Only a radical conversion can produce this attitude in the life of a man like Saul: For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:8). In this occasion, no one seems to have prayed for Peters miraculous escape. 10i There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. He answered, Here I am, Lord. A man who, along It is evident in the way he was saved. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). They could hear the voice but they did not see anyone who was speaking. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him (Daniel 2:22). A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel (Luke 2:32). When Saul looked at the disciples of The Way (Jesus disciples) all he saw was a heretical sect that was a threat to the nation of Israel and Gods Law. 14And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name.l But his blindness was symbolic of his condition. Ananias was afraid because he knew Sauls reputation as a merciless persecutor of the church. These two shocking deaths served as an example to the body of Christ that God hates hypocrisy. on it belonged to the Roman province of Syria, but had a measure of municipal autonomy in the loose federation of cities called the Decapolis. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 181. When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Choose from news (Monday), leisure (Thursday) or worship (Saturday) or get all three! 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The church in Damascus has been talking about Saul and its members rightfully afraid of him he has, after all, been dragging Christians out of house after house, throwing them into prison, and desiring their deaths. Q He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7). He has sovereignly chosen to use people to lead people to salvation, Spirit baptism, deliverance, and healing. Ananias found Saul and said to him, Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit. As soon as Ananias spoke, Saul could see again. 26:63; Luke 22:67, 70). Hd7/`l@TM0h#`C2 +u-AsQ3j++&?Fu7_[1_?a^J> I see a man who is confident, aggressive, and zealous, rather than a man troubled by inner doubts. How old was Jesus when he was crucified? Indeed, God would reveal His sovereignty by using Saul to further the gospel, first by his opposition (which scattered the church and spread the gospel), and then by his conversion (which resulted in his powerful proclamation of Jesus as Messiah). We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. It was evidently a term used by the early followers of Jesus to denote their movement as the way of life or the way of salvation. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 181. Saul recognized that he was a sinner, and that his righteousness was but dung before God. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". It is one of the few accounts of a conversion which is described with some detail (although this detail is much less than we would prefer). Then, on the road to Damascus, he was blinded by a vision of Jesus. (8) Saul was saved independently of the apostles. The Essene community at Qumran used the same designation to describe its mode of life. Sauls Conversion. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. 10 i There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. He answered, Here I am, Lord. 11 The Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). Upon hearing Peters words, Ananias fell to the ground and died. WebThats when Ananias heard a word from the Lord. Many are the plans in a mans heart, But the counsel of the LORD, it will stand (Proverbs 19:21). Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light. When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them (John 12:35-36). The LORD identified Himself as the Jesus, whom he had been persecuting. It was bright enough to bring about a period of blindness. Ananias was afraid because he knew Saul's reputation as a merciless persecutor of the church . 6Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.f 12 It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hopethe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Romans 6). 129 By this time Saul has gained a reputation as the ringleader of the movement to make Christianity extinct. I can believe the saints who gathered to pray would have prayed for the protection of the church in Damascus and for the safety of individual saints, especially the leaders and the most visible Christians. What is meant by the competitive environment? So Ananias found Saul at Judas' house, praying for help. After this incident with Paul we hear no more Perhaps nowhere else is the radical change (of conversion) in Pauls life153 more readily evident than in his attitude toward the saints. Saul, why do you persecute me? Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? They, not unlike Ananias, were very reluctant to have anything to do with this Christian killer. During the subsequent Roman rule, the Copyright 2019-2023 USCCB, please review our Privacy Policy. The saints (9:32, 41; 26:10; cf. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. What a terrible revelation this isthat all are sinners, even the best, the most religious, the most righteous! sunodia, Luke 2:44). F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), fn. Ananias is not the last believer who has seen fit to keep God up to date (The Storytellers Companion to the Bible: The Acts of the Apostles). 2:1 He said to me, Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you. 