Acts 9

The Conversion of Saul

What we have been studying in this book has been the real build up to this moment. Luke, the author of Acts, travelled with Paul for a while before his arrest, and now we are hearing the story of Paul. Acts chapter 9 focuses around two main events, Saul’s conversion and Peter’s travels. This will set us up for our main characters for the rest of the book. Saul turned Paul, after chapter 12, will be the main focus for the latter half of the book. Saul is in an interesting character. He is a Pharisee, part of the Sanhedrin, and he was really devoted to God as a Jew. When Christianity began spreading, he made it his personal mission to make sure Christianity is squashed out. Acts 9:1-2

Acts 9:1–2 ESV

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Remember what Gamaliel said in chapter 5 about finding themselves opposing God? Saul would have been there as part of the Sanhedrin, and he most certainly found himself opposing God. He was on the way to Damascus when a spotlight comes on him, he goes blind, and hears a voice. Acts 9:3-9

Acts 9:3–9 ESV

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Saul was a very zealous person. He was convinced that the Jews were God’s chosen people. He wanted to make sure that people were not opposing God, until he found himself opposing God and his entire world comes crashing down. His purpose, his identity has come crashing down. His reason for living is gone. He has no idea what to do with himself so he does the only thing he can do, lay in silence. What do you think Paul was doing while he laid there? Was he praying to God? Maybe thinking about all the people he had put in prison. Maybe Stephen. Chapter 8:3 says Saul was ravaging the church. 9:1 says he was breathing threats and murder. All of those lives weighing on his mind, how can you want to do anything other than wallow in your self pity and shame. David writes in Psalm 51:1–4 “1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” Saul probably felt the same way.

Salvation was coming for Saul by a man named Ananias. Ananias was a disciple that lived in Damascus, and he struggled with the idea of Saul becoming a follower of Christ. Acts 9:10-14

Acts 9:10–14 ESV

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 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.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

In all honesty, I understand where Ananias is coming from. There is this guy that has put other Christians to death, “God are you sure?” Is he trying to pull a fast one on us? Is he trying to trick you, God? This is something every person struggles with at some point or another. Someone comes and apologizes and we say, “What are they getting at? What’s their motive?” We will become so wary of people trying to make things right that we will count them off immediately with no shame. Even the apostles are wary of Saul as we will see later in the chapter. But this is not how God wants us to be. Christ says in Matthew 5:43–45 “43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” 1 Corinthians 13 tells us what Godly love is supposed to be verse 5 tells us that love does not keep a record of wrong doing. Verse 7 says love believes all things. It’s not skeptical of each and every time someone comes to us. It doesn’t remember every time you have done me wrong and when you want to make things right it does not stand there side eyeing you. Ananias struggled with this, but he went.

Christ had a purpose for this. Nothing Christ does is for no reason, and Saul was that reason. Saul was going to be the one who speaks to the gentiles. He would stand before royalty and proclaim Christ, and he would stand before Israel. Acts 9:15-22

Acts 9:15–22 ESV

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

After Saul’s Conversion

We can spend time talking about Saul’s path to becoming a Christian, but this is something we will discuss a few more times before the end of the book. I want us to notice what Saul does after he becomes a Christian.

He eats. Saul knew that obeying the gospel was of such importance he delayed food and water. These life giving items were delayed so he could partake of the bread of life and living water. In our lives, we tend to make sure that our physical needs are met first, that’s called self-preservation, but for Saul his priority was salvation.

He immediately went. There was no delay for him to go and immediately start working for the kingdom. The way I have seen the church work is when a man becomes a Christian is we start with scripture reading. Then we move on to saying the closing prayer. Then maybe they can do the talk before the Lord’s Supper. If we look at Saul’s conversion there was no delay in anything. The goodness of God was so great that there could not be any delay whatsoever.

He was strengthened. Saul spent every day with the disciples of Christ, he spent every day in the temple speaking about Jesus, and through all of this, he was strengthened. You will find that a person does not and cannot become stronger in their faith unless they are spending time in the scriptures and spending time with the saints. There is no way around.

