And so, Saul asked the LORD who He was. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints, and are of Gods household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22). in expanding, as well as justifying, their earthly wealth and power. Questions: Why were Ananias and Sapphira not given a second chance? The Lord Jesus appeared to Ananias in a vision. 12and [in a vision] he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay [his] hands on him, that he may regain his sight. He spoke of it as the movement from darkness to light (Colossians 1:12-13; Ephesians 4:8-14) in which the new believer should now walk. Saul was also blinded, which identified him with the blindness of the nation Israel of which the Old Testament prophets wrote (see above). When Paul spoke of his conversion here in Galatians 1, he did not speak of the light which shone without, but rather of the light which shone within. It was time for Saul to ponder what he had seen and heard. He started to KNOW GRACE! 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord. Note the following impressions gained from a reflection on the passage as a whole. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company {photolithoprinted}, 1966), p. 91. Israel too will look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). In fact, as Saul would later write, he realized that he was chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). While at first he thought he might have to correct God, in the end he submitted himself and his very life to Gods call. Dont let it trouble youalthough if you can gain your freedom, do so. When Saul looked at the disciples of The Way (Jesus disciples) all he saw was a heretical sect that was a threat to the nation of Israel and Gods Law. There are two primary options for preaching from this text. In spite of the clear and present danger, Ananias went and began to look for the Christian hunter Saul. 28, p. 185. But the gospel is good news for sinners. WebSaul had come to Damascus with letters from the authorities in Jerusalem to find followers of Jesus and arrest them. A man once confessed to his pastor that even though he didnt think of himself as hating people, there was one person he really hated for the way the person had wronged him. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lords wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. 131 . The Essene community at Qumran used the same designation to describe its mode of life. Jesus did not address the entire group but said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? The others knew that something unusual was going on, but they did not grasp it (Acts 22:9). 9For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank. Not knowing what had happened, she, too, lied about the offering and was also struck dead (Acts 5:111). He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. The blindness to which Saul was subject for three days provided him with much time for reflection, meditation, and prayer. Salvation is a revolution, not an evolution. And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time. And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. The words, Brother Saul must not have come easily to Ananias. Copyright 2019-2023 USCCB, please review our Privacy Policy. He went on to write nearly half of the New Testament. No, I worked harder than all of themyet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of Gods grace given me through the working of his power. 145 We may note incidentally the two new descriptions of the Christians used here. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It strikes many readers as harsh, a return to Old Testament retribution. I do not question that he did receive the Spirit, but merely observe that this receiving of the Spirit (accompanied by the laying on of hands) was not something Luke wanted to emphasize. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. The saints (9:32, 41; 26:10; cf. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. Impatient men forget that God is not bound by time. Peter Restores Tabitha to Life. Web3. The obedience and faith that Ananias demonstrated in going to Saul and helping to restore his sight were incredible, to say the least. And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul (Acts 16:14). I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christthe righteousness that comes from God and is by faith (Philippians 3:1-9; cf. Hear, you deaf! Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? In other words a beginning point for narrating Acts 9:1-19 could be with Ananias knowledge of Saul as a persecutor, which he expresses in verse 13. Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way,137 both men and women,138 he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Why was Ananias afraid? The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. There will be no more night. The answer is: Jesus. It was as the Son of God that Christ was revealed to him on the Damascus road (Gal. Ananias was afraid because he knew Sauls reputation as a merciless persecutor of the church. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. We can learn more about his life in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and we can still read some of the letters he wrote that have been collected into the Bible, such as Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians. Luke 3:22), it expressed his unique relationship and fellowship with the Father. Ibid. For less than $5/mo. If he were viewed as a reactionary, a trouble-maker, perhaps there were some unbelievers who thought Saul was too much trouble. Ananias baptised Saul in the name of Jesus - the one who had sent him to the vanquished enemy of the church. It was just such a miracle which gave Saul his spiritual sight, as he received back his physical sight. Or did they somewhat dread his arrival, knowing how zealous he was in his opposition to the church. The LORD identified Himself as the Jesus, whom he had been persecuting. 13But Ananias replied, Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones* in Jerusalem.k Without Ananias prayer, Saul spends the rest of his life as a blind man wondering what his life might have been. In this approach, preachers are offering their congregation a chance to relate to Ananias dream that leads him to overcome his preconception of Saul (a correct but now outdated preconception), come to see Saul as someone God has called, and respond faithfully. