Lesson 10 - Acts 9:1-9, 15-20 - ENCOUNTER ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS
INTRODUCTION: So far in our study of acts, Chapters 1-8 have described: (1) the spread of the gospel throughout Jerusalem and the phenomenal Holy Spirit-driven growth of the early church; (2) the earliest persecution of the church by the Sanhedrin that would have resulted in the execution of all the apostles but for the intervention of the respected Pharisee scholar, Gamaliel; (3) the choosing of the Seven as the first non-apostle leaders in the church; (4) the powerful preaching ministry of Stephen, one of the Seven Hellenistic leaders, who was sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin and became the first Christian to be martyred; (5) the introduction of a fanatical young Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus, who became the Sanhedrin's foremost persecutor against the spread of the gospel, causing many Christians to flee Jerusalem and spread the gospel elsewhere; (6) and in last week's lesson, in Acts 8:26-40, the ministry of Philip the evangelist, another Hellenistic member of Seven, as he spread the gospel in Samaria and his sudden detour to Gaza commanded by an angel, where led an Ethiopian eunuch to salvation in Jesus as the first Gentile convert.
This week, in Act 9:1-19, 15-20, we'll cover one of the most important events in Acts: the conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. In this text, we have the most famous conversion story in all history. Scholars claim that Luke puts much emphasis on this event in order to reveal the supernatural power and sovereign direction of God.
Read Acts 9:1-2 - SAUL, STILL BREATHING THREATS
1 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
v. 1a: "Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" - This pictures Saul of Tarsus as a man obsessed with hatred for Christians and the spread of their faith. He is determined to root out what he considers to be false teaching and imprison its teachers.
v. 1b-2a: "went to the high priest, 2a and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus," - The High priest's official authority doesn't extend to Damascus, 140 miles north of Jerusalem. To bypass the civil authorities, Saul asks for letters to the various synagogues. Even though the Judean high priest's control doesn't extend to them, his moral authority from Jerusalem would exert considerable persuasive power with the synagogues there. Saul will need their help to root out any Christians who have fled there from Jerusalem.
v. 2b1: "so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women," - Early Christian believers adopted the term "the Way" (Gk. hodou [(hod-ou'], lit. a road or path) as name for their movement, derived from Jesus' reference to Himself as "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
v. 2b2: " he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." - Paul isn't asking for authority to execute them but to arrest and bring them back to Jerusalem, where they can be tried. Various scholars disagree as to whether Saul actually had authority to extradite them and bring them to Jerusalem. But Saul, like most extremists, probably wasn't overly concerned about the niceties of civil formalities.
Read Acts 9:3-6 - WHO ARE YOU, LORD?
3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and 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 get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."
v. 3: "As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;' - Later, Paul will say this took place it midday, a time of the day when sun shines brightest (Acts 22:6; 26:13), so that this light had to be far brighter than the noonday sun. Luke often uses "light" as a metaphor for the gospel (Luke 1:7-9; 2:32).
v. 4a: "and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him," - Overwhelmed by the light, Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice. Barnabas will later tell the apostles that in this aura of light, Paul actually saw the risen Christ (Acts 9:27), and Paul himself later confirms this (1 Cor. 15:8).
v. 4b: "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'" - In Hebrew Scripture, God routinely repeats a name twice to get the attention of a person He's calling for a special role (e.g., Abraham in Gen. 22:11; and Moses in Ex. 3:4).
v. 5a: "And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" - The word Paul uses here for "Lord" (Gk. kurios [koo'-ree-os]), literally translates to master, a title of reverence and respect. So, Saul understands that this voice from heaven is either God Himself or a messenger sent by God. It's certainly not a mortal man.
v. 5b: "And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting," - Since Christ is spiritually associated with His disciples, His allegation is that persecuting them is the same as persecuting Christ Himself. This reality must have hit Saul like a ton of bricks: He now learns that instead of doing things that serve the purposes of God, as he had believed, that he's actually doing things that opposed God!
v. 6: but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do." - God often works this way-He brings us down, then lifts us up. At this juncture, Jesus doesn't empower Paul for his mission but simply commands him to go into Damascus and wait for further instructions. The action verbs "must do" (Gk. dei poiein [die-po-ay-in]) literally mean that his task will be a divine necessity.
Read Acts 9:7-9 - HE COULD SEE NOTHING
7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
v. 7: "The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one." - Saul's travelling companions had heard voice-like sounds but apparently couldn't discern the words.
v. 8: "Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus." - When Saul got up and opened his eyes, he was blind, which mirrored his previous spiritual condition. He was so helpless that he could never have found his way into Damascus without someone to lead him there.
9: "And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank." - The reason for Saul's fasting in Damascus is unknown. Maybe he was remorseful for having persecuted Jesus. Or maybe he was just in shock at the unexpected turn of events in his life.
