Lowered in a Basket
After Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, he went into the city for an indeterminate amount of time. From there he went to Arabia — not Saudi Arabia, but the Nabatean kingdom which was basically east of Judea and whose capital was Petra. At the time it stretched almost all the way to Damascus, so Paul may not have had to go far.
After that he returned to Damascus where he was pursued by the Nabatean king Aretas IV. Likely he was after Paul as a favor to the Jews who were conspiring to kill him (Acts 9:23).
Here’s what happened, as Paul recounts it:
“In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.” (2 Cor. 11:32f).
Great victors were known more for scaling city walls — not for being lowered in baskets to escape.
To Paul it was just one more sign of his weakness. But “weakness” for Paul was a loaded word — since it tapped into the central story of one who was crucified in weakness but raised in power. His central faith narrative was cruciform.
My guess is that many of us have had some basket-lowering moments in 2008. We’ve been weak.
And yet in the weaknesses, we’ve experienced God’s renewing power. We’ve grown in faith and hope toward God and in love toward our fellow human beings.
We’ve come to trust in his mysterious ways. We’ve come to long for his kingdom in its fullness. We’ve learned that he is a God of second (and third, fourth) chances. We’ve experienced his presence among us.
Therefore, we boast all the more gladly about our weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on us (2 Cor. 12:9).
Thanks, Mike, for the encouraging and insightful words you’ve written on this blog throughout the year. They continue to bless my life.
Blessings to you and those you love.
Waymon
Mike,
I agree with Waymon completely.
As for this post…. God’s strength is engaged at the point of my weakness. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and this post says to me that perhaps I need to adjust my life to this truth.
His peace my brother,
Royce
Yes, thank you for these encouraging words which consistently lift us up and sometimes challenge us.
I guess if we could really be strong on our own we wouldn’t need His renewing power. It is counterintuitive to boast in weakness because weakness is frustrating. I struggle with the desire to be strong on my own. It is difficult to let go of control.
May you enjoy many blessings in 2009, Mike!
Echoing the above sentiments and adding my thanks to theirs for this blog, Mike! You stretch my thinking, challenge some long-held positions that are proving useless if not non-God honoring. Of course, there’s always an exception to every compliment. My exception? I love your blog except when you extol the virtues of the poor St.Louis Cardinals. That’s when I turn aside lest I be led astray, scattered by every wind that blows in West Texas.
You are appreciated, loved and respected, Mike and I thank our LORD for you and your gifts, and I thank you for being faithful in expression and sharing of those gifts.
Happy New Year to you and your beloved ones!!
I’ll leave the first comment of 2009:
Thanks so much for those words. It’s a pleasure being in this space with you. I wish that all the things I intended to write about I could find the time (or maybe discipline?) to get out here.
May God continue to guide us, form us, and renew us for the sake of his reign.
Thank you for this wonderful post. I love the lowered-basket story, but I had never thought of it in this way. I struggle with thinking I have to rely on my own strength, which is such a false idea. I’m glad to begin 2009 with such biblical instruction.
P.S. Can you imagine the risk taken by those who lowered Paul down? What if they had been caught?
Just what I needed to read to begin this new year. Thank you, Mike, for this post and for so many others.
May your life be filled with happiness as you daily experience the blessings of God in the New Year!
Bill Williams
Dear Mike,
I’m a university student studying the module, ‘Jewish-Christian-Muslim Contraversy’ and I’ve just researching the figure of Paul within the context of Romans 9-11 and your blog came up.. would it be possible for you to help me some questions/pointers in the right direction, as I have read the text fully, but now need some help!
I look forward to hearing from you, and even if you cannot help in any way, please let me know
Thank youuuu and God bless..