Acts 9

The Explanation

Saul is on the road to Damascus, and he is angry. Luke writes that he was "still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord." That is a strange way to say it, as if hatred was the air coming out of his lungs. He has official letters in his bag, permission to arrest Christians, men and women, and drag them back to Jerusalem in chains. He is not a criminal in his own eyes. He thinks he is doing God a favour.

Then a light from the sky knocks him flat on the ground. A voice: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Saul asks who is speaking. The answer changes his whole life: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say, "Why do you persecute my followers?" He says me. Every believer Saul dragged off, Jesus counted as Himself.

Saul gets up blind. The men who arrested people for a living now have to lead their leader by the hand into the city. For three days he sits in the dark and does not eat or drink.

Meanwhile God speaks to a believer in Damascus named Ananias. Go to Straight Street, He says, and lay your hands on Saul. Ananias practically argues back: Lord, do you know who this man is? I have heard what he did. He has papers to arrest people like me. This is one of the most honest conversations in the Bible. Ananias is afraid, and he says so out loud to God.

God does not scold him. He simply tells him more: this man is my chosen instrument, he will carry my name to nations and kings. And then something startling: "I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake." The persecutor will become the persecuted.

So Ananias goes. And the first word out of his mouth is: "Brother Saul." Brother. Something like scales falls from Saul's eyes, he can see, he is baptised, he eats, and almost immediately he is in the synagogues preaching that Jesus is the Son of God. Everyone is confused. Isn't this the man who came here to arrest us?

Soon people want to kill him, and his new friends lower him over the city wall in a basket at night. In Jerusalem the believers are too scared to let him near, until Barnabas takes him by the arm and vouches for him.

Then the story moves to Peter. In Lydda he meets Aeneas, paralysed for eight years. Peter says, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!" and he does. In Joppa a woman called Tabitha dies. She was known for her kindness, and the widows stand around crying, holding up the clothes she sewed for them. Peter sends everyone out, kneels, prays, and says, "Tabitha, get up!" She opens her eyes.

What Does This Mean?

Nobody is too far gone. Saul was not a nearly-good man who needed a small nudge. He was the enemy. And Jesus went looking for him.

It also means Jesus is not far away in heaven, watching from a distance. When His people are hurt, He says it is happening to Him. He is that close to them.

And notice how God works through ordinary, frightened people. Ananias could have stayed home. Barnabas could have kept his distance. God used them both, doubts and all.

The Common Thread

Peter tells Aeneas, "Jesus Christ heals you." Not "I heal you." At Tabitha's bedside he kneels and prays first. The whole chapter is really about one Person who is no longer walking around Galilee, but is alive and working. The risen Jesus speaks from heaven, heals in Lydda, raises the dead in Joppa, and turns His worst enemy into His messenger.

There is something here that stays hard. God tells Ananias that Saul will suffer a great deal. Being chosen by God did not mean an easy life for Saul. The Bible does not explain that away, and neither will I.

For You

You probably know someone everybody has written off. The kid who is always in trouble, the one nobody expects anything good from. Acts 9 says God has not written that person off. Try being a Barnabas for one week: the person who vouches for someone else.

And if you are afraid, do what Ananias did. Say it to God plainly, then go anyway.

Talk About It

Why do you think Jesus said "why do you persecute me" instead of "my followers"? What does that tell you about how close He is?

Ananias argued with God and still obeyed. Is it allowed to tell God you are scared? Why?

Praying Together

Lord Jesus, You found Saul when he was not even looking for You. Thank You that no one is beyond Your reach, not him, not me, not anyone I know. Give me the courage of Ananias, who went even though he was afraid. Amen.