Jesus Gets the Final Word

Week 17 Acts: Kingdom of God

Acts 9:1–31 | Acts Kingdom of God series

Dr. Jordan Chambers | Cedar Bay Baptist Church

Big idea: The risen Jesus saves His enemies, brings them into His family, and sends them out as His witnesses.

Biblical Truth One:Jesus confronts our rebellion with saving grace. Acts 9:1–9.

Biblical Truth Two:Jesus calls His people to costly obedience. Acts 9:10–19a.

Biblical Truth Three:Jesus turns changed lives into gospel witnesses. Acts 9:19b–31.

Opening

Good morning, Cedar Bay. Go ahead and open your Bible to Acts 9. Today we are looking at verses 1 through 31 as we continue our series, Acts: Kingdom of God.

Recently, I was getting ready to go to the annual meeting, and my truck would not start. They had replaced the battery last year. Apparently, my truck believes batteries are a subscription service.

I had somewhere to be. The truck had another suggestion. So instead of going where I intended to go, I got to spend time at the dealership. Nothing says “a refreshing Saturday morning” quite like wondering how expensive a clicking noise is about to become.

You can have the whole day planned. You can have the right address, the right clothes, and somewhere important to be. One little click under the hood, and suddenly your itinerary belongs to somebody else.

Now, I’m not suggesting every dead battery is a Damascus-road encounter. Sometimes your battery is just dead. Please don’t stand in the driveway asking the alternator what God is trying to tell you.

But we understand what it feels like to be headed somewhere with confidence and suddenly discover we are not as in control as we thought.

That is where Acts 9 takes us. A man named Saul knows exactly where he is going. He knows why he is going. He has official paperwork, religious conviction, and absolutely no intention of changing his mind.

He is also completely wrong.

That combination ought to get our attention. It is possible to be sincere, committed, well educated, and headed in the wrong direction. Confidence does not make a lie true. Being passionate about something does not make it holy. You can press the accelerator all the way to the floor and still be driving away from where you need to be.

Saul thinks Jesus is dead and the church needs to be stopped. Before this chapter is over, Saul will be preaching that Jesus is the Son of God, and the church will be growing.

Jesus gets the last word.

In the previous chapter, we watched Philip explain the gospel to an Ethiopian official on a desert road. That man had an open scroll and an honest question. Saul has arrest letters and a heart full of hostility. The same Savior who receives the searching sinner can rescue the hostile sinner. Nobody in either story saves himself.

As we read, keep your eyes on Jesus. Saul is important, but this passage is bigger than the story of one impressive man. The risen King is keeping His promise to build His church and send His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Read Acts 9:1–31

Acts 9:1–31 ESV

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 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. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 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 for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 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.” 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.” 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.” 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.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 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. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 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. 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. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 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.

This is the Word of the Lord. Let us pray.

Father, show us the greatness of Your grace. Expose the things we trust instead of Jesus. Give us courage to obey You and love the people You place before us. Help us see Your Son clearly, and change us through Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The big idea is this: The risen Jesus saves His enemies, brings them into His family, and sends them out as His witnesses.

The text gives us three biblical truths.

Biblical Truth One

Jesus confronts our rebellion with saving grace

Acts 9:1–9

Look at how verse 1 begins: “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest.”

That word “still” connects this moment to what we have already seen. In Acts 7, Saul stood by while Stephen was killed. Acts 8:1 says he approved of Stephen’s execution. Then Acts 8:3 tells us he was ravaging the church, entering houses and dragging men and women to prison.

Now he wants to take the persecution to Damascus. He asks for letters to the synagogues so that if he finds anyone belonging to the Way, he can bring them bound to Jerusalem.

These are people with homes and families. Luke specifically mentions men and women. Saul’s religious campaign is inflicting real suffering on real people.

“The Way” was an early designation for followers of Jesus. Saul wants to stop those followers wherever he finds them. Jerusalem is no longer enough. His hostility has become a mission.

Luke says he is “breathing threats and murder.” It is as though persecution has become the air he breathes. This is far more serious than somebody getting irritated because a Christian posted a Bible verse online.

And Saul believes he is serving God.

That is the frightening part. He has confused his zeal with righteousness. He assumes that because he feels strongly about something, God must feel the same way.

We are capable of doing that. We can baptize our temper in religious language. We can call our pride “standing for truth.” We can treat people cruelly and convince ourselves we are defending God. The intensity of our feelings does not settle whether our actions honor Him. God’s Word does.

