Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul … - Acts 11:25

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 7, 2014): Acts 11

On February 8, 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was finally executed. The execution had been delayed since the end of her trial on October 25, 1586, but Elizabeth I, the Queen of England and Ireland, seemed to hesitate, not wanting to carry out the execution of her cousin. But when the execution was finally ordered, it seems to have been carried out without the direct knowledge of Elizabeth, or at the very least the Queen had maintained what we would call a “plausible deniability” over the situation. Historically, Mary was possibly guilty of many things – including adultery and murder and the desire for a crown that did not belong to her – but even here history seems to be divided; and it is divided on religious grounds. The chances are that if you are a Roman Catholic, you hold Mary in much higher regard than you would if you were a Protestant. And the difference is based on the faiths of the two Queens. And while there are probably many reasons for Mary to have been executed politically, maybe the most intriguing accusation is that her execution was carried out as a result of her faith. Mary was a Catholic who found herself living in an increasingly Protestant – and specifically Anglican – society. At that time, it was an explosive combination, and it was a conflict that often finished with someone being put to death. And in the story of Mary Queen of Scots, that somebody was Mary herself.

After Saul’s conversion, Saul had tried to maintain a presence in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. But Saul’s reality was that, because of his past actions and his fervent persecution of the Christian Church, he simply could not be trusted and definitely was not wanted. So after a period of time learning about the new faith he had adopted on the Damascus Road, Saul decided to go home. But extra-biblical documents (documents outside of the biblical record) suggest that even at home Saul was in trouble. Because he had adopted Christianity, Saul’s strictly Jewish family had disinherited him. The reality of Saul’s life at this point was that there was no place where he felt he belonged. Those who suggest that Saul’s conversion might have been a power play just aren’t grounding their arguments in facts. For more than a decade after his conversion, Saul had nothing and he had no place to go. In all likelihood, Saul wandered around the Tarsus area for more than ten years wondering what his next move should be, and that was where Barnabas found him.

It is unclear why Barnabas went searching for Paul – other than God had called him to the task. But the move was probably one of the most significant moves in the New Testament. Until Barnabas went to Tarsus, not only was one of the greatest intellects this world has ever known going to waste, but Christianity was also without its great theologian that would eventually transform a small Jewish sect into a  world religion.

And it all happened because Barnabas went to find Saul.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 12