The Power of One

INTRO

In Acts 8:1–3, Saul was the crazy Jew leading the severe persecution of the church, busting into houses, and dragging believers to prison. Saul believed everything about Jesus went against his well-practiced religious life. But at the end of Acts 9, Saul met Jesus and his life was never the same. Wiersbe explains, “Like many others of his countrymen, he stumbled over the cross because he depended on his own righteousness and not on the righteousness of God.”¹In Acts 10, just after the conversion of Saul, is the conversion of the Gentile people.

TEACHING

Acts 9:1–9: While Phillip was walking out his call in Acts 8, Saul was still persecuting the disciples of the Lord (v. 1). The word “disciples” refers to Christian followers, imitators, who had a Master. Saul even went to the high priest for letters he could take to the Damascus synagogues so he could continue to search for Christian followers there (v. 2). Nelson’s Commentary points out these early believers were still involved in the synagogues because they were converted Jews.²It is estimated that about 30 to 40 synagogues operated in Damascus at that time.³As Saul traveled toward Damascus, a great light from heaven flashed all around him, and a voice said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (vv. 3–4). In Acts 22:6, Paul later stated that the light happened about noon. Paul told King Agrippa that he saw a “light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me” (Acts 26:13). Saul needed a radical change, and Jesus encountered him right where he was. Saul fell to the ground, recognizing the voice of the Lord but questioned who it was (v. 5a). In response, Jesus said He was the One Saul persecuted and sent Saul to Damascus to do His bidding (v. 5b). How was Saul persecuting Jesus? First Corinthians 12:27 says believers are the body of Christ, so as His body, Saul was persecuting Jesus directly. The men with Saul heard the sound but saw no one (v. 7) (Acts 22:9). Saul got up from the ground, blinded and seeing nothing. He was led by the hand to Damascus and did not eat or drink for three days (vv. 8–9). William Barclay wrote, “He [Saul] who had intended to enter Damascus like an avenging fury was led by the hand into that city, blind and helpless as a child.”⁴

Acts 9:10–19: Constable writes, “Saul had been ‘preying on Christians,’ but now he was ‘praying to Christ.’”⁵Evangelist Charles Spurgeon explained, “Prayer is the autograph of the Holy Ghost upon the renewed heart.”⁶Verse 10 begins another scene change. The Lord spoke to a disciple in Damascus named Ananias through a vision (which means Ananias was awake at the time). The Lord told Ananias to go to the street called Straight, to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, who was there praying (vv. 10–11). Further, Ananias was given instructions to restore the man’s sight (v. 12). Ananias actually argued with the Lord about the assignment because news of Saul’s persecution of the church had reached Damascus. The church knew Saul brought letters of authority to arrest all those who followed Jesus and called upon His name (vv. 13–14). The Lord told Ananias to go because He had chosen Saul to take His name to “Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites” (v. 15). God said Saul would suffer for the name of Jesus (v. 16). Second Corinthians 11:23–31 and Philippians 3:10 also contain descriptions of Paul’s suffering for Christ. When we walk in the Spirit of the Lord, we have nothing to fear! Ananias was one of the obscure saints used for His plans. Wiersbe points out, “God balanced a great public miracle with a quiet meeting in the house of Judas.”⁷God used Ananias to pour into one man—the man who would become known as the Apostle Paul. Wiersbe stresses that we “must never underestimate the value of one person brought to Christ.”⁸

Ananias boldly entered the house of Judas, placed his hands on Saul, and told Saul Jesus had sent him to restore Saul’s sight so he could be filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 17). The scales fell from Saul’s eyes, he regained his sight, and then he was baptized. Saul began to eat and regained his strength (vv. 18–19).

Acts 9:20–25: Saul spent days with the disciples in Damascus and immediately began proclaiming in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God (v. 20). Saul was supposed to be delivering letters of arrest to those synagogues, and instead, he delivered messages of life to them. The message Saul delivered was the same one that had fired him up against blasphemy within the church, but now he proclaimed the same message the church had. There’s not enough time to teach through the rest of this chapter. You’ve got to read it for yourself.

CLOSING

When you consider this story line, which would you rather be? Ananias, listening to God and chosen by God to restore Saul’s sight, both physically and spiritually? Or Saul, getting radically rocked to do something amazing for God? Either way, Acts 9 applies to all of us. The bottom line is both Ananias and Saul did the same thing—they proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ.