Man for Persecute Lukim Bigfala Laet

SAUL hem barava kros tumas long olketa wea followim Jesus. Hem no satisfae witim persecution wea hem duim long olketa long Jerusalem, witim wei wea olketa sutim Stephen witim stone, distaem hem want for mekem big moa disfala persecution. ‘Saul, wea go ahed for kros tumas and laek killim dae olketa disaepol hem go long hae priest and askem hem for olketa leta for olketa synagogue long Damascus, mekem hem savve taemap and tekem long Jerusalem eniwan hem faendem wea followim Datfala Wei, olketa man and woman.’—Acts 9:1, 2.

Taem Saul wakabaot go long Damascus, maet hem tingting long hao hem savve duim waka bilong hem long best wei. Paoa wea hem kasem from hae priest bae mek sure olketa leader bilong bigfala Jew community long datfala taon savve help. Saul bae lukaotem help bilong olketa.

Maet Saul hapi tumas taem hem kam klosap long disfala taon. Disfala gogo from Jerusalem go kasem Damascus—hem seven- or eit-day wakabaot long samting olsem 220 kilometer—mekem hem taed tumas. Seknomoa long midolday, wanfala laet wea moa braet winim sun shaen raonem Saul, and hem foldaon long graon. Hem herem wanfala voice sei long hem long Hebrew languis: “Saul, Saul, why nao iu persecutim mi? For go ahed for kik againstim stik bae mekem hem hard for iu.” “Hu nao iu, Lord?,” Saul hem askem. “Mi nao Jesus, wea iu persecutim,” ansa hem kam bak. “Nomata olsem, standap. From diswan nao mi showim miseleva long iu, mekem mi chusim iu olsem wanfala servant and wanfala witness long olketa samting wea iu lukim and olketa samting wea mi bae mekem iu lukim abaotem mi; taem mi tekem iu from olketa pipol hia and from olketa nation, wea mi sendem iu go.” “Wanem nao mi bae duim Lord?,” Saul hem askem. “Getap, go long road bilong iu long Damascus, and long there iu bae herem evri samting wea stap for iu duim.”—Acts 9:3-6; 22:6-10; 26:13-17.

Olketa wea gogo witim Saul herem voice, bat no lukim man wea toktok or minim toktok bilong hem. From laet hem braet tumas, taem Saul hem standap hem no savve lukluk and olketa mas holem hand bilong hem and leadim hem. “For thrifala day hem no lukim eni samting, and hem no kaikai or drink.”—Acts 9:7-9; 22:11.

Thrifala Day for Tingting Gud

Judas wea lukaftarem Saul, stap long street wea garem nem Straight.a (Acts 9:11) Disfala street—wea garem nem Darb al-Mustaqim long Arab languis—hem still wanfala main road long Damascus. Tingim wanem nao insaed mind bilong Saul taem hem stap long haos bilong Judas. Samting wea happen long Saul mekem hem blind and seke tumas. Distaem hem chance for tingting gud long mining bilong hem.

Disfala man for persecute hem lukim samting wea bifor hem tingse hem no tru. Disfala Lord Jesus Christ wea olketa nilam—wea olketa bigman bilong Jew judgem and “olketa man lukdaonem and les long hem”—hem laef. Tru nao, hem stap long raet hand bilong God “long barava braetfala laet”! Jesus nao hem Messiah. Stephen and olketa nara pipol tok tru. (Isaiah 53:3; Acts 7:56; 1 Timothy 6:16) Saul hem barava rong, from Jesus showim hem hapi witim olketa wea Saul persecutim! Witim kliafala pruv hia, hao nao Saul savve go ahed for “kik againstim stik”? Nomata wanfala bighed buluka bae followim road wea owner bilong hem wantem. Sapos Saul no willing for followim toktok bilong Jesus, hem bae spoelem hemseleva.

From hem Messiah, hard for God judgem Jesus. Bat, Jehovah letem hem for safa long dae wea garem shame and for kasem disfala sentence bilong Law: “Dat wan wea hange hem samting wea God cursim.” (Deuteronomy 21:23) Jesus dae taem hem hange long torture stake. Olketa cursim hem, no from sin bilong hemseleva, wea hem no garem, bat for sin bilong evri man. Bihaen, Saul hem minim: “Olketa wea depend long waka bilong law stap anda long curse; from hem raet: ‘Cursim evriwan wea no go ahed long evri samting wea stap long scroll bilong Law for olketa duim.’ And tu, hem klia hao thru long law olketa no kolem eniwan raeteous witim God . . . Christ taem hem baem iumi hem mekem iumi free from curse bilong Law taem hem kamap wanfala curse and no iumi, from olketa raetem: ‘Evri man wea hange long stake hem kasem curse.’ ”—Galatians 3:10 -13.

Price bilong sakrifaes bilong Jesus savve stretem bak. Taem hem acceptim datfala sakrifaes, Jehovah long tokpiksa wei hem nilam Law and curse bilong Law long stake. Taem hem minim diswan, Saul savve tinghae long “wisdom bilong God” long torture stake wea “long olketa Jew hem samting wea mekem olketa stambol.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Colossians 2:14) So, sapos salvation hem no kam thru waka bilong law bat thru kaeness bilong God wea man no fitim for olketa wea sin olsem Saul seleva, hope hem stap for diswan fitim olketa wea no insaed long Law. And long olketa Gentile nao Jesus sendem Saul.—Ephesians 3:3-7.

