12And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight., 13Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, (C)how much [a]harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. How did God use Ananias in the New Testament? (2) While there is considerable emphasis on the conversion of Saul, there is very little detail given as to the precise time or the details of Sauls conversion. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. 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. Romans 6). The first is to ask the congregation to identify with Saul himself. 3. 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. They too rebelled against God and forsook His word and persecuted His prophets. Ananiass vision was intended to direct him to the house of Judas and to Saul. And they will reign for ever and ever (Revelation 22:5). 9 What happened to Sapphira in the Bible? In order to have both, they pretended to give the full price of the sale of their property to the apostles. And Jesus took the persecution of Christians very personally. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. In Sauls account of his conversion to His Jewish brethren, he added that when Ananias arrived, he instructed him to Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name (Acts 22:16). Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? (5) There is a good deal of emphasis on the results of Sauls conversion. Salvation may occur in a large group, such as those saved at the preaching of Peter at Pentecost, but each individual was saved because of a personal encounter with Christ. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.. * [9:2] The Way: a name used by the early Christian community for itself (Acts 18:26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). But these laws, which seek to summarize the gospel in a concise way, should always be applied individually. . What changed about Saul/Paul after Jesus appeared to him? 29He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists,* but they tried to kill him. 37Now during those days she fell sick and died, so after washing her, they laid [her] out in a room upstairs. The result was the restoration of Sauls sight and, it would seem, Sauls reception of the Holy Spirit. So it would appear. Second, the gospel should be proclaimed in a way that is personal. In the end, God Himself will provide the illumination so that the sun and the stars will not be needed for this function: The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted (Isaiah 30:26). 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The words which Ananias spoke to Saul indicate he was also to lay hands on him so that he would receive the Holy Spirit (9:17). Nevertheless, conversion has certain elements which are vital and which are to be present in any salvation experience. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:8-11). * [9:13] Your holy ones: literally, your saints.. 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. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:24-27). Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? Second, the only result of this event shown in the Bible is that Saul received his sight. also Romans 1:1-7, 13-17; 1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:3-11; cf. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it (Revelation 21:23-24). WebThe last time they saw Saul, he was arresting and killing Christians. 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. Hb```f``:Ab,=`.9Z3{x5v\);]c#qea #'&D|z:wyKN,0(t\tbRFhT2thS2(9.`mNbq)-pk^;>:+pq2Ck AUbK=N\2M/`KqGLZS1 $[S|Rd\.9i'9T\.EXdxlYcqb The question must be asked as to whether or not Sauls conversion has a more general application and relevance. The second evidence of Sauls conversion was in his bold proclamation of his newly found faith in Jesus as the Messiah. How much better to petition God to save those whom we are concerned about, a God who desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). 24n but their plot became known to Saul. Pauls language in Acts 26:11 seems to mean that Damascus is merely one of other `foreign cities to which he carried the persecution. A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1930), III, p. 114. 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. Follow Christ's journey to the Cross. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. We know that Paul was not instantly a biblical scholar or a seasoned apostle. 2. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Saul was also blinded, which identified him with the blindness of the nation Israel of which the Old Testament prophets wrote (see above). And the second group, who were waiting for Saul to come and help them deal with the followers of the Way, were about to discover that Saul had joined them, perhaps bringing other members of the opposition along with him. At this point, the conversion of the hero of the Gentile mission is recounted. The emphasis in the account is on Paul as a divinely chosen instrument (Acts 9:15). The conversion of Saul is a very crucial event in this book, which spells out from a historical point of view (Romans, from a theological viewpoint) the relationship of Jews and Gentiles in the plans and purposes of God. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. His parents allowed visiting priests to minister secretly in their home during the dangers of the French Revolution. 1:16f. i3&K>Kpg Up till now, Jesus was the sinner, and Saul was the saint. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God. 21 And all those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests? 22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding147 the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Only a radical conversion can produce this attitude in the life of a man like Saul: For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:8). 7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious (Ezekiel 1:4, 26-28; 2:1-7).143. He didnt know that the risen Christ had confronted Saul on the road to Damascus just as Christ is now confronting him This sets up a flashback to verses 1-9. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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 authorities, but also knew that he was on the march to Damascus, ready to destroy that church as well. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. It strikes many readers as harsh, a return to Old Testament retribution. Saul did not agree with his teacher, Gamaliel, on how the Christians should be dealt with, however. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Have you had such an encounter? Let us be careful to discern what changes the gospel requires and what changes it does not. 3:7, 8; 1 Tim. 132 The impact of Sauls conversion on his message and his ministry is testified to by A. T. Robertson: Luke evidently attached great importance to the story of Sauls conversion as the turning point not simply in the career of the man, but an epoch in the history of apostolic Christianity. Also, But then the preacher can continue that even though Ananias didnt know about Sauls epiphany, he did as the Lord told him anyway. It was an act of faith and bravery equivalent to helping a lion out of a trap. When the Christians learned that the Hellenists to whom Saul had preached were plotting to kill them, they helped him escape through Caesarea and on to Tarsus. They, not unlike Ananias, were very reluctant to have anything to do with this Christian killer. >zZ0y^C{tg It was his preaching that resulted in the conversion of many Gentiles, and it was his writing (his epistles) to these saints which greatly strengthened them in their faith. Your merchants were the worlds great men. (13) As Stephens death, instigated (or at least assisted) by Saul, resulted in an intense and widespread persecution of the churches in Jerusalem and elsewhere, so Sauls conversion seems to have been directly related to the return of peace (cf. 13:1 On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity (Zechariah 12:1013:1). Lesson Text Acts 9:1-19 Scripture Memory Verse The salvation of Saul was to result in the gospel being preached to distant people and lands, and in the extension of the church to many key cities. 7 Did God Judge Ananias and Sapphira for the same sin? No doubt entered the mind of Saul that the One who spoke to him was Jesus of Nazareth, the long-looked-for Messiah, the Consolation and Redeemer of Israel. WebThis happened to Ananias of Damascus when he ministered to Saul of Tarsus. Thus, whenever he spoke of his conversion and his call to ministry, he always spoke of this incident as an act of divine grace, of Gods unmerited favor, of an act of mercy toward him: I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:15-16). He hears the voice of the Lord crying out to him. Saul Preaches in Damascus. But beyond this, his conversion totally changed the remainder of his life. The first is this: every saved person must have a personal conversion experience. God struck Ananias and Sapphira dead for hypocrisy While their penalties seem extreme to us today, God judged them guilty of sins so serious that they threatened the very existence of the early church. 5 Why did Ananias and Sapphira lie to God? \4Q-b24Q-z U`E(O42. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Saul, why do you persecute me?

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