Called as an Apostle

Acts 6:7-15; 7:51-8:3; 9:1-6; Romans 1:1

I. THE BACKGROUND OF PAUL’S CALL (Acts 6:7-15; 9:1–19; 22:6–21; 26:12–18; cf. Jeremiah 1:5 with Galatians 1:15)

A. “set apart” (v.1)

1. The name “Pharisee” may have come from the Hebrew meaning “separate ones.”

2. Paul was once a Pharisee who set himself apart!

3. By grace, Paul was saved and set apart for the Gospel!

B. Paul’s call as an apostle is a reference to his conversion on the Road to Damascus.

C. In the OT God often called men to be prophets. Likewise, it was God – the Second Person of the Trinity – Who called Paul to be an apostle.

1. Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:1–18; cf. Mal 3:22–3)

2. Ezekiel’s commission (Ezekiel Ezek.1:4-3:11)

3. Isaiah’s call and commission (Isaiah 6:1-9a; cf. John 12)

4. Visions of God and His Christ/Messiah/Anointed (Psalm 2; 110; Daniel 7; cf. Psalm 24:7-8; 68:18; Revelation 4-5)

II. BLASPHEMY AND THE TRIAL OF JESUS

A. Under oath, Jesus took the visions of chariots, the visions of Ezekiel and Isaiah, Daniel and the Psalms and said in essence to the high priest and Sanhedrin, “You will see Me/the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and judging you! You are going to see the war chariots of heaven and I am the Davidic King at the front of them.” (cf. Matthew 26:63-65)

B. Blasphemy, in this instance, was Jesus claiming attributes which belong only to God (cf. Matthew 9:2-3; John 5:18; 8:58,59; 10:33; 19:7; 20:28).

“In the Old Testament such a coming is spoken of only where something actually divine descends from the higher regions to earth; in fact, the description is customary for the appearance of God Himself in theophany” (cf. Ex.14:20; Numbers 10:34; Ps.18:10ff.; 97:2ff.; 104:3; Isa.19:1; Nah.1:3; see also 2 Sam.22:12; Job 22:14; Ps.68:34) (Geerhardus Vos, The Self-Disclosure of Jesus, p.242).

III. BLASPHEMY AND PAUL

A. “I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them” (Acts 26:11-12). By denying Jesus is Yahweh, Paul would force Christians to blaspheme (cf. Deuteronomy 21:23).

B. The same high priest, Caiaphas, who had condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy gave Paul authority to arrest Christians for blasphemy (Acts 9:1-2, 9:14, 21; 22:5; 26:10).

C. On the Road to Damascus, Jesus revealed Himself to Paul in such a way that Paul learned that it was he that was blaspheming and not Christians (cf. 1 Timothy 1:12-13).

1. Judaism had condemned Jesus to death on the cross for blasphemy.

“And Trypho said, “Sir, it were good for us if we obeyed our teachers, who laid down a law that we should have no intercourse with any of you, and that we should not have even any communication with you on these questions. For you utter many blasphemies, in that you seek to persuade us that this crucified man was with Moses and Aaron, and spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud; then that he became man, was crucified, and ascended up to heaven, and comes again to earth, and ought to be worshipped”” (Justin Martyr [A.D.110-165], Dialogue with Trypho, 38.1).

2. While the Jewish court condemned Jesus, God in His heavenly court vindicated Jesus by raising Him from the dead and giving to Him the Name that is above every other Name.

3. On the Road to Damascus Paul saw the divine glory of the One who was crucified for blasphemy.

a. Jewish Court: Condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy

b. God’s Court: Justified Jesus for His perfect obedience to the Law

D. Jesus is God is one of the most important building blocks of the doctrine of the Trinity:

“Paul’s point [in Phil.2:9a] is that God the Father has at Christ’s exaltation graced him with “the name-above-every-name Name,” which can hardly be anything other than a reference to the Divine Name in the OT. This is the Name that was revealed to Moses at Sinai as the Name that was to be God’s forever (Exod 3:13-15), the God who is one and whose Name is one (Deut 6:4), the God who chose Jerusalem as the place where his Name should dwell (Deut 12:5) and the place where all Israel was to call upon that Name (12:11)” (Gordon Fee, Pauline Christology, p.397).

Ø The Father is God

Ø Jesus is God

Ø The Holy Spirit is God

Ø There is only one God!

E. Probably the crown jewel of Paul and Judaism was the Shema, “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!” Paul held this law as “sacred.”

1. By grace, Paul learned that Jesus is Yahweh and that Deuteronomy 6:4 is no longer a fully adequate expression of the Oneness of Yahweh

2. Deuteronomy 6:4 has been given greater meaning by Jesus (Deuteronomy 6:4 with John 5:18; 8:58-59; 10:33; 17:3; 19:7; 20:28; Romans 3:30; 10:12-13; 1 Cor.8:6; cf. Matthew 5:17).

“In terms of beliefs and practical consequences for Jews living in the Roman period, especially (but by no means exclusively) in the diaspora, nothing was more central and more indicative of Jewish tradition than monotheism. Jewish insistence on the uniqueness of the God of Israel and the exclusive validity of worship offered to their God made them unique (and in the eyes of some, notorious) among the ethnic groups of the Roman Empire…As a zealot for the religious integrity of Judaism and “the traditions of [his] ancestors” in his pre-Christian religious life (Gal.1:14), Paul was devoted above all to the uniqueness of the God of Israel; and he continues to exhibit a firm monotheistic stance in his Christian letters” (Larry Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity, pp.91,93).

IV. WHAT DO YOU HOLD SACRED IN YOUR LIFE? DOES JESUS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE FOR WHO AND WHAT YOU TREASURE IN LIFE?

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Take what you have learned this morning and make it into a prayer. Pray that Jesus would be the pearl of great price in your life.

On what legal grounds was Jesus found guilty of death by the high priest and Sanhedrin?

On what grounds was Stephen stoned? (cf. Acts 6:11)

Why was Paul persecuting the church before his call and conversion?

How did Paul’s seeing Jesus on the Road to Damascus convince him that he was the blasphemer?

How was Paul’s call on the Road to Damascus similar to the calling of prophets in the Old Testament?

Can you recite Deuteronomy 6:4 (a.k.a. the Shema)?

Now that Jesus has come, is the Shema an adequate expression of the oneness of Yahweh?

As Christians, what should we treasure most in our lives?

Does Jesus make all the difference for who and what you treasure in life?