A reading of the holy gospel according to Saint John. And if this continues what we've been reading for the last three or four days. Of course, it's Saint John's report of how our blessed lord promised to give us his body to eat and his blood to drink. So when the Jews heard this, it sounded like cannibalism to them, they quarreled among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? It's a very good question.
Thereupon, Jesus said to them, let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the father who has life sent me and I have life because of the father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and die, nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever. Jesus said this in a synagogue instruction at Capernaum, And this is the gospel, the good news of the lord. In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, amen. I would earnestly recommend to you that you read this chapter of Saint John in its entirety.
I have very carefully avoided touching upon it because I wanted to stress this matter of of of Paul or Saul. Now we started out on Tuesday with the, martyrdom of Stephen, the first martyr of Christ's church. And, in the crowd that held this close to the guys who stoned Stephen was a man named Saul from Tarsus, a a vibrant, vigorous Pharisee who was gung ho on eliminating these enemies of god and god's law, these these newfangled so called Christians. They weren't called Christians then yet. They were called followers of the new way.
And then then we have the the readings today synagogue. See, the Jews had had right to run their show as they wished except for capital punishment. They weren't allowed to execute people without Rome's consent, the govern the Roman governor's consent. All the rest of having to do with their religion, the Rome said, keep keep it to yourselves. Do what you want.
So Saul, alive, vigorous, completely dedicated, as I said yesterday, giving him sole self to the love of God and trying to protect god's law, gets the necessary documents and takes off for Damascus. Now en route, something very peculiar happened. That is for sure. Now notice, you say this was this was like a flash out of the blue. Nonsense.
You know, this picture of of Paul falling off of a cross, there's no evidence for that. We what what we're told is he fell to the ground and was blind. Now there could be a lot of reasons for that. I don't know. But something happened.
That's for sure. The people were with who were with Saul heard a voice, and they heard the voices, but they didn't see anybody. And so this man who's all gung ho bring breathing fire and death for for the followers of the new way, which he saw as antagonistic to god and god's law. Keep that in mind. They led the blind man into Damascus.
And then some more funny stuff happens. Some Wunderbar stuff happens. I don't know what it is. Take your guess. Anyway, he goes to Ananias.
I mean, Ananias gets a a peculiar message of some sort. And notice how what I want you to not to miss is my whole point is that notice how Paul or Saul is completely independent of all the disciples of all the apostles and of all contact with Christ while Christ was living. Keep keep that in mind because that's my whole point. All of this is happening to Paul or Saul completely independent of this disciples disciples and and of of our our lord's lord's life life and of his death and of his resurrection, all of that. This is a completely independent operation.
Anyway, Ananias is told by this voice or whatever that he must go to the house to a certain house, and he will find there Saul who's blind. And what is Ananias' reaction? I can't do that. That man's that man hates us. If I go there, it's like putting my head in a noose.
And and that's absolutely right. Because you see these people, these Jews who are following the new way were guilty of blasphemy. And the Jews who were persecuting them were doing it because they were blaspheming God, because they were saying this this criminal that we put on the cross claimed to be the son of God. They put it in put it right on top. Now then, of course, Saul gets back to his sight, and notice he's baptized right away.
He didn't become a catechumen for seven years or so. They baptized him right away. And notice, don't miss it. How did Ananias get to know Christ? He's in Damascus of Syria.
He was already following Christ in Syria. How did he get the good news? I don't know, he got it. He got it because Saul left Jerusalem to go to Damascus because of the Jews there who were following the new way. Who carried that message?
I don't know. But Paul did not get it from Ananias. Now, see, this is what I'm trying to make clear to you this morning. You everybody talks about the four gospels, the three synoptics and Saint John, And they are all are all these three synoptics are very close together. Who who who copied what and who copied which and how one is entangled with the other.
You know, this is what puts bread on the table for scholars. John is a separate witness compared with the other synoptics. But Paul or Saul tells us explicitly in his letters that what he knows about god and Jesus Christ, he did not get from any disciples, from any apostles. He got it from Jesus direct. Paul is a completely separate witness.
So when you read this chapter of Saint John about the about Christ talking, and you see some people are re are revolted about eating flesh and drinking blood and eating flesh. A convert came to me and said, can't we eliminate that? It's so bloody. Well, see, a lot of people would like to rewrite the New Testament, and they're doing it, of course, as I'm I'm having mine to talk about Sunday. So keep this in mind that the best account we have of the last supper is from Saul or Paul.
And Paul explicitly says that what he knows about Christ, he got individually, personally from God and Jesus Christ themselves. This is a frightfully important thing to keep in the back of your head when you read the New Testament. Don't overlook the letters of Paul. He's a totally separate witness. He was an intelligent, well informed Jew who's a Roman citizen from Tarsus, And he played such an important part in Christianity that some critics say that Christianity is pretty much of his making.
Of course, that's a that's a crazy thing to say. But plenty of of anything you say that sounds crazy about the New Testament and its critics, it's already been said. Believe me. So that's the point. So Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we have unity, coherence, and emphasis.
A lot of emphasis. We have the death of Stephen. There's a man in that crowd who holds the garments of the people who stoned Stephen, and that was Paul. Then Saul that's his name now. Saul then, breathing thunder and lightning and death to the followers of the new way, takes off for Damascus, Syria.
Notice Syria. And he winds up by being visited by a man named Ananias who cures him of his blindness, who gives him the good news of Jesus Christ, and who baptizes Paul on the spot. And that's the beginning of Saul's ministry because he doesn't go back to Jerusalem for for several years. And so what I'm bringing is that Christianity rests upon solid grounds of credibility. No no matter what these scripture scholars today, how they try to demytholize the New Testament as well as the old.
How often do you ever hear of Paul mentioned? Think of that. How often do you hear the acts of the apostles even mentioned? Because this is a separate channel. This is a this is a a totally separate witness who is testifying that that baby born of a virgin named Mary was truly the son of god.
In the name of the father, and the son, and holy spirit. Amen.