Acts Episode 18: The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus

Wes

Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now on to today’s episode.

This is episode 18 in our Acts Bible Study podcast. This episode is entitled The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, where we’ll discuss Acts 9: 1-19. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis.

Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?

Andy

Well, this is one of the most exciting moments in redemptive history, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who we know best as the Apostle Paul, is just one of the great moments in church history. It teaches us so many things about God’s sovereignty and salvation. The bottom line is God can convert anyone, anytime by his sovereign grace. And then beyond that, seeing the river of good works that flowed from Paul. And as we think about, what is it, “King Saul has slayed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). How many, not in any negative way, but in a positive way, how many millions have been converted by the writings of the Apostle Paul, by the Book of Romans? I mean, it’s just worldwide, it’s just amazing. But first, it began with one man, one individual who begins this account breathing out murder and threats against the Lord’s disciples and ends up a genuine believer in Christ. And so, we’re going to see a journey of grace today that is unlike any in church history.

Wes

Well, let me go ahead and read the first 19 verses of Acts 9.

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.

Andy, at the outset, what was Saul’s mission and what does this show us about his career in Judaism and his spiritual state at the beginning of this chapter?

Andy

Yeah, that’s a great question. Saul was very proud of his Jewish ancestry, and he talks about this in Galatians. He makes it very, very plain how zealous he was for the faith of his ancestors. And how he was zealous to persecute Christians. It was evidence of his zeal for Judaism. He hated the idea that this imposter or this fraud, Jesus, had claimed to be the Messiah, clearly wasn’t because he had been crucified, hung on a cross. And anyone who’s hung from a tree is under the curse of God. There’s no way the Son of David, the Messiah, the king of the world, could be hung on a tree. And so, he’s worked that through.

But he is very zealous, and he goes to the Sanhedrin and gets letters and has authority from them to root out this heresy in Damascus. So, we see a lot of zeal. It also says in verse 1, “He’s breathing out murder and threats against the Lord’s disciples.” So, this is coming from the heart. Jesus said, “Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Well, this is coming out of Saul’s heart. He genuinely believes in what he’s doing. That’s vital in order to understand God’s sovereignty in conversion. God can take out the heart of stone and give the heart of flesh. This is a man eagerly, not in any divided mind sense, but eagerly hunting down Christians to persecute them and thinking in so doing he’s pleasing God. And so that’s what we see in verse 1 with his eagerness and a zeal as he takes these letters and exports the persecution to Damascus.

Wes

Now as we’re introduced to Saul in verses 1 and 2, we also see Christianity called the Way. What does this teach us, and do we have a sense of the origin of this name here?

Andy

I don’t think we know for sure. We just know in the Book of Acts it’s called the Way. I think most of us who read the Gospels think it may have come from Jesus’ own teachings, such as John 14:6, in which he said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And also, the Sermon on the Mount where he said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). So, there’s this narrow way that leads to life or leads to God, and Jesus is that way. So, then Christianity, I think, was called the Way from that. But we don’t know for sure.

Wes

Saul’s encounter on the road to Damascus begins with this flashing of a blinding light from heaven. What can we learn from the intensity of the light that Christ chose to use on that day, enough to blind but not enough to kill?

Andy

Yeah. So, the glory of God, a very important term. We talk about it all the time. We believe, as Christians, it’s the reason we’re alive. God does everything for his glory and that we were redeemed for his glory. And we speak of that. I want to do everything that I do to glorify God. What is that? Well, I think the glory of God I’ve defined as the radiant display of the perfections or the attributes of God, such as his power, his wisdom, his love. But frequently there is very bright light attended with heavenly beings, angels. For example, the angel that came to announce Jesus’ birth, a light shone around him, and all the shepherds were terrified. So, it’s a visible light in that case. Or again in Ezekiel 1, it’s just almost blinding. It’s just this brilliant light that’s coming from this manifestation, as it says at the end of Ezekiel 1. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord was very bright.

Same thing with Jesus in his resurrected state as he appears to the apostle John on the island of Patmos, and he’s brilliant, he’s bright. There’s this light shining all around. And so here we’ve got visible light, physically visible light, very bright. Brighter than the sun, he’s going to describe in a later retelling of this, very bright, and it does blind him, but it’s certainly less than God could do. He could turn it up to a hundred percent, and we’d probably be killed by it. “No one can see me and live.” So that’s the sense of this bright light that shines around, and it is the beginning of Saul’s conversion process. Something supernatural is happening, and he can do nothing but fall to the ground and be overwhelmed by the greatness of this glory.

