The love of Christ: Paul
“The Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
The words Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 are true for every child of God. But it is important to consider the man who wrote them – the apostle Paul. It is hard for us to understand the rage which consumed the heart of a brilliant young man named Saul. There was no pity or sympathy in his heart as he witnessed Stephen being stoned to death. He was not touched by his forgiving spirit towards the mob, which in blind fury took his life. And he wasn’t moved by the peacefulness with which he faced death, knowing the Lord was standing by him. He didn’t know then what he would write many years later, “But the Lord stood by me” (2 Timothy 4:17). No, his mind was not blinded by his rage. His hatred was focussed, as he clinically devised a strategy to destroy the church Christ loved. And in the opening verses of the very next chapter in Acts we see the speed at which his planning took effect, as the Christians were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a personification of Jacob’s description of that tribe, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf”(Genesis 49:27), as he relentlessly persecuted both men and women who confessed the Lord.
Astonishingly, it was this persecution which became the means of ensuring the Gospel of grace prospered and was spread, just as the Lord had promised in Acts 1:8. The fleeing saints “went everywhere preaching the word”. The sorrow Saul caused in Jerusalem resulted in the joy of salvation filling Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:8).
At the beginning of Acts 9, Saul’s hatred of Christians reached its peak. He is described almost like a dragon “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (v. 1). And he sets out to Damascus to purge the city of the Lord’s people. As he neared the city, suddenly a light shone around Saul, and he fell to the ground. The Lord humbled Saul by the light of His Person, before describing His love most remarkably, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” The Lord Jesus in His earthly life described His love for His people. He felt the pain of this world in His heart as He ministered in divine love. He feels in heaven the suffering of those He loves on earth. God spoke from heaven to say to Moses about His people, “I know their sorrows” (Exodus 3:7). Jesus spoke from heaven to say to Saul, “Why are you persecuting me?” Paul asks who the Lord is, and receives the simplest of answers, “I am Jesus.” He blinds Saul with the glory of His Person, and the majesty of His lowly grace.
The Lord removed Saul’s sight so he could begin to understand the damage his life had caused, and the glory of the love of Jesus who redeemed him from its darkness. It was a love he freshly experienced when Ananias, one of the saints Paul had come to imprison and perhaps to murder, restores his sight with the words, “Brother Saul”. It was the hands of the disciples he once hated with such venom that would hold the ropes that let him down the walls of Damascus in a basket to save his life.
Paul was so freely embraced by the love of Christ and the love of His people. He was so frankly forgiven by a love which empowered the rest of His remarkable life. God chose him to show us that Jesus can transform the darkest heart, replace hatred with love, rage with peace, violence with gentleness, and hardness of heart with tender-heartedness. He does this as “the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This love never ceased to burn brightly in the heart of Paul. May it never cease to burn brightly in our hearts.
