The first question which must be asked with regard to the interpretation of this text is this: What is the meaning of this text in the context of the whole book? Luke has included this account of Sauls conversion in order to contribute to the argument which he is seeking to develop. Rising Strong Small Groups 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. For the remainder of this essay, I will pursue the second option. Could it be that God had also appointed someone to meet Saul as he entered the city, with specific instructions as to where he was to stay? 25but his disciples took him one night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. Those things in which Saul would have formerly trusted for his standing before God, he saw in an entirely different light after God found him and saved him: 4b If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 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; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. Ananias To Paul, his relationship, by faith, to Jesus Christ was also the beginning of his new relationship to the body of Christ, the church: Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christs afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. No doubt God had used Ananias to serve as Sauls first Barnabas. Just as Barnabas would vouch for Saul with the apostles in Jerusalem, so Ananias, a highly respected Jewish Christian, would vouch for Saul here. WebThe Lord called to him in a vision, o Ananias!. also Isaiah 64:6). Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NKJV, Chronological Study Bible: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Third Edition, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it (Revelation 21:23-24). By divine revelation, Peter called out Ananias for lying to the Holy Spirit and to God. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). Frequent biblical texts speak of God in terms of light: You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game (Psalm 76:4). It was Gods initiative all the way. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight (Acts 9:10-12). The conclusion of many of the commentators is that Sauls conversion was a much longer process than I see reflected in this account, or in any other. The Lord seeks and saves individuals, and thus our methods should be personal. For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? How do you calculate working capital for a construction company? 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. (Acts 9:11)? So Ananias found Saul at Judas' house, praying for help. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. No change in life is greater than the change from unbelief to belief in Christ, from being lost and condemned to being saved and eternally secure, from being separated from God and others to being united with Him and with all believers. Suppose you were a Christian who had just arrived in Damascus, and you had been able to learn the whereabouts of a group of believers. 35And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. He amazed everyone because they knew he was speaking the same words as the people he had been persecuting. 20 The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the Lord. Saul, like Stephen, had a ministry which focused on the Hellenistic Jews. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to his death (Philippians 3:7-10). To the church, Saul turned out to be a friend, a fellow-believer, in fact, a flaming evangelist, who proclaimed Christ more clearly and powerfully than anyone had previously done in Damascus. Saul was knocked to the ground and confronted with the reality that hed been working against God rather than helping God. The children will practice being giving and friendly with someone that they do not know. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Blindness, not willing to see, not willing to understand is all too common but Ananias cured Saul blindness by a touch. It is not clear The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was the first recorded sin in the newly organized church. Barnabas stood up for Saul and explained everything to the Jerusalem Christians. First, there are problems which appear to be serious. Jesus words, Why are you persecuting Me?, clearly implied that Sauls persecution of the church was a persecution of the Lord. What changed about Saul/Paul after Jesus appeared to him? 16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it . He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. This is very evident in the conversion of Saul. 40Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. In the end, then, Ananias decision to go to the house of Judas on Straight Street (verse 11) to lay hands on Saul was a decision to risk his life to do the will of God. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands onq him to restore his sight.. WebThis happened to Ananias of Damascus when he ministered to Saul of Tarsus. * [9:13] Your holy ones: literally, your saints.. 15:10; Gal. The Lord Your merchants were the worlds great men. 23:16-17, 19, 24; 23:26). * [9:29] Hellenists: see note on Acts 6:17. 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 cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. I. Howard Marshall summarizes the problem in these words: Nevertheless, we obtain a different impression of things from Galatians 1:16-24, according to which (1) Paul did not confer with men after his conversion nor go to the apostles in Jerusalem, but (2) departed to Arabia and then returned to Damascus; then (3) three years later he went to Jerusalem for a visit lasting a fortnight during which he saw only Peter and James, and at this time he was unknown by sight to the churches of Judea; thereafter (4) he went to Syria and Cilicia. They were to be a light to the Gentiles, but they failed. Could Judas have been a Christian? Nothing is more evident in the account of Sauls conversion than his radical reversal. . 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. What a shock these words must have been to Saul, who up to this point, seems to have prided himself for his faithfulness to Judaism! Second, we are not given enough information in the biblical text to solve them dogmatically. 36Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated means Dorcas). Blindness, not willing to see, not willing to understand is all too common but Ananias cured Saul blindness by a touch. east-west thoroughfare through Damascus built by the Greeks after the city Saul proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God (9:20), a designation understood to refer to Israels awaited Messiah.149. Unstoppable Sauls salvation was focused on one thing and on one thing aloneChrist. 150 It is interesting to ponder the identity of these disciples of Saul. After he put his hands on Saul, the Bible only records that Saul received his sight. They could hear the voice but they did not see anyone who was speaking. Ananias had not only heard of how Saul had been systematically destroying the church in Jerusalem, hunting down men and women and turning them over to the Ananias was that kind of a disciple. There are no exceptions in this all of Romans 3:23, as Paul indicated in these Old Testament words, cited just before: THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE (Romans 3:10b-12). Not knowing what had happened, she, too, lied about the offering and was also struck dead (Acts 5:111). There is no more appropriate conclusion to our message than the words of the apostle Paul, which immediately follow those above, and which aptly express the response of the Christian to the wisdom, the grace, and the sovereignty of the God who has saved us, and who works all things together for His glory and for the good of His chosen ones: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! Saul was told at the time of his conversion that God had chosen him to bear witness to the Gentiles, to kings, and to the Jews (9:15). A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. the light and blind passages above). 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). We can overcome our fears if, like Ananias, we trust that Jesus is directing the preaching work, (1 Corinthians 9:1). They may have been attempting to compile a list of known (and even suspected) Christians, along with addresses, to facilitate Sauls task. He sent me so that you can 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). The church in Damascus has been talking about Saul and its members rightfully afraid of him he has, after all, been dragging Christians out of house after house, throwing them into prison, and desiring their deaths. . One thing was certain; no matter how much time had passed, the apostles were not yet convinced of Sauls conversion. Impatient men forget that God is not bound by time. Indeed, God would reveal His sovereignty by using Saul to further the gospel, first by his opposition (which scattered the church and spread the gospel), and then by his conversion (which resulted in his powerful proclamation of Jesus as Messiah). Then you hear the Lord telling you to minister to that person. If he were viewed as a reactionary, a trouble-maker, perhaps there were some unbelievers who thought Saul was too much trouble. Perhaps so, but I am not as confident of this as I once was. If the worst sinner (Saul) was not too sinful to save, then you are not too sinful for God to save. Like Stephen, Saul seemed to gravitate toward preaching to the Hellenistic Jews (9:29). 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! Finally, we shall attempt to focus on the application of this passage to our own lives. Then, on the road to Damascus, he was blinded by a vision of Jesus. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Web The children will describe Ananias as a man who helped Saul even though he was afraid. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company {photolithoprinted}, 1966), p. 91. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? 1:2; 2 Tim. Say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says. 5 And whether they listen or fail to listenfor they are a rebellious housethey will know that a prophet has been among them.
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