Intro
If you were with us last week, we left Saul in the dumps. Saul was a prodigy in 1st century Judaism, zealous to defend God’s honor by stamping out this movement of Jesus-followers. Then one day, on the famous road to Damascus, Saul met Jesus. As we said last week, he quickly realized that Jesus was the glorious and majestic Lord, risen from the dead and vindicated by God. He understood that by persecuting the church, Saul had actually been persecuting the Messiah, the One he had been waiting for all his life. Saul’s whole worldview was shattered by this and he recognized how great of a sinner he was and how deeply he needed salvation. You see that in what happens next. Saul is blinded from his encounter with true glory, so he is led by hand into Damascus. While there, he endures three days without eating or drinking anything. He is overwhelmed with sorrow for what he has done. In the blink of an eye, a zealous, prideful, angry prodigy became a broken, dependent, repentant man.
Here’s what happens next.
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.” 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 kingsand to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 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, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him.25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. 26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Acts 9:10-30
1. Beginning: falling in love
We’re going to look at the beginning of Saul’s life as a Jesus-follower and ask the question: what was it like? And how does that shape our expectations for life when we commit ourselves to Christ?
What we have in Acts 9 is the first three years of Saul’s faith in Jesus. I know, when you read it, it might have only seemed like a few weeks. But we get more clarity in Galatians, where Paul (as he was then known) recounts his testimony. He says that after encountering Jesus, “I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem.” (1:17-18) So, here’s the timeline, just to be clear: Saul was in Damascus for about three years, which is the “many days” of Acts 9:23. During that time, he also made a visit to Arabia, a nearby region, and then returned to Damascus. After escaping a death threat there, he traveled to Jerusalem.
That last part sounds pretty dramatic and terrifying, but let’s start on a happier note: after Saul’s initial days of lament and sorrow came an experience of immense joy and restoration. Jesus orchestrates a meeting between Ananias and Saul by giving both of them a vision of one another, and even giving Ananias the street address. You know how sometimes you’re not sure if God is leading you to something or not? Maybe you have a dream and you’re not sure if God is calling you to fly to Mars in a bathtub or if it was just the late night sushi you ate? There’s no doubt here. Ananias enters the house Saul is staying at, places his hands on Saul, scales fall from Saul’s eyes and his sight is restored. He is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is baptized, and his strength is regained as he breaks his fast.
Imagine all of that. Let’s start with the blindness. You might have experienced a sudden condition of some kind, some newfound debilitating pain, and you had no idea if this was now permanent or a passing phase. Suddenly going blind would probably be among the more alarming of those conditions. That was Saul for three days, unable to see anything. Was this forever? But suddenly the blindness is reversed and the world came alive to him in a new way. Darkness giving way to light. Huge relief!
Let’s talk about the Spirit. Some of you have lived with a storm inside of you, an untamed rage that drives you through life. Imagine what it would be like for Saul, zealously breathing out threats before suddenly being filled with peace and joy and the deep love of God through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s talk about baptism. Some of you have known what it’s like to live stuck in a rut, to continually be returning to an old identity and anold way of life. Imagine what it was like for Saul to be baptized, to go through the waters and to know that he was ow a new creation, born again into a whole new life. Imagine what that would have been like for Saul given where he had come from.
And imagine what it was like for him to eat and drink for the first time after three days. When our son Zachary came out of his heart surgery a year ago, he wasn’t able to drink water for hours and hours afterwards- I can’t remember the exact medical reason why. It was brutal. He was begging for water, and once in a while they would dab a wet sponge on his lips. That was it. Saul went three days! Imagine what it was like to have your thirst satisfied and your strength restored again.
No doubt, the initial experience for Saul was one of healing, restoration, and renewal. I would imagine that he experienced things he never thought possible. I imagine that for a faithful, devoted Jew like him, it must have been the most amazing thing in the world to realize that this Jesus was the fulfillment of all his longings. Not only that, but the fulfillment of the story of Israel, the fulfillment of all the promises of the prophets. I imagine that the knowledge that he, who had persecuted the church, was forgiven and loved, dearly and deeply loved by Jesus, must have been almost overwhelming. Too much to handle.
I don’t want to be irreverent here, but it was probably an experience similar to what we call “falling in love”. When Carolyn and I started dating, the world became alive in a new way. I experienced new emotions. I felt loved and wanted in a way I never knew before. Again, I don’t mean to be overdramatic here. I’m just trying to help get us into Saul’s shoes in those days after his meeting with Jesus, especially after Ananias’ visit. Not only did he know the glory of Christ and the depth of his sin, but he knew the incredible grace of Jesus and his power to heal and restore. He knew the goodness of God.
