Opening Blind Eyes
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Big Idea for the Series: In the book of Acts, we see God advancing his Kingdom by his Spirit through his Church.
FCF: When we see people who are hard hearted and resistant to the gospel, it can seem as though there is no hope. And in our own strength, that would be true. But we serve a God who opens blind eyes and softens hard hearts, and no one is beyond his reach!
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.
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.
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.” 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.
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.
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.
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.
I think that one of the truths that sticks out from the story of Saul’s conversion is that...
Only God can open blind eyes.
Only God can open blind eyes.
Saul wasn’t just a little frustrated with these Christians, he was out for blood.
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.
No one in the early church could have imagined that Saul would one day become the most powerful apologist and apostle for Christianity, nor that he himself would author 2/3 of the New Testament books. No one could have persuaded Saul to believe in Jesus.
And this is why Ananias and the others are so terrified and reluctant to let Saul join them:
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.”
The Jews at Damascus can’t believe it when Saul starts preaching about Jesus:
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?”
And the disciples took quite a while to warm up to the idea of Saul joining them.
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.
They had tried to persuade people like Saul, and Saul himself. Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen, so he had heard Stephen’s testimony. It’s likely that Saul, as a student of Gamaliel and an up-and-coming Pharisee, had been present in Jerusalem for a good bit of the events that surrounded Jesus’ ministry and the beginnings of the early church.
He had heard and seen the evidence before. He had heard the testimonies of people who had been miraculously healed, he’d heard about the apostles’ miraculous freedom from prison, of all the miracles that Jesus had performed. It was not for lack of evidence that Saul was an unbeliever.
Unbelievers are blind to the truth.
Unbelievers are blind to the truth.
It’s not just an arbitrary punishment that God inflicts upon Saul when he blinds him. Saul’s blindness was a physical metaphor for his spiritual condition—His eyes were blinded to the truth.
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.
And, it’s not a coincidence that Saul’s traveling companions are unable to understand the voice that speaks to Saul.
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.
Now, skeptics like to debate this verse and call it a contradiction, because elsewhere when Paul recounts his conversion story, he seems to contradict himself. Here in Acts 9:7 we’re told “The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.” But, in Acts 22:9 in some translations it says:
9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
Now, the alleged contradiction is clearer in the KJV than it is in most modern translations, but to give the skeptics their due credit, the KJV in this verse is actually a more literal translation of the Greek. In both Acts 9 and in Acts 22, the same Greek verb is used, ἀκούω. So, in Acts 9:7 the Greek says they ἀκούω’d the voice but saw no one, and in Acts 22 it says they didn’t ἀκούω the voice. So, skeptics say, “See! Paul can’t get his facts straight in his own conversion story!”
Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on here. Even in English, the word “hear” can have multiple meanings. It can mean to physically register a sound, or it can mean to comprehend, listen, or understand.
In fact, this is actually quite common amongst the world’s languages for words like “hear” and “see.” Some languages even use “I see you” as a greeting, not to express merely the fact that their optic nerves are registering signals that correspond to that person’s appearance, but as a recognition that they care about them. They see them.
If I’m in an argument with someone and they aren’t understanding me or I don’t feel like they’re actually listening to what I’m saying, I might say, “You’re not hearing me.” Now, in that moment, I don’t mean that they have gone temporarily deaf and aren’t able to perceive sound anymore, I mean simply that they’re not listening well or understanding what I’m saying. They’re hearing me, but they’re not hearing me.
And in fact, that is exactly what is going on here. Saul and his Jewish traveling companions are exactly the kinds of people that Jesus rebuked repeatedly in his ministry for “hearing, but not hearing.”
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
This, in fact, is one of the most common characterizations of unbelievers in Scripture. Jesus’ rebuke of those who refuse to believe him as “hearing but not hearing” is repeated in all four gospels, it’s cited from Isaiah 6 where God is accusing the ancient Israelites in Isaiah’s time of the same issue. In fact, “blindness” or “deafness” may be the most common metaphor for unbelief in Scripture. It’s in Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, the Psalms, all four gospels, and, the book of Acts itself even includes a citation of this idea in its final closing remarks. Paul is in Rome trying to persuade the Jews there to believe in Christ, and this is what happens:
24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “ ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
More Scriptural examples: Deut. 29:4; Ps. 115:6, 135:17; Is. 6:9-10, 43:8; Ezek. 12:2; Jer. 5:21; Mt. 13:13-15; Mk. 4:12, 8:18; Lk. 8:10; Acts 28:24-28; Heb. 5:11
So, which translation is right? Well, they both are. The KJV is trying to consistently translate the Greek word in the same way, but the modern translations are more accurately capturing the meaning of the word and its nuance. This is why I’m a fan of using multiple translations. If you want to learn more about that, come to our Apologetics class on Wednesday nights and here in a few weeks we’re going to be talking about Bible translations.
