“A Converted Terrorist”
Text: Acts 20:17-35
5-11-2025
In the name of our risen Lord and Savior, dear friends in Christ. It’s a sad fact, but terrorist activity around the world is nothing new. I can recall the fear that The Weather Underground spread in the 1960's with their terrorist acts. When I was in the Army stationed in Germany during the late 70's, the Baader-Meinhof Gang and the Red Army Faction kept us on our toes with their terrorist attacks, which included attempts to take over U.S. nuclear missile sites like the one I was assigned to. But these guys were small potatoes compared to the horrendous events of 9/11. And there have been other attempts to spread terror in our country since then. Thank God, for the most part, they’ve been unsuccessful. However, in a sense, they have been successful because each time it happens, the terror that had gone dormant is resurrected and it disrupts people’s lives with fear. Sometimes, an act of terrorism isn’t even necessary. For instance, you can be arrested for making “terroristic threats” if you just tell someone that you’re going to blow up their house.
You see, that’s why it’s called terrorism. These violent acts cause terror in the minds of people, which is precisely what the terrorist wants. And why do they want to do that? Ultimately, it’s the tool that the perpetrator uses in order to get what they want. It might be to overthrow a government. And sometimes a government may use terror-tactics to change or control the behavior of their people. Let’s face it, we don’t like terrorists. But they’ve been around ever since the Fall into sin.
Having said that, what would you think if a well-known terrorist repented of his evil ways? What if Osama Bin Laden was still alive and came out publicly denouncing his former life of terrorism. And what if he claimed to be converted to Christianity and now all he wanted to do was preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth? Would you believe it? Would you welcome him into our church or your home? I see some skeptical eyebrows raised and rightfully so. However, consider this: two-thirds of the New Testament were written by a converted terrorist. I’m referring to St. Paul who you heard about in the Scripture lessons the past two weeks.
Now maybe you’re thinking, “How does Paul qualify as a terrorist?” Well, do you remember the definition? Then he certainly fits the profile. Earlier in the Book of Acts he stood by, approving of the stoning death of Stephen who was the first Christian martyr. Last week you heard how Paul was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” He hated Christians and was on his way to Damascus with an open-ended arrest warrant for any he might find there. His intention was to round them up and take them back to Jerusalem to stand trial. The ones that weren’t caught would surely live in terror. That was the whole point: shut down this sect and change the minds of these delusional believers in Jesus by making them live in fear. That terrorism was beginning to work because when God told Ananias to go to Paul, he was fearful because he knew Paul’s mission. The Lord, however, had a solution for ending Paul’s reign of terror: convert him.
And that’s what Christ did. There on the road to Damascus He stopped Paul in his tracks and let it be known who he was really attacking. Terrorizing the followers of Jesus was an assault on Christ Himself. After that encounter, Paul was a changed man. He saw his sins and suddenly he was filled with terror—the terror of God’s wrath for what he had done. He repented and was Baptized. When the Lord sent Ananias to help Paul, He said, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Isn’t that interesting? Paul had formerly been the one who inflicted terror through threats and violence. Now, the shoe was on the other foot. Paul would be the target of numerous terroristic threats and actions.
Without a doubt, he certainly did experience unbelievable suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul gives a brief description of what he had endured. He writes, “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” Granted, some of these hardships were not the actions of people who hated him, but all in all this was the price he had to pay for being a Christian and proclaiming the Good News.
In today’s lesson, Paul was nearing the end of his third missionary journey. There was more suffering that lay ahead. The Holy Spirit had revealed that he would end up in prison. That’s exactly what happened. He went on to Jerusalem where he was arrested on false charges. While waiting for trial, there were plots to assassinate him. Eventually he appealed his case to the Emperor and was taken to Rome. And there was much more suffering to come after that, including being martyred.
Now you’d think that after all that suffering at the hands of people who were trying to terrorize him, Paul would shy away from any public recognition of his faith. But no, he says in verses 20 and 27, “I didn’t shrink from declaring to you...” In other words, he didn’t cower in terror. Quite the opposite, he fearlessly spoke about Christ to others. In his former life, he didn’t shrink back from terrorizing the believers because he was driven by seething hatred. Now, Paul doesn’t shrink back from declaring the Gospel because he’s driven by the extreme love of Christ. In fact, he shed tears as he taught and preached to them. Had this former, hardcore terrorist now become a sissy? Not hardly. But he wept over the hardness of people’s hearts, just like Jesus wept over Jerusalem and those who rejected Him. Like his Lord and Savior, Paul wanted all people to be saved. You see, he knew how the religious terrorists operated, because he had been one of them. He knew that their attacks would continue and even intensify once he left these folks in Asia. Paul calls them “fierce wolves” which is a fitting illustration. Jesus had used the same metaphor in the verses just prior to our Gospel reading. A wolf can attack a flock of sheep and terrorize it, causing them to scatter in confusion and making them vulnerable. That’s what the enemies of the Gospel and false teachers would attempt to do.
And so, St. Paul tells them to be watchful and unafraid. That’s the best revenge you can get on a terrorist: Go on living your life rather than being crippled by fear. For believers that means continuing to profess our faith even in the face of terroristic threats from those who hate Christ. Evil people have tried to terrorize Christ’s Church into silence and unbelief many, many times in the past. And they will continue to do so in the future. But don’t be afraid. Your sins are forgiven. Therefore, the devil and the sinful world have nothing to terrorize you with. But be alert, because the devil will also work through sinful people, even within the Church, who will try to twist and pervert the Gospel. If you believe their false doctrine, you will be susceptible to their terroristic threats once again because your assurance of forgiveness will have been snatched from you. Paul’s warning is to guard against that by sticking to the truth of God’s Word which has been passed on to you. By receiving God’s Word and Sacrament here in worship, that’s exactly what you’re doing.
So, what is it that terrorizes your faith and makes your shrink back in fear? Is it the threat of being ostracized or made fun of for firmly holding to God’s pure Word? Is it the terrors of doubt that the devil sows in your mind as he leads you to question God’s love and His complete forgiveness through Jesus? Is it the knowledge of your sinful failures to live as a Child of God which causes you to fear the Lord’s wrath and judgment? Don’t let any of those threats of terror overcome you. You don’t need to live in fear. Jesus Christ died and rose again so that you could be free from all doubts and fears caused by your sins. The Lord Jesus holds you securely in His all-powerful hands and no one can snatch you from His grip. This glorious truth dispels all terror. Thanks to Christ, eternal life is ours by faith in Him. Thanks to Christ, we can now live in joy and peace, loving even those who hate us. Thanks to Christ, we can fearlessly share the Gospel with those who have lived in the terror of sin, so that they too can be forgiven and freed from fear. May God grant it for Jesus’ sake, to His glory and our good. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!