Saul Meets Ananias

Acts 9:7-19

Saul was chosen by God for two purposes:

We see here the beauty of ELECTION

For salvation

no other man with Saul that day heard the voice of Jesus

Does 9:7 contradict 22:9?

they did hear “a” voice, but they could not discern the words

In John 10:27, Jesus emphatically states “my sheep hear my voice...and follow me.”

those that were traveling with Saul did not - could not - hear the voice of Jesus because He was not their shepherd, but Saul heard His voice loud and clear and answered immediately

why was the revelation of Jesus withheld from them?

why were they excluded from this salvific experience?

Saul doubtless talked about what he had seen and heard as they travelled further into Damascus. Perhaps they did eventually believe, based on the testimony of Saul.

they had seen and heard something, so Saul was vindicated in any accusations of making this up or hallucinating, but they did not see and hear everything

For taking the Gospel

in verse 15, the Lord tells Ananias, “he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles.”

later, Saul (whose name is changed to Paul) uses the illustration of a clay vessel to demonstrate his own fragility as well as the sovereignty of God

Romans 9:21–23 “21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—”

2 Timothy 2:20 “20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.”

This is the appropriate and only perspective to have when viewing our election in Christ. It is by God’s own desire and providence that any of us are chosen for any reason

much later in life, Paul is reflecting back on his election and salvation and admits as much

1 Corinthians 15:9 ESV

9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

We are all unworthy of salvation, were it not for Jesus, who made us worthy by adoption

because He has made us worthy, we are called to walk worthy (Eph. 4:1)

Roger Neidric (sp. ?) saved from a life of sinfulness to become a preacher of the gospel

Saul reacts to the Lord

Fasting

often, we fast involuntarily if we are overcome with grief

in Saul’s case, it was probably a mixture of emotions that were colliding together: grief for what he had done, awareness of Whose presence he had been in, acceptance of his calling, and joy of his salvation

when we have been in the presence of the Lord, there are many responses that are a possibility, but flippancy and nonchalance should never been some of them

dare I say it’s impossible?

Saul likely did not make the decision to abstain from food and drink for 3 days. His doing so was nearly involuntary: he had just seen the Lord in His glory and his heart was changed! It was too much for him to handle and his entire mind was consumed with this earth-shattering encounter

can you say - truly - you have been in the presence of the Lord and then so flippantly go on about your day, doing the same things you do every day?

Prayer

he was still seeking the answer to his question of: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

he was sitting in the dark: unable to read, or look around him. He could not bring himself to eat or drink anything

he found himself in the same position as David often did, and as many others before and after him had: nowhere else to go but to Jesus

These two actions are greatly missing in our churches and Christians today

we’ve lost the practice of humbling ourselves in the sight of the Lord (James 4:10)

a recurring theme in the Scriptures is sackcloth and ashes

these are done in times of great trouble

but it is done to show desperation and debasement

Deprivation (done correctly) draws us closer to the Lord

Fasting: deprives us of physical sustenance

Prayer: deprives us of outside stimulation

Both actions require dedication, determination, and discipline - it is not done easily or flippantly!

unless we are so desperate that it draws us in completely

it was while in this state of prayer and fasting, the Lord tells Saul that he will receive a visitor, who will reveal to him the purpose for his coming to Damascus

remember, Jesus had told him, “Go to Damascus, and I will show you there what the next step is”

Now he will find out exactly what God has planned for him

Ananias obeys the Lord

Unlike the first Ananias we met in Acts 5, this man was a devout man, who upheld the law with utmost devotion, even so much that the Jews held him in high regard - Acts 22:12

Acts 22:12 ESV

12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

The Lord came to Ananias in a vision and told him Saul was expecting him, because the Lord had told Saul about him, and what he would do. Essentially, Ananias and Saul were introduced to each other by the Lord without even being in each other’s presence! This is much like Peter and Cornelius, who we will study in Chapter 10.

It’s interesting to note something here about this: we see another example of God’s sovereignty working alongside the will of man:

God told Saul that a man named Ananias would come and lay hands on him to restore his sight...but God had not yet told the man who would be doing that!

And when he told Ananias, he was understandably reserved and apprehensive.

So yes, God foreknew what would happen, because He had determined it to be so. Ananias, although he made the choice to obey, could not have disobeyed because God had already determined it would happen and had even told Saul it would happen, as if it already had happened!

So Ananias went to the house of Judas, located on Straight Street (which is still there today, about a half-mile long that runs east-west through Damascus) and immediately met face-to-face this persecutor of Christians

against his own senses

“I have heard what he has done”

“I have heard why he is here”

if he had leaned on his own understanding, he may have failed to obey the Lord

he trusted the Lord

he immediately accepted Saul as a brother, according to the word of the Lord

he laid his hands on and blessed him

Ananias was likely one of the multitudes who had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and been baptized by one of the apostles or Philip

remember, no one had yet been baptized by anyone other than these

no one had yet received the Holy Spirit without being prayed for and blessed by anyone other than these

Ananias was either a second- or third-generation Christian with a direct line of succession to the apostles

when he laid his hands on Saul and blessed him, Saul’s sight was restored and he was filled with the Holy Spirit

Saul received sight and the Holy Spirit simultaneously

his spiritual eyes had been opened, but it cost him his physical sight temporarily

but as soon as he could see again, he was baptized and broke his fast and began to fellowship with the saints in Damascus

When the Lord speaks to you, OBEY!

Put aside your fears and doubts and follow Him. Fight or Flight need not apply in these situations, because the Lord will only lead you into situations where He is with you. If He leads you into the fire, He is there with you. If he leads you to conquer enemies, He is there with you. If He leads you beside still waters, or through the valley of the shadow of death, He is there with you.

Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV 1900

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.