But if Saul thought that this whole Jesus thing was just going to be smooth sailing, an endless experience of euphoria where the whole world is like sunshine and butterflies on a warm July day, he was very wrong. And that became clear almost immediately. Now, I don’t think he did expect it to be smooth sailing. He had been on the other side of this, after all. He knew how people thought about and treated followers of Jesus. But some of us do think that. We think that Christian life should be easy and painfree, and that it’s not worth it if difficulty comes our way. Especially if that difficulty seems to be caused by our faith in Christ. That’s why we need to learn something from Saul’s life. Hardship is inevitable. It is par for the course. But God gives us everything we need to endure.
2. The Past: disbelief of other disciples
Saul’s road ahead was one of joy in the Spirit, but it was not smooth, whether you looked from the perspective of his past, present, or future. Let’s start with the past. As much as Saul was a new creation, sealed by baptism, it wasn’t like everybody he previously knew had one of those Men-In-Black mind wipes. You know what I mean? Will Smith flashes a light at you and you forget everything you’ve seen? Didn’t happen to all those believers Saul had been terrorizing prior to his meeting with Jesus.
Ananias is a great example. Jesus appears to Ananias in a vision, tells him to visit Saul, and here’s Ananias’ first response: “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” (9:13-14)
Does Jesus know all this? Of course! But Ananias is still in disbelief. It’s like he’s saying to God, are you sure about this? That’s a pretty understandable response. Ananias obviously knew that Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest people exactly like Ananias. One writer says this is like a Jew during WWII receiving a vision to go talk to a Nazi general who is rounding up all the other Jews in the town. It’s not like it’s the guy’s distant past. Last you heard, a few days ago, the guy was still at it!
In this story, the healing and empowering of Saul depends on Ananias’ trust, which is hindered by Saul’s past. So how does God work through this? God is persistent. He is emphatic. He continues to speak to Ananias. He says to Ananias, I know what I’m doing. Go! I have chosen him. And Ananias obeys and submits to what must have been the most terrifying mission possible.
If God has called you, and you find that your past actions or reputation are a hindrance to the acceptance of others, don’t get discouraged. Don’t bear the burden on your shoulders. Don’t even get frustrated with those hesitant people. God will work it out. He will make a way. He will speak to His people and show them that you are His. You can trust Him in this.
Later on in the passage, Saul has a parallel experience in Jerusalem. However, as we said before, this is now three years later. That’s a good amount of time. You know how some workplaces have the sign that says “_ days since last accident”? By the time Saul landed in Jerusalem, he had gone approximately 1100 days since his last attempt at persecution.
But this is verse 26: “when he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.” Word must have gotten out by then that Saul was no longer persecuting Christians, yet the disciples in Jerusalem still can’t believe it. Again, you can’t really blame them. The last time they had seen Saul, he had just put the finishing touches on Stephen’s martyrdom and had stormed off with the high priest’s approval to round up believers in Damascus. That was their lasting memory of Saul.
This is where we re-meet one of the other human heroes of the book of Acts, a man named Barnabas. We were introduced to Barnabas way back in Acts 4, where he had sold a field and given the entire proceeds to the apostles for them to distribute it to those in need. In that passage, we are told what his name means: son of encouragement. Not only was he generous, but he was associated with encouragement. And that’s what we find in Acts 9. Nobody believes Saul. They’re terrified of him. They don’t want him around. But Barnabas vouches for him. He tells them that Saul had seen Jesus, and he testifies that Saul has been preaching fearlessly in Damascus. Maybe he can even testify to the apostles that far from persecuting believers in Damascus, Saul has suffered persecution there as a believer!
God speaks to Ananias to assure him of Saul’s calling. He speaks through Barnabas to assure others of Saul’s calling. In both cases, God is providing His servant with a way forward despite a brutal past. If you put yourself in Barnabas’ shoes, this is a huge challenge. Are you willing to go to bat for someone that others may question or fear, if you know that in fact they are genuinely sent by God? Are you willing to stand up for someone and encourage people to give them a chance? And if you put yourself in Saul’s shoes, this passage is a huge comfort. He will not let your past keep you from fulfilling His calling on your life. Whatever you did before is not stronger than His power to redeem. Psalm 103:12 says that “as far as the east is from the west; so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 130:7-8 says that if the Lord kept a record of sins, nobody could stand, but “with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” His grace is greater than your past and will make a way when your past appears to hinder you.
