Acts 9:26-31 (NIV)
When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
In his enthusiasm to be part of what God was doing in Jerusalem, when Saul got there, he just assumed that a quick “Hey, I’m one of you now!” would open the door to immediate fellowship. But he was wrong. Saul had caused or contributed to a lot of damage in the Church in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including the imprisonment and death of many. So, all he found were closed doors, and people who were completely unwilling to trust him.
The one exception was Joseph of Cyprus, also known as Barnabas, the “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36-37). He heard the stories of Saul’s conversion and had the nerve to sit down with him to find out what was really going on. Once he was convinced that Saul’s salvation was valid, he talked to the apostles and acted as a bridge-builder into their fellowship. Once they met Saul and heard his story for themselves, they saw that this enthusiastic young man really was sold out for Jesus, and they allowed him to stay with them while he was in the city.
There was trouble on the horizon, however. For some time, the apostles and some of their family members were the only Christians remaining in Jerusalem due to the persecution (Acts 8:1). Since that time, they had been slowly and quietly rebuilding the Jerusalem Church, working quietly so as not to attract a lot of unwanted attention.
But Saul was on fire. Before long, he was debating heatedly with the Greek-speaking Jews. His arguments were amazing, Spirit-filled, and completely unassailable. But instead of converting his opponents, he only angered them to the point that they were plotting his assassination.
The apostles didn’t want to see a resurgence of persecution, so they sent Saul out of the country, back to his hometown of Tarsus until things cooled down. And their strategy was effective. They were able to continue their quiet rebuilding efforts, and a time of relative peace for the Church spread throughout the region.
Father, this teaches me that, as Your people, we must be aware of the times and of the atmosphere where we are living and working, and do the work of the kingdom faithfully, but in ways that will be effective under the current circumstances. There is a time for passionate presentations of the gospel and strong discussions of theology, and a time for a more subtle approach and a quieter methodology. Lord, help me to always listen for the guidance of Your Spirit, and to be a shrewd as a snake and as innocent as a dove (Matthew 10:16) in the way I conduct myself as Your man in the world, so that I can help grow Your kingdom without engendering unnecessary conflict.
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