Later, in Philippians 3:4–9, Paul describes the religious credentials he once trusted. He had the right ancestry, serious religious training, and extraordinary zeal. Persecuting the church was part of the résumé he once considered impressive. When he came to know Christ, he counted those supposed advantages as loss compared with knowing Jesus and receiving righteousness through faith in Him.

He needed a different basis for standing before God.

Church, you can grow up around the Bible and still resist the God who gave it. You can know the vocabulary and miss the Savior. You can teach a lesson, give an offering, or have your favorite pew worn down to the exact shape of your body and still need to be born again.

A pew can remember where you sit. It cannot forgive your sins.

There is a scene in The Office where Michael Scott thinks declaring bankruptcy means loudly announcing it in the office. He says the words with great confidence. The problem is that saying them does not accomplish what he thinks it accomplishes.

We can do something similar with the word “Christian.” We announce a label. We know where to put it on a form. But a label cannot substitute for repentance and faith. Saul has plenty of religious confidence. What he lacks is a right relationship with Jesus.

Verse 3 says that as Saul approached Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly shone around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Notice who starts this encounter. Jesus does.

Saul is not on a spiritual retreat. He has not decided to give Christianity a fair hearing. He is hunting Christians when the risen Christ confronts him.

Saving grace meets him in the middle of his rebellion.

Charles Spurgeon said, “There is no other present salvation except that which begins and ends with grace.” 1

That is exactly what we are watching. Saul brings no achievement that could purchase this mercy. He brings a record that deserves judgment. Jesus meets him with grace that will expose his sin and change his allegiance.

The voice asks, “Why are you persecuting me?”

Saul has been attacking Christians, but Jesus says, “Me.” The risen Lord identifies Himself with His people. Their suffering matters personally to Him.

If you belong to Jesus, you are not an overlooked name on a religious mailing list. You belong to Him. He knows what is being done to His people. He is not indifferent to their pain.

That should comfort the suffering believer. It should also sober the person who mistreats Christ’s church. Jesus loves the people we can be so quick to dismiss.

Saul asks, “Who are you, Lord?” And the answer changes everything: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Think about what that means for Saul. Jesus is alive. The Christians have been telling the truth. Stephen was not dying for a dead fraud. Saul’s entire campaign has been aimed against the Lord he claimed to serve.

He does not merely need to adjust his attitude toward Christians. He needs to surrender to Christ.

We sometimes want Jesus to improve the life we have already decided to live. Help my schedule. Bless my plans. Calm my nerves. Fix the people who get on my nerves, preferably before lunch.

But Jesus has authority over the whole life. He calls us to turn from our sin and trust Him. We cannot keep the throne and ask Him to act as our assistant.

In verse 6, Jesus tells Saul to get up and enter the city, where he will be told what he must do. The men traveling with him are speechless. They hear the voice but see no one. Saul rises, opens his eyes, and cannot see.

He was “Blinded by the light.” Saul could tell you there is a version of that experience that does not involve a guitar solo.

But Luke’s description carries a serious reversal. The man who thought he could see everything clearly now needs someone to take him by the hand. He intended to lead prisoners away from Damascus. Instead, he must be led into Damascus himself.

He arrives at the destination he planned, but his control over the trip is gone.

For three days, he is without sight and neither eats nor drinks. Luke does not give us a transcript of every thought Saul has during those days. Later in the passage, we learn he is praying. We do know that the man who came to arrest disciples has been brought to a place of dependence.

We need that kind of honesty about ourselves. Our deepest problem is not that life has failed to appreciate our potential. Our deepest problem is sin. We have rejected the God who made us and tried to live under our own authority.

Saul’s rebellion wore religious clothing. Somebody else’s rebellion looks openly immoral. The clothing can differ while the heart says the same thing: “I will decide how my life is going to work.”

Romans 5:8 says that God demonstrates His love for us in that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” A few verses later, Paul describes believers as people who were reconciled to God while they were His enemies.

That is Saul’s story. It is also the story of every person Jesus saves.

God the Son took on flesh. Jesus obeyed the Father perfectly. At the cross, He bore the judgment sinners deserve. He died for our sins, was buried, and rose bodily from the grave. The Savior speaking on the Damascus road is the Savior who conquered death.

Forgiveness is possible because Jesus paid for sin. God remains holy, and guilty people can be reconciled to Him through His Son. We receive that salvation by grace through faith, as Ephesians 2:8–10 teaches. Good works follow as the fruit of His saving work in us.

This is why the gospel can address the person everybody thinks is too far gone.

