confront him, but now the Romans had ruined it for him. The good news was that some of his religious mentors were responsible for his death. It was good to know that there was some justice in Jerusalem, also some men who knew what they were doing. Anyway, Saul decided to take some time to see the country before going to the Holy City, now that he had missed Passover and the Pentecost Festivals.

By the time he reached Jerusalem, things had gotten out of hand. It seemed that many of the followers of Jesus were now increasing in great numbers and worst still, they were saying that Jesus was still alive. Impossible, he thought to himself. Surely, there must be some mistake. But as the days passed, he could see and hear for himself as some of the disciples of Jesus spoke openly about Jesus. Their message declared that Jesus had risen from the dead, also that his death was the will of his Father in heaven, meant for the final sacrifice for their sins. He was the Lamb of God. Even some of the priests were now becoming followers. Had these people gone mad? This was preposterous and needed to be stopped! So Saul started making friends with some of the local Pharisees and began discussing what they could do to stop them.

Finally, a plot was presented to the High Priest to have some men lie and accuse a young man who was growing strong in his new faith. He was brought before the Council to defend himself. His name was Steven and he was a young and bold man, just like Saul, but different for obvious reasons. Steven in his defense gave an incredible Jewish history lesson, but at the end of it he accused the religious leaders of crucifying the Son of God. Then he claimed he saw Jesus in heaven standing at the right hand of God. At that moment, the High Priest and the council members covered their ears and rushed Steven and drove him out of the city to stone him. There they gave their robes to the young man Saul to hold during the stoning. While he was being stoned Steven asked God to forgive the men for what they were doing.

Saul couldn't believe what he just heard Steven say, but he was now glad Steven was dead. In fact it inspired him all the more. He wanted to see all the followers of Jesus punished or killed for turning their backs on Jehovah God by following this dead man, Jesus. Then Saul himself started persecuting these followers. He ravaged the believers, entered their houses dragging out men and women, then put them in prison. This young Saul thought he was doing God a favor by punishing these rebels, until that fateful day.

It was a beautiful day and everything was going according to plan. He had a letter from the religious authorities granting him power to arrest these followers of Jesus in the city of Damascus where he was heading. Saul was making a name for himself that would put the fear of God back into the people. He should have been feeling good about himself, but he wasn't. Something about these new followers of Jesus bothered him. They didn't react the way he thought they would. Some didn't even resist and others blessed him. They were definitely a peculiar people. So much for their leader, he's probably in hell now. Serves him right, who did he think he was?

The next thing Saul knew, he had been knocked off his donkey and was sitting on his backside staring up at a bright light. Then a voice came from the light and said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" Then Saul replied, "Who are you, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."

...to be continued.