There was no one more important than the Apostle Paul in spreading the Christian faith beyond its beginnings in Jerusalem. From Acts 13 to Acts 28, the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys, and his appearances before 2 Roman governors and King Herod Agrippa, dominate the narrative. He was transformed by the Gospel from ‘Saul the Persecutor’ (Acts 7:57-8:1; 9:1-3) to ‘Paul the Jesus Preacher’.

What was the pivotal event in Saul/Paul’s life? The Book of Acts leaves us with no doubt regarding the pivotal point in his life. It was Paul’s encounter with the risen and ascended Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, where he was going to arrest Jesus’ followers on the authority of Jerusalem’s high priest. We read of the life-changing encounter in Acts 9:4-14 and then 2 more times when Paul shares his testimony with a Jerusalem crowd and then Governor Festus & King Herod Agrippa (Acts 22:3-21; 26:1-32).

The conversion of Saul the Persecutor to Paul the Preacher is hard to explain in any other way than what the biblical account reports. Paul was not the kind of man given over to hallucination episodes nor did he have any ulterior motive from changing to a Christian from being a persecutor. As he says in Philippians 3:4-6, he was advancing in Judaism far beyond most people. He was heading toward a career as one of Jerusalem’s chief rabbis. He had a lot to lose, in fact, in becoming a follower of Jesus, and declaring that the crucified and risen carpenter was the long-expected Jewish Messiah.

Furthermore, when Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus made it clear that Paul would suffer greatly in carrying out his God-given mission of testifying to Jesus’ Name before the Gentiles and Jews (Acts 9:15,16). As we read of Paul’s missionary journeys in the Book of Acts and as we read of Paul’s own testimony of his sufferings in places like 2 Corinthians 11:21-33, we realize that he really must have seen the resurrected Jesus in that vision on the road to Damascus. This is the most plausible conclusion to studying the details of Paul’s life after Acts 9.

As we see the Gospel move from Jerusalem to the center of the Roman Empire, Rome, we see God’s providential hand working behind key characters like Paul and using events like Paul’s arrest. It was when Paul was being examined by Governor Festus and being accused by the Jerusalem leaders that Paul was forced to appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:10-12). It was in this way that Jesus was able to fulfill His desire that Paul would give a testimony to the Emperor regarding the Gospel (Acts 23:11). Throughout the Book of Acts, we see the LORD using the tribulations of His people to spread the Gospel throughout the civilized world.

The LORD continues to use the trials and tribulations of His people to extend the Kingdom of God. Even in this pandemic crisis, the Church has been forced to go on-line with its ministries, and the LORD has opened many new and creative ways to engage people with His word.

QOTD: When trials come in your life, do you tend to see the glass half-full or half-empty?