3. The Present: opposition from non-believers
Now let’s talk about the present. Once Saul met Jesus, he quickly set to work. Acts 9:20 has Paul in Damascus and “at once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.” He didn’t waste any time! Three years later in Jerusalem, Saul was still going, talking and debating with the Jews about Jesus. It was as if from the moment Saul had his eyes opened, literally and metaphorically, he knew what he was to do: tell his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, the fulfillment of their hopes. This was his present, his immediate calling.
But you know what? It was not received well. At first, the others Jews were simply baffled. Baffled because he had so recently led the charge against followers of Jesus, and now was advocating for his resurrection. That’s weird! However, they were also baffled because Saul was really persuasive! He was making sense! It was hard to refute him. They didn’t know what to say. And so at some point, there was a conspiracy to kill Saul, forcing him to make a daring midnight escape from Damascus. It was the same deal once he arrived in Jerusalem. It didn’t take long before he wore out his welcome and the Hellenistic Jews began plotting to kill him.
You might ask why that is. It seems pretty drastic, right? A guy says some stuff you don’t like, and you try to kill him? Over the last months, we’ve explored why the Gospel was so controversial and incendiary in the ancient world (and today), mostly from a human perspective. But let’s make this point today: the degree of hostility indicates something more going on behind the scenes. There’s a spiritual attack going on here.
The New Testament thoroughly and unambiguously affirms the existence of supernatural, personal evil in the universe. These forces are led by a being variously called the evil one, Satan, the devil, the dragon, or the serpent. And it is clear that the devil hates God, hates the Gospel, hates the church. He will do whatever he can to destroy and undermine it. In Revelation 12, we read about how the dragon (Satan) wants to devour the Messiah the moment he’s born. When that doesn’t succeed, the dragon goes after those who follow Jesus. To Satan, the Gospel is a cancer in his world, a poison to his kingdom and a threat to the bondage he holds humanity in.
When you are diagnosed with something, you hope that you’ve caught it early, right? Or you know how, in parenting, if you catch your kids starting to speak or act in a way they shouldn’t, you do what you can to put a stop to it right away? I remember something from when I was 8 years old or so. I told my parents that a friend and I had shouted swear words on our walk home from school to show people that it was no big deal, that these were just words. This was in a little conservative Mennonite community, and I was the youth pastor’s son. No big deal, right? But we thought we were philosophers! And I thought my parents would be proud of me for my enlightenment. Not so much. They told me quite clearly that this was something I should cease immediately. They put an end to what could have infected my life to a greater extent. And if telling me hadn’t worked, they might have tried something more drastic, like the old soap in the mouth trick. The point is, for Satan, in his perverse way, the Gospel is that threat that seizes people from his grasp. And so he will do whatever he can, as soon as he can, to remove it.
That means that if you have someone like Saul, educated and zealous, formerly one of your primary henchmen in quashing the Gospel but now eagerly promoting it, would you not be filled with rage? Would you not try to do everything you could to get rid of him? Would you not use everyone you could to do it? See, it’s not just the Jews who are trying to kill Saul. In 2 Corinthians 11:32, Paul alludes to the midnight basket escape and says the king of Arabia’s forces were waiting outside Damascus to try to seize him. There was huge opposition from every angle because Satan wanted to stomp this thing out before it got out of hand.
It should never be a surprise to us that if Jesus begins to liberate people from Satan’s clutches, that Satan will be enraged and will attempt revenge. It should not be a surprise that if we are being used by God, there will be significant and almost irrational attempts by others to shut us down. Saul got used to that real quick. We should expect it. When it happens, we should take it as a sign that we’re going in the right direction. We experienced that here when we were building this facility. We received a seemingly irrational level of hostility towards the project from a few people in the community. I think there was very much a spiritual attack involved. And now, a few years later, we see how God has blessed us and is making a blessing in this place.
All of this also reminds me of something incredible that took place among the gangs of New York in the 1950s. A country pastor named David Wilkerson received a calling from God to minister to the harshest, most violent, teen gang members in Brooklyn. One of them was a boy named Nicky Cruz, maybe the cruelest, craziest of them all. But Nicky Cruz received Jesus and everything changed. Like Saul, it was a dramatic, overnight change. For the first time in his life, Cruz knew peace, he knew love, and he turned his back on the gang lifestyle that had defined him for years.
