Tuesday: Saul in Damascus
During Saul’s encounter with Jesus, he was blinded and then instructed to go to the house of a man named Judas and to wait there for another man, Ananias. No doubt Saul’s physical blindness was a powerful reminder of the greater spiritual blindness that led him to persecute the followers of Jesus.
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The appearance of Jesus to him on the Damascus road changed everything. Where Saul had thought he had been so right, he had been dead wrong. Rather than working for God, he had been working against Him. Saul entered Damascus a different man than the proud and zealous Pharisee who had left Jerusalem. Instead of eating and drinking, Saul spent his first three days in Damascus in fasting and prayer as he reflected on all that had happened.
Read Acts 9:10-14. Imagine what must have been going on in the mind of Ananias: not only was Saul, the persecutor, now a believer in Jesus, he was also Paul, God’s chosen apostle to take the gospel to the Gentile world (see Acts 26:16-18).
No wonder Ananias was a little confused. If the church in Jerusalem was hesitant to accept Paul some three years after his conversion (Acts 9:26-30), one can imagine what questions and concerns filled the hearts of the believers in Damascus only days after the event!
Notice, too, that Ananias was given a vision by the Lord telling him the surprising and unexpected news about Saul of Tarsus; anything less than a vision might not have convinced him that what he was told about Saul was true — that the enemy of the Jewish believers had now become one of them.
Saul had left Jerusalem with the authority and commission of the chief priests to root out the Christian faith (Acts 26:12); God had, however, a vastly different commission for Saul, one that rested on far greater authority. Saul was to take the gospel to the Gentile world, an idea that must have been even more shocking to Ananias and the other Jewish believers than was the conversion of Saul himself.
Where Saul had sought to curtail the spread of the Christian faith, now God would use him to spread it far beyond anything that Jewish believers ever would have imagined.
| Read 1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 7:1, and 1 Corinthians 4:5. What is the message of these texts in regard to why we must be careful in how we view the spiritual experience of other people? What mistakes have you made in your judgments about others, and what have you learned from those mistakes? |
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I wouldn't have acted in a different way as Ananaias did: it's hard to accept someone who hates you and will want to see you lose your life. But who are we to judge? We need the Holy Spirit to lead us in all our things.
What do you mean by "it's hard to accept someone who hates you"? Who hated Ananias?
Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. He said that he had sold the property for the sum he brought to Peter when he had actually sold it for more and kept the balance for himself. Keeping part of it for himself was fine, but lying about it was not. Why are you saying that you wouldn't have acted differently?
Inge, what source do you have that the Ananias of Acts 4 and 5 was the same Ananias of Acts 9? They are definitely different stories. Ananias of Acts 9 was from Damascus. And Ananias of Acts 4 and 5 seems to be from Jerusulem. Your point was well taken though. By surrending to the Holy Spirit, trusting in Him to to guide us into righteousness, and accepting His gift of power to stay the course we can do the right thing or make the right decision. The story of Soloman coming back to the Lord, illuminated in Prophets and Kings, chapter 5, is a prime example of how the Lord continues to work with us until we yield. Your right, we can do it a different way.
It is not possible that Ananias of Acts 9 is the same Ananias of Acts 4-5. Acts is written as a historic account of the events of the early church. The Ananias of Acts 4-5 is dead and buried by the time of Paul's conversion.
My fault for reading the comment (while moderating) without checking the post under which it was contributed. 🙁
Yes, Antwi's comment makes sense regarding Ananias of Damascus. 🙂
He is talking about the Ananias in this lesson that had to speak with Saul. Ananias was one of the many Christians that Saul hated and was persecuting. The Ananias you are talking about is a different person.I hope this answers your question.
The Ananias of Acts chapter 5 died when he lied to Peter and the Holy Spirit. Aransas in Acts chapter 9 was a was very much alive. I think that the reaction of Aransias was a natural one. Here is a man who seem to take delight in persecuting Christians and now seems to do a completely 180 degree turn, but Ananias had a direct vision from the Lord. It tells me that when God speaks to us just do what He says for we do not know what ways He has cleared for us before He asked us to go. We just need to make sure that we are close enough to Him to know His voice.
