I am Jesus whom you persecute . . .
BUT rise up and stand on your feet,
  for it is for this reason I appeared to you,
       to appoint you a servant and a witness both of what you saw,
                           and in what I shall appear to you,
       having delivered you from the people and the nations,
                       to whom I now send you,
                  to open their eyes,
                and to turn them from darkness to light,
                      and from the authority of Satan to God,
                  in order that they may receive remission of sins,
                               and an inheritance
                      among those being sanctified
                                by faith in Me.
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(Acts 15-18) [LITV]
Once again allow me to remind you of the juxta-positioning of:
I am Jesus whom you are persecuting with:-
    For this reason I appeared to you
    To appoint you a servant and witness
       Having delivered you from the [Jews] and the nations [goy]
       To send you to the Gentiles [goy]
            To open their eyes
            That they might turn from darkness and satan
                     Receive remission from sins
                         And an inheritance.
Wow what an incredible statement from an incredible God and even more incredible given the circumstances. The one who had been zealously opposing God is now confronted with the risen LORD he opposed and is given a role in establishing the new order. You have to admit that is pretty remarkable on all fronts.
Now it is my task to help you see the way Jesus himself has layered this statement in order for you to see the connections really clearly in order to understand it better.
Rise up on your feet in order to receive your new assignment Paul.
         it is for this reason I appeared to you,
                to appoint you a servant and a witness both of what you saw,
                                    and in what I shall appear to you,
                  having delivered you from the people and the nations,
                                        to whom I now send you,
                                               to open their eyes,
                                             and to turn them from darkness to light,
                                                    and from the authority of Satan to God,
                                                 in order that they may receive remission of sins,
                                                            and an inheritance
                                         among those being sanctified
                                                   by faith in Me.
I have kept the layering of the Greek in order for you to understand clearly how the subordinate clauses and phrases are ordered to make the statement clearer. I (Jesus) have appeared to you [just now] on the road to Damascus (where you are going to persecute and kill more of my followers). I am appointing you to be an Apostle to the Gentiles. You will give witness to what you have seen (now) and at Stephen’s stoning (before) and in all the ways I shall appear to you from this moment on (to come). I have delivered from the people [Jewish persecution – since I appeared to you on the Damascus road until now and I will deliver you from all the other cultural groups (Gentiles – the nations) you have been travelling among until now. Why? In order that you might open their eyes [to the truth of Messiah’s Kingdom] so that they may turn from darkness and from Satan’s authority to God. I am sending you to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (nations) that they might receive the cancelling of their sins and an inheritance with the people of God through faith in Me.
It’s huge and this task was given to the chief persecutor of Christians following the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and the release of His Holy Spirit. This is the fulfilment of all that God had promised Israel would happen from Abraham and Moses onward. His intent always has been that all people on earth would be blessed as a result of God’s grace shown initially to Israel. God just had to show them His truth was true for all people on earth in all generations.
Paul is giving us here a cosmic overview of Biblical truth because that is what Jesus the risen Messiah showed to him during his encounter with the Risen LORD on the road to Damascus. It was this commissioning Paul received on the road to Damascus that carried him from that moment on. No wonder that moment carried him to the end of his life and turned him into the Apostle who would do the most to get the message of God’s Way of Life (The Life of the Age to Come – the Restoration of Life as God first intended it) to all people groups on earth. Note that this is after the Council in Jerusalem when Jewish cultural considerations have been dealt with. Yet such Jewish cultural taboos keep being reinforced because the Jews (the people of God) refuse to realize they were blessed to be a blessing to all people (the Gentiles included).
Paul’s understanding of this revelation from God became his launching platform. It is what he summarises so incredibly clearly through the Book of Romans. It was made clear to him in a nanosecond on the road outside Damascus.
Is it clear to you? If so then go and do likewise for your people and generation.
There is much for you to unpack and think about in these three verses. Don’t stop!
You will be too much for some people ; those aren’t your people.
Anon
I don’t stop when I am tired; I stop when I am done.
Anon
What keeps me believing is not that I hold on to Him, but that He holds on to me even when I let go.
Ian Vail
It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something.
Ornette Coleman
God’s ultimate purpose is to free you from your fears and baggage and give you a part in Life as He intended it; the Life of the Age to Come. What we call eternal life.
Ian Vail
The focus on the Life of the Age to Come is not its length but more the quality. Life as God originally intended it. Now come on you have to admit that is worth having.
Ian Vail