AN UNPREACHED SERMON (184)
[Picture by Anthony M. from Rome, Italy CC. ]
Our minister is just in the process of completing a Sunday morning series of sermons looking at different aspects in the missionary travels of Paul. Last Sunday, he directed us to the aftermath of Paul’s shipwreck and the welcome he and the crew were given by the people of Malta (Acts 28:1-10). As he read the passage before preaching on it, my attention was arrested by the reference to Paul on the Appian Way (28:15). It set my mind off at a tangent, for this was not the only street mentioned by Luke as he tells Paul’s story in the Acts. There are several streets with a story to tell.
· The Damascus Road (Acts 26:13; 9:3; 22:6)
· Straight Street (Acts 9:11)
· Via Appia (Acts 28:15)
Before looking at each in turn, we remind ourselves that to start with Christian believers were known as “the people of the Way” (Acts 9:2). Obviously, this was because of their insistence as they proclaimed Christ that He was “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). The early Christians knew that by following Jesus they were well on the way to the Father. The nickname Christian came much later (Acts 11:26).
All of us know streets that bring back memories; most true of the streets where we were born and raised of course. And these three Pauline streets are certainly full of memories for Paul. Re-visiting them provides insightful information for us, since we too are people who “belong to the Way” (Acts 9:2).
THE DAMASCUS ROAD (Acts 26:13).
The story of Paul’s conversion is mentioned several times in Acts. Each re-telling adds something to the overall impression of what happened to him and why it was so life changing. Still today, there are two main roads leading into or away from Jerusalem. This is the one running from Jerusalem to Damascus. 150 miles long it took about 6 days to complete the trek.
Paul’s confrontation with the living Christ on this road is often seen as the “classic conversion” story. The sudden impact of meeting Someone he presumed dead changed his thinking and his future. But we mustn’t press the idea of “sudden” conversion too far. Conversions are not always dramatic or even dateable, but they are all definite. The important aspect is “once I was blind but now, I see”. There is ample evidence that God had been working in him, preparing him for this moment. His “conversion” is the climax of several factors he had been fighting against for a long time. Notice the recalcitrant animal image used: “You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox kicking against its owner’s stick” (26:14 GNB).
No matter whether we are people who can tell the day and hour of our conversion, all of us can look back before then to moments when God was trying to get through to us and we kicked back in defiance. For Paul, there were three main factors interplaying.
· His strong Jewish heritage, education, and adherence to the law (Philippians 3:4-6)
· The impact Stephen’s death made on him (Acts 7:58; 8:1)
· The light from heaven which he knew was God, but stunned him when he asked, “Who are You, Lord?” to receive back the answer, “I am Jesus” (Acts 9:5).
All this was preparatory work by the Holy Spirit bringing him to the point of surrender and commitment to Christ. Most Christians have a similar story to tell, though not necessarily as dramatic.
Let’s move into Damascus itself and locate the second street where Paul’s experience was deepened and confirmed.
STRAIGHT STREET (Acts 9:11).
Inside Damascus this is the main street running through the city from east to west. From a Christian perspective the most important location is the address Ananias was directed by the Lord to go and find Paul. Ananias was a believer, one of the Christians Paul was coming to the city to track down. He had official letters and was determined to carry out his remit (Acts 9:2). William Barclay described Ananias as “one of the forgotten heroes of the Christian church”. Imagine knocking on the door of the man who was out to get you! He had every reason to disobey the Lord’s guidance, given Paul’s reputation as a Christian hunter, but he obeyed (Acts 9:13, 14). He must have gone with great misgivings to “the house of Judas on Straight Street” (Acts 9:11). The encounter provides insight into the reality of the Damascus Road experience being a real conversion for Paul.
· Ananias addressed him as “brother Saul”; he was now one of them (9:17)
· He would find Paul praying; clear evidence of genuine conversion (9:11)
· Paul was singled out as “a chosen instrument” (9:15)
· Paul was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (9:17)
· Immediately Paul began to “preach Jesus” (9:20)
People like Ananias are often overlooked in the part they play in seeing others become better established in their first, tentative steps on the Way.
VIA APPIA (28:15).
The Damascus Road and Straight Street are at the other end of the Mediterranean when Paul eventually is within striking distance of Rome. Locally the Appian Way was known as “the street of the dead”, for graves were found either side of it. It had several stopping places along the route, and two are mentioned.
· The Forum Appii was about 43 miles from Rome. It led to the south of Italy. The Roman poet Horace described it as “a place full of sailors and rascal innkeepers”.
· The Tres Tavernae (the three taverns) was 33 miles out from Rome. It was at this 1st century Wetherspoons that Paul met the Christians from Rome for the first time.
The Roman Christians had travelled out from the city to welcome and escort him in. Clearly, his fame, service and sufferings were already known to them, and 3 years before he had written to them a very comprehensive letter. The emotional contact of the meeting is well captured in the phrase “Paul thanked God and was encouraged” (28:15).
SIGNPOSTS FOR US TO FOLLOW ON THE WAY.
· The need for conversion (Damascus Road)
· The need to help new Christians (Straight Street)
· The need to express gratitude and encouragement (Appian Way)
The Damascus Road and Straight Street are forever linked with Paul’s experience. But the Via Appia is also associated with the Apostle Peter. According to an early legend, when the persecutions under Nero began, he fled from Rome down the Appian Way. He was confronted by the risen Christ to whom he asked the question, “Where are you going, Lord?” only to receive the answer, “Back to Rome to die in your place”. Says the legend, Peter was so ashamed that he retraced his steps back to the city where traditionally, along with Paul, he died as a martyr for Christ, asking to be crucified upside down because he wasn’t worthy to die in the same position as the Lord. Only a legend of course, but a powerful reminder that once on the Way there is no turning back or running away from our commitment.
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