I hope you enjoy the videos that Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I create to accompany my blog articles. Rudy and I have made these videos together for several years, and we have been friends even longer.
I know some of Rudy’s story. He was a true seeker. Although his Jewish faith was real, he still felt something was missing in his life. He had many questions and wasn’t content to leave them unanswered, so he explored many paths, studying everything from quantum physics to Eastern religions.
Then someone left a Bible containing the New Testament at his restaurant. As Rudy read it, the Lord opened his heart to the truth about Jesus. From that moment on, he has walked with the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Paul had his Damascus Road encounter with Jesus, he asked one key question that changed every part of his life:
“Who are you, Lord?”
— Acts 22:8a
If you have been following our study of Acts, you know this is not the first time the book tells Paul’s conversion story. You also know that Jesus answered Paul’s question by telling him exactly who He was:
“I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.”
— Acts 22:8b
Who Are You, Lord?
One danger of reading the Bible regularly is becoming so familiar with it that it no longer moves us. We can read this conversation between Paul and Jesus and simply move on to the next part of the story.
But what if we paused and asked ourselves not only, “Who are you, Lord?” but also, “Who is the Lord to us?”
Russell Moore hosts a weekly YouTube video for Christianity Today. I recently listened to a conversation between Moore and N.T. Wright about prophecy and the times we are living in. During that discussion, Moore described how he takes a single passage of Scripture and holds it in his mind and heart for an entire year.
I have not done that, but I have spent time slowly meditating on John 13–17. I take a short passage and talk with God about what I am reading. When I do, He opens my mind and helps me understand more of who He is.
Changed Mind, Changed Life
The Greek word for repentance, metanoia, combines two ideas: one meaning “change” and the other meaning “mind.” To repent is to change your mind in a way that leads to changed behavior.
When Paul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus revealed Himself, and Paul changed his mind about who Jesus was. He had been traveling to Damascus to persecute Jesus’ followers. Now he knew the risen Lord was real and was calling him.
An old Southern preacher once described people who had radical conversions as being “saved, called, and sent” all on the same day. That was certainly true for Paul.
Jesus’ answer corrected Paul’s understanding of God’s purpose in the world. It also called him to join God’s work by telling others who Jesus is:
“You will be His witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard.”
— Acts 22:15
When the Lord opened Rudy’s understanding of who Jesus was, his experience was much like Paul’s. Paul’s may have been greater in scale, but Rudy experienced the same kind of transformation. His view of Jesus changed, and that changed his behavior. Today, the people around him can see the life of Jesus shining through him.
People like Russell Moore and N.T. Wright study Scripture prayerfully and meditatively because they keep asking, “Who is Jesus to us?” No matter how much we know, there is always more to learn about Him.
That knowledge changes how we think and act, and it helps us display God’s greatness through our lives and our testimony.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 22:6–21 on YouTube today.
