Saul’s Conversion
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 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. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 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. 8 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. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 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. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 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.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
My Understanding: Saul was a Jew and a Pharisee, and he was a strong opponent of believers in Jesus Christ, even to the point of having them arrested, jailed and/or killed for their testimony for Jesus Christ. And, he thought he was doing the right thing. One day while he was on his way to have the believers in Damascus put in prison, Jesus Christ visited him through a light from heaven and through a voice from heaven. He asked Saul why he was persecuting him, so Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” Saul seemed to know enough to recognize this was a voice from heaven, for he called him “Lord.” Jesus immediately identified himself as the voice, and he let Saul know that when he went against Jesus’ followers, that he was persecuting Jesus Christ. Jesus then told him to go into the city, and he would be told what he must do. Jesus had a change of plans for Saul’s life.
Saul was blinded by the light, so the men traveling with him led him by the hand into Damascus. He was helpless. God had humbled him. When we resist Jesus Christ and the voice of his Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts and/or we go against him and his true followers, even thinking we might be doing the right thing, there may come a time when God will humble us, will reveal to us his light, and will show us the direction he wants us to go. Still, the choice is ours to follow the Lord Jesus or to continue to resist his voice. Saul was humbled and he was blinded, but he still had a choice, and he chose to follow Jesus. Saul’s life and testimony for Jesus Christ serve as a great testament to God’s saving power in human lives, and of our Lord’s power to transform even murderers of Christians into servants of Christ. So, there is always hope!
The Lord visited a disciple, Ananias, in a vision and told him to go to Saul, and to place hands on him that he might receive his sight. Ananias had heard of Saul’s reputation, so he questioned God’s wisdom and direction in this matter, yet the Lord told him to go, because Saul was God’s chosen instrument to carry Jesus’ name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel, and Jesus would show Saul how much he must suffer for the name of Christ. So, Ananias did what Jesus had commanded him to do. He placed his hands on Saul and Saul received not only his sight, but he received the Holy Spirit, which means he had a heart transformation, turning from darkness to the light of truth. So, we should never let fear rule our hearts or doubt God’s leading in our lives if he leads us to go to someone to give him a word from the Lord, because we don’t men’s hearts, but God does, so we have to trust the Lord that he knows far beyond our own human reasoning.
It didn’t take Saul long before he was preaching the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Saul knew the scriptures, so all he needed was for Christ to show himself through the scriptures, and to show him how Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah the Jewish people were waiting for. “At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.” The people who heard him were astonished and amazed that this leader of the persecution of believers in Jesus Christ was now preaching about Jesus Christ. They didn’t trust him. “Yet, Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.” This calls for much spiritual discernment, because, in reality, there will be false Christs who will masquerade themselves as angels of light, and as true sheep, when they are really wolves in sheep’s clothing, so we should not trust everyone who says he knows Christ, but we need to pray for much discernment, so that we are not duped by master manipulators, deceivers and liars who pose as truth tellers. The Bible tells us to test the spirits to see if they are of God, so wisdom is proved right by her actions. The Bible says that by their fruits we shall know them.
Yet, Saul’s conversion was genuine, as his fruits revealed, and it didn’t take long before he was now the target of persecution and plots to take his life, too. The Jews conspired to kill him. Yet, Saul learned of their plan. The Jews watched the city gates day and night in order to kill Saul (later named Paul). But his followers came to the rescue. When Saul came to Jerusalem, though, he tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him, not believing he really was a disciple. Again, this calls for spiritual discernment, because many false brothers will infiltrate our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ, too, and they will pose as true followers. So, it is not wrong to question men, but we must pray in the Spirit and ask for wisdom from above, and we should check things out against scripture, and look at the spiritual fruits of a person’s life. Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” is a true follower of Christ, but those who do his will, and who obey his commands are his true followers. A good test is to check out a person’s life against Christ’s example, and see if he or she is doing the things Christ did, though not all of us will do all the miracles he did.
Here Barnabas came to Saul’s rescue and brought him to the apostles, and he told them of Saul’s conversion, so Barnabas gave Saul the support he needed at that time. So, Saul stayed with the apostles and “moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.” Again, there were Jews who tried to kill him, so when the brothers in Christ learned of this, they took him and sent him off to Tarsus. “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”
As I was praying through this passage of scripture concerning Saul’s physical rescues from death, the Lord put these two passages of scripture in my mind:
2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NIV ’84):
“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”
John 5:24-27 (NIV ’84):
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”
God may choose to rescue us physically from our persecutors, and even from those who may be plotting physical harm against us, even without our knowledge, because he is not finished with us yet on this earth. Yet, the greatest rescue of all is when he rescues us spiritually, and we pass from spiritual death to spiritual life, whether or not we face the real possibility of a martyrs death. So many are walking in spiritual darkness, and they need to hear the voice of God speaking and to respond in faith, so that they can have spiritual life with God forever. Will you hear the voice of Jesus speaking to your hearts today? And, will you, like Saul, respond to that voice from heaven and allow the Lord Jesus to give you a heart transformation that takes you from death to life? I pray that it be so. Amen!
Muted Trumpet / An Original Work / October 14, 2011
Softly He speaks gently to us,
Giving us His messages, and
He waits patiently for us to
Respond to His words.
Will you listen to Him speaking?
Will you waken from your sleeping?
He is calling; hear Him whisper
His truth unto you.
Jesus speaks His words unto us,
So that He might live out through us,
Giving light to all who need Him,
So they can obey.
He gave His life to die for us,
So that from sin He would free us
To walk humbly in obedience
Unto Him each day.
Hear the trumpet clearly calling.
He died to keep us from falling.
Won’t you listen; heed His call to
Turn to Him today?
Hasten to Him calling to you.
Turn from sin and follow Jesus.
He loves you so much He gave you
Life eternally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0iizyIw0KM
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