The point is this—Saul has been seeing all that has gone on with Jesus and the apostles, but he hasn’t really been seeing. He hasn’t been able to understand and comprehend it. And his traveling companions heard a voice, but they couldn’t understand it. Saul was blind, and they were deaf. Their physical blindness and deafness are pictures, metaphors, of their spiritual condition.
And no amount of human reasoning or evidence was ever going to open their eyes or unstop their ears. Paul later reflects upon his Jewish brothers and sisters who still don’t believe and he says this:
14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.
And here is what I want you to understand about the Saul’s in your life—and perhaps you are a Saul; if so, I’m talking to you.
The Saul’s of this world do not primarily have an information problem, they have a heart problem.
The problem is not that they lack some information which, if you could just explain it properly, would persuade them to believe. The don’t disbelieve because they haven’t seen compelling enough evidence, but because their hearts are hard and they don’t want to believe.
Saul’s see the evidence in front of them, but they suppress the truth.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Saul’s intuitively know that God exists, but they stubbornly refuse to honor him or to give thanks to him. And because of this, the eyes of their heart are darkened—which is just another way of saying ‘blinded.’
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
So, what do you do with the Saul’s in your life? Is Apologetics pointless? No, it’s not pointless. But probably the main benefit of apologetics is for you as a believer—to strengthen your conviction and to defend the faith and preserve orthodoxy. You can, as we have discussed, use apologetics to aid in sharing the gospel, but like any gospel sharing strategy it will only work if God opens their eyes to the truth.
We are entirely dependent upon the Spirit in evangelism.
We are entirely dependent upon the Spirit in evangelism.
Your clever arguments will never persuade the Saul’s of this world unless the Great Physician steps in and opens their blind eyes, unstops their deaf ears, and softens their hard hearts.
So, what should we do? Pray!
I have never once led someone to the Lord through a clever argument, or by presenting new information they didn’t previously have. Again, not that those are unimportant—I think God can use those.
But, I have led people to the Lord after earnestly interceding for them; after pouring my heart out to God and pleading with God on their behalf.
You say, “I’ve been praying, and still nothing.” There are a couple of possibilities as to why that might be.
First off, many of us do not pray as often as we should, myself included. And, the times when I’ve seen people come to faith have overwhelmingly been times when I’ve been consistent and desperate in my prayers. I think that probably one of the main reasons we don’t see more people coming to faith is quite simple:
2 ...You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
How much of our prayer time is consumed by requests for physical healing? I’d be willing to be that your Sunday School prayer request are probably 90% consumed with requests about physical health. I’m not against praying for physical healing—you absolutely should. But are you as concerned about spiritual lameness in your church and your family as you are about physical lameness? Does the terminal disease of sin bother you as much as a cancer diagnosis? Does the break in that person’s relationship with God bother you as much as the frustration they cause in their human relationships? Remember, lost people act the way they do because they’re lost.
I want to issue a challenge today. A challenge to renew our dependence upon God for the harvest. Easter is coming up in six weeks. In the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho, they didn’t have some fancy battle plan and strategy, they were wholly dependent upon God. The people marched around the city wall once a day for 6 days, and then on the seventh, they marched around seven times and God knocked down the walls of the city and they got the victory.
So, here’s what I’m going to ask you to do. For the next five weeks, until Easter, if you are physically able, I want you to take each Wednesday at lunch and spend in fasting and prayer for the Saul’s in your life. I’m only asking you to skip one meal, though you’re welcome to do more if you like. As a church, I’d like us to take these next few weeks of Wednesdays and skip a meal and instead of eating or whatever you normally do during that lunch, spend time in prayer. Students, it would be great to see you get together with your fellow students and pray together. But, if other students aren’t participating, then go it alone. (Don’t get hung up on the details and miss the point. If Wednesday doesn’t work, just pick a day that does. If lunch doesn’t work, pick a different meal. If you have a physical condition that prevents you from doing this without endangering your health, then pick something else to fast from, like coffee, sodas, or social media—something that will cause you some amount of discomfort. You don’t need to ask my permission if you need to make some alteration to the plan, this is between you and God. The time and day is not as important as the time spent in prayer and fasting.)
