Acts 9:1-19
Mat 19, 2002
The Hunted Hunter
Richard Connell, in his famous story The Most Dangerous Game, details the exploits of his hero, Sanger Rainsford, one of the world's most celebrated big-game hunters. In the story, Rainsford falls from his speeding yacht at night while en route to a hunting expedition along the coast of South America. He manages to swim to the beach of a foreboding island. Rainsford knows the island is inhabited because he has heard shots during the night. To his complete amazement he finds a palatial chateau inhabited by a Russian nobleman, General Zaroff. The general recognizes his visitor's name and welcomes him warmly because he too is a big-game hunter. Rainsford is pleased with his good fortune - until the formal dinner that evening when during the conversation the general announces that he is hunting a "new animal" on the island.
When Rainsford inquires as to the identity of this "new animal," the general answers, "It supplies me with the most exciting hunting, in the world. No other hunting compares with it for an instant. Every day I hunt, and I never grow bored now, for I have a quarry with which I can match my wits.”
When Rainsford's face shows great bewilderment, the general explains, “I wanted the ideal animal to hunt."
So I said: 'What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?'
And the answer was, of course, "It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason."
"But no animal can reason," Rainsford protests.
“My dear fellow," the general responds, 'there is one that can."
"But you cannot mean – “ Rainsford exclaims.
"And why not?"
"I cannot believe you are serious, General Zaroff. This is a grisly joke."
“Why should I not be serious? I am speaking of hunting.”
To his growing horror, Sanger Rainsford, the great hunter, learns that he is Zaroff's intended game. The hunter has become the hunted.
On a much greater and more merciful plain do we see the hunter hunted in Acts 9. There too the pursuer became the prey. Saul, a fierce persecutor of the church of Christ, discovered first to his horror and then to his eternal delight that he, the hunter, was also the hunted. For all of us who are Christ's, the story in Acts 9 is a picture of how we came to be his. As we study Saul’s experience, we will learn how the divine hunt is conducted. We will see God's providence in calling those who are his. READ Acts 9:1-19
As the transformation of Saul of Tarsus into Paul the apostle is a supreme illustration of conversion, of God’s grace reconstructing a life for His glory, we must be careful how we apply this passage. For some the Damascus road experience is the standard for all true conversions, so that some imagine that they too need to have a dramatic testimony on a specific day to be sure of their salvation. Picking this one example flies in the face of other biblical stories, of those less dramatic stories such as Timothy raised in a Christian home or John the Baptist, regenerate in the womb.
What’s unique about Saul’s conversion? Certainly seeing the brilliance of the risen Christ, hearing the personal call, the blindness and the healing are unique. But they do illustrate important truths for us. What does apply is the powerful working of God’s sovereign grace in turning a life around, the necessity of personal faith as well as the incorporation into the body of Christ.
Hunting the Hunter (vv. 1-2)
The story begins with a description of the hunter and his prey. This hunter is described as an animal.
His bloodlust was first mentioned in 8:3 as he ravaged the church, a term reserved for the furor of a carnivore ripping the flesh off its victim. Here (9:1) the term (empne?) is used of warhorses who snorted the smell of battle. Literally the term means to breath in, so that the air Saul breathed was that of threats and murder. Later in Acts Paul gives further details to his fury (read 26:9-11)
It was not good enough to rid Jerusalem of new believers, but he went to foreign cities to wipe them out. Armed with extradition orders from the Jewish Supreme Court, Saul became a self appointed inquisitor. Like Captain Ahab, absorbed with finding and killing the white whale, Saul dedicated his every waking moment to find and eliminate all of the followers of the Way.
Saul’s prey are described first as the “disciples of the Lord” but then in v2 as those who belonged to “the Way.”
This term for early believers reflects what Christ said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life." But since the early persecutions caused many to flee, there appears to be sufficient numbers in Damascus to warrant traveling to that city.
Damascus was a thriving commercial center about 160 miles northeast of Jerusalem. There was a very large Jewish population, so much so, that thirty years later when the Jewish-Roman wars erupted in AD 66, Josephus reports that over 10,000 Jews were killed in the hostilities. Saul’s intensity to hunt Christians is underscored by the fact he would travel a week each direction to root out this perceived heresy.
As we consider Saul’s state of mind, the furious severity with which he relentlessly pursues Christians, it is easy to psychologize Saul’s actions, to imagine we can get into his mind to understand what is happening. Some have become even Jungian, describing the very fanaticism of Saul’s persecution as betraying his growing inner uneasiness, “because fanaticism is only found in individuals who are compensating secret doubts.” (Stott Acts 172 & Contributions to Analytical Psychology, C.G. Jung, 1928, 257)
But it is unwise to imagine that where we see intensity we must assume their is deficiency. But we do have one insight given us in Acts 26, where Paul reveals something else Jesus said “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (v14)
A goad was a stick with which one poked an ox to get him moving. Sometimes an ox would kick up its heels at the stick - a futile endeavor. Saul, the wild beast in search of prey, was treated like the fallen brute he was. But God was at work already.