Wes

What’s the significance of Saul’s falling to the ground in verse 4? And what should we make of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ chose to speak to Saul himself?

Andy

So, in terms of falling to the ground, this is a regular response of mortals, of human being, of sinners when they come to this manifestation of God’s glory or the glory of angels. Daniel did it in Daniel 10 with an angel. Wasn’t even God, just an angel. And so, people just are on the ground. Ezekiel was on the ground when he sees this manifestation of the glory of the Lord. “When I saw it, I fell face down.” Moses did this, fell face down. So again, and again and again, also Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, they’re on the ground. And so, you just can’t stand. You’re on the ground. And so, Paul is immediately knocked to the ground because of the greatness of the glory.

And then you asked about the fact that he calls him directly with his own voice. And again, I see this in terms of the love, the tender affection that Jesus has for his own sheep. As he says in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me, and I give them eternal life. They will not follow the voice of another, but they’ll follow my voice.” And here’s Saul, and we’ll talk about this in a moment, I’m sure, but he says, “Who are you, Lord?” One of the most interesting statements ever in the Bible. But just he’s clear and it’s obvious to him of the greatness and the majesty of this person who’s calling to him directly, “Saul, Saul. Why do you persecute me?”

Wes

So, there’s incredible love on display here, but also incredible power and it’s a cutting message. What does Jesus mean when he says that Saul is persecuting him?

Andy

Yeah, that’s a great question. I think also to finish more of this great manifestation of the glory, there’s a sense here of imminent death, I think. Like, “Your life is forfeit to obedience to me. You don’t obey me, I’ll kill you.” And I’m not saying for the rest of his life he was on performance. It’s not that. But he actually does say something like that when he says, I’m compelled to preach,“Woe to me if I do not preach” (1 Corinthians 9:16). So, there’s that sense of that. God says to Ezekiel, “Do not be like that rebellious house I’m sending you to. Do what I tell you to do. Don’t be like them” (Ezekiel 2:8). And so, there’s this sense of the greatness and the majesty. So, he’s got this amazing sense of majesty and glory and brightness and power, which makes a tremendous impression, to put it mildly, on Saul. And he says, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” So just the question why? And by the way, this is one of the numbers of times that God asks a human being why.

The same thing with Nathan, the prophet asking David, “Why did you sin against me?” So, there are these questions. There’s an essential irrationality to human sin. “It is insane for you to be persecuting me. The evidence that I am the Messiah is overwhelming. You’ve heard it, Stephen laid it out for you. It should have been enough to convert you. I don’t have anything new to say, there’ll be more details, but you’re just being stubborn and hard-hearted. So why are you persecuting me?” And then the issue of me. We know that the church is the body of Christ. As it says in Ephesians 5 in the statement to the husbands that they should love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her because she is his body, and he is her head. So, there’s this connection between the head and the body.

So, if you’re pounding on Christians, you’re pounding on Jesus, and he will not take it kindly. And as a matter of fact, in the so-called sheep and the goats teaching, which is just a metaphor for the separation that will happen at the end of the world, everything’s based on how you treated Christians in that passage (Matthew 25:31-46). “I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When you did it to them, you did it to me.” So here he’s saying, “When you’re persecuting Christians, you’re persecuting me.” Conversely, “When you do Christians well, you do something kind, you’re doing it to me, and I’ll never forget it.” And so, it says in Hebrews 6:10, “God is not unjust. He will not forget the love you have shown him as you have cared for his people and continue to care for them.” He’s never going to forget it because you’re doing it to him.

Wes

How did Saul respond to this and what do you think he must have felt as he heard the shocking words, “I am Jesus.”

Andy

Oh, that changed his whole eternity, his whole existence. So, he asks, “Who are you, Lord?” So, if you’re going to retain monotheism here, and there’s not multiple gods and goddesses up in some pantheon and all that, there is only one God. There’s only one Lord. Paul himself will later write those words. So, there is only one, but he doesn’t know who he is. And isn’t this amazing? Because chapters later he’s going to be in Athens seeing a shrine to an unknown god, and he’s saying, “What you worship as something unknown, I will now proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). By then he knows who the Lord is, but they didn’t know. And now he’s one of those ones who’s not really sure what’s going on here. But I think in his heart of hearts, he probably knows. “Who are you, Lord,” one of the great mysterious statements.

if Christ is risen, he’s alive. It puts the stamp on everything he ever said about himself, including his deity.

