Luke 23:34
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Hebrews 8:10-12
This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,
declares the Lord.
This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,
declares the Lord.
For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Galatians 5:4
You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
John 2:19-21
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Matthew 5:44
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Timothy 1:12-14
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
John 2:19-21 (Jesus speaking of the temple of his body)
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
The church is not a building or institution but the people of God—believers gathered together. Christ is the Head, the ultimate authority who provides direction and life to the church. The church is a body with many parts, united by the Holy Spirit in unity and interconnectedness.
Colossians 1:18
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Ephesians 1:22-23
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
1 Corinthians 12
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. … Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Saul to Paul.
Jesus. A Man Like…
…YOU
YES YOU
When Saul (Paul) is talking to the man in the video, he tells him what he would expect God—the Almighty, the Creator of all—to send as a man to represent Him: a man of beauty and power, not a simple fisherman. Then he quiets his voice, lowers it, and slowly and softly says, “A man like… you.”
And what this means is powerful. I hear it as “you” meaning me personally, but I also know it is for you—meaning everyone—because Jesus is the strength in which everyone can see love and the grace of God. He is for you. I see love stories and all stories from God, and as I have said, I see Him in the sky, on street signs, I hear Him in the wind and the songs. I find love stories from God in everything. Today I find love in YOU.!
It’s an interesting story because Saul turns to Paul. Originally, he’s persecuting Jesus by going after the supporters of the love and good ways of Jesus. And Paul actually speaks to this too. Of course, it’s when he’s given the ability to finally see things as they are—this is like the veil lifting for Paul. OK, so there is a storm in which Jesus appears to him and essentially blinds him. And then later in the story, He gives him sight again. He sends one of the followers, one of His believers, to see him and give him sight, and then he can see things as they are, which is beautiful and true.
The interesting part again: the ones that are fighting him the most are also the ones that were fighting with him and trying to oppress. The stranger part of this is that when he’s actually finally called to speak, it’s because the Hebrews, the rabbis—whatever they are, OK, the oppressors, yeah, the people of the beast coincidentally—they are very opposed to Jesus and the Messiah that was said to come. It’s interesting because I will provide this in scripture too: they were expecting the Messiah, and He fulfilled all the things that the prophets said would be fulfilled—all of them. OK, so Jesus is the complete fulfillment, and His ways are to be loving and kind to everyone. So the external temple is now the internal temple. This is actually spoken of, as I said before: the temple to come down and then be rebuilt in three days is the temple of God internally.
So the rabbis—you know, priests of them, whatever they are, you know, many names—I call them demons. Yeah, well, to make light on things, there they are expressing things that are clearly against God. They are oppressing the Son of God. They are denying Him, and they are speaking down on the words of God. But they want to stick to the old covenant. Well, yeah, but they could not keep the law of God, so God could see their failures over and over again. And in His mercy, He’s forgiven them over and over again. And in this last step, to be able to give them a way to forgiveness, to grace rather than earning it—’cause they couldn’t earn it ’cause they failed—now He’s giving them a way to grace. You know, that’s the way of the new covenant of grace. But then they deny Jesus. OK, He clearly said this is His Son. OK, never mind the big storms and earthquakes and days of darkness and so forth—whatever, you know, I don’t know how many more miracles they needed to see that God is saying something to them, besides saying it anyway.
Saul to Paul—he can see now. And the rabbis want him to go before the people and basically deny the Son of God, Jesus. So he goes before them. And I can see why God wanted me specifically, but you can find reasons for God wanting you to understand this too, ’cause this is big. God wanted me to see this because He’s reminding me of something very beautiful.
Saul to Paul goes before everyone, and he says: Jesus, the false prophet who has His followers—the girl that we killed, she’s dying, and her last words were “I forgive him.” Then her husband also to die, the father also to die—her father also. His last words: “I forgive him.” Hasn’t Saul? OK, so this is the false prophet he’s speaking of—Jesus. OK, the critical parts in which the rabbis want to belittle and break him up. So he’s actually quite smart about what he’s going to do because he’s giving them what they think they want, but he’s smart and he’s going to give it to them differently.
So what happens is that he is to say: the big threat is that Jesus professes that everyone should be loved—love everyone. This is true: to love your enemy. But it’s not just that they love; they bless, they pray for the enemy, they forgive them. And Jesus, who is up on the cross—this Jesus, the body of Jesus, the Word into flesh that is nailed to the cross and suffering, who was tortured, who was whipped, who has nails driven through His body, who is hanging up there being laughed at, ridiculed, reminded that He is the King of the Jews—the very people that had Him hung there to die—and He is heard to say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Because this is a total understanding that the enemy has tricked and fooled everyone, and that they do not know what they do.
But Paul was now to see. He could see—the veil has lifted—and now he can see. God is reminding me of my hope for all the enemy. This is a true love and a true hope that they too will let the veil lift to see. True love is always forgiving. It’s always the grace of God in belief of Jesus. Of course, you have to believe the One that’s going to save your life. And He professes, as I say quite often, to love that’s not with conditions. He’s there with love for the people that just drove nails through their own upon a cross and tortured Him and made fun of Him right through till His death, where He released His spirit to God.
Anyway, there is an important sideline to this message here, and some people will know exactly what I am saying. And it’s because I do love the enemy, and there’s one in particular—it fits with it a little bit more because he too is a false prophet. And I’m not saying exactly in the same way, but I have hopes and dreams for all the enemy. I truly do. Yeah, I don’t do anything based on anything other than the love of God. Yeah, I awaken every day to a good morning and a new day as the gift of God. And the thing is, I could remain the rest of my days in poverty and fighting the enemy with love. Yeah, yeah—they try to keep me in poverty, they try to keep me poor, they tried to destroy my ways of making money, doing the creative beautiful things which I do. And I don’t, and that’s not my battle ’cause I leave this all to the glory of God. This is a battle I’ve already won in God. I could die tomorrow and be reborn to spirit today. Oh, I may mix that up, or maybe I didn’t. Interestingly, I probably did not, yeah, ’cause it is a rebirth. It is a beautiful, beautiful thing to be able to see things as they truly are. And this is a gift from God, and it’s there for everyone—including the false prophet. Jesus, I love you.
From Saul to Paul
From Saul to Paul is the story of a complete transformation where Saul, who was breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples and going to Damascus to arrest followers of the Way, encountered the risen Jesus on the road, was blinded by a heavenly light, and later he repented confessed belief in Jesus and was baptized and became Paul, the apostle chosen to proclaim the name of Jesus to the Gentiles, their kings, and the people of Israel.
The New Testament writings by Paul are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews.
Acts 9
Saul’s Conversion
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
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 Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers 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 and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
Aeneas and Dorcas
As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Acts 22:6-16
As I was on my way and approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me at about noon. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
I answered, “Who are you, Lord?”
He said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.” The men with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one speaking to me.
I asked, “What shall I do, Lord?”
The Lord said to me, “Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told everything that has been appointed for you to do.”
Since I was blind from the bright light, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus. A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He came and stood beside me and said, “Brother Saul, receive your sight!” And at that moment I was able to see him.
Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”
Acts 26:12-18
On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
