Acts 9:1-19
Saul’s Conversion
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
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. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
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.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Luke 19:1–10
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
We need to glimpse God’s sovereignty and respond in obedience
From time to time we come across in life people who are single-minded in all they do. Sometimes that’s in a good way – I once worked for a consultant surgeon who was utterly committed to his work, utterly committed to his patients. He was quite hard to keep up with, because he expected the same single-minded outlook from his team.
Someone once asked him how he dealt with the stress of life as a surgeon – his answer was that the only time he really felt stressed was when he was running two international medical conferences simultaneously! His single-minded approach to his work was hugely appreciated by his patients.
But sometimes people are single-minded in a less good way. I came across people in prison who were single-minded in their hatred of others – mostly based on religion or skin colour. And those types still sadly often appear on our TV news footage at so-called protests with their faces covered, and evil in their heart. Those men are hard nuts to crack, so deep is their hatred and their prejudice
And Saul of Tarsus was one of those men who was also single-minded, but in a bad way. For he saw it as his sole mission in life to persecute the Christian Church. And he did it with vigour and with emotion – he was really invested in what he was doing, really committed to his twisted cause.
We first met Saul in Acts 7:58, when he was described as a young man, who was looking after the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen to death. And we know from 8:1 that he approved of what they were doing. Then a few verses later, we read that a great persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church and the apostles were scattered – and we read this in Acts 8:3
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
And then we pick up in chapter 9 with today’s reading:
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2
The irony was that Saul had no jurisdiction in Damascus – for Damascus was a self-governing city some 150 miles from Jerusalem. He had absolutely no right to be trying to police the church there, and yet that did not stop him. Saul was utterly single-minded in his desire to stamp out this new movement, this ‘Way’ as it was called. Why might that be? The nearest we get to finding out is Saul’s own account of his upbringing in Philippians 3:4:
I [was] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
He was a Pharisee – a strict, orthodox Jew. He was doing this for the sake of orthodox Judaism – he truly believed he was serving God. But he was soon to learn differently. Within a day or two his life was to be turned upside down. Before long his life was so changed that he would be moved to write this:
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Philippians 3:7-8
So, let’s reflect for a few moments on what happened to Saul – what it tells us about God, and what we might learn for ourselves. It’s a familiar story, but let’s see if something new arises as we think through this passage. I have just two headings: sovereignty and obedience
1. Sovereignty
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:3-8
The last thing Saul was expecting was to be met head-on by Jesus on the Damascus road.
And it wasn’t a casual encounter: Saul was met with the full authority of heaven. The blinding light is a typical way that scripture describes the appearances of God or of the angels – and Saul immediately knew he was glimpsing the throne-room of God. He addressed the apparition as ‘Lord’ – the Greek word is Adonai, a title most commonly used of God – he knew he was in the presence of the Almighty.
Interestingly linguistically Adonai is a plural word – so it means literally My Lords, but it’s a grammatical device that doesn’t mean more than one Lord, but something more like ‘Lord above all Lords’. So, it’s quite clear that Saul knew he was in the presence of God himself.
So did he have a choice about how to respond? Could he have said, thanks but no thanks? In theory he could. For the apparition answers, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what to do. He could have said No.
But realistically I don’t think Saul had any choice in the matter. He was commanded by Jesus whom he encountered there and then as he lay blinded in the dirt on the road. He could do nothing but obey, such was the overwhelming sovereign impact of God in his life in that very moment.
Isn’t it the case that we often have a rather more watered-down attitude to God? We so easily see God as just a heavenly buddy, or as a sort of ‘my Jesus, my boyfriend’ character. Or worse, as a sort of good-luck talisman. I rather think we need a fresh grasp of the sovereignty of God – I speak for myself here.
In the Westcote home group we’re just working our way through the book of Job. Job, you’ll remember, was a very rich man who had lost absolutely everything at the instigation of the Devil, who reckoned he would curse God to his face given the depth of his suffering. But Job never does so: as the book proceeds, he finds an ever-more lofty understanding of God and his sovereignty. He says this:
The Lord moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. Job 9:5-8
And his thoughts culminate in this wonderful verse: Job 19:25-27
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; How my heart yearns within me!
Job had a right view of God: someone whom he held in great awe; but someone whom he also yearned to see in the afterlife of eternity. Saul glimpsed that same sovereign God: and Saul obeyed.
2. Obedience
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 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. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. Acts 9:10-15
Ananias was understandably a little wary of Saul – his reputation had preceded him. This is a very dangerous man that you want me to visit, Lord, says Ananias! But God is quite clear – Ananias is to be the first Christian to welcome Saul, and indeed not only will he restore Saul’s sight, but he will call him ‘brother’ and also baptise him. Wow – that’s quite some mission. Why does God choose Ananias? We don’t know; but I guess it boiled down to a question of obedience. God knew he could trust Ananias.
I’m just reading the biography of George Whitefield, who was an ordained Church of England Minister, one of the evangelical preachers along with John and Charles Wesley in the so-called Great Awakening of the 1740s in England, Scotland and Wales. He was a Gloucester boy – his family kept the Bell Inn right in the centre of town. He was converted in his early 20’s and at the height of his preaching ministry he was just 27 or 28 years old – preaching outdoors to gatherings of up to 30,000 people. He had a remarkably audible voice – said to be like a bell sounding – but his main quality was obedience – he constantly sought to be obedient to the call of God, whatever that might be.
He put that obedience before all things – even his relationships and his love-life – and God used him mightily along with John and Charles Wesley in the mass revival of the church. Many thousands found faith for the first time through his ministry – although the established church despised his zeal and enthusiasm. Thousands were converted to faith – Whitefield saw the sovereignty of God displayed week by week as he obeyed God’s calling to preach.
It was that obedience which God used to further his purposes in Whitefield’s day. It was the obedience of Ananias that God used to further his purposes with Saul of Tarsus. And in time it was the obedience of newly-converted Saul, whom of course the apostles re-named Paul, that enabled the gospel to spread far and wide among the Gentiles in those early decades of the Christian Church. And exposed Paul to suffering in his turn.
Sovereignty and obedience.
So, what of us? We don’t tend to see Jesus in flashes of blinding light. We don’t often get glimpses of the sovereign plans of God. And yet be assured God has plans for us – for our communities, our churches, even for our own humble lives. We must pray that we keep a godly perspective on life: for when we glimpse his sovereignty then we are prompted towards obedience. And obedience to his call is what Jesus most desires: that we fulfill our place in his church, that we play our part in his mission to our communities. That we serve him in whatever way he calls us.
And that is a calling for all of us – we each have a place to fill in God’s great economy. From the least to the greatest, every Christian is called to serve the living Lord Jesus, wherever that might lead us. And like Paul, that may lead us into difficult places: but it may also lead us into great blessing. Are you up for that?
Let’s pray that we glimpse his sovereignty; and let’s pray that he then grants you and me obedient hearts.