I think Antwi was referring to Ananias who was sent by the Lord to heal Saul of his blindness.
Yea Inge I believe Antwi was talking about Ananias of Damascus. Also Matthew 7:1 say we need not to Judge. In our canal mind may not understand and believe it but that how God works. He does the impossible. Let us not forget that we were in the same situation as Saul. But by the Grace we are all saved.
Do not think yourself better than other men, and set yourself up as their judge. Since you cannot discern motive, you are incapable of judging another. In criticizing him, you are passing sentence upon yourself; for you show that you are a participant with Satan, the accuser of the brethren. The Lord says, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” This is our work. “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:31. {DA 314.1}
Sorry, but this kind of comment makes me very sad, identifying some one who has made a comment, and maybe was mistaken, to be "a participant of satan." If only infallible comments are expected, I would never ever write a single letter.
Winfried Stolpmann
Hi Winfried, I don't believe Michael meant to address me regarding my hasty questions. I think he was referring to Antwi's original comment, which he said, "who are we to judge?" The statement is actually a quotation from Desire of Ages, page 314:
I really is a sobering thought to remember whenever we are tempted to judge.
(By the way, I always appreciate your contributions, Winfried. 🙂 )
Annanias in Acts 3 died as a result of lying to the Holy Spirit
Saul, had to relearn everything in his life. We living 2000+ years of Jesus on the calvary have connected the dots but can you imagine Saul who had been taught Messiah would come and establish a new world order had to accept that the Messiah is the one who died a criminal's death.
This takes me to the great disappointment in 1844. The people who walked down from that rock had two choices give up on God or study the Word of God in a new light.
When we are faced with disappointments if we are willing to hang on in faith, God will take us through the great disappointment in to the newness of life.
Disciples (selfish) - cross (disappointment) - resurrection (died as martyrs)
Saul (religious) - Damascus road (enlightened) - In Christ (relationship)
1844 (prophecy) - ascension rock (bitter disappointment) - Jesus the heavenly high priest
Each one transformed turned the world upside down.
Have you experienced the transformation of God?
many Christians knows not that they are blind just like Saul never knew. all he knew was that he was doing a right thing. we also think the same but when one becomes a fully changed person the old goes and the new in him/her comes. Jehova God starts interacting with an individual like Saul. life changes. for sure it is very difficult to trust a persecutor because of what we feed our brain about an individual. but when God change a soul, only good fruit will manifest. for instance Saul, he did great works. amen
Amen! What I take from this is that when the Lord give instruction to one person.. always two or more
I was impressed with Saul's response. When he met Jesus he recognised an extraordinary Presence surrounding him. His conversation with the Lord caused him to take a positive step and today we enjoy reading his letters. Such is supposed to be our response when Christ meets us in our different stations in life while we are busy with our programmes
This was the answers I had been looking for in another post regarding Ananias. The book of Acts as well as Luke was primarily the record of Theophilus. I do not have the dates they were written, however Paul being a recipient as well the other apostles would not necessarily mean that Theophilus did things in chronological order the same as we. The Damascus experience was later than the dispersion and the stoning of Stephen. I have to believe the Ananias's are not the same.
When we read Acts 9:10-14, Ananias who was already a believer could not imagine that Saul could be a Christian. It's like he exclaimed "Lord not him, it's impossible, is this the same Saul who I hear has authority from the Priest to kill believers". Just like any other person may argue, Saul's past was bad as he had pursued believers to their death. Ananias also feared for his life. But he obeyed God and ministered to Saul.
We as believers should never limit God as He is capable of doing anything that we see to be impossible. We must obey and follow God's leading, even when He leads us to difficult people and places. How many times have you as a Christian doubted God's direction?
I think what Afrifra said in his next sentence, that who are we to judge, sums it up. It clearly tells us that there is no one who is perfect. For Saul then, he was so sure he was protecting God's work. What he didn't realise, and so many of us don't is that we work without being connected to the Originator of this very work we do so diligently. It turns out to be all in vain.