A few weeks after his conversion, he shared his testimony in a church. After the church service, a rival gang rolled up and showered the church with bullets. Later that night, he was stabbed by another gang member determined to teach him a lesson about “turning square”. The day after, Cruz joined Wilkerson in a town a few hours away from New York to share his testimony. While there, a rumor began circulating in the town that Cruz was still a gang leader and was trying to form a gang there, upending his potential ministry. Nicky Cruz could relate to Saul of Tarsus. Disbelief from other Christians because of his past, intense opposition from evil because of his present. (You can read more about these events in David Wilkerson’s The Cross and the Switchblade or Nicky Cruz’s Run Baby Run)
So what does God do in circumstances like this? A lot! Sticking with Acts 9, however, in both Damascus and in Jerusalem, God provides for Saul by means of the church. Those same believers who had hesitated to trust Saul now looked out for him. They supported him, enabled him to escape when his life was on the line. In Damascus, believers lowered him in a basket from the city walls. In Jerusalem, they placed him on a boat back to Tarsus. For Nicky Cruz, when those rumors swirled and cut down previous ministry plans, a 72 year old woman from hundreds of kilometers away showed up and reported that the Holy Spirit had spoken to her the previous night and informed her she was to take Nicky Cruz home. God uses His people to deliver His people from danger.
If you are a follower of Jesus, you need to understand this: you can not do this alone. You are not to be a lone ranger. Yes, God has given you His Holy Spirit and equipped you with gifts to serve and minister to others. But He has tied you to other believers by that same Spirit. You are part of His body. You need the church. You need to be accountable to others. You need to be supported by His people. When you encounter opposition, whether by humans or by the evil one (or both!), the church is one of God’s primary gifts to enable your endurance. Don’t neglect that gift. Don’t be afraid to lean on your brothers and sisters in Christ.
4. The Future: an assurance of suffering
To recount: in the days and years immediately after Saul’s meeting with Jesus, he came alive in a new way, experiencing the grace and goodness of God. But he was also almost immediately challenged. He was challenged by his past and the reluctance of Christians to accept him. He was challenged by his present and the determination of opponents to destroy him. And finally, he discovered that his future would be characterized by much of the same.
That’s what Saul hears in Acts 9. It come when Ananias receives the vision from Jesus instructing him to pay Saul a visit. When Ananias resists, Jesus fills him in further: “this man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15-16).
From the moment Saul was healed, he was told that his life would be one of suffering. Imagine that I traveled in time 20 years from now and after returning, told you what the future had in store for you if you followed Jesus. Imagine I told you that you were going to be flogged with whips, beaten with rods, and imprisoned…multiple times. Imagine I told you that you would be in danger everywhere you went, that no place would be safe for you, and that people of all kinds and backgrounds would be out to kill you. Imagine I told you that you would be at various times without clothes, without food, and without shelter. Some of you would say, I think I’m going to get off this ride…now! But that’s what was in store for Saul. He lists off all of those and more 20 years later in a letter to Christians in Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:23-33).
To be honest, I’m not sure I would have wanted to know how difficult the future would be if I was Saul. I have been at The Bridge for five years as lead pastor. This last year has been incredible, full of joy and excitement. The first four, not as much. A couple of those were the most difficult years of ministry I have experienced. I’ve often wondered: if I knew what I would have to go through, would I still have said yes to the position? Maybe not! But on the other hand, if I knew what joy lay beyond that, if I knew God’s purposes, maybe I would.
I think about Revelation 2 and Jesus’ words to the church in the city of Smyrna. He told them, “do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” (Revelation 2:10) Jesus was telling them that the road would be rough. But he also told them that all of this would happen only as he allowed it and that he would use it to accomplish his purpose. He told them that it would be temporary. And he told them an eternal reward was theirs if they endured.
I think about Jesus’ call to discipleship in the Gospels. He tells potential followers to count the cost, to be fully aware of the sacrifice involved. He says that any disciple of his must be willing to give up their own life for him and for the Gospel. But then he says this: “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother of father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ” (Mark 10:29-30). Jesus needs you to know that his path might cost you everything. However, the promise of Jesus is to give you an overabundance of grace through the Gospel.
And I think about Hebrews 12, where we are instructed to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Conclusion
My friends, do not think for a moment that the path of following Jesus will be easy. There will be joy, there will be community, there will be healthy relationships, there will be an abundance of the grace and goodness of God. But there will also be opposition. Satan does not want you to succeed. Other people will not take kindly to your commitment to the Kingdom of God. You should expect this and anticipate it, not just in the beginning of your walk but throughout it in this life. But God will give you everything you need. He will make a way. He will provide for you. And resurrection is coming. So keep your eyes on Jesus, who suffered for you, died for you, rose again and now intercedes for you at the right hand of our Father God.
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