In 1 Timothy 1:13, Paul remembers being a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. He does not clean up his testimony to make himself look better. Then, in verses 15–16, he explains that Christ came into the world to save sinners and that Jesus displayed His patience in Paul as an example for those who would later believe.

Paul’s own application is hope for other sinners.

Think about the person you have quietly decided will never change. You know the speeches they make. You know their temper. You know how quickly a conversation about Jesus becomes an argument. You have begun to assume that their current hostility is their permanent identity.

Saul warns us against making that assumption.

We cannot promise that every person we pray for will be converted. We can keep praying because Jesus is able to save people we cannot persuade, manage, or repair.

And if you’re the person thinking, “You do not know what I have done,” you’re right. I don’t know all of it. Jesus does. His invitation to repent and believe comes with full knowledge of your guilt.

You do not need to make your past sound respectable before you come to Him. Confess your sin. Trust the Savior who died and rose again.

Maybe your concern is different. You hear Saul’s story and wonder whether your conversion counts because you never saw a light or heard a voice.

Acts 16 tells us about Lydia. As she listened to the gospel, the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to the message. Luke does not describe a dramatic roadside interruption. The same Lord saved her.

The circumstances of Saul’s encounter also belong to his unique calling as a witness of the risen Christ. You do not need to reproduce those circumstances. You need the same Savior.

The question is whether you have turned from sin and trusted Jesus. A quiet conversion is still a miracle of grace.

And that grace begins to change what you do next. Saul gets up and follows the command of the One he had opposed. Soon, Jesus will send a disciple to meet him. The Lord who confronts a rebel also has an assignment for a believer.

Biblical Truth Two

Jesus calls His people to costly obedience

Acts 9:10–19a

Verse 10 introduces “a disciple at Damascus named Ananias.” That is how Luke identifies him. A disciple. We are not given an impressive ministry résumé before we are shown his obedience.

The Lord calls his name in a vision, and Ananias answers, “Here I am, Lord.”

Ananias knew the Lord’s Voice. He knew His accent. We all need to know the Lord’s voice. We need to know his accent.

That sounds like a man who’s ready to serve. Then Jesus tells him where to go.

He is to visit the house of Judas on the street called Straight and ask for Saul of Tarsus. Saul is praying and has seen a vision of a man named Ananias coming to lay hands on him so that he might regain his sight.

Jesus is working in both men before they ever meet. Saul has been told to expect Ananias. Ananias is being told to go to Saul.

But Ananias knows that name.

In verses 13–14, he tells the Lord that he has heard about the evil Saul has done to the saints in Jerusalem. He also knows Saul has authority to arrest everyone in Damascus who calls on Jesus’ name.

Ananias is not making up an excuse. His concern is accurate. Saul really has hurt people, and he really came with arrest letters.

Still, there is something almost funny about the way we explain information to the Lord. I can imagine the thought: “Lord, just checking, are we talking about the same Saul? Tarsus Saul? Arrest-everybody Saul? Because Damascus is a large city. There could be another Saul who owns a bakery.”

The text does not say those words. But we recognize the instinct. We are happy to say, “Here I am, Lord,” until the assignment involves someone we hoped He would send somebody else to help.

It is like signing up for a church workday and then discovering your assignment is the attic in August. Suddenly, you feel called to the ministry of making sandwiches.

We can be very willing to serve in general while resisting the particular obedience in front of us.

Jesus answers Ananias in verse 15: “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”

Ananias knows what Saul has done. Jesus tells him what Saul has been chosen to do. His mission will reach Gentiles, rulers, and his own Jewish people. The man who came to silence the name of Jesus will carry that name before others.

Then verse 16 says, “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

That sentence needs to stay in our preaching.

Jesus does not promise Saul that obedience will make life comfortable. Saul’s calling includes suffering. The Lord tells us that before we ever watch Saul plant a church or write a letter.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.” 2

Following Jesus can cost us approval, convenience, security, or relationships. We do not pay those costs to purchase salvation. Jesus has accomplished what saves us. But the Savior who gives us life also calls us to follow Him with that life.

Ananias has a choice to make. He can keep explaining his fear, or he can obey the Lord who has heard it.

Verse 17 says, “So Ananias departed and entered the house.”

That is faith taking a step. Luke does not tell us whether his hands were shaking. He tells us Ananias went.

Faithfulness is often less dramatic than we imagine. You make the call. You have the conversation. You walk across the room. You go to the person God has commanded you to love even when it would be easier to stay home and pray that somebody else will love them.