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life (1 Timothy 1:12-16). These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. How true are two of the proverbs, which read: The mind of a man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9). I can believe someone might have prayed that Saul be waylaid, or terminated, in some divine act or providential accident (act of God). Some were amazed, taking note of the dramatic turn-about in Sauls faith and practice (9:21). After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11). also 16:17; 18:25-26). Sauls conversion was also his call to ministry, and this conversion experience is strikingly similar to that of one of his predecessors, Ezekiel: 1:4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the northan immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. Few Christians will encounter the risen, glorified Lord as Saul did here. 14And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name.l In the place of Ananias we would fear that it might not work out, and the consequences could be very serious. Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit because it was the Holy Spirit who dwelt in the apostles, giving them their power and authority. What is remarkable about the Lord's directions to Ananias? 23After a long time had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, In order to have both, they pretended to give the full price of the sale of their property to the apostles. No one could fault the reluctance of Ananias. One moment, Saul was opposing Jesus, as though He were the sinner; the next, Saul is on his face before this Jesus, calling Him Lord. It is here in Acts, for the first time, that Saul is called Paul. Later, when Paul looked back on his past devotion and deeds, all done in the name of Judaism, he came to view his apparent righteous deeds for what they really weredung: 1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! Many are the plans in a mans heart, But the counsel of the LORD, it will stand (Proverbs 19:21). Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? Charles Spurgeon once wrote: Prayer is the autograph of the Holy Spirit upon the renewed heart. God was sealing Saul to Himself. Sauls world of self-trust was now at an end and prayer was helping him see that. Thus, it is grace which sustains the saint, in addition to saving him: Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited (Hebrews 13:9). The call of salvation is a call to change. Matt. He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus, 17(K)And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and (L)laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord [c]Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and (M)be filled with the Holy Spirit. 18Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. It was irresistible argument and spread consternation among the Jews. And, who knows, God may even answer those prayers and the persons life be blessed and changed in ways we cannot even imagine.. The ultimate issue was Gods ability to saveeven the most committed unbeliever. (1) Sauls salvation was the salvation of a sinner. It is not a transition, but a transformation. 20and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. It may be that Sauls conversion was the instrument God used to convert these followers of Saul, so that they really were his disciples, in a two-fold sense. WebAnanias was afraid of Saul. 28He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 113. Ananias was used as Gods instrument in the conversion of Saul, but even he had to be pushed to go to Saul. What else did Jesus explain to Ananias? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Those who call upon your name echoes 2:21 (Joel 2:32) and recurs in 22:16 in a command to Paul himself to be baptized . While Saul in solitude at the house of Judas continued in prayer and supplication, the Lord appeared in a vision to a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias, telling him that Saul of Tarsus was praying and in need of help. Why did Ananias and Sapphira sell their property? Saul did not agree with his teacher, Gamaliel, on how the Christians should be dealt with, however. In Pauls speech in Acts 22, he describes Ananias as a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews that dwelt in Damascus (Acts 22:12). It is not clear whether this official was a representative of the king resident in Damascus to look after the interests of the Arabs there, or whether Damascus at this time was under the control of Nabataea. I. Howard Marshall, The Acts of the Apostles (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, reprint, 1987), p. 168. 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. But there is a greater discrepancy between the accounts of Sauls conversion in Acts and that which Paul gave in Galatians 1. Their attempt to deceive the apostles was an attempt to deceive God putting the Spirit of the Lord to the test (v. 9) and they paid the price! There is clearly no attempt to establish some kind of pattern or formula for evangelism here, at least as far as methodology is concerned. a. Thank God that is what happened. And thus, in Gods time, Saul was dramatically converted, seeing the Christ whom he had been persecuting, risen from the dead and in His heavenly glory. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, It is no wonder then that this one who was Sauls all in all would be the focus, the substance, of the gospel which he preached: But we preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). Ananias was a disciple of Jesus who lived in Damascus and was The result of that reluctant leap of faith is that Sauls eyes are opened and he is baptized, becoming part of (and eventually a leader in) the very church he sought to wipe out. sight. * [9:119] This is the first of three accounts of Pauls conversion (with Acts 22:316 and Acts 26:218) with some differences of detail owing to Lukes use of different sources. 10i There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. He answered, Here I am, Lord. