Ananias

Saul, cont

Famous passage- need to see with fresh eyes.

What is the immediate effect of God coming into Saul’s life?

-helplessness

-depression

-resistance?

Not just any kind of helplessness...but the helplessness of not being able to see. Before, Saul wouldn’t see what was right before his eyes- the Messiah come- but now he CAN’T see. This is of course the nature of God’s judgment on humanity. Those sins which we embrace He sometimes visits back upon us intensely in order to teach us humility and wisdom.

Striking Paul blind is a judgment to be sure, but of course when the judgment of God comes upon those whom He is calling it is not condemnation, it is salvation come calling. And the Lord striking John blind should remind us of an extended conversation that Jesus had with the Pharisees in the ninth chapter of John that ends with the following verse.

John 9:35-41

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

“For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”...this verse captures perfectly the state that Paul finds himself in before God. He has experienced the judgment of God, and what he did not see before he now sees, which is to say the reality of the Risen Christ, and that which he DID see before he now no longer can see, which is to say, the rest of the world. One can imagine that if you had a vision of the Risen Christ and then were struck blind for 3 days, the image that would fill your senses for three days would in fact be the image of the Risen Christ. In his blindness, Paul will finally be able to see that which he could not see before.

Now let me talk about the depression and resistance. This is one of the reasons I love preaching, because it forces me to slow down and read the Bible carefully, and when I read it slowly and carefully, things that I missed the first 20 times I read the passage start to become clear.

First of all, let’s look at what is NOT recorded here in Acts. It does not say that when Jesus revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus that Paul joyfully and unreservedly gave his life to Jesus in that moment. We know that he says “Who are you, Lord?” which is a question that shows that Paul knows right away that this is a divine figure speaking to him, perhaps an angel of the kind that met Abraham or wrestled Jacob in Genesis. And if any of you have ever felt powerfully the undeniable presence of the Holy Spirit you have some small sense of what kind of awe and fear that Paul was feeling in that moment.

And we also know, not from this narrative but from Acts 22:10 that Paul also asks of Jesus, “what shall I do?” And then the Lord tells him to go into Damascus and that God will have instructions for him there:

Acts 22:10 “And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’”

“What shall I do?” can be said in many different ways, but the way that makes the most sense to me is one of personal despair or at the very least fear and trepidation. This is not a casual moment for Paul, this is shocking.

But Paul is silent from that point forward. Jesus tells Him who He is, and then He tells Him to keep doing what he was doing, entering Damascus, and then wait for further instructions. And Paul says nothing from that point forth. He is blinded and, reasonably enough, in a state of shock.

(I will take a moment here just to point out that when someone becomes a Christian in this life I think quite often we are told to keep going doing whatever it is we are doing or have been doing. Keep doing your day job. If you’re married to a non-believer keep being married and trying to love that person. If you were planning on moving to a different state keep that plan and so forth. Just now you do it all as a servant of the Lord. - So it is that Paul’s plan was to go to Damascus and to search out Christians. And the Lord tells Paul keep going to Damascus. Good plan. Of course the twist is that the Lord is going to send a Christian for Paul, not the other way around.)

At any rate we simply do not know anything about Paul’s internal thoughts or feelings right after his vision of Jesus and receiving instructions from the Lord.

But we do know what Paul did AFTER entering Damascus. (SLIDE) For three days he just sat there, or lay there, not eating and not drinking. And, presumably, not saying much of anything, or at least nothing is recorded. This sounds like depression. Jesus did not tell him to not eat or drink or to just lie there. This is Paul doing this. Why is he doing this? Now it is a possibility that Paul is fasting out of repentance or a desire to purify himself...except that there is a Greek word very commonly used in the New Testament for fasting- and yes Luke uses this word several times both in his Gospel and here in Acts. But he does not use it here.

3 days without food is difficult, 3 days without water is torture. People stop eating and drinking when? Often they stop eating and drinking when they have lost the will to live. Paul’s life and beliefs were such that he probably did not believe in suicide as a viable option for life, but giving up on life and its basic functions, well that’s another matter. I think it likely, if not provable, that Paul entered into a very dark space in his mind and spirit. I think he probably felt guilty and unredeemable, as he rehearsed in his mind all the violence that he had poured out upon the people of God in his self-righteousness and arrogance. How could he NOT have felt that way? Paul has met Jesus, but he has not yet received the Gospel.

