Jesus Loves You

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

JESUS LOVES YOU

Acts 9:26-31

26 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. 27 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. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 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.

NIV

Was it any wonder the disciples were afraid of Saul, for he had the reputation of hating the people of the way, opposing Jesus as the Messiah? Now he was a believer in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. However, Barnabas took him to the apostles and testified to Saul's conversion experience, and Saul became a man who spoke boldly in the name of the Lord throughout Jerusalem. It seemed his message was opposed only by the Grecian Jews, those who lived in Greece, spoke Greek, and were in Jerusalem for the festival. We do wonder whether they lived abroad in Greece and, being exposed to Greek mythology, had their views of the Messiah a bit skewed, or whether they were not in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus' triumphal entry, amid the hallelujahs of the people. If they did not see the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, it would have been difficult to believe, but to want to kill Saul because he debated them, opposing their way of thinking, seems contrary to the message of God. However, we do learn a valuable lesson from this narrative. We should not be afraid of those who can kill our bodies. Jesus was clear that what is whispered in our ears, we should proclaim from the roofs. That we should not be afraid of those who kill our bodies but cannot kill our souls. Rather, we should be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. This was the first time Saul's life was in danger because of his outspoken message about Jesus, but not the only or last time men wanted to kill him, and therefore his message. How outspoken are we? Do we even speak up when we are out and about in the world? Do we just live in our own little cocoon of safety within the community of faith? Do we even talk at all about Jesus other than at church, or do we mention Jesus, or talk about spiritual matters with each other, or do we chat more about the weather, sports, or perhaps our aches and pains, or some other mundane subject? We cannot imagine the early church being distracted from talking about Jesus to anyone who would listen, even to those who might oppose our message. Let us not be silenced by fear or embarrassment, but let us love to tell the story of Jesus and his love. It could be as simple as saying, "Jesus loves you."