You do not need a vision to know whether Jesus wants you to love an enemy. Matthew 5:44 already gives that command. We need wisdom about how to obey it, but we do not need to wait for Him to repeat it.

Ananias enters the house, lays his hands on Saul, and says two words that ought to stop us: “Brother Saul.”

Brother.

A believer places his hands on the man who intended to place believers in chains, and he calls him family.

Saul’s sin has not become small. Jesus’ mercy has become visible in the way Ananias receives him.

Foreigner sang, “I want to know what love is.” Here is a picture worth studying. Love walks into the room because Jesus has spoken. It tells the truth about what Jesus has done and receives a former enemy as a brother.

We need churches where that kind of welcome is possible.

Some people know how to attend church but have no idea how to belong to one. They walk in expecting to be tolerated as long as nobody discovers too much. Their past follows them like an unpaid bill. They wonder whether the congregation sees a person Christ can redeem or a problem somebody hopes will leave.

When a sinner comes to Christ, the church should be ready to help that believer grow. Learn their name. Sit beside them. Open the Bible with them. Invite them to a meal. Make room in your actual life.

Romans 15:7 calls believers to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed them, for the glory of God. Paul is addressing the life of a church learning to live together across real differences. Our welcome is supposed to reflect His.

That does not mean ignoring harm or abandoning wise discernment. Forgiveness does not erase every consequence, and a profession of faith does not instantly qualify someone for every responsibility. Later in this chapter, Barnabas will report actual evidence of Saul’s changed life. We can receive people graciously and take their growth seriously.

But caution must never become an excuse to believe that grace can change everybody except the person whose history we happen to know.

Ananias explains that the Lord Jesus sent him so Saul might regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Something like scales falls from Saul’s eyes. He can see again. He rises and is baptized, then takes food and is strengthened.

The man who persecuted those who belonged to Jesus now publicly identifies himself with Jesus.

Baptism expresses the allegiance of a believer who has received grace. Saul is not buying forgiveness with water. He is obeying the Savior who has met him in mercy.

If you have trusted Christ and have never followed Him in believer’s baptism, that is an obedience you can act on. Come talk to me. You do not need to wait until you have answered every question in the Bible. You need to understand the gospel, believe in Jesus, and be willing to identify with Him.

And notice the ordinary kindness at the end of this extraordinary encounter. Saul eats. He regains strength. A man who has gone three days without food needs a meal.

We sometimes want ministry to sound so spiritual that we overlook the obvious thing somebody needs. Explain the gospel, yes. Pray with them, absolutely. Also, if they have not eaten, feed them.

Billy Graham said, “God also wants us to exercise our faith by putting it into action.” 3

I understand that picture. You can learn the names of every muscle, watch lifting videos, and buy the nicest gym clothes in Jacksonville. Eventually, you have to pick something up. Watching somebody bench press does not make you stronger, even if you grunt at the screen.

Christian maturity involves putting God’s Word into practice. We hear it, trust Him, and obey. Ananias does not merely admire the possibility that Jesus can save an enemy. He gets up and receives that enemy as a brother.

Cedar Bay, sometimes we imagine usefulness begins when we get a microphone or a title. Ananias reminds us how much Jesus can accomplish through a disciple willing to go to one house.

There is somebody you can encourage. There is a newer believer you can help understand Scripture. There is a person who needs to hear the gospel without being treated like an interruption to your day.

You cannot know everything Jesus will do through that person. Ananias could not see every church Saul would help establish or every believer his letters would strengthen. He knew where Jesus told him to go, and he went.

The Lord is worth obeying before we can see all the results.

Now Saul has received sight, baptism, food, and the welcome of another believer. What does a man do after Jesus changes him like that? Luke gives us the answer immediately.

Biblical Truth Three

Jesus turns changed lives into gospel witnesses

Acts 9:19b–31

The end of verse 19 says Saul spends several days with the disciples at Damascus. Think about that sentence. He is spending time with the people he came to arrest.

Imagine being at that gathering when somebody says, “Saul is coming.” A few days earlier, that would have meant hide the children and find another exit. Now somebody needs to pull up another chair.

Only Jesus can produce that kind of change.

Verse 20 tells us, “And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’”

What does Saul proclaim? Jesus.

He certainly has a remarkable experience to describe. But Luke tells us the content of his message: Jesus is the Son of God. In verse 22, he is proving that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah.

His testimony serves the truth about Jesus. That gives us a pattern for our own witness.

