Kicking Against the Goads of God
Fueled with religious zeal, Saul witnessed the stoning of Stephen and uttered murderous threats against the Apostles. He traveled to Damascus to round up the people of the Way and send them to Jerusalem to stand trial (Ac 9:1–2).
Jesus stopped him. Lights flashed and Saul fell to the ground. The Hand of God blinded him. He heard,
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied (26:14, 9:4–5).
The risen Jesus Christ spoke plainly to Saul with unfathomable grace. He used a simple proverb ‘kicking against the goads’ to tell Saul that he pitted himself against God himself. A farmer struck his ox with a stick to goad him to move where he wanted him to go. When the ox kicked the goad, the farmer hit him harder until the ox moved in the right direction. Saul was hurting the people Jesus died to save who included Saul—God’s Apostle to the Gentiles. Jesus rendered Saul as helpless as a baby and turned his life upside down and inside out. Saul must lose his life in order to have life and serve the Savior.
God graciously exchanged Saul’s self-righteousness for the Righteousness of Jesus Christ. It was a great exchange, but one Saul didn’t know he needed. Saul trusted his brilliant mind, training, and unwavering dedication to Yahweh. He considered himself a cut above others and best equipped to discern truth from error, right from wrong. Jesus exposed Saul’s sin and effectively told him that it was hard to oppose God, because he would inevitably fail.
Testimony
I kicked against the goads and walked away from Jesus as a teenager. I embraced human secularism and in the 1970s conducted a successful marriage and family therapy practice. Daily I practiced Yoga and meditation. Weekly I participated in a spiritual development class at a local church. While meditating, I saw visions and encountered spirits that reminded me of spirit friends I interacted with as a child. My mother called fantasy playmates, but I knew they were real. In and out of class the angels and spirits of the dead produced visions and spoke into my mind. Their messages were insightful, positive, uplifting. Surely, I served the greatest good.
Seven years later I was severely isolated, and coldness persisted at the center of me. One night I decided to stop communicating with them. The next morning I awoke to hissing and vile voices in my mind. The spirits had shed their masquerades and pure evil dominated me. I closed my office, lived by rote, and waited for a superior spiritual being to make them leave. Two and half years later Jesus rescued me from the dominion of darkness and brought me into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Col 1:13).[i]
It’s hard to kick against the goads of God.
The Pharisees opposed Jesus
Jesus threatened the Jewish rulers. After Jesus healed a man of a withered hand, the crowd brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus healed him so he could see and talk. The Pharisees said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons” (Mt 12:24). They charged Jesus with sorcery, of serving Satan, a charge made throughout Jesus’s public ministry (Lk 11:15; Mk 3:22).
We ask, “How could they not see and know the holy Son of God who stood before them? How could they not tremble before Jesus, the Christ?” How? The Pharisees served Satan, the father of lies, who works hand and glove with human sin (Jn 8:44). The Pharisees could not stand the truth. They loved power and control more than God, much like our culture today.
But no person, no demon, and no culture can thwart the purposes of God. Opposing God is a serious matter and rebellion against him is doomed to fail.
Others tried to stop Jesus from bringing his Kingdom to earth.
Herod searched for baby Jesus in order to kill him (Mt 2:13,16). He failed.
Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Mt 4, Lk 4, Mk 1:13). He failed.
Judas betrayed Jesus and then hung himself (Mt 27:3–5). He failed.
The Pharisees orchestrated his death; yet Jesus lives! They failed.
God reigns absolutely. When God moves within his creation, no one can stop him; he turns evil on its head for his glory. Believers in Christ share the gospel, make disciples, and baptize them in the Name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He promises to come again in glory.
Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. . . .
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev 22:12–13, 20).
[i]Sharon T. Beekmann, Rescued and Redeemed: How to Discern Demons from the Divine (Littleton: Illumify Media Global, 2018).