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. Ananias Get up and go to the street called Straight, to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. What is the meaning of Sapphira in the Bible? ACTS 9:27 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. Yes, Lord, he answered. They could only kill him, and this they were determined to do (9:23). Amen. What changed about Saul/Paul after Jesus appeared to him? But as I see the call of God referred to in the New Testament, it seems that the call of salvation assumes other callings, to which Paul and other New Testament writers made frequent reference: Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1). * [9:36] Tabitha (Dorcas), respectively the Aramaic and Greek words for gazelle, exemplifies the right attitude toward material possessions expressed by Jesus in the Lucan Gospel (Lk 6:30; 11:41; 12:33; 18:22; 19:8). Shortly afterwards, the Lord spoke to a disciple named Ananias, asking him to go to Saul, place his hands on him, and restore his sight. One moment, Saul was opposing Jesus, as though He were the sinner; the next, Saul is on his face before this Jesus, calling Him Lord. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NKJV, Chronological Study Bible: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Third Edition, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word. He who had wanted to kill these saints now wanted to fellowship with them. Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira got caught up in a band-wagon effect. That Luke would narrate this conversion three times is testimony to the importance he attaches to it. We do not know the exact time when Saul was saved. Theologically, we know this as the doctrine of mans total depravity.151 Paul surely believed that it was essential for men to begin with the understanding of their own sin, for in his Epistle to the Romans, he took the first two and one-half chapters to prove that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). To persecute them was to persecute Him. 1:11--2:10; Ephesians 3:1-13; cf. Get the BEST VALUE in digital Bible study as you prepare for Easter. Some were amazed, taking note of the dramatic turn-about in Sauls faith and practice (9:21). There are affinities between his conversion experience and Ezekiels inaugural vision, in which the prophet saw the likeness of the heavenly throne and above it a likeness as it were of a human form (Ezek. It is no wonder then that this one who was Sauls all in all would be the focus, the substance, of the gospel which he preached: But we preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). Web The children will describe Ananias as a man who helped Saul even though he was afraid. We can learn more about his life in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and we can still read some of the letters he wrote that have been collected into the Bible, such as Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians. 136 E. M. Blaiklock, The Acts of the Apostles (Grand Rapids: Wm. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you (Deuteronomy 28:28-29). There is no more appropriate conclusion to our message than the words of the apostle Paul, which immediately follow those above, and which aptly express the response of the Christian to the wisdom, the grace, and the sovereignty of the God who has saved us, and who works all things together for His glory and for the good of His chosen ones: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! B. Eerdmans Publishing Company {photo-lithoprinted}, 1966), p. 90. The passage which we are studying can be divided into these major segments: We will begin this lesson by making some general observations concerning this account of Sauls conversion,134 after which we will examine the sequence of events leading up to Sauls conversion, the events surrounding his conversion, and the consequences of his conversion as depicted by Luke. This account is accompanied by an asseveration of its truth which suggests that some people were contradicting it.133. Saul is welcomed into the church. They too rebelled against God and forsook His word and persecuted His prophets. 1* Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,a went to the high priestb Israel was also blind, and Pauls blindness was but a specific example of this blindness: The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 1 What is the significance of the story of Ananias and Sapphira? Without Ananias prayer, Saul spends the rest of his life as a blind man wondering what his life might have been. Saul saw and heard the resurrected Christ. Sapphira). He sent me so that you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 18 Immediately, something that looked like fish scales fell from Sauls eyes. Dont let it trouble youalthough if you can gain your freedom, do so. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. His name was Ananias (not to be confused with the husband of and the other is a deceptive, self-serving half-truth from people interested Preachers working through the narrative lectionary with their congregations, then, will do well to explore this passage in detail in order to establish the character of Paul well for the second half of Acts (Acts 13-28; see how this role is foreshadowed in 9:15), which shifts the focus from the ministry of the Twelve in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to his role in taking the gospel throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and even to Rome (see Acts 1:8). The first words of the Lord Jesus to Saul were intended to teach him the inseparable unity between Christ and His church. Jesus words, Why are you persecuting Me?, clearly implied that Sauls persecution of the church was a persecution of the Lord. Salvation may occur in a large group, such as those saved at the preaching of Peter at Pentecost, but each individual was saved because of a personal encounter with Christ. With this backdrop in place, the preacher can now focus on two movements of Ananias part of this story: his vision and conversation with the Lord (verses 10-16) and his laying hands on Saul leading to Sauls baptism (verses 17-19). . How do you calculate working capital for a construction company? 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives. For all the saints. 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Saul was knocked to the ground and confronted with the reality that hed been working against God rather than helping God. This is a miracle, a miracle which is all of God, and all of grace. In Hellenistic times it was completely replanned on the Hippodamian grid-system. 