Synopsis of vv. 10-14: The Lord appeared in a vision to a Christian disciple in Damascus named Ananias (not the Ananias of Chap. 5) and commanded him to go to a certain street and inquire at a certain house about a man named Saul of Tarsus. Then the Lord further informed Ananias that Saul will have seen a vision of him (Ananias), and that he was to lay hands on Saul so he can regain his sight. But expressing shock, Ananias asked the Lord if this was the same Saul of Tarsus who was infamously known to be persecuting Christians in Jerusalem.
Read Acts 9:15-16 - HE IS A CHOSEN INSTRUMENT OF MINE
15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."
v. 15a: "But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine," - The word used here for "instrument" (Gk. skeuos [skyoo'-os]) also means a vessel made to contain something. So, the Lord Christ is telling Ananias that He is re-shaping Saul as a new vessel for a particular divine purpose.
v. 15b: "to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;" - The Lord Christ intends to use Saul as his missionary to proclaim His name to Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel (i.e., all Jews of Hebrew lineage).
v. 16: "for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." - This is almost an understatement. In his work for Christ, Paul would be stoned, beaten, arrested, jailed, shipwrecked, and snake bit among other things, and in the end, the Bible does not record his death factually but tradition holds that He was beheaded in Rome. Paul gives us with a detailed list of his sufferings in 2 Cor. 11:21-23, then in 2 Cor. 12:7, he adds: "Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself! Whether this referred to a physical, spiritual, or mental affliction has never been satisfactorily answered by Bible scholars over the ages.
Read Acts 9:17-20 - HE BEGAN TO PROCLAIM JESUS
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; 19 and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."
v. 17a: "So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me" - Notice that despite his earlier reservations, Ananias expressed true Christian love for Saul as his new Christian brother with the touch of his hands and a loving word of welcome.
v. 17b: "so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." - We should infer that Saul's actual conversion occurred on the Damascus road and that he received the baptism of the Spirit there; however, this phrase denotes the filling (control) of the Holy Spirit that would equip him for his assigned mission, as well as its healing to restore his sight.
v. 18: "And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;" - The filling and healing has been effected, and Saul is baptized, presumably at the hands of Ananias. After this, we hear nothing of Ananias. His job is done, and Saul's job is about to begin.
v. 19a: "and he took food and was strengthened." - Notice that Saul did not break his fast to regain his physical strength until he had been filled with the Spirit and baptized.
vv. 19b-20: Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." - Saul will become the great missionary to the Gentiles, but he begins his ministry in the synagogues, preaching Jesus to the Diaspora Jews. Paul later speaking of the gospel, said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Rom. 1:16). And he will continue preaching in synagogues throughout Acts.
APPLICATION-God's Chosen Instruments:
1. God can convert the most unlikely sinners and use them as His chosen instruments in the cause of the gospel. Humanly speaking, Saul was not a likely candidate for salvation. It would be like hearing that Saddam Hussein had gotten converted and became an evangelist to the Arabs! There was no human explanation for Saul's conversion. Yet, there is no human explanation for any true conversion, because salvation is from the Lord, not man. God is able to do what we cannot imagine. So, if God could save Saul, He can save anyone. Amen?
2. A conviction of sin is a mark of true conversion. Before a person becomes a saint, he or she must first see himself or herself as a sinner. So the Lord asks, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (v. 4). By this pointed question, the Lord was not trying to gain information! No, He wanted Saul to stop and consider what he was doing. Saul thought that he was being zealous for the Lord, when in reality, he was persecuting Jesus Himself. With every Christian he harmed, he was plunging the sword again and again into the wounded side of Jesus!
3. A transformation from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight is a mark of true conversion. Paul began the trip to Damascus physically seeing, but spiritually blind. He ended it physically blind but spiritually seeing. What he formerly thought that he saw-the threat to Judaism-he no longer saw. What he formerly did not see-that Jesus Christ is the son of God-he now does see.
4. A recognition of and obedience to the lordship of Christ is a mark of true conversion. When the risen and exalted Lord told Saul, "Get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do" (v. 6), Saul does not say, "I think I'd like to accept You as Savior, but I'm not ready to accept You as Lord and Master." No, he got up and went into the city! After Ananias prayed for him and he regained his sight, the first thing that he wanted to do was not to eat, but to be baptized in obedience to the risen Lord. Only after that did he eat. Everyone who is truly converted recognizes the exalted authority of Jesus Christ and seeks to live in obedience to Him, no matter what the cost.
5. God uses converted sinners as His chosen instruments in the cause of the gospel. If God has saved you from your sins, He has a purpose for your life, and it is not primarily for you to succeed in the American dream. His main purpose has to do with eternal realities. He might intend to use you for a variety of things, but the main point is for us to be a willing vessel, "useful to the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Tim. 2:21).