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. More than that, he had a deep dislike and hostility toward Christians before his conversion. He is there praying,j There is surely a connection between Saul and persecution, and Saul and peace. They were to be a light to the Gentiles, but they failed. WebA study of the language describing what resulted from Ananias going to Saul should help in determining the part played by Ananias in Saul's being "filled with the Holy Spirit." 36Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated means Dorcas). Preachers can narrate verses 10-14, and then basically say, You see, Ananias didnt know what had just happened. The men who traveled with Saul were frightened and confused. 9oY+ 5 Why did Ananias and Sapphira lie to God? Ananias and Saul. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. Pauls opposition resulted in the scattering of the Christians from Jerusalem, thus taking the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and beyond (Acts 8:1; 11:19-21). Fourth, if we had all the facts, there would be no problem. It was an act of faith and He went on to write nearly half of the New Testament. Here Saul took the various items in the life of Jesus of Nazareth and found in them the proof that he was in reality the Messiah (ho Christos). This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. In peace, as in persecution, the church was comforted and continued to increase. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 2 What was the decision of Ananias and Sapphira? Saul, like Israel, had been blinded as to the meaning of the law because of his rejection of Christ (cf. Saul went to other cities where he sought to arrest Christians and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. But his blindness was symbolic of his condition. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? Over and over in his epistles, Paul spoke of salvation in terms of radical change. How many times should a shock absorber bounce? Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? >zZ0y^C{tg One is the truth from God Himself, As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received (Ephesians 4:1). When the man asked why he should do this, the pastor said, I dont believe anyone can continue hating someone when they have consistently prayed for that person to be blessed by God. Paul would make much more of this point in the first chapter of Galatians. How can this message of suffering for Jesus' name in When all is said and done, the miracle which took place on the way to Damascus (and likely in Damascus as well) was that Saul saw Jesus as the Son of God, as the Messiah, and as his Savior and Lord: Am I not free? 9 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. the citation of Ps 2:7 in Pauls speech at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:33). 10 i There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. He answered, Here I am, Lord. 11 The Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? WebAnd was Ana- nias still reluctant to help Saul after the Lord explained the situation to him? When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. The Lord Ananias found Saul and said to him, Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit. As soon as Ananias spoke, Saul could see again. He hears the voice of the Lord crying out to him. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. We may not be able to identify the precise moment or the exact events which brought it about, but salvation does not happen in some kind of group way. In 2 Corinthians 11:32 Paul speaks of an ethnarch of Aretas, the king of the Nabataean Arabs, who guarded the city to prevent him escaping from it. Blindness, not willing to see, not willing to understand is all too common but Ananias cured Saul blindness by a touch. Sauls baptism followed, accompanied by his profession of faith, his calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16). They too rebelled against God and forsook His word and persecuted His prophets. He was afraid because Saul killed Jesus’ followers🤨 There were three Ananiases in the Bible. The Old Testament passages which I have suggested bear to Saul (blind, light) are passages which speak of Israel in their original context. required neighboring states to grant it the privileges of a sovereign state, including the right of extradition. also Psalm 50:15; Joel 2:32; Jeremiah 29:12; 33:3-8). Then you hear the Lord telling you to minister to that person. They could hear the voice but they did not see anyone who was speaking. Ananias Get up and go to the street called Straight, to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13). During his conversion The Lord seeks and saves individuals, and thus our methods should be personal. Shape us into children who rejoice in knowing and proclaiming you to the world. also 2:14-17; 3:12-18; 4:1-18; 5:17-21; 6:13--7:1; Galatians 1:13-17; cf. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Ananias the high priest brought charges against Paul and This blindness was only removed by faith in Christ, a miracle brought about by divine action: In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see (Isaiah 29:18). He did not say that God revealed his Son to him, but that He revealed His Son in him. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Second, the gospel should be proclaimed in a way that is personal. Here is a graphic illustration of what true repentance isit is a turning about, beginning with ones belief and bearing fruit in ones conduct. We are given a little insight from the account in Acts 12 when Peter was imprisoned and it appeared he would soon be executed, as James had already been, and as we would infer Herod purposed to do with Peter (Acts 12:1-4). In Peters words, Ananias and Sapphira agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord(v9), which appears to be a terrible sin in the eyes of God, so terrible that it even warranted having the couple killed on the spot, without even being given the chance to confess and repent. Sauls Conversion. Under the influence of this experience he gradually developed his understanding of justification by faith (see the letters to the Galatians and Romans) and of the identification of the Christian community with Jesus Christ (see 1Cor 12:27). This divine illumination is that miracle which God performs within a lost, blinded, dead soul, so as to bring about salvation: 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.