Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.In Acts 8, Luke introduced us to a man named Saul, who he explained had begun to ravage the church. Now the phrase to ravage, in the language that this letter was originally written in, was used to describe an animal ravaging his prey. Saul hated the church; Saul despised early followers of Jesus. In Acts 9:1-2, Luke tells us that Saul was breathing murderous threats against the church. And his hatred for followers of Jesus was so consuming that he requested permission to travel all the way to Damascus Syria, which was a distance of 135 miles, so that he could arrest followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial, in order to put an end to this new movement called the church.
Saul was consumed with hate and driven to fan the flames of hate when it came to the great persecution that was occurring. After receiving permission, Saul proceeded to begin the trip to Damascus. On that trip, however, Saul had an encounter that he did not expect with someone he did not expect: an encounter that would forever change his life and the life of this new movement called the church. An encounter that is recorded for us in Acts 9:3:
As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."As he traveled toward Damascus bent on destroying this new movement called the church, Saul and his caravan were overwhelmed by a light from Heaven so powerful that it knocked Saul to the ground. And as Saul looked up, he found himself face to face with a being who reflected the glory of God. This being then asked a simple question: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Notice that the question was not “why are you persecuting these people?” The question was “why are you persecuting Me?” Saul, recognizing that he was in the presence of God, asks “who are you Lord?” In other words, “God, who are you, because I am not trying to persecute you, Yahweh”.
What Saul was not prepared for was exactly what he heard next: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”. At that moment, Saul, face to face with the resurrected Jesus Christ in His glory, had identified Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, with Jesus. He had recognized that he was face to face with God and that Jesus was God. Luke tells us that Jesus gave Saul a simple instruction: go to the city of Damascus and wait until I tell you what you need to do. We see Saul’s response recorded for us in verses 7-9:
The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.As a result of his encounter with Jesus, Saul was blinded by the glory of God. Saul’s encounter with Jesus would permanently mark him. Most scholars believe that Saul suffered from significant vision problems the rest of his life. In a state of shock over what he had seen and heard, Saul spend three days, blind and without a desire to eat and drink. Luke then records what happens next:
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight."I bet Saul was praying. Imagine yourself as Saul. Everything that you believed about God, every theological category that you had when it came to God, has just been blown up by an encounter with Jesus. Everything that you believed, everything that drove the decisions and desires of your life has now been thrown into question. You have just had an encounter with God and God is Jesus, who you have been persecuting. You’re Saul: wouldn’t you be praying? And as Saul prayed, he was given a vision. A vision that a man named Ananias, who was a follower of Jesus in Damascus, was going to pay him a visit to heal him. Luke tells us that Jesus also appeared to Ananias in a vision, commanding him to go visit Saul. We see Ananias response to Jesus request in verse 13:
But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name."Now imagine yourself as Ananias. You have heard about Saul. Word has gotten back to you about his hatred and opposition to followers of Jesus and the church. You have heard that he was coming to town to do the same thing in Damascus as he had done in Jerusalem. Would you want to go talk with Saul? No, you would want to run from Saul, wouldn’t you? Despite the fact that Jesus Himself has told Ananias that he was to engage Saul, there was hesitation, there was fear, there was a desire to avoid Saul rather than engage Saul.
How often can we find ourselves feeling like Ananias? How often are we tempted to respond to God’s prompting in our lives to engage someone who we have heard is far from God and hostile to God by avoiding them instead of engaging them? Even though we do not know them, we have heard something about them; and what we have heard about them cause us to hesitate engaging them, despite God’s prompting to engage them. Luke records for us what happens next:
But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."Jesus reply is straight and to the point: “Get going; don’t worry about what you have heard about Saul, because he is going to be the vehicle that I use to reversal myself and to carry the message of the gospel to the non-Jewish world. Saul is going to be the vehicle that I use to carry the message of the gospel to those who are in power and authority. And Saul is going to be the vehicle that I use to carry the message of the gospel and how it fulfilled the Old Testament predictions to the Jewish people. And Saul will understand firsthand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Saul will understand what it means to be rejected and to endure ridicule, scorn and shame”. We see Ananias response in verse 17:
So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened.Luke tells us that Ananias responded to Jesus command by going to the Street called Straight, which is still one of the main thoroughfares through Damascus today, and met with Saul. Notice Ananias words: Brother Saul, my brother in Christ, Jesus, who you saw on the road, has sent me to heal you and to give you a mission. This healing will confirm to you that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel are true, that what you saw is true and that God will dwell in you and unite you by the Holy Spirit to be a part of the community of the church. And God has sent me here to commission you to have a special role as a leader in the co:mission that we have been given.
As Ananias finished speaking and commissioning Saul, Luke tells us that Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit and that something like scales fell from his eyes and was able to see. Saul responded to His encounter with Jesus and his conversation with Ananias by publicly identifying himself as a follower of Jesus through baptism. And from this point forward, Saul was never the same, for Saul had been fundamentally changed by God’s transformational intervention and activity in his life.
Tomorrow, we will see Luke reveal that change for us...
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