And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Acts 26:14 [NASB]
Each of us has rebelled against someone or something. We
tell ourselves we can control ourselves without that law; it’s for other people
who have few morals. Or, we might say, “You aren’t the boss of me.” The reality
is other people are our superiors at home, work, and school because of their
titles or education. Though our human side rarely wants to accept and submit, this
truth has been around since God created Adam then Eve. They knew God and who He
was in relation to them. When we read that Adam and Eve hid from God after they
ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:8). They
recognized they rebelled against God when they chose to eat from the one tree
God told them not to eat its fruits. By hiding from God, they showed they recognized
His superiority. In resigned recognition of their sin at God’s continued
calling to them, they acknowledged God as their LORD and accepted their discipline
and tasks from Him.
Saul (Paul) had been a leading Pharisee of the Pharisees. He
sought to exceed far beyond the other Pharisees and to have a reputation as the
best Pharisee, one who quelled a sect, an offshoot of Jews, who followed a man
from Nazareth named Jesus (Acts 26:4-5, Galatians 1:13-14). Saul saw Jesus as
just a carpenter’s son and His followers as people deluded or hysterical, but
still leading others astray. He convinced some followers to blaspheme against
Jesus, but he had others killed. Saul had no qualms in doing whatever he
thought necessary to stop the growth and life of this group.
As Saul journeyed to Damascus to do his work against Jesus
and His followers, he encountered Jesus. Jesus spoke to him as a light from
heaven brighter than the sun shining around him and the others traveling with
him. This vividly bright light caused him and his co-travelers to fall prostrate
to the ground (Acts 26:12-14a). With Saul’s acknowledgement of someone or
something greater around him and automatically falling prostrate, he heard the
voice of that One. Jesus asked Saul, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Why are you
causing harm to My body, the people who believe in Me and are doing what I
commanded them? Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “To the extent that you
did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to
Me.” Why was Saul rebelling so hard against Jesus and even willing to imprison,
whip, and kill His followers? Saul had ambition. His ambition was to be the
best of the Jews and the best of the Pharisees. He’d forgotten the real goal
for the first covenant people was to follow God by keeping His commandments.
God never told Saul to persecute Jesus’ followers. Saul’s own interpretation of
being the best Pharisee meant he should punish and stop anything or anyone who
took the Jews away from what he knew came from God. To be better, in Saul’s
mind, was to be rigid in defense of the God’s commandments, laws, and precepts.
He felt people must see him as standing strongly for God’s laws. Saul had been
so caught up on doing for God that He forgot to listen for and to God.
Possibly, he heard God’s voice but instead determined to advance in his career.
Besides this, he could have feared becoming a member of what the Jewish leaders
called a sect of Judaism. Additionally, he could have heard God’s voice, but rebelled
against God blatantly. Whatever Saul’s excuse, the result was sin against God
and other people.
When the bright light led to Saul’s recognition of someone
greater than himself near him, Jesus challenged him further. He said, “It is hard
for you to kick against the goads.” What did Jesus mean by these words? In a
non-agrarian 21st century world, people rarely use the word “goads”.
Goads are cattle prods, pointed sticks, used by a farmer to make the bull do
what he wants/wills, for example to pull a plow. When a bull kicks against the
goads, he rebels against the will of his master. Jesus, when He said this to
Saul, meant, “It is hard for you to rebel against the will of God.” God’s will
shall occur and Saul’s fighting against it was futile. To fight against God’s
will would only hurt Saul, just as his continued persecution of other people would
hurt people.
At the point where Jesus confronted Saul about his
rebellion, Saul recognized and acknowledged the speaker. He asked, “Who are
you, Lord?” Jesus affirmed Saul’s understanding by saying, “I am Jesus whom you
are persecuting.” (vs 15) From the point of acknowledging and accepting Jesus
as Lord, Jesus can use a person. After that, Jesus gave Saul his vision. He
told Saul, “Get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to
you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you
have seen but also to the things in which I will appear to you.” (vs 16)
Saul finally conceded to listen to Jesus when His great
light blinded him. He could do nothing except acknowledge the light and Him
with this encounter. Earlier Saul’s focus was on being the most devout and the
best Pharisee. He did not want to hear God’s voice. He refused to accept the
Messiah had already come and was persecuting Him and His followers. Saul became
tired of kicking against the goads, fighting against God’s divine will. He
accepted his mission from Jesus to preach to the Jews and Gentiles. Jesus had
promised Saul, even though the Jews and Gentiles would persecute him, He would
rescue him from them. (vs 17)
What causes you to keep running from Jesus? Are you striving
to be the best you can be and putting Jesus last in your life? Are you afraid for
other people to know you are a Christian because you fear persecution? Or, are
you just afraid to submit to anyone because you want to be your own boss? Satan
loves to use fear, greed, and fame to blind people from seeing Jesus. Jesus’
light is brighter than any other. His light casts out the darkness with which
Satan tries to blind you. We can only stall God’s will by kicking. Eventually,
God’s will occurs.
Why do you rebel against God and His will?
Be obedient to God.
Accept His salvation and plan for your life.
Lord, please
forgive me. I have sought only to advance myself with degrees, status, and
money. I heard Your voice a long time ago but chose things for myself while
ignoring You. The only thing I can truly do on my own is cause myself stress
because of my striving after things. That for which I seek passes away when I
stop pushing my agenda. It is like vapor, here one second and then gone the
next. Lord, I don’t want my life to be like that. I want my life to mean
something and to have a purpose. I realize the only way that can occur is by
seeking You and Your will. Lord, each time I’ve striven after more, I have
turned my back on You to do it. Please forgive my rebellion. Forgive me making
myself my own master and not acknowledging You. Forgive my sin of fame and
greed and help me find contentment in You. Lord, I am a sinner who turned away and
against You. Forgive me of my sins. Make me righteous and right with You. Thank
you for loving me, never forsaking me, and forgiving me of my sin. I love you,
God. Amen.
