[Paul speaking]
“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him. “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ “ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’
The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, ‘Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!’”

God called Paul, no earthly man did. He called him to a challenging mission field, the Gentiles. God loved the Gentiles.

This reminds me of God calling Jonah to the Ninevites: “‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” (‭‭Jonah‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭3‬)

Jonah did not like the Ninevites. Jonah later was swallowed up by a fish, begged God for his life, was spit out on the sand, and indeed did go and preach to the Ninevites, and they did repent. At the time, the Ninevites were an evil people, worshiping false gods, and participating in all manner of immorality.

Paul here tells these Jews two things that they did not like, but that are true: 1) God called this elite scholar of the Pharisees to go and preach to Gentiles, and 2) God told Paul to leave Jerusalem because they would not receive his message.

Think about this double hit to their ego! First, the people they loathe and see themselves as better than, the Gentiles, are targeted for salvation by God. Second, the most prestigious Jews, those living in Jerusalem, God seemed to shut off from hearing and accepting this same truth.

Paul faithfully delivers this message. And the Jews, in a riotous crowd, shout to kill him. So much for the earthly rewards of being a faithful communicator of the gospel.

Today, there are those who faithfully preach the gospel in season and out. They don’t worry about attendance as much as discipleship. They don’t worry about the number of baptisms as much as the number of hearts changed. They faithfully serve and are blessed. Didn’t Noah preach for decades for his people to repent with no converts outside of his family as he was building the ark?

Too many these days are focused on earthly measures of success when God is focused on hearts changed and fully devoted to him. If Paul would have wanted to, he could have watered down this message and appeased those in power. It would have probably meant he might escape persecution, a beating, and imprisonment. But just like Noah, he remained faithful.

Lord, in times when following you is hard and delivering your messages of truth can be physically, emotionally, and relationally painful, give me courage to stand on my identity as your son (daughter) in Christ. May my eyes be laser focused on you and your work and your hand of blessing on me!