SAUL MEETS JESUS
MEMORY VERSE
1 Timothy 1:15, ESV
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
DAY 1
Acts 7:54-8:3, NIrV
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they became very angry. They were so angry they ground their teeth at Stephen. 55 But he was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw God’s glory. He saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand. 56 “Look!” he said. “I see heaven open. The Son of Man is standing at God’s right hand.”
57 When the Sanhedrin heard this, they covered their ears. They yelled at the top of their voices. They all rushed at him. 58 They dragged him out of the city. They began to throw stones at him to kill him. The people who had brought false charges against Stephen took off their coats. They placed them at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While the members of the Sanhedrin were throwing stones at Stephen, he prayed. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” he said. 60 Then he fell on his knees. He cried out, “Lord! Don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he died.
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1 And Saul had agreed with the Sanhedrin that Stephen should die.
On that day the church in Jerusalem began to be attacked and treated badly. All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly Jews buried Stephen. They mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. He went from house to house. He dragged away men and women and put them in prison.
BIBLE STUDY
When we studied these verses before, we focused on Stephen, the first person killed for believing the good news about Jesus. But this time, we’ll focus on a man who was there the day Stephen died. Saul was one of the Pharisees. They were the group of Bible experts who helped arrest and kill Jesus. When Stephen died, Saul stood by and kept watch over the coats of those throwing stones. He gave his thumbs up to Stephen’s death. But Saul wanted to do more than watch coats. So he went on the hunt: not for animals, but for Christians. And every one he found, he locked in jail!
+ What was Saul doing while the crowd killed Stephen with stones? (vs. 7:58)
+ What did Saul do to the church, the people who believed in Jesus? (vs. 8:3)
DAY 2
Acts 9:1-9, NIrV
1 Meanwhile, Saul continued to oppose the Lord’s followers. He said they would be put to death. He went to the high priest. 2 He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 On his journey, Saul approached Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground. He heard a voice speak to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you opposing me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus,” he replied. “I am the one you are opposing. 6 Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there. They weren’t able to speak. They had heard the sound. But they didn’t see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground. He opened his eyes, but he couldn’t see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind. He didn’t eat or drink anything.
BIBLE STUDY
After throwing all the Jerusalem believers he could find in jail, Saul got permission to do the same thing in Damascus, a city well over 100 miles away. But his plans changed when he met an unexpected guest on the way there. Jesus shone before Saul in a light brighter than the noontime sun. He said, “Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” That meant, “When you fight the people of the church, you are really fighting me!” Jesus sent Saul to the city of Damascus to wait for more instructions. However, Saul needed his men to help him walk there because Jesus’ bright light had struck him sightless!
+ What did the men traveling with Saul see and hear? (vs. 7)
+ What do you think Saul thought about for the three days he was blind? (vs. 9)
DAY 3
Acts 9:10-18, NIrV
10 In Damascus there was a believer named Ananias. The Lord called out to him in a vision. “Ananias!” he said.
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. Ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying. 12 In a vision Saul has seen a man come and place his hands on him. That man’s name is Ananias. In the vision, Ananias placed his hands on Saul so he could see again.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I’ve heard many reports about this man. They say he has done great harm to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 Now he has come here to arrest all those who worship you. The chief priests have given him authority to do this.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen this man to work for me. He will announce my name to the Gentiles and to their kings. He will also announce my name to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for me.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. He placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “you saw the Lord Jesus. He appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He has sent me so that you will be able to see again. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Right away something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes. And he could see again. He got up and was baptized.
BIBLE STUDY
I wonder if Ananias thought, “What in the world am I doing?” as he walked to meet with Saul. After all, Saul had come to his town to lock believers like him in jail! But God told him, “I’ve chosen this man Saul as my tool for sharing the good news all over the world.” So Ananias went to Saul, even though it seemed like a terrible idea! The moment Ananias placed his hands on him, Saul’s sight returned and God’s Holy Spirit entered him. Back when Saul left for Damascus, he was filled with hatred for Jesus’ disciples. But after meeting Jesus, he believed and was filled with God’s Holy Spirit!
