The Acts of the Apostles (1911) — PDF Scan 122

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116 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES ''Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of G-od. ' ' ' The priests had pronounced these words blasphemy, but Saul now knew them to be truth. What a revelation was all this to the persecutor ! Now Saul knew for a certainty that the promised Messiah had come to this earth as Jesus of Nazareth, and that He had been rejected and crucified by those whom He came to save. He knew also that the Saviour had risen in triumph from the tomb, and had ascended into the heavens. In that moment of divine revelation, Saul remembered with terror that Stephen, who had borne witness of a crucified and risen Saviour, had been sacrificed by his consent, and that later, through his instrumentality, many other worthy followers of Jesus had met their death by cruel persecution. The Saviour had spoken to Saul through Stephen, whose clear reasoning could not be controverted. The learned Jew had seen the face of the martyr reflecting the light of Christ's glory, — appearing as if ''it had been the face of an angel."' He had witnessed Stephen's forbearance toward his enemies, and his forgiveness of them. He had also witnessed the fortitude and cheerful resigTiation of many whom he had caused to be tormented and afflicted. He had seen some yield up even their lives with rejoicing for the sake of their faith. All these things had appealed loudly to Saul, and at times had thrust upon his mind an almost overwhelming conviction that Jesus was the promised Messiah. At such times he had struggled for entire nights against this conviction, and always he had ^ Acts 7:55.56, ^ Acts 6:15.