We don’t know what those goads were, but we can be certain that God directed Saul down that road toward Damascus and forced him to bend his knee and open his heart to Christ.
Stephen’s prayer for his murderers may well have been replayed and stifled by Saul. The tears and pleas of those who refused to deny their Lord, who had children ripped from their arms, who were then killed. It may have been their deft handling of God’s Word, the testimony of Scripture to the person of Christ. The goads may have been what propelled him to Damascus, his own self righteousness, his personal holiness that, when cornered by the risen Christ, forced him to at last see the emptiness of his own life.
The story of Saul's spiritual transformation ought to remind us never to write anyone off as being, beyond the love of Christ. We may do so with relatives whom we know have heard the Word for years without response, or a sinner who has gone to a crass level of depravity, or someone who has gone into a cult or is propagating false doctrine. But Scripture is clear -- God can reach anyone!
The workings of the divine hunter are subtle and profound. As Saul set out on his bloodthirsty hunt, he, unknowingly, was the hunted. The Hound of Heaven was tracking him down just as surely as the persecutor was tracking down God's saints. God was at work.
Captured by Christ vv3-9
Saul's destiny was about to change as he approached Damascus, a beautiful white city on a green plain. There was a blinding flash, and suddenly Saul was quivering and lying in the dirt. "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" But Saul did not know who was speaking to him. He did not know what was going on. "Who are you, Lord?" (Lord was a term of respect - "Who are you, sir?") The voice's response hit home like a bolt of lightning: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (v. 5). Jesus' words triggered an ongoing explosion within the young persecutor. At least two things burst on Saul's conscience.
- Jesus Christ was alive! Verse 17 as well as I Corinthians 15:8, indicates that Saul actually saw Christ. Later he would present this vision as part of his apostolic credentials. Everything in Saul's life had opposed this, but now he knew Christ was alive, and if Christ were alive ...
- Second, Saul now knew he was not merely attacking those belonging to the Way - he was persecuting Christ. He now understood the spiritual unity between the Savior and the saints. This truth was at once terrible and wonderful, but Saul was at first overwhelmed by its terror.
While Saul lay prostrate, the voice instructed him, "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do" (v. 6).
The great hunter who was going to wreak havoc on the Damascus church entered Damascus led by the hand - blind, weak, impotent. Saul was frightened and in despair. His physical blindness was but a living parable for his spiritual sightlessness. He had seen Christ, and as he saw Christ he also saw himself for the first time. His life was utterly wrong. He was a criminal before God. The hunter had been hunted down. There was no escape.
The spiritual significance of a Jewish rabbi’s being physically blinded by the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is not lost on Saul or Luke.
Luke, throughout his gospel and in Acts, quotes from Isaiah, using this metaphor for what God does in the lives of his people. At the birth of Christ, the angelic host shown the brilliance of God’s glory and Simeon quoted from Isaiah 42 when he said of the Messiah that he would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
This blindness was an affront to a rabbi like Saul, for the religious leaders often used noted that their God-given role among the Gentiles was a “guide to the blind.”
It must not escape our notice that Christ is the initiator. He comes without seeking permission. We can never be sure in whom this grace is working, but we know that God always makes the first move. We search for him only in response to his prior advance. Jesus orchestrated the Damascus confrontation, and he directs our encounters as well. What is more, when Christ breaks into our lives, our self will, our pride our independence is broken. But that brokenness before God is a work of his grace.
Francis Thomson's early life was one dead end after another. He studied for the ministry but did not complete the course. He studied medicine but failed. He joined the military but was released after one day. He finally became an opium addict in London. But he could not get away from God's persistent love for him. In the midst of his despondency Thomson was befriended by one who saw his poetic gifts, and eventually Thomson was able to share his experience in verse. His famous poem, The Hound of Heaven, has been called one of the finest odes in the English language.
I fled Him down the nights and down the days
I fled Him down the arches of the years
I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears
I hid from him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot precipitated
Adown titanic glooms of chasm'd fears
From those strong feet that followed, followed after
But with unhurrying chase
And unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat, and a Voice beat,
More instant than the feet:
"All things betray thee who betrayest me."
Christ is always the Hunter and the initiator. He brings us to our knees, acknowledging how desperately we need him. The truth of this passage underscores what Jesus says in John 15:16
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide...”
