When Jesus Flips the Script

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (1Tim 1:1).

Let your imagination run at high RPMs for just a moment. Think of your greatest enemy suddenly becoming your most passionate supporter? Your hated archival unexpectedly is the best player on your team. Yeah, you’ve seen former Red Sox like Johnny Damon pull on the pinstripes of the Yankees evil empire. But that’s small potatoes. Something even whackier than Coach K coaching Carolina. In the blink of an eye, someone who once wanted you to die becomes willing to give their life for you. How about Darth Vader cheering on Luke and Leia? Or Osama bin Laden as President of the U.S.? 

Well, that’s the kind of jaw-dropping turnaround we’re talking about in life of Paul of Tarsus. One minute he’s the murderer of Jesus’ followers. The next he’s the missionary of Jesus’ message. From assassin to apostle. There’s no one, and I mean NO ONE, who saw this one coming. Nobody except Jesus. But the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee loves to pull off this kind of stunning stories. It’s His speciality, really. Jesus loves to flip the script.

Here the apostle formerly known as Saul writes to his protege Timothy who’s pastoring the mega-church in Ephesus. Thirty years ago, the man from Tarsus devoted his life to wiping such members of the Way off the face of the planet. But a lot can happen when Christ gets ahold of you. Instead of plotting to crush this congregation, he’s planning to help the pastor of the church he previously planted. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (v1). I said you were going to have to let your imagination run wild, didn’t I?

A few years back, you never would have never dreamed of a 180 like this. Back in the day, folks knew him as Saul and he’s was on the Jewish fast track (Phil 3:5-6). Born and raised in the Turkish town of Tarsus (Acts 22:3). He left home to study under one of greatest rabbis of the day, the one and only Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). We first read all about this rising star when he flips out over Jesus and His followers. We see Saul running the coat check table at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60). The next thing you know, he pleads with Jewish leaders to let him go a search-and-destroy mission for this pesky sect (Acts 8:1-3). He’s a one-man Hebrew wrecking crew. Saul hunts down Jesus’ followers, arrests some and murders others (Acts 22:4). If he had Youtube back in the day, he probably would have posted videos like ISIS. 

But something absolutely crazy occurred on one of his patented black ops missions. He was rolling to Damascus to rub out another rebel cell. Suddenly, the resurrected Jesus personally blindsides Saul (Acts 9:1-9). Christ turns Saul’s life upside down and inside out. He goes from murderer to missionary. Jesus transforms this assassin to an apostle. So for those of you doubting God can turn your life around or do something radical for your worst enemy, just remember what happened to Saul. When Jesus drenches you with His ridiculous grace, anything is possible. He specializes in selecting rejects and rebels and then using them in ridiculous ways (1Cor 1:27-29). That’s what happens when Jesus flips the script.

The former Pharisee reminds Timothy that he’s “an apostle of Christ Jesus” (v1). So just what is an apostle? Back in the first century, an “apostle” (Gr. apostolos) was the job description anyone who handpicked to represent someone else. In other words, the person doing the sending hands their apostle the same power and authority of the sender. So when the Apostle Paul speaks or writes, his words carry the same oomph as our Savior. It’s why he kicks off most of his letters remind folks that he’s the Lord’s official rep (Rom 1:1; 2Cor 1:1; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 1Tim 1:1; 2Tim 1:1). Not a bad thing to have on your LinkedIn profile. So being one of Jesus’ apostles is a pretty big deal. 

While there are no longer any living capital “A” apostles, every follower of Jesus is His official ambassador. Just as His Heavenly Dad sent Christ into our world on the greatest rescue mission the universe has ever seen, He sends also you and me. He sends us with His gracious invitation to be part of His kingdom. He sends us with the message of forgiveness and grace found only in Christ. He sends us to the rejects. He sends us to the rebels. If you’re wondering, that pretty much describes everybody you meet who doesn’t know Jesus. You and I may not be apostles, but He personally sends us out into the world as shiners of His light and spreaders of His salt. Jesus wants to flip the script in their lives too.