“I know you are great. You are far above me, you’re glorious and radiant. Your voice sounds like thunder. Your light looks like brighter than the sun. Who are you, Lord?” But then come the words, as you said, that just blew apart his world. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.” So, the word Jesus just settles it. “I’m the Jesus who died on the cross and now behold, I’m alive. I was dead,” like he says in Revelation 1, “and behold, I’m alive.” So, what do you make of that? Christ is risen, and if Christ is risen, he’s alive. It puts the stamp on everything he ever said about himself, including his deity. And so, this settles it forever. “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.” So, the implication there is that’s a rebuke. “So, you better stop. Stop persecuting me and start serving me.”

Wes

These passages in Acts, and especially right here as we see Paul’s conversion, I think of how powerful that is as a lens through which to see the rest of his writings. As you were speaking, I couldn’t help but think of Paul’s own articulation in 1 Corinthians 15 of the significance of the resurrection. So, Jesus revealing himself here as the risen Lord, whom presently Paul is persecuting, but will soon be the one that Paul gives everything to follow and obey and proclaim. It’s just a powerful connection to see this conversion moment and then think about all that the Lord would say to us through the Apostle Paul.

Andy

Yeah, and I want to say this one thing, the two great patterns or types of motivations for us in conversion or in anything is negative and positive, repulsion and attraction, fear and delight. Fear and delight. So, let’s go with that, fear and delight. There is a beautiful mixture here of fear and delight. So, I think the fear is, “I could easily kill you and you deserve it. You’re persecuting me. That’s warfare, and I could just crush you like a bug, easily.” So that’s fear.

But I think what’s so much bigger than that is there is lodged in Saul’s mind and heart from this moment on a deep attraction to Jesus, an attraction to the person, the beauty, the majesty of Christ, so that he says in Philippians 3, “All I want is to know Christ.” “I had a taste of him on the road to Damascus. I’ve had many tastes through the ministry of the Spirit, but what I want is to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. There’s nothing better than that. He is the most beautiful, the most radiant, the most perfect. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Jesus’s perfect beauty.” So, I think lodged from this moment on there is a healthy mixture of both fear and delight. There is the fear of his wrath and his justice, but also the fear of failing him, the fear of disappointing him or disobeying him. But mostly I think it’s the positive attraction is just I want to be with him.

Wes

You mentioned this word conversion. What does verse 6 teach us about conversion and the lordship of Christ?

Andy

Right. Well, he doesn’t waste any time. Jesus doesn’t do that. Just like with Nicodemus, “I know that you’re a teacher from God for no one could do the miracles you’re doing.” “Unless you’re born again, you’ll not go to heaven.” I mean, let’s not waste any time. Let’s just get right to it. “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, the one you’re persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you’ll be told what you must do.” Not what you may do. I’m not giving you a menu of options. And that’s why Paul calls himself in every case a bondslave of Jesus Christ.

“I am his slave. Whatever he tells me to do, I will do.” But he says, “Now get up and go into the city and you’ll be told what you must do. You’re not paralyzed, you’re blind, but you’re not paralyzed. And so, I’m going to tell you what you must do, and from now on your life is mine.” And I think every Christian really would do well to see his or her own life the same way. It’s not like Paul was a special case and the rest of us are free agents and kind of do what we want, check in like we’re punching the time clock, serving Jesus for an hour and then punching back out again. No, our lives are forfeited. We’re not our own. We’re bought at a price. Everybody’s like this. But he says, “Now I’m going to tell you what you must do.” So, we’ll get to that in a moment because Jesus through Ananias is going to be very clear what he must do.

Wes

Now, verse 7 is interesting. What does it teach us about the nature of the encounter between Saul and Jesus, and why do you think the Lord chose to do it this way?

Andy

Yeah, I think it’s the same thing with Daniel 10. There’s a direct pattern or parallel between Daniel 10 and Acts 9. In Daniel’s case, he had some men with him, and they couldn’t see, but they run and hide. And the same thing here. You’ve got these men, they’re speechless, they know something’s happening, there’s no doubt about it, but they heard the sound, but they didn’t see anyone. So, this is a private revelation. It’s targeted. It’s similar to Pentecost when each person heard the same message in his own native language.