+ What did God show Ananias in a vision (which is kind of like a dream)? (vs. 11-12)
+ What did Saul do after his sight returned? (vs. 18-19)
DAY 4
Acts 9:19-22, NIRV
19 After eating some food, he got his strength back.
Saul spent several days with the believers in Damascus. 20 Right away he began to preach in the synagogues. He taught that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Isn’t he the man who caused great trouble in Jerusalem? Didn’t he make trouble for those who worship Jesus? Hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul grew more and more powerful. The Jews living in Damascus couldn’t believe what was happening. Saul proved to them that Jesus is the Messiah.
BIBLE STUDY
Back in Jerusalem, Saul went from house to house, looking for Christians to throw in prison. But after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, he went from house to house, looking for Christians to teach him more about the good news of Jesus! If you had told Saul before his journey that this would happen, he probably would have said, “Impossible!” But with God’s Holy Spirit, nothing is impossible. Saul also went to the synagogues, the buildings where the Jewish people met to worship God. There he did what he had thrown people in jail for doing: he shared the good news of Jesus!
+ What did the people think when they heard Saul preaching about Jesus? (vs. 21)
+ What did Saul try to prove to the Jewish people? (vs. 22)
DAY 5
Acts 9:23-27, NIRV
23 After many days, the Jews had a meeting. They planned to kill Saul. 24 But he learned about their plan. Day and night they watched the city gates closely in order to kill him. 25 But his followers helped him escape by night. They lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26 When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the believers. But they were all afraid of him. They didn’t believe he was really one of Jesus’ followers. 27 But Barnabas took him to the apostles. He told them about Saul’s journey. He said that Saul had seen the Lord. He told how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Barnabas also said that Saul had preached without fear in Jesus’ name in Damascus.
BIBLE STUDY
Though Saul was no longer on the hunt for Christians, it still wasn’t safe to go around sharing the good news. The city of Damascus was still filled with others who wanted Jesus’ disciples thrown in jail or even killed! These Jewish leaders made a secret plan to kill the man who used to kill Christians. They kept watch at all the city gates so he couldn’t escape. But God kept Saul safe. Saul somehow discovered their evil plans. Instead of going through the city gates, the believers came up with a crazy plan: put Saul in a basket, tie a rope to it, and lower him through a window in the city wall!
+ Who helped Saul escape? (vs. 25)
+ How did Barnabas help the other believers not be afraid of Saul? (vs. 27)
DAY 6
1 Timothy 1:12-16, NIRV
12 I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him. 13 I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer. 14 Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. 16 But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life.
BIBLE STUDY
Imagine if there was a competition to find the worst sinner of all-time. Who would you vote for? Which person in history would win the award for being the baddest of the bad, the meanest of the mean, and the nastiest of the nasty? And what does any of this have to do with the Bible? Just wait a moment and you’ll find out!
The verses we read today are actually from a letter that a man named Paul wrote to a young disciple named Timothy. If you don’t know who Paul is, you might recognize him by his other name: Saul! Saul went by two different names. “Saul” was his Jewish name and “Paul” was his Roman name.
So what does Saul/Paul have to do with the Worst Sinner of All-Time contest? Well, it’s because of what he wrote in verse 15. To put it in simple words, he said: “Here’s a saying you can totally trust, Timothy. When Jesus came to earth, he came to save sinners. And guess who is the number one worst sinner? Me!”
If you asked Saul who should win the title of Worst Sinner of All-Time, he would have voted for himself! Why? Because he had spent so much time and energy trying to destroy the people of the church! He had given his thumbs up to Stephen’s death. He went from house to house, throwing believers in jail. And he had traveled over a hundred miles to Damascus so he could deal even more destruction to the church!
But Jesus didn’t appear to Saul on the road to Damascus in order to punish him for persecuting the believers. Instead, Jesus showed himself so Saul would know, without a doubt, that the good news was true. And what was this good news? That Jesus had died to pay for our sins and had risen from the dead!
Jesus didn’t come to earth to save good guys – he came to save sinners. He came to rescue the bad guys. And Saul thought of himself as the baddest of the bad, the meanest of the mean, and the nastiest of the nasty! Saul wanted Timothy to know, “If Jesus can save a sinner like me, that means he can save anyone!”
Have you ever done something wrong and thought, “How could God ever forgive me for doing that?” If you have, remember Saul’s words to Timothy. Jesus came to our world to save even the very worst of sinners. So if you’re a sinner, then guess what? That means Jesus came to save people just like you!
+ Why did Saul think he was the worst sinner of all?
+ What saying did Saul tell Timothy he could totally trust? (vs. 15)
© 2023 Andrew Doane. All rights reserved.