Dear Friends,
Greetings in Christ!
When we left at the end of Acts 8, Phillip evangelized along the coast of the Mediterranean all the way to Caesarea. In Acts 9, the Holy Spirit picks back up with the story of the persecutor of the church, Saul of Tarsus. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, Father, and give us understanding as we read thy word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Acts 9:1-31
AND Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Saul has a plan. He is a man on a mission. He believes he is doing God’s work. (John 16:2)
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks [cattle prods].
God has a different plan. (Pr 16:9)
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
This was Paul’s first lesson in waiting on the Holy Spirit. Oftentimes, we have to wait on the Lord when we go through trials. Little by little, we come to see as we go through life that we can always trust Him as we await further instructions. Just as Philip had to wait to see why he was sent to the desert in Chapter 8, when Saul asked what he should do, the answer was ‘Wait and I will tell you later. For now, just continue to Damascus’.
7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
More waiting. Saul is getting a lesson in patience, and he is fasting out of contrition. (A wise move.)
10 ¶ And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Ananias shares his reservations about his new mission with the Lord, as if He didn’t already know. Have you ever done that? I know I have, and he was patient with me the same way He is with Ananias:
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
We tend to think of Saul as the apostle to the Gentiles, and he was, but he was not limited to the Gentiles. Dr Halley points out that while Paul was Jewish, he was a freeborn Roman citizen; furthermore, he was from a leading Hellenistic city, Tarsus. Therefore, Paul was Roman, Greek, and Jewish. This made him an ideal evangelist, perfectly positioned to be all things to all men. (1 Cor 9:19-22) It’s always good to try to relate to your target when evangelizing him or her.
16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
The ‘scales’ that fell from Saul’s eyes were like the scales of a fish, blinding him to the truth of the gospel, but now he sees. (Cf John 9:39-41) The Bible speaks of a veil or “vail” (KJV) over the eyes of the Jews even today (II Cor 3:15), but soon the vail will be removed, the same as it was for Saul. (Rom 11:26)
19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
According to Wiersbe, had Dr Luke included Saul’s trip to Arabia (Gal 1:18), it would have appeared here between verses 21 and 22.
22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
23 ¶ And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.
Saul’s plan was to enter Damascus as a special agent on the authority of the Temple, but so far in this chapter he has been struck blind, knocked down, hunted, and forced to sneak out a window like a criminal. It has been said that God has a way of making each of us humble, and He is teaching Saul humility. It has also been said that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans. It therefore behooves us to seek God’s plan for our lives. Saul is learning that lesson.
26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
Another lesson in humility. Saul is rejected by the church.
27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
In Acts 4:36, Dr Luke told us that it was the apostles who surnamed Joses “Barnabas,” and translated the name for his Greek readers (in English, The son of consolation). We are beginning to see why now. While the others are passing judgment and unwilling to forgive, Barnabas is following the leading of the Holy Spirit and sticking his neck out to help Saul.
28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.
29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians [of which, Paul was one]: but they went about to slay him.
30 Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
Acts 9:1-31
We are seeing a pattern here which will continue into the narrative around Peter in our next post: Our fellow believers in the Book of Acts keep questioning the leading of the Holy Spirit. Saul was flat-out fighting against the Holy Spirit. Ananias’ response to the leading of the Holy Spirit was, ‘Pray for Saul? That does not sound right’. When the Holy Spirit tells Peter to go non-kosher he will say, “Not so, Lord.” (Acts 10:14)
I met Jesus when I was four years old. As I look back on my life, I can recall several times I heard God speaking to my heart and said, Not so, Lord. This study in Acts is making me painfully aware of this. I recall once hearing a story about a man who went to heaven. After he listened to Jesus review his life before the Bema seat, he received rewards and was welcomed into the joy of the Lord. But he was given a box that Jesus told him he might not want to open. When curiosity got the best of him, and he looked inside, he started weeping, because inside the box he could see all the things that Jesus wanted to give him, but couldn’t because he refused to listen and obey.
Father, help us to be obedient Spirit-filled Christians who do not question your will for our lives. Help us to be flexible, pliable, and willing to follow wherever You may lead. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prophecy Update: During the Biden era, the alternative press was buzzing with stories about plans for CBDCs in countries around the globe. This piqued the curiosity of students of prophecy, as it looked like another step towards the mark of the beast (Rev 13:16-18).
According to a recent white paper from JP Morgan, these plans have not been tabled but are moving forward. Now, the BRICS+ countries are preparing to launch the UNIT, a decentralized digital currency that will be backed by gold and BRICS+ currencies, and utilize blockchain technology. The UNIT is a wildcard that is competing with CBDCs for the evolution of digital money and cross-border transactions.
It may appear that the new world order is in disarray as nations fight over who will ultimately control it, but they are still, nevertheless, moving forward. We know where this story goes, and how it ends.
