In reading the book of Acts in the Bible we learn about a badly misguided dude named Saul who turns his life around and later goes by the name of Paul. When did this name change take place?
If you say his name changed when he stopped killing Jesus’ followers to become one himself, I’d agree with you—and we’d be wrong.
Saul started following Jesus in Acts chapter 9, but continues to go by that name until Acts chapter 13. What happened there?
It’s subtle, but Acts 13:9 says, “Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit…”
I can’t say for sure, but this seems to be the first indication of God’s spirit filling him. S
ure, he was a follower of Jesus before that and he was doing things for God before that, but when the Holy Spirit filled him, it’s as if God gave him a new name, Paul.
The change is abrupt. In Acts 7:58 through Acts 13:9 he is Saul. The Holy Spirit shows up in Acts 13:9 and for the rest of the book of Acts (and the rest of the Bible) he goes by Paul.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
When God needed to turn Saul’s life around, he used a supernatural light, an unseen voice, and temporary blindness to get Saul’s attention (Acts 9:3-9).
Some time later, Saul (Paul), under the power of the Holy Spirit, did the same thing to a guy named Elymas. Elymas was supernaturally blinded for a time so God could get his attention (Acts 13:9-11).
These two accounts have amazing similarities.
Before both of these occurred, Jesus healed a blind man. When questioned about it, the man said, “I once was blind, but now I see.”
What he said literally about Jesus healing him, we can say figuratively about Jesus saving us.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Gamaliel Offers Wise Advice for Whenever Religious Factions Stand in Opposition
Paul’s in jail, imprisoned for doing what God told him to do. This isn’t Paul’s first incarceration for his faith in Jesus, and it won’t be his last.
When his trial finally begins, his detractors levy four charges against him, which they use to justify their actions.
They say, “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him, (Acts 24:5-7).
Let’s break this down:
A Troublemaker
This depends on perspective. To Paul, he’s simply involved in a new movement of God and is excited to share the news with his people. To his accusers, Paul’s messing with their traditions and upsetting the status quo.
To them, he spells trouble.
Stirs Up Riots
Though riots do seem to occur where Paul goes, he doesn’t incite them. The people who take offense at what Paul says stir themselves up. The riots are their fault, not Paul’s.
A Ringleader of the Nazarene Sect
They accuse Paul of heading up a subset of Judaism (a sect, the Nazarene sect), which could simply imply that Paul is a leader among those who follow Jesus, the Nazarene.
If so, Paul would likely say “guilty as charged,” but the reality is that Paul’s detractors actually oppose Jesus. It’s just that Paul is a present target. Jesus isn’t.
Tried to Desecrate the Temple
Regarding the event in question, Paul was doing everything by the book, literally. But people jumped to a wrong conclusion and made false accusations.
Paul’s detractors accuse him using twisted facts, half-truths, and lies. People fear what they don’t understand, often going to extreme means to oppose it. So it is when God does a new thing inside his church.
God’s followers too often find themselves in opposition to each other.
Instead of fighting one another, they should heed the advice of Gamaliel: “If it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:39, NIV).
And no one who loves God wants to end up fighting against him.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Consider some of the best-known
biblical murderers.
Cain Kills Abel
We’re only four chapters into the Bible when the first murder occurs. Cain kills his brother Abel. The account in the Bible suggests that Cain premeditated his actions. First degree murder.
But let’s not view Cain as all evil. Like his brother, Cain worships God and brings an offering to him. (We do this too.)
Yet God finds Cain’s offering lacking. As a result, Cain is angry with God. (Are we ever angry at God?) Out of jealousy (another common human trait), Cain kills his brother (Genesis 4).
Although we haven’t likely killed someone, we have more in common with
Cain then we want to admit.
Moses Kills an Egyptian
Another well-known and esteemed person in the Bible is Moses. Yet Moses is another one of our biblical murderers.
Moses witnesses an Egyptian overlord beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses his own kind. Seeing no one else watching, Moses kills the Egyptian and hides the evidence (Exodus 2:11-14).
Again, we see another instance of premeditated murder. Though we might sympathize with Moses’s actions or even say it was a just killing, the reality is that it’s still murder.
But despite Moses killing another man, God still uses Moses to free his people. God later has an intimate relationship with Moses, one that we’d all like to have.
David Kills Uriah
The third of biblical murderers is David. David spends many years of his life leading an army and slaying his enemies. But we don’t call him a murderer for his military exploits.
We call him a murderer for planning and ordering the death of his lover’s husband.
Not only is David a murderer, he’s also an adulterer (2 Samuel 11).
Yet the Bible later calls David a man after God’s own heart. Yes, David
suffers for what he did, but God restores David into a right relationship with him.