Have you been brought to the end of your resources? Have you been completely helpless unless the Lord intervened? Our Damascus Roads are generally less dramatic than Saul's, but they are meant to have the same effect - to break our compulsive independence and arrogance and to bring us to Christ for salvation. Our Damascus Roads are meant to convey our emptiness and the greatness of Christ.
As we are broken, we let go of the lie of our self-salvation, that we rely on ourselves to save ourselves, whether it be by our own effort or even our personal choice. God makes the first move.
Furthermore, the Hunter initiated because he chooses us! The Lord told Ananias, "This man [Saul] is my chosen instrument to carry my name" (9:15), and Saul would gladly proclaim Christ for the rest of his life. He marveled at the splendors of God's grace.
Paul would write of this tremendous love of God later in life. In Eph 1:4-5 Paul rehearses the Father’s tremendous love in his sovereign choice of us, in the Son’s unsurprising love in dying in our place. In 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Paul describes the transforming power of the gospel in terms of a new creation, of light shining in darkness within us.
C.S. Lewis, in his book, Surprised by Joy talks about God’s relentless pursuit of him, he likens him to the great Angler playing his fish, to a cat chasing a mouse, to a pack of hounds closing in on a fox, and finally to the divine chess player maneuvering him into the most disadvantageous positions until in the end he concedes checkmate. He then writes and I quote:
I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Lord which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words ... “compel them to come in” have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and his compulsion is our liberation.
That final line is tremendous: "The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and his compulsion is our liberation." The inner workings of God's preparatory grace touches our lives in ways we are sometimes not even aware of - appropriate words spoken here and there, pressures or lack of pressures, joys, sorrows - subtle workings orchestrated by the divine Hunter. Finally our vistas are opened, and we see! He brings us to the end of ourselves, and we have the joy of being the Hunter's prize. The Hound of Heaven has captured us and we are His!
I read this week of the ancient art of the fowler, one who trains eagles for hunting. The capture, taming, training, and keeping of eagles is highly ritualized. Most of the birds, which have a life span of about 40 years, are caught when very young—either snatched from a nest or trapped in a baited net. Once captured, the eagle is hooded and placed in a cage with a perch that sways constantly, so it cannot rest or sleep. For two or three days it is also deprived of food. During this time, the trainer talks, sings and chants to it for hours on end. Finally he begins to feed and stroke it. Slowly the weakened creature comes to rely on its master. When the trainer decides that their relationship has become strong enough, the training begins.
God does often bring us to the end of ourselves, but not to destroy us, to crush us, but to make our lives more joyous and exciting than we can ever imagine. God’s unspeakable mercy is seen in that he does not strike us dead, but instead, makes us his children. While we run from him, he pursues us, hunts us, captures us.
When we read about Sanger Rainsford's discovery that he, the celebrated hunter, was now the hunted, our skin crawls at the horror of such a discovery. Not so with the divine Hunter, for his is a joyous, life-giving hunt. On our own we would never have found peace or purpose. But he captures us to set us free, to serve him for all eternity.
One of the most famous examples of a hunter hunted by God and set free to serve him comes from the life of John Newton. Born in 1725. Newton's mother died when he was six years old, and at 11 he began life as a seaman. His early years were one continuous round of rebellion and sin.
He worked on the West African coast collecting slaves for sale to visiting traders. Eventually Newton became a captain of his own slave ship. The capturing, selling and transporting of blacks to the plantations in the West Indies and America was a cruel and vicious way of life.
On March 10, 1748, he was returning to England from Africa on a particularly stormy voyage. Everyone thought the ship would be lost, and Newton began reading the classic Christian devotional by Thomas a Kempis, "Imitation of Christ." The message of the book and the frightening experience at sea were used by the Holy Spirit to bring Newton to accept Christ as his Savior.
For the next several years he continued working as a slave ship captain. He tried to justify his work by seeking to improve conditions as much as possible. He even held worship services for the hardened crew each Sunday. Eventually, however, he felt convicted of the inhuman aspects of this work and led a strong crusade against slavery. Newton became a minister and preached powerfully about Jesus. He also wrote one of the most-loved hymns of all time, "Amazing Grace." At the age of 82 just before he died he proclaimed,
"My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior!"
On his tombstone he had this statement engraved:
"John Newton, once an infidel and Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy." (from sermon by D.Holwick, Seeing the Light)
God’s grace in his relentless pursuit of us is the reason for our joy. Our salvation is never an end in itself. As we will see in the weeks to come, God’s capture of Saul was so that he would glorify his redeemer. So too with us. We can have this great hope, therefore, that God desires to use our lives to extend his kingdom. What is more, God has those that are his we may never expect to see come to faith, but the power of the gospel will capture them, in God’s own time.
(This sermon makes great use of Kent Hughes’ sermon, Saul: The Hunted Hunter found in Acts: The Church Afire, Crossway Books, 1996.)