And so, this is a personalized bright as lightning revelation of glory to Paul alone, to Saul alone. And we’re going to go back and forth on Paul and Saul. Let me tell you something right now, it was not Saul, then Paul, like he was converted from the name Saul to Paul, like his name was changed. It’s not that. He had two different names. I think he used them both before his conversion and after. I know that blows people’s paradigm. I can’t tell you how many Saul to Paul sermons I’ve heard, all this kind of stuff. He was Saul. Now he’s Paul. No, look, when he’s traveling in Jewish circles and dealing with Jewish people, it was Saul, his Jewish name. Paul is his Romanized, or Latinized name. It’s the same thing. And the Book of Acts is going to make that clear in chapter 13. “Saul, who was also called Paul.” That’s it. So no, he didn’t lose the name Saul once he was converted, at any rate. The fact of the matter is this was a targeted conversion effort for Paul.

Wes

Now, we’ve talked a lot about the light that he experiences in this encounter. What effect did that light have on Saul? We see this in verse 8.

Andy

Right. He was blinded and I think there’s some indication, we don’t know this for sure, but he had permanent trouble with his eyes from this day forward. When Ananias baptizes him, something like scales fall from his eyes. So, there was something physical there. And I think from Galatians 4:13 where he says, “It was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and I can testify that you would’ve if you could have torn out your eyes and given them to me.” It’s just an odd thing to say. Just like, “Boy, if I could just have your eyes.” Well, the only person who would say that is having trouble with his own eyes.

He also says, “See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand. This is how I write when I write. Usually, I use a secretary, and I speak the scriptures or the letters into their ears.” So, I think Paul had trouble with his eyesight. He wasn’t blind for the rest of his life. Clearly his sight was restored. But I think it’s a little bit like Jacob wrestling with the angel. And from then on, he walked with a limp. So, this is basically his version of from then on he walked with a limp.

Wes

Yeah, it’s powerful, an ongoing reminder of that encounter with Jesus on this road. Why do you think Saul didn’t eat or drink for those three days that he was without sight?

Andy

Yeah, he’s fasting and praying, and I think there’s a sense there, Jesus linked fasting to mourning. Jesus said, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?” (Matthew 9:15). That’s Matthew’s gospel. “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, then they will fast.” So sometimes fasting is linked with mourning for sin. So maybe he’s mourning for his former way of life in rebellion against Christ and persecuting Christ, which would be good for him to grieve, mourn and wail and change his laughter into mourning and joy to gloom. Other times, fasting is just a focused prayer time. Like, “I can’t be bothered eating. What I’m praying about and what I’m experiencing in prayer right now is far greater than anything I could ever experience or get from eating food right now.” So, Moses went up on the mountain, was there 40 days and didn’t eat anything. Jesus also. And so, there’s that sense of focus, just completely focused. And so, it’s also purification. It’s like, “Worldly things don’t matter to me. What matters right now is hearing from God.”

Wes

Now beginning in verse 10, the focal point seems to shift just a little bit to Ananias as we are introduced to him, and we see his role in this passage that we’re looking at today. What does the account teach us about Ananias and what did the Lord call Ananias to do? What does the Lord tell Ananias about Saul?

Andy

The Lord is moved by prayer in ways I think we can scarcely understand or imagine.

All right, so Ananias is a messenger. We don’t really see him again. He just has this one role. Imagine being the man who baptized the apostle Paul. But he’s not thrilled with his mission. He’s given this work to do, clearly, he’s a pious and a godly man. So that when the Lord calls to him in a vision, he says his name, “Ananias,” and he says, “Yes, Lord.” So, he knows who he is, and this is a customary thing for him. And then the Lord told him in verse 11 and following, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and asked for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” So, at the center of that is a really significant statement. He is praying. He’s praying. That’s big for him to really be praying. The Lord is moved by prayer in ways I think we can scarcely understand or imagine.