Paul Kills Stephen
Paul, a key figure in the early church and the New Testament’s most prolific writer, is another of our biblical murderers.
Paul, a righteous and devout Jew, a godly person, is zealous in his opposition to the followers of Jesus. Paul does this for God and in the name of religion.
History is full of people who kill for their faith, but that doesn’t justify their actions.
Though Paul kills many for his religion, the Bible only gives us details of one: Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:1). Yet despite Paul’s violent opposition to team Jesus, Jesus later calls Paul to follow him and grows him into a most effective missionary.
Judas Kills Jesus
Let’s not forget that Judas is another on the list of biblical murderers. Though he doesn’t physically kill another person as did Cain and Moses, and he doesn’t orchestrate a death like David, Judas is the catalyst for another death, Jesus.
Jesus—the most significant death to occur in the Bible, for humanity, and throughout all time. Though Jesus’s death is necessary to save us, that doesn’t forgive Judas for his part in making it happen.
Like Cain, we must realize that Judas isn’t all bad. He is a follower of Jesus, after all, a disciple. Yet he is also greedy, and in his greed he sells out Jesus (Luke 22:47-53).
Though Judas might have received forgiveness from Jesus—just as Jesus
forgave and restored Peter into a right relationship with him—we’ll never know.
Judas commits suicide out of remorse over what he did to Jesus.
Who Do We Kill?
Jesus teaches us what the Old Testament commands: killing is wrong.
Yet he goes beyond the physical act of murder to tell us that even being angry at another person is a sin. Implicitly it’s murder. As a result of anger, we are no less innocent than someone who murders another.
But there’s more. Much more. Though we blame Judas for Jesus’s death, we are part of it too. Because of our sins, Jesus had to die to reconcile us with Father God.
Our sins made it necessary for Jesus to die. As painful as it is to say, we helped murder Jesus.
Biblical Murderers
All five of these biblical murderers had a relationship with God. And at the time of the murders they committed, orchestrated, or approved, they weren’t in a good place with God on their faith journey. But it’s what happens afterward that counts.
Are we willing to put the past behind us—regardless of how horrific or benign it might be—and move forward to serve Jesus and advance the kingdom of God?
We can do much like Moses, David, and Paul. Or we can falter like Cain and Judas. The choice is ours.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The letter to Philemon ends with a list of supporting players who send their greetings and implicitly endorse Paul’s missive of reconciliation.
First up is Epaphras, who by being singled out, stands alone in noteworthy acclaim. Simply and succinctly, Paul notes that Epaphras is “my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.”
The Bible only contains two other references to Epaphras, both occurring in Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. First, in the opening lines, Paul calls him a “dear fellow servant” and then a “faithful minister.”
Later, in his closing remarks, Paul, again confirming that Epaphras is a servant of Jesus, adds that “He is always wrestling in prayer.” I’m not really sure what it means to wrestle in prayer, but it is a compelling image.
I welcome anyone who would wrestle in prayer for me—and I hope to do the same for others.
So, Epaphras is a servant of Jesus, a faithful minister, and a devotee to prayer. For this, he spends time behind bars.
Doing the right things for Jesus doesn’t necessarily keep us from suffering for him. In fact, suffering for Jesus, may just be affirmation that what we are doing for him is right.
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
During a time of war, there is a curious story of King David. He mentions that he is thirsty for water from a specific well. Three of his mighty warriors break through enemy lines, draw water from that well, and return to David with it.
However, instead of drinking it with gratitude, David pours it out on the ground as a drink offering to God (1 Chronicles 11:17-19 and also in 2 Samuel 23:13-17).
Apparently, he felt that the risk the men took was so great that he was not worthy to taste the water, offering it to God instead.
This action may have parallels to the Old Testament instruction to give a “drink offering” to God. The drink offering was a libation of wine that was poured over the alter or used with meat offerings as part of the Jewish worship rituals.
Instructions for its use occur over 45 times in the Jewish law, with 19 other references in the Old Testament.
Since Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament worship practices, it is not surprising for there to only be two mentions of drink offerings in the New Testament.
Both were made by Paul, referring to his willingly pouring out his life as a drink-offering to God (Philippians 2:17 and 2 Timothy 4:6).
It is important to understand that while the Old Testament believers presented their drink offerings ritualistically out of obligation and compulsion, Paul—being freed from the law by Jesus—willing and gladly presented his own life as a drink-offering to God.
It was his intentional act of sacrifice and service.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
As a child someone told me that Paul wrote the book
of Hebrews. This has stuck with me, and I still consider Paul as the book’s most
likely author. But as I look for confirmation of this early lesson, I find
little support.
Though initially attributed to Paul, that assumption fell out of favor centuries ago. Some Bible scholars suggest that Barnabas or Apollo wrote Hebrews. They had the religious pedigree to address the letter’s deeper Jewish topics.