Let the gnawing sensation of that hunger remind you drive you in prayer for those who need the bread of life. Pray for the person whose name you’ve put up on the wall, pray for others that God brings to your mind, pray for a passion for the lost, pray for opportunities.
So, I’m asking you to fast from lunch on Wednesdays from now until Easter. Then, on the last week leading up to Easter, we’re going to “march around seven times.” If you are able, I’m asking you to fast from lunches each day during the week leading up to Easter, starting Sunday, March 29th through Saturday April 4th. And, those who are able, I invite you to stick around Sunday March 29th after service to pray with me here. We’ll dismiss like normal because I know that some won’t be able to stay, and I’m not going to be taking roll or guilting anybody. That’s not what this is about. So don’t skip church because you can’t stay afterwards!
If you’re willing to commit to this and you are willing to march around the walls with me, there’s a prayer guide that I’d like you to put in your purse, wallet, backpack, car, or wherever is convenient for you. You can write in the name of the person that you’re praying for on that guide.
Let’s get serious about praying for and reaching the lost this month. I think one of the main reasons we don’t see God moving in people’s hearts is simply that we’re not serious in our intercession for them.
Maybe you have been and you’re still not seeing an answer yet. It’s also possible that it’s just not God’s timing yet. Don’t give up praying yet! The fact is that we serve a God who is still in the business of opening blind eyes!
There is hope for the ‘Sauls.’
There is hope for the ‘Sauls.’
The story of Saul tells us that God can redeem anyone from a life of sin and rebellion—anyone!
God can turn zeal for sin into zeal for him.
God can turn zeal for sin into zeal for him.
Now, instead of being the Sanhedrin’s chosen instrument of terror upon the Church, he’s God’s chosen instrument to take the gospel to the Gentiles.
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.
Instead of being filled with thoughts of murder and violence towards God’s people, now Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit.
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;
Instead of being blinded to the evidence for Jesus staring him in the face, Saul is now leaving his former Jewish colleagues dumfounded by demonstrating that Jesus is the Messiah.
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. 23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
Instead of boldly persecuting the church, Saul is boldly preaching the name of Jesus.
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.
Saul, who had spent years refuting (or attempting to refute) Christian claims that Jesus was the Messiah, who had dedicated his life’s work to stamping out Christianity, is now boldly proclaiming Christ basically overnight. He’s looking at the same evidence, but now he has eyes to see it. And this ought to remind us that every missionary, every pastor, every evangelist, and every Christian was once a Saul. We were all once lost, rebels to God’s kingdom.
Do not lose heart!
Do not lose heart!
Paul says in Ephesians that
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
He doesn’t say “sick,” or “wounded,” he says “dead.” And here’s the thing about being dead—you can’t be just “a little” dead or “a lot” dead. Dead is dead. We tend to look at people who are unbelievers and classify them into categories based upon how difficult we think leading them to the Lord will be. We look at someone who lives a reasonably moral life and say, “well, they’re a good person, so they’re closer to being saved” and then we look at someone like Saul, or someone who is a drug addict, or a drunk, or sitting in prison and we say, “Well, it would take a miracle to save them!”
But it takes a miracle for anyone to be saved! But the great news is that our God is a God of miracles! It doesn’t matter how degenerate, evil, or ruthless they have been before, they can become someone that God can use overnight. When the scales fall off their eyes, they won’t need new evidence--they will finally be able to see the truth for what it is.
Maybe you have people in your life that you’re about ready to give up on. Don’t give up. Persist in prayer. They may have a veil over their eyes right now, but if the Lord removes that veil, they will know the truth.
15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
The morning that Saul was saved, his situation looked about as hopeless as it could. He was on his way, almost to Damascus, with papers in hand, ready to torture, imprison, and murder any Christian he found. And by the end of that same day, an encounter with Jesus had completely changed his life.
You don’t know God’s plans. You don’t know what he has in store. Keep praying. Keep following the Lord. Keep looking for opportunities to share the gospel. Who knows? Perhaps you will get to be the Ananias or Philip--the tool--that leads that person to the Lord.
Our God still softens hard hearts. Our God still unstops deaf ears. Our God still opens blind eyes.
March Around the Wall for ‘Saul’
Spend each Wednesday at lunch in fasting and prayer for the Saul’s in your life. (Feb. 25, Mar. 4, 11, 18)
During the week leading up to Easter, spend each day at lunch in fasting and prayer. (Sunday, March 29th—Saturday, April 4th)
Use the provided prayer guide to help guide you as you intercede for the lost.