I think about Manasseh, who was the worst of the Davidic kings. Of the entire physical lineage of David, there was not a worse king than Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah. He’s the one that sacrificed his own son, who was also in the lineage of David, to the god Moloch. And in due time he was captured by a foreign king and brought to a prison. And in the days of his humiliation, he prayed, and God heard that prayer and forgave him. And so also here, “Ananias, I want you to go to this man Saul, for he’s praying.” Means he’s converted, he’s real. It’s happening. And so, he gives him the address, which is interesting how they did addresses back then. And then in verse 12 in a vision, he’s seen a man named Ananias, “And I don’t have any other Ananiases I’m going to send. It’s you.”

Wes

He’s like, “Look, I’ve gotten him ready for you.”

Andy

“You don’t have a choice.”

Wes

“I already told him you’re coming.”

Andy

Yeah, “He’s coming.” Is Ananias thrilled? He is not. He pushes back, which we can talk about. But at any rate, that’s what’s going on.

Wes

Yeah, like you mentioned, Ananias responds with, we’ll call it hesitation. That may not be strong enough-

Andy

Putting it gently.

Wes

… to fully encompass what Ananias is feeling in this moment. How do you think Ananias got the information that he has about Saul’s mission to Damascus that causes this hesitancy?

Andy

Well, he mentions reports in verse 13. So, there’s testimony, “We got to watch out for this guy,” and he knows about his mission. Somehow the Christians have information maybe through the Holy Spirit. Remember how Elisha told the king of Israel everything that the Syrian king was speaking in his bedroom, remember? It’s like we got some insider information here. At any rate, they had information of what was going on. They knew Saul’s mission before he made it. He knew what was happening. And so, lots of reports, persecutions, brothers and sisters hauled off into prison. This guy’s the number one enemy of the church of Jesus Christ. And he’s coming here. He’s coming here to Damascus, and he is going to do the same thing here that he was doing there. “And you want me to go to talk to him? I mean, he’s going to arrest me. He’s going to persecute me.” So, he’s pushing back. But this is part of that long line of heritage of our human race basically pushing back to God when God tells us to do something.

Wes

“Are you sure about this?”

Andy

Yeah, don’t do that. Don’t ever… Moses did it. I mean, just again and again there’s this tendency.

Wes

Now the Lord answers Ananias, but it’s an interesting answer, verses 15 and 16. In what way do verses 15 and 16 help explain really the rest of Saul’s life?

Andy

Wow, these are very important words, and I think very much underrated. I don’t hear a lot of people talking about what God said to Ananias about Paul but look at what it says. “Go.” So, you don’t have a choice. You’ve got a mission to do. And it’s interesting just the body of Christ, each person has their role to play. And so “Go. This man is my chosen instrument.” So, he’s chosen and he’s going to write about that in Galatians 1. “I was set apart from birth to do this. I was shaped and prepared.” So, all along it was going to be going to be Saul. “And he’s my chosen instrument to carry my name,” that is the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, “to carry that name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”

So, here’s a Hebrew of Hebrews, the quintessential Jew, going as the messenger to the Gentiles. He is the apostle to the Gentiles, and he’s going to carry Jesus’ name to the Gentiles and their kings. Now this is a very important statement here. I’m going to go back to Isaiah 52. And Isaiah 52:15, which is really connected to Isaiah 53, it really should have been part of the same chapter. But at any rate, talking about Jesus, it says, “He will sprinkle many nations and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see and what they have not heard, they will understand.” And so, he’s going to be preaching the gospel to kings. Now, the ultimate king of the Gentiles is Caesar. And the culmination of the Book of Acts is Paul in Rome to specifically preach the gospel to Caesar, who at that point is Nero.

Wes

Wow.

Andy

And so that is his mission. It’s the finish line of his race. And I think he talks about it in 2 Timothy 4:16-17. He talks about his defense before Caesar and he says, “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” Well, who’s included in all the Gentiles? Their king, Caesar. Imagine preaching the gospel to Caesar. Culminating with these words, “Therefore, O Caesar, repent of your sins. Repent that you may be forgiven and be baptized in the name of Jesus so that you can spend eternity in heaven, not in hell.” Imagine saying that to Caesar and the kind of courage it took, but that’s the finish line.

“This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name to the Gentiles and their kings and also before the people of Israel.” So, he’s always to the Jew first, then to the Gentile, though the order’s reversed here in the message to Ananias. He first mentions Gentiles, then Jews. But in every case practically, he would go into a community, find a synagogue and would preach the gospel there and reason with them on the Sabbath from scripture that Jesus was the Christ. So, he’s got an incredible work to do.

