Monday, January 5th

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Monday, January 5

Acts 9:1-9

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

If you like football this time of year is close to heaven. The NFL playoffs are about to begin and the college “bowl season” is in full swing. It seems like you can turn on the TV almost any time of day or night and see college teams playing in “The Chic-fil-a Peach Bowl,” or “The Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl,” or “The Idaho Potato Bowl,” (I’m not making that up!). I don’t know about you but I’m not sure how I could live without “The Idaho Potato Bowl!”

If you don’t happen to like football, well, good luck!

Perhaps the most famous college bowl game of all is the “Rose Bowl;” which takes place every January in Pasadena, California. Some of you will remember that one of the most famous plays in college football history took place in the 1929 Rose Bowl game between the University of California and Georgia Tech.

A young man named Roy Riegels was California’s All American center and captain of the team. His coach called Roy the smartest player he ever coached.

Midway through the second quarter of what was a scoreless game, Riegels picked up a fumble by Georgia Tech and raced toward the end zone.

He ran 69 yards, legs pumping as fast as he could go and the crowd of 100,000 screaming in excitement; but he ran the wrong way! Somehow he had gotten disoriented in the scramble for the ball and ran the length of the field toward his own end zone. His own teammates chased him, screaming at him to turn around, but with the roar of the crowd in his ears he couldn’t hear them. He was tackled at the 1 yard line and the next play resulted in a safety against his team and California went on to lose the Rose Bowl by a score of 8-7.

The play is widely regarded as the biggest blunder in college football history, and for the rest of his life Roy Riegels nickname was “Wrong Way Riegels.”

To his credit Mr. Riegels dealt with his mistake with great grace, eventually turning it into a career as a motivational speaker, encouraging people to learn from and grow through their failures.

The story we look at today is a spiritual wrong way story.

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Saul of Tarsus, who eventually became Paul the Apostle, was born in the city of Tarsus (located in the southeastern region of what is Turkey today) at about the same time Jesus was born. He was born into the highest degree of Jewish ancestry. His parents adhered strictly to the Law of Moses and sought to protect their children from “contamination” from the Gentiles.

Saul was a brilliant student who’s formal religious education was under a rabbi named Gamaliel, perhaps the most respected rabbi in Jerusalem at the time.

By this time Saul had become very influential in the religious leadership of Jerusalem and was a vicious enemy of the new sect of Judaism called “The Way;” or followers of Jesus. He regarded Jesus as a blasphemer and therefore saw his followers as having rejected the Law of Moses and worthy of judgment. He was quite willing to inflict pain and suffering on anyone who dared call Jesus “Lord.” Saul was a very dangerous man.

Luke tells us in chapter 8 that Saul stood by as Stephen was being stoned to death; lending his approval.

Here Luke says Saul was “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord...” and that he was on his way to Damascus, a city located about 135 miles north of Jerusalem (modern day Syria), to hunt for followers of Jesus to arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem.

This part of Saul’s story teaches us that it is possible, spiritually speaking, to be both sincere and sincerely wrong.

Just as Roy Riegels ran as fast as he could only to discover he was running the wrong way, Saul is about to find out that he’s been doing his best to wipe out the followers of Jesus but that he has been wrong in what he thinks about Jesus and wrong in what he thinks about himself.

When it comes to Jesus there are only two ways to run; toward him or away from him. Which way are you running today?


Pastor Brian Coffey