All of these things were baffling to the Jews in Damascus. They all knew the reputation of Saul. We see that in verse 21. Even we are confused when people “switch teams.” Recently there was a trade in the NBA concerning a Luka Doncic. That was a pretty bad trade from what I’ve been reading. Satan had a bad trade. Christ got Saul, Satan got nothing in return. What would Satan have said after you became a Christian? Would he have been upset? Or would he see you were just a Christian in name only?

Saul was so good at what he did that people wanted to kill him. They waited for him by the gates every day just so they could kill him. Thankfully the disciples were able to sneak Saul out of the city so he could head to Jerusalem. Acts 9:23-25

Acts 9:23–25 ESV

23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

When Saul got to Jerusalem, he tried to join the other disciples but they were terrified of him. These disciples struggled the same way Ananias did. A familiar face shows himself to stand up for Saul. Remember Barnabas, the son of encouragement? He stands for Saul before the apostles. Acts 9:26-27

Acts 9:26–27 ESV

26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Sometimes we need somebody like Barnabas. We need someone who will stand for us when being rejected. Doesn’t Christ do that for us? Hasn’t our sin separated us from God and Christ stands as our intercessor? Our Savior? He stands as the one who covers us when we find ourselves lost and confused. Barnabas stood as the one vouching for Saul when others were afraid.

Because of this, the church was strengthened. Saul spent time doing disputing the hellenists. You think he did that because of what he had done to Stephen? Now the crosshairs come onto Saul again and he has to escape. Saul was in almost the exact same situation Saul was when he had him stoned. Thankfully the other disciples caught wind of this and took Saul down to Caesarea and then to Tarsus. Why? Because these were Roman provinces. Caesarea was the capitol of Roman Judea and Tarsus was Saul’s hometown in Turkey. Yet, because of all of Saul’s efforts, the church still grew and was built up. Acts 9:28-31

Acts 9:28–31 ESV

28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Peter’s Travels

For the rest of the chapter we focus on Peter and his travels. He goes all over the area and three areas are specifically named: Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa. The three of these areas would have been a straight North West path which hits Lydda, or modern day Lod, then Sharon which would have been in the plain of in between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean, then to Joppa, which is know today as Jaffa, a small Mediterranean port city.

When Peter gets to Lydda, he meets a man named Aeneas who has been paralyzed for 8 years. Peter heals him, Aeneas gets up, and the residents of both Lydda and Sharon turn to God. Acts 9:32-35

Acts 9:32–35 ESV

32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

The last several verses of this chapter take place in Joppa and deal with a woman named Tabitha, or Dorcas. Tabitha was a clothes maker who was so well known that they had to bring her back to life. She was someone who did great works and showed plenty of kindness to others. People couldn’t stand to see her gone. Is there somebody in your life that was so great you wish you could bring them back? Is there a someone that you knew in the church that did so many good things in the name of God that it was a literal loss for the world? That’s who Tabitha was. She was a true loss for the world.

People send for Peter to come and revive her. Imagine being so well known for your works. We’ve got to ask, what am I known for? What type of legacy am I leaving for the next generation. For the past couple weeks I’ve been hearing about the legacy of Brother Kenney and Brother Jerry and the people that they have affected. If you passed away tonight, how would people remember you? What would you be known for? Tabitha was known for good works. She was so well known people couldn’t let her stay dead. Through her death and then through her resurrection so many more people came to Christ. Acts 9:36-43

Acts 9:36–43 ESV

36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

Chapter 9 is a chapter about reputation and legacy. We read about Saul who had this reputation of being a murderer and persecutor of the saints and when he becomes a Christian he has to change his reputation. By the time that Luke is penning these words, Paul is known as a faithful servant, but it wasn’t always that way. I have no doubt that when Paul died and he stepped into Paradise that all those people that he put to death and all those he led to Christ welcomed him with open arms. What’s your reputation and what’s your legacy in the church? Ecclesiastes 7:1

Ecclesiastes 7:1 ESV

1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.