Dearest siblings
Please note that up to this point in our reflections, Saul hasn’t made any commitment to Christ. Despite his actions, however, he was not godless. It was more about his interpretation of dedication. Thus, this encounter was pivotal to Saul’s life. Let’s revisit the Saul’s response as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Acts 9:5 AMP
[5] And Saul said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting …’
The Question
Saul’s question has always hit me as strange and probably always will. Remember, Saul has been zealous in his crusade to rid Rome of the new converts to Judaism. On his way to really stamp out the enemy, those wretched converts, a supernatural halt is placed in the journey. It was a bright light, possibly a dazzling light, a ray of light, or even a spotlight. And, it was impactful enough to send him to his knees.
Then there’s sound, but no angel. No visible body. Had he imagined all this? Could his mind have run to Balaam’s divine encounter? In Numbers 22, Balaam the prophet was arrested by God in a somewhat similar way. In that instance, however, the angel Balaam saw was armed with a sword to harm Balaam, who was rescued by his donkey, that spoke to him. It’s similar enough to Saul’s arrest, especially given that God’s intent was the same: rescuing God’s people from human-inflicted disaster.
But it was God Who initiated the conversation with Saul, posing the first question, ‘Why do you persecute Me?’.
Self-Check
Would God have cause to ask that question of us in this season? If yes, how would we respond?
Application
Saul’s question is still strange to me. Even if he recalled that incident with Balaam, I’m not sure why he’d ask God, ‘Who are You, Lord?’. For me, it seems like an oxymoron? There was Saul, asking God about God’s identity, while referring to God as Lord, i.e., master. It doesn’t really make sense. Yet, as I consider the implications now, it may be that he wanted to know which was the ‘Me’ to whom God referred. Because, if YHWH is Lord God all- mighty, God of the Jews, Saul had every reason to wonder why YHWH should speak of being persecuted. That might have made even less sense to a devout Jew.
You see siblings, although technically a contemporary of Y’shua Jesus, Saul would not have claimed Y’shua as the Messiah. With his zeal, he probably did not equate the man who was executed at Calvary with God. He was NOT a follower of Christ, nor did he belong to the people of The Way. From his perspective, he wasn’t even persecuting them … what he did was in full alignment with the Law: he sought to remove the evil from among the true worshippers of YHWH (see Deuteronomy 17:7 for details re death as elimination of, and protection from collective sin).
That being said, Saul may have sought to confirm that the ‘power’ which arrested him was of YHWH. He needed confirmation of the speaker’s identity even though he recognized that the One Who spoke carried far more authority than himself or perhaps the Roman government. His question then could be considered an echo of Moses’ question during Moses first recorded divine encounter. It is a question for which we each ought to know the answer.
Point to Ponder
Saul’s question in response to God’s question set him up further for God’s transforming grace. Perhaps we ought also ask God to self-reveal in a way that defines God for us, and sets us on the path ordained by God.
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May all we seek be found in Christ
