Session 2.18: June 14, 2024
Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-22
9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats to murder the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 9:3 As he was going along, approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 9:6 But stand up and enter the city and you will be told what you must do.” 9:7 (Now the men who were traveling with him stood there speechless, because they heard the voice but saw no one.) 9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, he could see nothing. Leading him by the hand, his companions brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.
9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am, Lord.” 9:11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’ and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 9:12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 9:13 But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call on your name!” 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. 9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 9:18 Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 9:19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “This man is the Son of God.” 9:21 All who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 9:22 But Saul became more and more capable, and was causing consternation among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
Outline
God Using Foes and Friends
Primer on Paul
Acts 7:58-8:3—The persecutor spreads (disperses) the message
Acts 9—The persecutor spreads (preaches) the message
Words and Places
“The Way”
Damascus
Chronology
We do not know exactly when (in the story or in history) Paul’s conversion occurred
Many years go went by afterward
Key Event; Discrepancies Between Accounts
This event is recounted three times
The retelling of the event by Luke and Paul’s comments raise questions of consistency
Paul’s Conversion
Psychology, hallucinations, or an encounter with God
Let’s be clear: not simply a vision
Conversion or calling
Change in theology
The Theophany
Light and glory
Why do you persecute me?
Who are you, Lord?
I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!
But stand up and enter the city and you will be told what you must do.
The Aftermath
Blindness
Fasting
Entering Damascus
Paired Visions (Actually Three)
Ananias vision
Paul’s vision about Ananias’s vision
Ananias
Needing clarification about the “absurd” command
Vision restored
Suffering
Paul’s pain is not punishment
Brother
Kinship language was not exclusively Christian but is deeply meaningful