”...the [one] formerly being a blasphemer and a persecutor and an aggressor, but rather I was mercied, because being ignorant I did [it] in unbelief.”
-The way we were. The way he was, this Paul-formerly-known-as-Saul. He even had a different name. He was a completely different person. He was, in fact, a blasphemer. Blasphemy is speaking evil against something or someone, usually against one deserving of respect. Interesting that this word hardly even appears in the Old Testament, as there was/is no consistent Hebrew equivalent (cf Isaiah 52.5, where the actual word means “to despise”, and Leviticus 24.16, where the Hebrew word there means “to curse”). Essentially tho, what we’re talking about is a direct violation of the 3rd Commandment (Exodus 20.7), a failure to revere and honor and set apart-and-above-all-else the Lord and His Name, which of course represents all that He is, the great I AM, eternally faithful, immutable, omnipresent. And so what we do see develop is this understanding that despising, cursing, reviling, and otherwise spurning the Lord is not to be tolerated, certainly not among God’s chosen people. In that great land of monotheism, a culture carved out to be devoted to the one true God, where a good Jew came to consider it wrong to even utter God’s special name (Yahweh), all and whatever we would lump together under the category of blasphemy became a capital offense, worthy of death (Leviticus 24.10-16, Numbers 16.30, 1Kings 21.13, cf Mark 14.64, John 10.33, Acts 6.11).
-Of course, from the vantage point of the Cross and the empty tomb, the real blasphemy then becomes denying the bonafide messianic claims of Jesus. This then was what Paul-then-Saul was actually doing. So zealous was he of the Law and traditions handed down to him by his ancestral leaders (Acts 22.3, Galatians 1.14) that (initially at least) he completely missed the fulfillment of that Law, until it (for all intensive purposes) hit him in the face on that road to Damascus. The words he had been speaking against Jesus and the early church, the threats, the curses, and the accompanying persecution, were actually directed against the God he thought he was trying to defend. His threasts and cursing and deadly intent were in fact deserving of death.
-Now, in truth, the Lord can defend Himself - words technically do not diminish Him in any respect. He is infinite almighty God, whether the nations and my neigbors and I myself acknowledge that or not. But my words reflect my heart, a heart which was made to worship Him and Him alone, and my words also influence those around me. Our words collectively also can contribute to a culture of either honor and respect or one of disrespect. God made us to worship Him, to revere Him and keep Him first in our hearts. Anything less than this is a violation of the created order. And for his part, Paul was in violation of that order.
-Paul adds that he violently persecuted the church (cf Acts 8.3, Galatians 1.13 - was this perhaps that about which he felt most guilty, his greatest sin? cf 1Corinthians 15.9). It (he) says he ravaged the church, God’s people, the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2.8). Yet in spite of that Saul/Paul still received mercy. Mercy. Forgiveness, compassion. Relenting from meting out justly-deserved punishment. God in His Word tells us repeatedly that He is mercy-full. That’s right, He is full of it... :) In an oh-so-good way. (Psalm 86.15, 145.8; Luke 6.36; Hebrews 8.12; James 5.11) It is not mere happenstance that the first formal place where the Lord deigned to regularly meet with and speak to His (chosen-yet-stiff-necked-and-disobedient) people was called the “Mercy Seat”. ‘Cuz for sure, that’s what we all need. In truth, no one could dare approach His thrice-holy-majesty apart from mercy, but no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy. No, not anyone. His throne is indeed a throne of mercy, of compassions and undeserved favor, and His mercies are very great - each new day is full of them (Lamentations 3.22-23). He is truly abounding in lovingkindness and forgiveness for all who call on Him. Nothing I did yesterday or will do today is beyond the reach of His overflowing compassionate mercy. There is nothing so heinous that God cannot forgive. Do you beliveve this?
-Paul mentions that he was shown mercy because 1) he was an unbeliever, and 2) he was acting in ignorance, which fueled his unbelief. Worse by far for a believer to act or speak in this manner. We wouldn’t consider Paul-then-Saul to be a total unbeliever. He believed something. In fact, everybody believes/trusts in something. It’s just that Saul didn’t believe/trust in Jesus as Messiah. He disbelieved that, in fact, with every ounce and fiber of his being. And of course, he was ignorant. Ignorance is not normally a get-out-of-jail-free card (cf Luke 12.48), but in this instance the one persecuting Jesus (God) and His people - a crime worthy of death in that culture - was not put to death for that crime but was instead repurposed to actually spread LIFE, the life that is found in the truth and teaching about Jesus. Wondrous irony - this is what the God of infinite mercy does with vessels otherwise prepared for destruction. He is so full of it!. And in a grand twist of fate, Paul actually WOULD one day be put to death for the sake of this One he once opposed. Amazing grace.
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