Stoned

In this day and age "stoned" means something much differently than it did in yesteryear! In fact those "stoned" never come to grips with reality. Their perception is that they are astute and unencumbered from the things of life, but they fail to grasp the important things for the mere enjoyment of the trivial!

With that said about contemporary "stoning", let's look at another type; one with pertinence and certainly not to be trivialized!

Acts 14:19 "And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead."

Paul was in Lystra of Lycaonia where he performed great miracles even healing the lame, and therein the city was divided. Certain Jews were either jealous of Paul's persuasiveness and gift of the Holy Ghost or were so "in stoned" of their own misunderstanding that they were insecure to anger!

 Ironically, Paul had been the chief persecutor among the Jews before Jesus came along and shattered the stone guarding his mind!

We know from scripture that those who God forgives the most, love him the most! (implied in Luke 7:47).  Paul had been a zealot for persecution, and once he was freed from bondage, he was a zealot for Jesus Christ!  Paul's previous bondage was rigid thinking. By insisting on strict obedience to rules, he missed the point: to love God and others!

That's the exact situation in which Paul found himself in Lystra. The hunter had become the hunted! It wasn't the Jews of Lystra who stalked him, but from cities where Paul had been before. They were instigators! Their mantra was "Christian Lives Don't Matter". They wanted justice and it was their brand of justice which they sought.

These folks who persecuted were from the synagogue. That was were Christians and Jews both preached and worshiped because at the time of the apostles. they had not segregated in their communion. What I'm saying is that these were "church friends" who had a stone to throw. Both Christians and Jews were taught to love, but it wasn't love which they practiced!

Sadly, church members to this day still throw stones at each other. We still totally miss the point with this one:

John 8:7b "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (the adulteress).

How many of these Jewish "stoners" do you think were without sin? They were heartless for Paul wasn't being stoned for persecuting others, but just for the sake of persecution! When arguments failed them, what did these good Jews do? They turned to violence. People still do that!  Why do you suppose the Jews hated Paul so much? Was it because Paul was trying to take away their belief? No! It was because Paul believed differently. Paul's teachings weren't at odds with Judaism, it's just that the Jews missed the point of their own religion! They rejected the Messiah (Christ) which their own religion prophesied throughout the ages.

 In their own eyes, the Jews were without sin! I bet that being keepers-of-the-law that they didn't work on the Sabbath, ate only kosher food, prayed in public and often, were good parents and husbands, had fidelity to their wives, and all the many rituals and dietary laws were obeyed. They even defended their God! That's a good thing, but they had created an unloving false god in their minds. (See blog on creating a person's own God in link:  Designer God). It was JHVH they thought they worshiped, but he wasn't worshiped in spirit and truth!

What in the world drives one human being to pick up a stone, hurl it at the forehead of a fellow human being and try to kill him? It's hate!

1 John 3:15 "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

The actions of the Jews validated what John the Apostle said in this passage. Their hate drove them to murder! Why was there hate? It goes back to pride. It was for one of the reasons mentioned earlier. "How dare anyone disagree with my doctrine!" they thought!  Does that sound familiar? It should. Haters still do that today! (Disagreeing on doctrine is understandable, but hating for it is sin!).

Let's assume that you are one of the stoners: You hear what Paul said and see his miracles. It comes to your sub-conscience "His faith is stronger than mine!" You realize your own weakness and become jealous of Paul. He's doing things you can't do and he's taking away people who side with me. "I'll fix him!" you think, To get even, you bend over, pick up that stone, feel it's smoothness, relish in the delight that you're about to have, look Paul squarely in the eyes, with vengeance draw back and hurl that large stone with speed and accuracy. It's your intent to kill and your prey falls to the grounds much as a downed deer. You're so proud now! Your aim was good. You did a great deed in silencing one with whom you disagree! Then you cheer the others on!

You just became one of the bullies. It wasn't God which you were defending; it's your doctrine. In effect the "god as you understand him" is being attacked. You can't make Paul believe in your false god, so you attempt to rid the world of him! Guess who your false god is? He's Pride. He's you! You just hated and murdered a man who wouldn't bow down to your god!

Paul understood. He was one of those worshipers of self. He had been a hater and persecutor. Jesus softened that stone Paul had thrown so many times: his hatred.

Paul could have thrown stones back if he was able. He didn't! What did he do? He departed and went on to Derbe to preach some more! You would have thought that he would have learned his "lesson" and went home to lick his wounds, but he fought on; not with stones, but with a sword... the word of God. It was Jesus who got up from the ground and went on the Derbe. Paul didn't do it on his own, but it was the Ghost of Jesus residing in him who lifted that frail body and continued on in love!

Paul loved his enemies. Let's examine what would have happened if Paul had thrown stones back:

The message of Jesus would have been diluted. Paul would have violated  the "those without sin cast the first stone " rule. Paul had cast many stones. How could he cast a stone back when he had done the same thing!

Paul knew Jesus' teaching: "love the enemy" (Matthew 5:44). Love isn't encased in granite. Hate is. Paul couldn't cast a stone back because to do so would be to hate. Christians are not to seek retribution, but to forgive. Paul had done the same thing as his attackers and Jesus forgave him! How could he not "do unto others as he would have done unto him" (Luke 6:31 paraphrase).

Those who persecuted Paul did Jesus a service that little did they understand.

Luke 21:12 "But before all these (signs), they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. 13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony."

In short, persecution reinforces the authenticity of Jesus! By using force against Christianity it reveals the threat of what Christ represents. Men are haters of truth and it's truth which they seek to destroy because truth defames their own god; the one who does what's right in his own eyes!

Even in today's society when Christianity is attacked, Christians who stand firm in their belief and return love for violence, are a testimony to Jesus Christ. By doing as Jesus would do, we are showing the power of Jesus. By loving as Jesus does, we are showing the power of love. We defeat the enemy, not by casting stones, but by love!

 Proverbs 25:21"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee."

Paul loved his enemies until the end. He went all over the known world telling them about Jesus. He went as far as Rome then Spain. Some say he even brought Christianity to the heathens in Britannica! Wherever he went, Paul was "stoned" in some fashion, but while he was stoned, People thought "Jesus must be true!". The last "stone" cast at him was death. Nero "stoned" him with the sword. The last stone hurled cost Paul is head.   Rome died. Vengeance was God's! However, Jesus lives on and Paul is at his reward. He is baptized in blood for Jesus' name sake and now it's he who stands tall; right there seated near Jesus!

Stoners! Don't get stoned anymore. Remain sober so that you can seek truth! God loves you and if you find him, it's Jesus who will take away that stone from you, just as he softened Paul's stone, the chief sinner.