11The Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Damascus was an important town, about 150 miles (242 km) from Jerusalem, with a considerable Jewish population. 142 His companions therefore took him by the hand and led him through the gate of Damascus to the place where, presumably, arrangements had been made for him to stay. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 185. With the conversion of Saul, persecution of the church did not stop, for now some of the Hellenistic Jews were opposing his preaching (and no doubt, the church at large as well). What a shock Sauls conversion must have been to both groups! From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of Gods choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Web The children will describe Ananias as a man who helped Saul even though he was afraid. 29 And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. Ancestry, Pharisaic training, Hellenistic education, were fused by it into the character which the Holy Spirit formed and fashioned over the fourteen years of training. Hb```f``:Ab,=`.9Z3{x5v\);]c#qea #'&D|z:wyKN,0(t\tbRFhT2thS2(9.`mNbq)-pk^;>:+pq2Ck AUbK=N\2M/`KqGLZS1 $[S|Rd\.9i'9T\.EXdxlYcqb A man once confessed to his pastor that even though he didnt think of himself as hating people, there was one person he really hated for the way the person had wronged him. Ananias the high priest brought charges against Paul and It is the invitation for sinful Israelites to be saved, by repenting and calling on the name of the Lord for salvation: Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. sOGOSapQ3[y~@9W What changed about Saul/Paul after Jesus appeared to him? 3On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.c The passage which we are studying can be divided into these major segments: We will begin this lesson by making some general observations concerning this account of Sauls conversion,134 after which we will examine the sequence of events leading up to Sauls conversion, the events surrounding his conversion, and the consequences of his conversion as depicted by Luke. also 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 4:2). I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness (John 12:46). He is there praying,j Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead (Isaiah 59:10). Though I have fallen, I will rise. It was evidently a term used by the early followers of Jesus to denote their movement as the way of life or the way of salvation. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 181. Salvation is a revolution, not an evolution. a conversion of will, intellect, and emotion, which dictated the abiding purpose and direction of his subsequent life and activity. His career as a persecutor of Christians seems to have begun with Stephen, but it quickly spread to all of the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 7:588:3). The "Straight Street" or Via Recta in Latin, was a straight 9 What happened to Sapphira in the Bible? Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! The result of that reluctant leap of faith is that Sauls eyes are opened and he is baptized, becoming part of (and eventually a leader in) the very church he sought to wipe out. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life (1 Thessalonians 4:7). In Hellenistic times it was completely replanned on the Hippodamian grid-system. Only a radical conversion can produce this attitude in the life of a man like Saul: For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:8). . 3 He said: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. (Acts 9:11)? In the end, then, Ananias decision to go to the house of Judas on Straight Street (verse 11) to lay hands on Saul was a decision to risk his life to do the will of God. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world (John 1:4-5, 7-9). If the unity of Christ and His body, the church, were a vital truth with respect to Sauls persecution of the church, it was also a vital truth for him as a Christian. 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. WebThe Lord called to him in a vision, o Ananias!. Saul Visits Jerusalem. . How did God use Ananias in the New Testament? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Not all Christians are equipped to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, or teachers (Ephesians 4:11). There are two very important implications to the personal dimension of Sauls conversion. Who is blind but my servant {Israel}, and deaf like the messenger I send? Paul recognized that his ministry was that of bringing the light to those who were lost, including the Gentiles, kings, and his fellow-Israelites: For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth (Acts 13:47). This is very evident in the conversion of Saul. 27 But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. Ananiass vision was intended to direct him to the house of Judas and to Saul. Ananias Laid Hands on Paul Ananias did as the Lord commanded and went to Sauls house and laid his hands on him. He didnt know that the risen Christ had confronted Saul on the road to Damascus just as Christ is now confronting him This sets up a flashback to verses 1-9. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7). 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:24-27). Introduction: suppose you heard someone was coming to arrest you, or even worse. * In the Bible, Reuben and Saul were of no relation to each other. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking. 15:8; Gal. Those who know themselves sinners, and who call upon Jesus for salvation, are saved: For WHOSOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED (Romans 10:13, citing Joel 2:32). God then used this man to further His purposes in launching the career of the most influential of the apostles. We will next seek to learn how this description of Sauls conversion fits into and contributes to the development of Lukes argument in Acts. also 16:17; 18:25-26). Blaiklock, for example (pp. 2. Let us be careful to discern what changes the gospel requires and what changes it does not. He should not be circumcised. In fact, as Saul would later write, he realized that he was chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). I. Howard Marshall summarizes the problem in these words: Nevertheless, we obtain a different impression of things from Galatians 1:16-24, according to which (1) Paul did not confer with men after his conversion nor go to the apostles in Jerusalem, but (2) departed to Arabia and then returned to Damascus; then (3) three years later he went to Jerusalem for a visit lasting a fortnight during which he saw only Peter and James, and at this time he was unknown by sight to the churches of Judea; thereafter (4) he went to Syria and Cilicia. 10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. * [9:26] This visit of Paul to Jerusalem is mentioned by Paul in Gal 1:18. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. If the worst sinner (Saul) was not too sinful to save, then you are not too sinful for God to save. . 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lords freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christs slave. He was a man of great respect and influence, and thus he realized that his actions would have broad ramifications. How does Ananias ability to rise above his own feelings of hatred toward Saul encourage Saul to move After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11). Julius Caesar confirmed those rights and privileges anew to the Jewish nation (although Judaea was no longer a sovereign state), and more particularly to the high-priesthood. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), pp. 8 Although I am less than the least of all Gods people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. Nevertheless, conversion has certain elements which are vital and which are to be present in any salvation experience. One is the truth from God Himself, Ananias is not the last believer who has seen fit to keep God up to date (The Storytellers Companion to the Bible: The Acts of the Apostles). WebSaul/Paul was a pretty mean guy who persecuted Christians. There are two primary options for preaching from this text. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ, 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christthe righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Some would like the excuse to make some changes to make their life more comfortable. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, Chapter 9. Lesson Text Acts 9:1-19 Scripture Memory Verse Saul was received as a true believer, as a brother.146 The laying on of Ananiass hands, however, was a distinct act of identification with Saul.