"Yes, LORD!"

Acts 9

We are making our way through the Book of Acts. Within these pages we have a record of the early days of the Church. Before He ascended to Heaven, Jesus met with the Apostles. Shortly after that, they receive the Holy Spirit and begin spreading the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ throughout Jerusalem. Even though God is doing amazing things and transforming lives, it doesn’t take long for the Christians to start running into trouble. They face problems that range from disagreements within the church to Jewish religious officials murdering them.

Even so, the believers seek God in prayer and ask for boldness. Not safety or protection, BOLDNESS! In chapter seven we read about the stoning of Stephen and we were introduced to one of the people who was trying to stop the spread of Jesus’ Gospel. His name was Saul. To us he is more commonly known as Paul so I will probably be referring to him by that name, but just know that regardless of Saul or Paul I am referring to the same person.

By the beginning of chapter eight, what we know about Paul is that he approved of Stephen’s murder. Today we are going to talk about chapter nine, which is largely about Paul. More specifically, about his conversion to Christianity. Let’s pray and then we will see what is going on in this chapter and how it might apply to us today.

Pray

As you probably expect, this chapter is loaded with connections to the Old Testament as well as Jesus’ life and teachings. To the people, like Paul, who were there and experiencing these things, I imagine noticing these connections was like seeing God’s fingerprint on the events. Maybe Luke, who was recording everything, saw it as evidence that confirmed or verified that God was working. For us as readers, we can see Jesus working through the Holy Spirit to transform lives.

In chapter nine, all of those perspectives and thoughts come together and stand out. Jesus appears to Paul, a disciple has a vision to go speak to Paul, Paul becomes a follower of Christ, his life does a complete 180 and all of the intensity that he was using to find and murder Christians shifts as he pours that into spreading the Gospel. The last part of this chapter suddenly shifts focus back to Peter, who is doing the same thing.

Let’s start with verse one. I think there is an important detail that is hidden in this verse that is meant to show us just how strongly Paul is standing against God. As we read this remember that, in Paul’s mind, he IS serving the Lord. As he hunts and murders followers of “The Way” who are undermining Judaism, he is doing it with the utmost integrity and devotion…

Acts 9:1–2 NIV

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

To Paul, the high priest, and the other religious leaders that we have been talking about, these people who follow Christ are standing against the Jewish traditions. The devout Jews didn’t believe that Jesus was the King that God promised to send, so all of the Christ followers who are making these claims about Jesus being the Christ are the ones who are standing against God.

When you believe, first of all, the Christ followers are heretics, secondly you have a desire to keep the ruling government from kicking you out or killing you, and then finally you sprinkle in some corruption, it makes sense that you would feel a duty to chase down and eradicate these people who are causing so much trouble.

What is crazy to me is that many of the people actually believed that they were serving God’s will while they turned a blind eye to compassion and peace. This is what Paul was doing. He thought that he was serving God, but he was actually blind to what God truly wanted. Verse one says that he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” The way this is written in Greek can also be read as he was “breathing threats and murder.”

Luke is leaving us an important clue that shows how Paul’s understanding of God’s will is diametrically opposed to what God’s will actually is. The keyword here is breathing. Paul is breathing out murder. Death. What does God breath? According to Genesis, God’s breath brings life, not death…

Genesis 2:7 NIV

7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

They are completely opposite. They couldn’t be further apart. That is what makes this story so important. He is doing the opposite of what God expects of him. Instead of relying on God to spread life, Paul is spreading death. He is hurting people instead of helping them. He thinks he is serving God, but when it comes to seeing things from God’s perspective Paul is completely blind. So that is how God get’s his attention. God shows Paul that he is spiritually blind by making him physically blind…

Acts 9:3–9 NIV

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Everyone in this passage was blind. Nobody knew what was going on. The people with Paul heard the sound, but couldn’t see who was speaking. In the end, Paul couldn’t see anything. Paul’s experience here is an obvious message about spiritual blindness that continues to speak to us today…

Without God, we are spiritually blind.

I like how Nate Sala responds to Paul’s situation. He says,

“Being zealous for God’s Word is not an antidote to spiritual blindness.”

