Persecuting Jesus
The Bible teaches that Saul of Tarsus was a fierce persecutor of the church. “As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). On the occasion of Acts chapter 9, Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute and arrest Christians (verses 1-3). It was on this journey that events happened which would change Saul’s life forever. As he came near Damascus, a bright light shone from heaven and blinded Saul. Then the Lord spoke to Saul and asked a momentous question: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:4). After Saul responded to the Lord’s question, the blind man was led into the city of Damascus where Ananias instructed him to “arise and be baptized” that his sins might be washed away (Acts 22:16). Having received this instruction, Saul “arose, and was baptized” (Acts 9:18). After his conversion he became an apostle, the apostle Paul, and he served the Lord the rest of his life.
The question Jesus asked Saul—“why persecutest thou me?”—is one that deserves our careful attention. One interesting thing about the question is that, as far as we know, Saul never personally laid a hand on Jesus. Rather, he had been persecuting the church of Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus asked, “Why persecutest thou me?” (emphasis mine, ML). This shows that Saul’s persecution against the church was the same as assaulting Jesus. Each time Saul hurt the church, he was hurting Jesus.
This is a lesson that we all need to consider today. We cannot separate Jesus from His church because the church “is his body” (Ephesians 1:23). As a result, what we do to the church today, good or bad, we do to Jesus. Every time a person says that church membership is not essential, that person is also saying that being a member of the body of Christ is not essential. To fail to love and honor the church is to fail to love and honor Jesus.
On the other hand, when one becomes a member of the New Testament church, one becomes a member of the body of Christ because the church is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18). When we love, honor, and support the church by faithful attendance, our prayers, our money, our time and active service, we show our love, honor, and support for Christ and His cause.
It is vital to understand that we cannot separate Christ and His church. Therefore, if we want Christ in our lives, we must make room in our lives for His church.