Tell people what God has done in your life. Be honest about how He met you. But make sure they hear who Jesus is and what He accomplished. Someone can be impressed by your story and still not understand the gospel.

They need to know that Jesus is the Son of God who died for sinners and rose again. They need to hear His call to repentance and faith.

If my testimony makes me interesting but leaves Jesus unexplained, I’ve got to keep talking.

The people listening to Saul are amazed. They remember his reputation. They know why he came to Damascus. Now the mouth that breathed threats is proclaiming Christ.

Verse 22 says Saul “increased all the more in strength.” He is growing in his ability to explain and defend the truth about Jesus.

His conversion is decisive, and his growth continues. Becoming a Christian does not mean you wake up the next morning with the entire Bible downloaded into your brain. If that were how it worked, half of us would still be waiting for the church Wi-Fi.

We learn. We pray. We receive correction. We listen to faithful teaching. We practice obedience over time. God uses those ordinary means to mature His people.

You do not have to know everything before you tell somebody what you do know about Jesus. But you should keep learning so that your confidence is increasingly grounded in His Word.

Then the opposition comes. Verse 23 tells us that after many days, a plot develops to kill Saul. His opponents watch the gates day and night, hoping to catch him.

Grace has changed Saul’s direction. It has not removed every danger from the road.

Acts compresses time here. Galatians 1:17–18 tells us that Paul went to Arabia, returned to Damascus, and visited Jerusalem after three years. Luke is giving us the movement of the story rather than a diary of every month. Saul’s growth and preparation take more time than a quick reading might suggest.

But Luke is clear about the danger and the help Saul receives. Verse 25 says his disciples take him by night and lower him through an opening in the wall in a basket.

That is quite a departure for a man who arrived with official authority. No procession. No farewell banquet. Just a basket and some people who need to have a very firm grip.

I would have questions about the basket. Who made it? What is the weight limit? Has anyone checked the rope? Was this basket designed for a grown man or six reasonably sized cantaloupes?

Saul gets in because he needs help.

Later, in 2 Corinthians 11:30–33, Paul recalls this escape while speaking about his weakness. He does not edit it out because it fails to make him look impressive. He lets us see his dependence.

The bold preacher needs other believers to hold the rope.

In The Return of the King, Frodo reaches the point where he cannot keep climbing Mount Doom under his own strength. Sam picks him up and carries him. It is one of the great pictures of faithful friendship in those movies. When his friend cannot take another step, Sam gives him his strength.

The details are different here, but that picture helps us recognize something about the Christian life. There are times when courage looks like preaching publicly. There are also times when faithfulness looks like helping a weary or endangered believer take the next step.

Whitesnake sang, “Here I go again on my own.” That may work on a classic-rock playlist. It is a terrible plan for Christian discipleship.

Jesus places us among people who can help us, and He gives us opportunities to help them. Saul’s story would look very different without the believers who take hold of that basket.

Luke does not give us their names. He tells us what they do.

Cedar Bay, do not assume that because your service happens outside the spotlight, it matters less to Jesus. The person caring for children so a parent can listen to the Word is serving the mission. So is the person giving somebody a ride, making a meal after a difficult week, or patiently opening Scripture with a new believer.

Most faithful ministry will never make a platform announcement. God sees it.

And some of us need to let other believers help us. It is possible to be willing to hold the rope for everybody else and too proud to climb into the basket yourself.

You are allowed to need prayer. You are allowed to say you are tired. You are allowed to ask somebody to walk with you through a hard season. Receiving help does not disqualify you from being useful to Jesus. In this passage, receiving help is how a useful servant gets out of Damascus alive.

Then Saul reaches Jerusalem and tries to join the disciples. Verse 26 says they are afraid of him because they do not believe he is really a disciple.

We should understand their concern. They know what he has done. Some may have suffered directly because of him. Luke is not asking us to pretend that trust always returns in an afternoon.

Verse 27 gives us another name to remember: Barnabas.

Barnabas takes Saul to the apostles. He explains that Saul has seen the Lord, that the Lord has spoken to him, and that he has preached boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus.

Barnabas provides specific reasons for receiving him. He does more than say, “I have a good feeling about this guy.” He points to the Lord’s work and the evidence of Saul’s new allegiance.

His encouragement opens a door for someone the others are afraid to approach.

Ananias has called Saul brother. Now Barnabas helps the wider church recognize that brother.