In other words, sometimes we THINK we are serving God, but if we are relying on our own knowledge we will eventually be no different than the Pharisees that Jesus faced. Jesus called them hypocrites. He quoted Isaiah to describe their hearts as being far from God, worshipping God in vain, and teaching merely human rules. He then went on to call them blind. Jesus said…

Matthew 15:14 NIV

14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

Proverbs teaches us about this concept as well…

Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Speaking of straight paths. This brings us to the next part of Acts chapter nine. Paul is in Damascus in a house on Straight Street. Ironically, he is staying with someone named Judas. Paul was blind, he didn’t eat or drink anything, and as far as we know he didn’t even speak for three days. God put him in a time-out. He was sent to his room to think about what he did. I am being a little loose with what actually happened, but that is more or less what happened. Can you imagine pouring everything you have into serving God and then being faced with the fact that you were actually fighting against Him as an enemy?

Imagine you are Paul and you had this experience with God and now you are sitting in complete darkness because you are blind. What would you see? Stephen’s face? Probably a lot of faces. The faces of the people you killed. The faces of people in their last moments of pain. Maybe their boldness begins to make sense as you realize how wrong you were. Maybe you would see Jesus’ face. Paul was going after the followers of Christ, but according to Jesus it was Jesus Himself that Paul was persecuting!

Then you see another face. One you haven’t seen before, but somehow you know his name. Ananias. You see him reach out and touch you and suddenly your blindness is gone…

Acts 9:10–12 NIV

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

I’ve asked you to look at your own life as though you were looking through Paul’s eyes, no pun intended. Now imagine looking though Ananias’ eyes. Can you imagine what he was thinking? The closest thing I could imagine would be if we knew that someone from a Middle Eastern terrorist group was staying somewhere here in Cordell. For whatever reason we knew his name, knew he was here, knew he had a history of killing Christians, and knew he was here looking for Christians to capture or kill.

You are mowing the yard, or doing dishes and then you hear God say your name, “Chad!” “Mike!” “Amy!” “Go say hi to this guy. He is praying and saw a vision that someone with your name was going to lay hands on him and restore his sight.”

I know what I would be thinking. “You mean someone who is killing Christians is blind right now and you want to give him his sight? I know we aren’t supposed to question You, but you do realize that someone who is killing Christians is, at this moment, blind and you are wanting to heal him?”

That is kind of how Ananias reacted. He’s like, “Are you sure!”

Acts 9:13–16 NIV

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Let’s pause and think about how we would respond here. Through MY eyes, this sounds like some good news and then some more good news. Sounds like this murderer is a Christian now and God is going to use him to spread the Gospel. It also sounds like God is going to punish him for what he has done! “You are going to show him how he will suffer? Let me grab my things!”

Even here it is so easy to lean on my own understanding and be spiritually blind to what God is doing, even though I might be zealous for God’s Word. Fortunately, Ananias is a way better example than me. This is how he responds…

Acts 9:17–18 NIV

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul...

Pause… Back to our hypothetical situation. Can you imagine calling the murderous terrorist invading your town “brother?” This is how one of my commentaries describes the importance of calling Paul “brother.”

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition) Commentary

Ananias greeted him… with the fraternal greeting “brother” (adelphe, GK 81)—believing, it seems, (1) that whoever Jesus had accepted was his brother, whatever he might think about such a person himself, and (2) that all further relationships between them must be built on that basis.

That’s powerful. To know that no matter what evil a person has done, once Jesus has accepted them into God’s family they are forgiven the same as I am. God is in the business of transforming lives and partnering with Him means that we are a part of the family business.

Augustine of Hippo eventually became the Church’s foremost voice on grace, sin, and holiness. Before God’s transformation he was sexually immoral and once prayed, “Grant me chastity, but not yet.” He even followed a heretical sect.

John Newton was a pastor and hymn writer. “Amazing Grace” is one of his songs. Later in life, he fought to abolish the slave trade. Before God’s transformation he was quite the opposite! He was a human trafficker, transporting slaves across the Atlantic. He was known for blasphemy and mocking Christians.

C. S. Lewis was an author. He wrote Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and The Chronicles of Narnia. He was a famous and effective Christian apologist. Before God’s transformation he was an atheist. He saw Christianity as nonsense.

Rosaria Butterfield was once a tenured English professor at Syracuse University specializing in queer theory, living in a same-sex relationship, and outspoken against Christianity. After God completely transformed her life she left her academic post, later married a pastor, and is now writing and speaking on sexuality and the gospel.