5He said, Who are you, sir? The reply came, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.e Israel too will look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 11:32 Paul speaks of an ethnarch of Aretas, the king of the Nabataean Arabs, who guarded the city to prevent him escaping from it. This silence is instructive, in my opinion. It is difficult to estimate the amount of resistance Ananias would have had to this divine instruction to receive Saul as a brother in the Lord. Not only does the narrator tell the story of Sauls transformation from persecutor to apostle in Acts 9, Saul himself re-tells the story twice when defending himself before persecutors (before the tribune in Jerusalem, Acts 22:1-21; and before Agrippa, Acts 26:1-23). Would the church not have undertaken the task of discipling these folks? Blindness, not willing to see, not willing to understand is all too common but Ananias cured Saul blindness by a touch. Saul took this most seriously, not eating or drinking until after his confession of faith by means of his baptism. (3) The racial expansion from the Jews to the Gentiles. After this, Saul broke his fast and was strengthened. In this approach, preachers are offering their congregation a chance to relate to Ananias dream that leads him to overcome his preconception of Saul (a correct but now outdated preconception), come to see Saul as someone God has called, and respond faithfully. 11:2328; 12:710; Gal. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. many pulpits today promise to those who will follow Jesus. Let us avoid cookie cutter conversions.. The first thing we shall do is to make some observations on the passage as a whole to attempt to see the forest before we scrutinize the trees. We know from Romans 7, for example, that Paul had struggles in his spiritual walk. While at first he thought he might have to correct God, in the end he submitted himself and his very life to Gods call. He started to KNOW GRACE! By divine revelation, Peter called out Ananias for lying to the Holy Spirit and to God. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. The emphasis in the account is on Paul as a divinely chosen instrument (Acts 9:15). 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, Please come to us without delay. 3:7, 8; 1 Tim. To him be honor and might forever. Second, the only result of this event shown in the Bible is that Saul received his sight. To Paul, his relationship, by faith, to Jesus Christ was also the beginning of his new relationship to the body of Christ, the church: Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christs afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. We can overcome our fears if, like Ananias, we trust that Jesus is directing the preaching work, That our Lords contemporaries believed the Messiah to be in some special sense the son of God is rendered probable by the wording of the high priests question to him at his trial: `Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? (Mark 14:61 par. For less than $5/mo. (1 Corinthians 9:1). Hypocrisy is the most dangerous spiritual virus to infect the church. With the help of Ananias, he was transformed into a follower of Jesus and became one of the most well-known evangelists ever. There are two very important implications to the personal dimension of Sauls conversion. What do Ananias actions, when asked in the passage to heal Saul, suggest about his feelings toward him? Ananias fulfills his task: He laid his hands on Saul and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain When Saul reached Jerusalem, the Christians there also were afraid of him, because they thought he was going to have them all arrested. There is a great deal of information we are not given, and thus we cannot be dogmatic about our conclusions. How much better to petition God to save those whom we are concerned about, a God who desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 1:16f. Ironically, Ananias could have become one of Sauls targets of persecution for following the Lord Jesus. In Pauls speech in Acts 22, he describes Ananias as a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews that dwelt in Damascus (Acts 22:12). 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lords freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christs slave. It was Gods initiative all the way. In spite of this, we are not told here that Saul did receive the Holy Spirit or what happened when he did. OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 87-89), plays out the two views of Sauls conversion, the first (and seldom held the view of Ramsay), that Saul was suddenly and radically converted; second, that there was a considerable process involved. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. But then the preacher can continue that even though Ananias didnt know about Sauls epiphany, he did as the Lord told him anyway. Why did Ananias have to overcome his fear? . 8 Although I am less than the least of all Gods people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was the first recorded sin in the newly organized church. Both are call stories. And yet, even in opposing God, he furthered Gods purposes; he was instrumental in the evangelization of the Gentiles (Acts 8:1, 4; 11:19-21). 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (Matthew 17:2). He got up and was baptized, Saul asked.I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. WebExplain why Ananias was told that Saul was a 'Chosen Vessel' Give an account of the vision which Saul had while traveling on the road to the Damascus. The conversion of Saul, as depicted in our text, was not only a divine call to salvation, but it was also a call to service. 5 Why did Ananias and Sapphira lie to God? WebAnanias placed his hands upon Saul who received the Holy Spirit and the restoration of his sight. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. This text portrays one of the historical landmarks of the church. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Israels watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep (Isaiah 43:8-10).