Who needs you to be that kind of friend? Who is standing near the edge of the church because nobody has helped them find their place? Who needs you to say, “Come sit with us,” or “Let me introduce you,” or “We can study that passage together”?

Encouragement becomes powerful when it takes responsibility for helping somebody move forward.

Saul is with the believers in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the Lord’s name. He debates with the Hellenists, Greek-speaking Jews, and another attempt is made to kill him. The believers learn about it, bring him to Caesarea, and send him to Tarsus.

Twice in this passage, Christians help Saul escape danger. That matters. Boldness does not require us to seek unnecessary harm. Wisdom can involve leaving a dangerous situation while continuing to follow Jesus.

The passage never promises that faithful Christians will always escape. Stephen did not. It does show us believers caring for one another while the mission continues through different circumstances.

Then we reach verse 31. Saul steps out of the center of the story, and Luke shows us the church across Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.

The church has peace and is being built up. It walks “in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit,” and it multiplies.

Notice what holds this church together. They take the Lord seriously, and they receive the Spirit’s comfort.

The fear of the Lord means they recognize His holiness and authority. His Word carries weight. They do not treat obedience as an optional feature of Christianity.

The comfort of the Holy Spirit means they are sustained and encouraged by God’s presence. The Lord who commands them is also the Lord who helps them.

We need both. Reverence keeps us from treating God casually. The Spirit’s comfort keeps us from thinking He has left us to accomplish His work in our own strength.

A. W. Tozer asked, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?” 4

That picture helps us think about a church learning to live together. We draw closer to one another as we submit ourselves to the same Lord. Jesus gives us the truth we believe, the mission we share, and the grace we need to love one another.

Cedar Bay does not need every person to have the same personality. That would be exhausting. Imagine a whole room of people who all tell my jokes. We would never get to lunch.

We do need a shared submission to Jesus. We need His Word shaping our decisions and His Spirit strengthening our obedience. We need to care whether the gospel is being heard and whether people are growing in Christ.

Luke reports that this church multiplies. We should pray for people to come to faith and for the church to grow. But this verse is not a formula that lets us control the numbers. Jesus is Lord of the harvest. Our responsibility is to be faithful with the people and opportunities He gives us.

Think about where the chapter began. Saul was breathing threats. Now he is proclaiming Jesus. Believers had reason to fear him. Now believers are feeding him, receiving him, and protecting him. The movement he tried to destroy is being strengthened.

Jesus gets the last word.

Responding to Jesus

Some of us need to stop telling Jesus why we are already good enough.

Saul had religion. He had confidence. He had people who approved of what he was doing. He still needed mercy. You may have a less dramatic history, but you need that same mercy.

Have you actually trusted Jesus Christ? I am asking more than whether you respect the Bible or enjoy being here. Have you confessed your sin and placed your faith in the crucified and risen Savior?

You cannot undo your past, and you cannot make yourself righteous before God. Jesus offers forgiveness and new life. Turn to Him today. If you want to talk or pray, come speak with me. We will open the Bible together.

Some of us need to obey a command we already understand.

Ananias had a real fear. Jesus heard him and still said, “Go.” What obedience have you been postponing? Is it baptism? Is it speaking the gospel to someone you love? Is it making room for a person who needs help growing in faith?

You do not have to feel fearless before you obey. Ananias went because he trusted the Lord who sent him.

And some of us need to pick up a rope or pull up a chair.

There are people in this church who need more than a friendly nod on Sunday. They need somebody who will learn their story and walk with them. Be willing to help. Be willing to receive help, too.

Before you leave today, think of one person you can pray for by name and one concrete way you can encourage them this week. Then follow through. A meal, a conversation, a ride, or time in the Word can become an expression of the grace we have received.

My truck interrupted one morning. Jesus interrupted the entire direction of Saul’s life.

Saul reached Damascus, but the man who arrived there would never again belong to the cause that had sent him. Jesus claimed him. The people he had threatened became his family. The name he had opposed became the name he preached.

Your past does not have the authority to overrule Jesus’ mercy. Your fear does not have the authority to cancel His command. And the opposition His church faces will not overturn His promise to build it.

The risen King is still saving sinners and sending witnesses.

Trust Him. Obey the next thing He has made clear. Help the people He has placed beside you.

Let us pray.

Father, thank You for mercy we could never earn. Bring those who do not know Christ to repentance and faith. Give Your people the courage to obey You, the humility to receive help, and the love to welcome and disciple others. Build Cedar Bay through Your Word and by Your Spirit. Make us faithful witnesses to the crucified and risen Jesus. In His name, amen.