The revelation of Christ to Paul, in an instant, in a single instant, changes Paul’s self-perception from righteous man of God to murderer of God’s people and resistor of God’s Kingdom.

We are left to guess, but whatever is going on, it is not Paul singing Hallelujah’s and shouting with joy and praising the Lord. He certainly did not ask anyone to baptize him. Remember, he is blind, but you can be baptized while blind. You can be joyful while blind. Paul’s initial reaction to the Risen Lord initially was just to shut down.

But, he had not yet experienced the Gospel. The good news. He did not yet know, or believe, or understand the extent of God’s mercy, the work of the Cross, and how when Christ called Him on the road, He did not call Paul to destroy him, but to redeem him. Sometimes people come to the understanding of God’s power and reality before they fully grasp the Gospel and the joy of the Lord.

Famously in the modern era probably the most influential and admired Christian author and apologist of the 20th century, C.S. Lewis, came to the Lord in despondency and with great reluctance. In his own words,

“You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words “compelle intrare,” compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.”

― C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

C.S. Lewis was rather like Paul in many ways, a scholar and a writer and an ardent evangelist and although their lives looked quite different I believe they shared a similar difficult and surprising, as the title of his book indicates, a surprising road to faith. And they both had much to learn about the Gospel after believing in Jesus and it was the Church’s job to teach them.

Jesus reveals to Paul the reality of His own being, of the Risen Christ, but He gives the task of the Gospel, of teaching and exhibiting the mercy of God, to His church. And that continues to be our task today. We are unable to prove to people or show people the power and reality of the Risen Christ. We can speak of Him and share about Him, but it is the Lord’s work and His decision to reveal Himself wherever and whenever He will. Our work is the work of teaching and exhibiting the work and character of God in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit by teaching the Gospel, the good news of the work that Jesus has done on the Cross and the future that His Resurrection points us towards. That is our work.

Specifically, in this case, it is a work given to a Christian living in Damascus by the name of Ananias. SLIDE

Acts 9:10–12 “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.” 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, 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.””

The narrative would indicate that this is something that has just now been given to Paul, this vision of a man coming to pray for Paul and to heal his sight. And so Paul, appropriately, is praying now. Praying for what I don’t know but I would be praying that the vision would be true and not just a product of my fevered imagination having gone 3 days without food and water.

Ananias, however, reasonably enough, has some reservations. Can you imagine in China or North Korea a vision from God and the Lord says to you, go to your local communist party head, a man who has imprisoned or killed many Christians such as yourself and is currently in your city to do just that, go and pray for him because he is sick and needs healing? Go and pray for him in my name, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I would have questions. I would do the equivalent of “are you sure Lord?”

Acts 9:13–14 “But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.””

I like how he gently reminds God that Paul has jurisdiction in Damascus as well, as though the Lord simply forgot where Paul’s legal authority extends to. He just wants to be sure that God didn’t FORGET that Paul can have Ananias arrested, tortured and killed.

Acts 9:15–16 “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. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.””

Ananias had no idea how true this was and remains so even to this day. To this day Paul ‘carries the name of Jesus’ to thousands of people every day who will for the first time pick up a Bible and read for the first time the book of Romans or Ephesians or Galatians, and there they will find some of the most eloquent, compelling and poetically beautiful passages of the Bible that hold within them the ministry, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Paul was anointed and empowered and sent to Gentile and Jew alike, to children and to Kings, to bear the name of Jesus.

I would like to take a moment to reflect on the choosing of Paul. Because I think it says something else about the Kingdom of God. We are never told WHY it is that Paul is chosen for this vital ministry, of bearing the name of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire and through his writings, the whole world.

But we do know this, we know that Paul was zealous for God before he was called by God. We know that Paul, having made an idol out of the flesh, out of the Law, had become essentially a murderer of the people of God, but in a way his passion for Truth and for God’s truth, is what drove him to sin in this way. Paul was a bull in a china shop, destroying what he did not understand, thinking that he was an instrument of Truth and an instrument of God’s righteous judgment on a heretical sect of Judaism. The Lord simply took this bull and gave him purpose, wisdom, humility, and a new identity in Christ, and then Paul took that same passion and gifting that he had been given and put it in the service of sacrificial love to draw others to Christ.