And then he says in verse 16, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” It can easily bring tears to our eyes, if we care, if we think about the kind of suffering that Paul went through, as catalogued in 2 Corinthians 11. He goes through all of the details of his sufferings. And we did that podcast. There’s no one that I know of in church history who’s even close to Paul for suffering. Nobody’s even close in terms of the beatings, the imprisonments, the riots, the hatred. And so, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” And I think our rewards in heaven are proportional to our suffering for his name. And so, Paul is greatly rewarded in heaven.

Wes

So clearly this is compelling to Ananias as he hears the Lord’s command to go and what exactly he’s going to be telling Saul and what Saul is going to learn through this encounter. Ananias obeys the Lord’s calling, goes to see Saul. What is the significance of his calling Saul, “Brother Saul.” And what did he go on to tell him in 17-19?

Andy

Well, conversion changes everything. “If anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). He’s not an enemy anymore. He’s a friend, he’s a brother, and there’s an intimacy there. And Ananias is a man of great faith. He’s not hesitating anymore, and he calls him brother. And what’s so amazing, there’s so much we can learn about conversion here. But with Saul, to be warmly affectionate toward this man he’s never met and know he is a brother, that we’re in the same family now because we both believe in the same glorious Lord. And he places his hands on him, he touches him. There’s a touch and an intimacy and a gentleness that’s flowing right from Christ, the Spirit of Christ. And he puts his hands on Saul, and he says, “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. And so, I’m here to do nothing but good for you. I want to bless you.”

And so again, that issue of loving your enemies. He was the enemy that morning, breathing out murderous threats. And now he’s a brother. And, “Yes, Lord, I will immediately go, I want to bless this man. I will hold no grudges. You don’t. So, if you’re not holding any grudges and you want me to bless him, then I want to bless him.” And so, the instantaneous unity and love within the body of Christ, it’s so powerful.

Wes

Now we see that physical representation here of these scales falling from his eyes, him regaining his sight, and then it says, “He rose and was baptized.” Now, there’s an interesting question I think that might arise here. Did he receive the Holy Spirit and then get baptized? Was he baptized and then receive the… How should we think about the end of this passage we’re looking at here?

Andy

Yeah, so just in the pattern of the Book of Acts, the general thing is you speak in tongues. And Paul said to the Corinthian church, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Corinthians 14:8). But he doesn’t say here that he spoke in tongues, but that’s what the baptism of the Spirit was marked by back then. They would begin speaking in tongues. And so, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, and then controlled by the Spirit at that point. And now he gets up and takes some food and begins his life as an apostle. And it’s just a very, very powerful thing.

At this point, I would have to say he begins his life as a disciple. I think his apostleship, it’s in Jesus’s mind, but he’s going to have some time in Arabia for a while, a vision. He’s going to learn the gospel directly from God. Got to fit Galatians 1 in here somewhere. So, at this point, I don’t know exactly when he goes. Perhaps after Damascus, he goes out to Arabia. I don’t know. It’s hard to get the chronology right. But at this point his sight is restored. He eats, he’s in fellowship. He’s a converted man.

Wes

It’s a powerful story of the conversion of this one who, like you said at the beginning, is breathing out threats and at the end is converted and even called brother by Ananias. Andy, any final thoughts on this first 19 verses of Acts 9 as we conclude our time today?

Andy

Absolutely. My lesson here is God, the sovereign God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can convert anyone. That’s Paul’s own message. When he says, “Here’s a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). And so, he’s drawing that direct connection. If God can save me, he can save anyone. And so, this is vital for us to understand, the full power of God working on a violent, rebellious, blasphemous sinner will convert them every time. So, I put him in my list of four surprising conversions in the Bible. Four surprising individuals that we’ll see in heaven that only can be explained by the sovereign grace of God. Rahab the prostitute, Nebuchadnezzar the tyrant, the thief on the cross, and Saul of Tarsus. You meditate on each of the four and how surprising it is that they were saved by grace. Then you look at those four and you know God can save anyone.

Wes

Praise God for that hope. This has been Episode 18 in our Acts Bible Study podcast. We would invite you to join us next time for Episode 19 entitled Saul’s Changed Life and Peter’s Powerful Ministry, where we’ll discuss Acts 9:19-43. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.