In Jerusalem, Saul got into a dispute with Greek-speaking Jews. The local Jerusalem Jews would have spoken Hebrew, while the Greek-speaking Jews were from outside Jerusalem. Saul, himself, had grown up in Tarsus and spoke Greek. The language and cultural differences caused friction between the two groups.
The History
Earlier, there had been a clash between the Greek-speaking Jews and the locals over food distribution to widows. Acts 6:1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. [1]
As a result, the apostles assigned a committee of spirit-filled believers to oversee the feeding program. Stephen was one of these on the committee. Some Jews from a synagogue made up of immigrants began a dispute with Stephen. This ended with Stephen’s stoning, which Saul approved.
History Repeated
Saul, as a Greek speaker, went back to this same group. He had been a part of them before and now tried to reach them for Jesus. Acts 9:29 He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. [2] This group had not liked what Stephen had to say and hated what Saul said so much that they planned to murder him.
God could see Saul’s danger and gave him a warning in a vision. Acts 22: 18 I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’
19 “ ‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’ [3]Saul thought he could win the debate with the Greek-speaking Jews, but God knew they would not accept him. For his safety, Saul had to leave Jerusalem.
Refusing to Accept Saul’s Change
Saul’s world continued to turn upside down. He had gone back to former friends and associates, and they rejected his changed view of Jesus. Their zeal for their viewpoint clashed with Saul’s zeal for Jesus to the point of murder. They had murdered Stephen, and they would murder again if God had not interceded. The believers took Saul to Caesarea and put him on a boat headed for his hometown, Tarsus.
When we begin to follow Jesus or follow Him more closely, we may experience rejection from those around us. They don’t understand why our priorities have changed. As much as we would like to argue them to faith, it doesn’t work that way. We can tell our testimonies and point them to Jesus, but coming to faith is the work of the Holy Spirit. God has given each of us free will, and that means some people will refuse Jesus. But we can always continue to pray for these to come to faith. Nothing is impossible with God. To learn more about the dispute with Greek-speaking Jews, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/from-persecutor-to-preacher
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.