And I make this point because I believe it to be true that we often identify the wrong people as being close to salvation. We sometimes mistakenly believe that friends or family who are OK with visiting church or will let us pray for them, and say things like well Christianity is healthy for culture even if it’s not true are closer to salvation than someone who is an atheist and denies God’s existence and in fact goes to great lengths to undermine the Church and is actively trying to convince others to curse God and die, as Job’s wife counseled. But while it is never said overtly, I do believe that often those who are passionately opposed to God and His Kingdom are closer to salvation than those who just sort of shrug their shoulders and say as long as we can all get along and no one gets too fervent in their views then it’s all good.

I believe this truth underlies that saying in Revelation where the Lord says that He wishes people were either hot or cold, that he cannot abide lukewarmness ...

Revelation 3:14–16 ““And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

Paul counsels the same several time in his letters, where he urges the people of God to be passionate- to be zealous for the Lord, to not be lukewarm in nature. And, indeed, it has been my experience that the people that the Lord has called to be in His Kingdom are people of zeal and passion. Now, to be clear, to be passionate and zealous does not mean having to be extroverted or loud or energetic by nature. We cannot all be Petersons. Someone who is by nature quiet and introverted or gentle in Spirit in this way can be deeply passionate and zealous for the Lord- and their whole life bears witness through service and prayer and joy to their zeal for Jesus Christ.

Be that as it may, if someone seems far from the Lord and adamantly opposed to His Kingdom do not cease to pray and, when able, to reach out to that person because I believe, like Paul on the road to Damascus to kill Christians, that person may be just a few profound seconds away from a life of zealous faith and service. All it took for the prodigal son was a single moment of realization while working in the pig trough and that was all it took for him to journey back home.

Returning to Paul in this moment, Paul has had, quite literally, his come to Jesus moment, but he does not know what to expect next, but for this vision that someone is going to come and pray for him and heal his sight.

Ananias arrives. And this is one of those moments in the Bible when I wish we had the full conversation- I bet it was fascinating. What words did Ananias, who was fearful that Paul would have him arrested, and Paul, who was fearful of everything at this point, what conversation did they have? Whatever it was, at the end the time is fulfilled and God’s will is enacted.

Acts 9:17-19

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.

If ever there was a time in the New Testament where I feel some sort of speech is warranted or any kind of report on what Paul was thinking this would be the place. Luke still gives no record of what Paul says or thinks, we can only judge from the actions. Ananias comes and courageously prays for this man who 3 days ago was his persecutor. And Paul gives his life to Christ, he is baptized. And then he starts eating and drinking again and he regains his strength. Which, by the way, only underlines the fact that the reason Paul was weak was not because of his blindness...he did not have a fever or was sick, he just was making himself sick by not eating or drinking.

So in this brief passage I believe what has happened is that Ananias came and presented the Gospel to Paul who was more than ready to hear it after his encounter with Christ outside the city, and Paul, fully aware of the depth of his sin and guilt, which he carries with him his whole life, this knowledge of his sinfulness, not the guilt, gladly accepts the gospel that Ananias shares with him, and he gives his life to Jesus, accepting the forgiveness that Christ alone can offer to the lost sinner.

Acts 9:20–22 “And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 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?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.”

Confounded/Proving

συγχέω

I. to pour together, commingle

II. to disturb the mind of one, to stir up to tumult or outbreak

III. to confound or bewilder

συμβιβάζω-

1. to cause to coalesce, to join together, put together: τό σῶμα, passive, of the parts of the body 'knit together' into one whole, compacted together, Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 2:19; to unite or knit together in affection, passive, Colossians 2:2

I. to cause to coalesce, to join together, put together

II. to unite or knit together: in affection

III. to put together in one's mind

IV. to compare to gather, conclude, consider

And what we see here is Paul’s gifting at work immediately...He is gifted by the Holy Spirit, and, unbeknownst to him originally, had been training since birth in his studies, to be able to unite Jesus with people, to unite the truth of the Gospel with the minds of people who are listening to him. But to those who resist the Gospel, the fact that Paul makes sense and does put together the Torah with the person of Jesus Christ, to those who are committed to not believing in Jesus, it only causes them distress and consternation...it sounds like a cacophony, not a symphony.