Less likely candidates include Luke, Priscilla, or Clement of Rome. Frankly, I have trouble warming up to any of these five candidates. I don’t see any of them as more likely than Paul.
But it would thrill me if Dr. Luke, one of my favorite Bible characters, wrote the book of Hebrews. Even more appealing would be if Priscilla wrote it.
Since all the books in the Bible come from men, having Priscilla as the author of Hebrews would stand as a delightful bonus.
In truth, the book of Hebrews does not indicate who wrote it. And nonbiblical sources give us no clarity.
Why Paul Could Have Wrote the Book of Hebrews
Paul certainly had the credentials to write a book of such depth. In addition, the book’s concluding text is similar to what Paul writes in his other books. Writing in first person, the letter’s audience knows who wrote it.
The author talks about restoration, implying he is in jail. He writes from Italy, likely Rome. And he talks about a partnership with Timothy. These things are all consistent with what we know about Paul.
But the fact remains that this is only speculation, and we don’t know who wrote the book of Hebrews. Why does this matter? It doesn’t, not really.
Sometimes we receive credit for the things we do for Jesus, and other times we don’t. Though this may matter to us, I doubt it’s that important to God.
What matters to him is that we do our part to advance his kingdom. The credit rightly belongs to him, not us.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The focus of Paul’s letter to Philemon is Onesimus, the runaway slave. Ironically, Onesimus means “useful.”
After Onesimus flees, he encounters Jesus through Paul. Paul mentors the escaped slave and the two begin working together.
However, it is not right for him to remain with Paul—even though what they are doing is important. To do so would be to defraud Philemon of Onesimus’s labor.
So Paul encourages the runaway to return to his master, despite the risk it involves. A recaptured slave could have been punished or imprisoned for an attempted escape.
To facilitate a positive reunion, Paul writes a letter to Philemon, pleading that mercy be accorded his salve.
While we don’t explicitly know the outcome of this drama, we can reasonably deduce it.
First, Paul’s petition on Onesimus’s behalf is so powerfully worded that it is hard to image anyone not complying.
Second, in the only other mention of Onesimus in the Bible, Paul announces that he is sending him and Tychicus to the people of Colossi. Paul also affirms the runaway slave as being faithful and a dear brother.
Since this trip could not have reasonably occurred prior to him returning to Philemon, it can be safely assumed that Philemon did as Paul requested, allowing his slave to return to Paul to work with him on Philemon’s behalf.
This would put Onesimus in a position to take a trip to Colossi.
At last Onesimus can be useful indeed—to both Paul and Philemon, as well as to the Colossians and to God. This all happened because he did the right thing, returning to his master despite the risk.
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
In the Bible, there is only one mention of a man named Jude. That lone reference occurs in the opening greeting of the letter that he wrote.
However, Jude is a variation of Judas. Apparently, Judas was a common name two thousand years ago:
Judas Iscariot: who betrayed Jesus
Judas (not Judas Iscariot): another follower of Jesus
Judas son of James
Judas the Galilean
Judas on Straight Street: whose house Saul (Paul) went to after his encounter with God
Judas (called Barsabbas): an early missionary
Judas, a brother of Jesus
We can rule out Judas Iscariot, because he committed suicide before this letter was written, while Judas the Galilean is an historical reference. That leaves five others for possible consideration.
Another clue is that Jude is the brother of James. There are also several James mentioned in the Bible. Do any of those men named Judas have a brother James?
The answer is yes. Jesus had four brothers (technically half brothers): James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
It is quite possible that Jude is Jesus’ brother. Regardless of who he is, it is his message—warning against ungodly people in the church—that matters.
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The short, often overlooked book of Philemon is tucked towards the end of the New Testament, nestled between letters to Titus and to the Hebrews.
Philemon and Onesimus
Philemon is a letter written by Paul to his friend Philemon about a man of mutual interest, Onesimus.
The short version is that Onesimus is a slave who runs away from his master, Philemon. Onesimus meets Paul, who tells him about Jesus, mentors him, and encourages him to do the right thing by returning to his master.
To help facilitate the reunion, Paul jots a quick note to Philemon, which has been preserved for us in the Bible.
Philemon and Others
In addition to Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus, there are eight other names mentioned in this brief correspondence: Timothy, Apphia, Archippus, Epaphras, Aristarchus, Mark, Demas, and Luke.
For each there is a story to be told and insight to be gained.
Philemon and Jesus
Of course, Jesus is also rightly mentioned in Paul’s letter to Philemon, a total of six times. Jesus is actually the central character in this story, for it all revolves around him, not Philemon and Onesimus.
Is Jesus the central character in your story? Does your life all revolve around him?
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