Iumi no savve haomas savve nao Saul hem garem abaotem diswan long datfala taem wea hem change and kamap Christian. Jesus bae story moa witim hem, maet winim wanfala taem, abaotem waka bilong hem long olketa nation. And tu, samfala year go pas bifor Saul raetem evri samting hia witim paoa bilong God. (Acts 22:17-21; Galatians 1:15-18; 2:1, 2) Bat, samfala day nomoa go pas bifor Saul kasem moa instruction from niufala Lord bilong hem.

Wanfala Visit From Ananias

Bihaen hem appear long Saul, Jesus appear long Ananias tu, and talem hem: “Go long street wea garem nem Straight, and long haos bilong Judas lukim wanfala man wea garem nem Saul, bilong Tarsus. Lukim! hem prea, and long vision hem lukim man wea garem nem Ananias kam insaed and putim hand bilong hem antap long hem mekem hem savve lukluk moa.”—Acts 9:11, 12.

From Ananias hem savve abaotem Saul, iumi savve minim why hem sapraes long toktok bilong Jesus. Hem sei: “Lord, mi herem planti samting abaotem disfala man, olketa nogud samting wea hem duim long olketa holy wan bilong iu long Jerusalem. And long hia hem garem paoa from olketa chief priest for putim long prison eniwan wea singaot long nem bilong iu.” Bat, Jesus talem Ananias: “Iu go nao, from mi chusim disfala man for karem nem bilong mi go long olketa nation and tu long olketa king and olketa son bilong Israel.”—Acts 9:13-15.

From hem satisfae, Ananias go long ples wea Jesus talem hem. Taem hem faendem and tok hello long Saul, Ananias putim hand bilong hem long Saul. Bible hem sei: “And stretawe samting foldaon from eye bilong [Saul] wea luk olsem olketa scale, and hem savve lukluk moa.” Distaem Saul hem redy for lisin. Toktok bilong Ananias strongim samting wea Saul maet minim from toktok bilong Jesus: “God bilong laen dadi bilong iumi hem chusim iu for savve long will bilong hem and for lukim datfala raeteous Wan and for herem voice from mouth bilong hem, bikos iu bae kamap witness long hem long evri man long samting wea iu lukim and herem. And why nao iu delay? Getap, baptaes and wasim awe sin bilong iu thru long wei for kol long nem bilong hem.” Wanem nao kamaot from diswan? Saul hem “getap and hem baptaes, and hem tekem kaikai and kasem strong.”—Acts 9:17-19; 22:12-16.

Bihaen hem fulfillim assignment bilong hem, faithful Ananias lus from story, and iumi no herem eni samting moa abaotem hem. Bat Saul mekem evriwan wea lisin long hem sapraes! Disfala man for persecute bifor, wea kam long Damascus for arrestim olketa disaepol bilong Jesus, start for preach long olketa synagogue and for pruvim hao Jesus nao hem Christ.—Acts 9:20-22.

“Aposol Long Olketa Nation”

Samting wea happen long Saul long road long Damascus hem stopem kwiktaem disfala gogo bilong disfala man for persecute. From hem savve long hu nao Messiah, Saul savve minim planti idea and profesi from olketa Hebrew Scripture wea fitim Jesus. From hem luksavve Jesus appear long hem and ‘hol strong finis long hem’ and appointim hem olsem “aposol long olketa nation,” diswan barava changem laef bilong Saul. (Philippians 3:12; Romans 11:13) From hem kamap aposol Paul, hem garem privilege and paoa wea bae changem no full laef bilong hem long earth nomoa bat Christian history tu.

Planti year bihaen, taem olketa kwestinim wei wea Paul hem aposol, hem defendim paoa bilong hem taem hem tok abaotem samting wea happen long hem long road long Damascus. “Waswe, mi no wanfala aposol? Waswe, mi no lukim Lord bilong iumi Jesus?,” hem askem. And bihaen hem storyim hao Jesus wea resurrect hem appear long narafala pipol, Saul (Paul) hem sei: “Last samting hem kam long mi tu olsem wanfala wea born bifor hem redy.” (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8) Hem olsem Saul, thru long vision bilong hem abaotem Jesus long glory long heven, hem kasem honor for born, or resurrect, long laef olsem spirit bifor hem redy.

Saul hem luksavve long privilege bilong hem and hem barava trae hard for live followim. “Mi nao low tumas long olketa aposol and mi no fit for garem nem aposol, bikos mi persecutim kongregeson bilong God,” hem raet olsem. “Bat . . . kaeness wea man no fitim wea [God] showim long mi hem no iusles nomoa, bat mi waka hard winim [evri nara aposol].”—1 Corinthians 15:9, 10.

Olsem Saul maet iu tingim datfala taem wea iu luksavve hao for mekem God hapi, iu need for mekem samfala change long lotu tingting wea iu garem for longtaem finis. Luk olsem iu barava thankiu long Jehovah for wei wea hem helpem iu for kasem truth. Taem Saul lukim laet and luksavve wanem nao hem mas duim, hem no delay for duim. And hem go ahed for duim witim strong for full laef bilong hem bihaen. Hem wanfala barava nambawan example long evriwan wea wantem Jehovah for hapi long olketa distaem!

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[Piksa long page 27]

Street wea garem nem Straight long Damascus distaem

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Foto from ROLOC Color Slides