This would also be Paul’s story. Let’s read the rest of that passage…

Acts 9:17–18 NIV

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

Clearly, Ananias understood this about God’s nature and answered God’s call. In fact, the way his story is written here is reflective of other prophets who also responded to God’s calling by immediately answering, “Yes, Lord.” This made me wonder… Why didn’t God just remove Paul’s blindness? Jesus appeared to Paul and made him blind. God gave Paul visions. Why didn’t God speak to Paul directly through Jesus or through visions? Why get some random believer involved? He really didn’t even do anything. In the end, God is the one who healed Paul’s blindness.

I think that if we apply Ananias’ story to our lives, the answer is simple, really…

God wants His entire family to participate in His healing mission.

To me it isn’t confusing, it’s amazing! It’s simultaneously shocking and very cool that God wants us to do this work with Him. Just like He intended for Adam and Eve to work with Him in the Garden, His intent for us is to work with Him in the field gathering the harvest! That’s rad! I am dating myself with that 80’s/90’s term, but it is rad! He doesn’t just want prophet’s in the Old Testament and prophet-like figures from the New Testament to answer, “Yes, Lord” when He calls their names. He want’s all of us to answer “Yes, Lord!” You could say, “He doesn’t want us to be ‘yes’ men, He wants us to be ‘yes Lord’ men.”

If we keep reading, Paul received his sight, got up, was baptized, ate some food, and regained his strength. That part reminds me of Elijah. God had a sit-down moment with Elijah where He fed him and then told him to go back to work. When Elijah did, he encountered Elisha who went with him and became a prophet. In a way, this moment in Paul’s story is similar. He is going back to work for God, but this time it is different. He is a new man.

After this encounter with God, Paul stayed in Damascus proving that Jesus is the Messiah until the Jews there started trying to kill him. Then he left and tried to join up with the disciples in Jerusalem. As you can imagine, they were afraid of him and doubted him, but eventually he shared his testimony with the apostles and partnered with the people he once hunted to kill.

At this point, chapter nine makes a sudden shift and the focus is back on Peter. Luke tells the story of how Peter is following in Jesus’ footsteps, offering Christ’s healing to a paralyzed man and even participating in a dead person being brought back to life. He prayed for a woman named Tabitha, who died, and God raised her back to life.

These stories have direct connections to Jesus. In Mark 2:9 Jesus told a paralytic to rise, take up his bed, and walk, just as Peter did here…

Mark 2:9 “9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?”

Acts 9:34 “34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up.”

In Mark 5:41, Jesus raised the daughter of a man named Jairus. Jesus said to her, “Little girl, get up.” The Greek word for little girl is talitha, very similar to this lady’s name, Tabitha…

Mark 5:41 “41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).”

Acts 9:40 “40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.”…

Other than these connections to Jesus, this sudden jump to Peter feels random and almost out of place. It’s not. In chapter 10 we are going to see another key moment in the Gospel moving from Jerusalem to the rest of the world as it hits the Gentiles. You may remember the conversation we had last time about the Gospel message and the Holy Spirit starting with the Jews, then to the Hellenistic Jews, and finally the Samaritans, who were half Jews. In chapter ten it will make its final major move to the non-Jews, which will eventually get Paul killed.

Another interesting note is the sandwiching going on in this portion of scripture. There is a writing style that biblical authors use called “Chiasm” where they will focus one thought around a stack of ideas that form a literary pyramid. In other words they will write thought “A”, then “B”, then “C”, then the main point, we can call it “D.” From there they will write about the same or another similar thought “C”, then “B”, then finally “A” again. You could say they put a key thought within brackets of thoughts that form pairs around the key thought.

This is kind of happening here. This week we talked about a pair of visions, next time we will talk about another pair of visions. Central to these visions is verse 31. On either side of that verse we have Paul, the most prominent figure to the non-Jew Christians, and Peter, the most prominent figure to the Jewish Christians. What’s the point of all of it?

Acts 9:31 NIV

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Not a house divided, but God’s family coming together! Spreading across the world. The Jews, the half-Jews, and the non-Jews. Living for God by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Growing and increasing as one! That’s the point. That’s God’s plan. That’s the hope we still have for today!

Pray