Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for, And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting, he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before, I will show him how many things he must suffer for My. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 113. How can this message of suffering for Jesus' name in WebActs 9:10-18 Ananias. What was the decision of Ananias and Sapphira? We know that the salvation of men rests ultimately with God and not with usand not even with the one whom we wish to see saved. Michael Garicoits (1797-1863) was born into a poor, but hardworking and humble family. When God spoke to Ananias commanding him to go to the house where Saul was staying, he was to receive him as a brother; and he was told that he was called to suffer as Gods chosen vessel to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles, kings, and to his fellow-Israelites. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? B. Eerdmans Publishing Company {photolithoprinted}, 1966), p. 91. 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. Barnabas, one of the Christians, assured them Sauls faith was genuine. The splendid deliberateness with which God forged His human tool is the great lesson of these years. 15But the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites,m Saul asked.I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. 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). 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. (4) More space is devoted to the process of getting Ananias to Saul than is devoted to getting Saul to Damascus and to the home of Judas. 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Why do you think the street was named "Straight" But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children (1 Thessalonians 2:7). In fact, as Saul would later write, he realized that he was chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Why did Ananias and Sapphira sell their property? How humorous it seems to hear Ananias informing the Lord that Saul was an enemy, one who had caused many Christians great suffering and adversity, as though He was unaware of this! The risen Lord selected Saul out of the group with which he was traveling to hear, to see Him, and to understand His words. to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26:18). What is the meaning of Sapphira in the Bible? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The answer is: Jesus. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". He sent me so that you can in expanding, as well as justifying, their earthly wealth and power. 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). There are two primary options for preaching from this text. Let us suppose further that the church had gathered on this particular evening for a time of prayer, prompted by the news that Saul was soon to arrive, with all the necessary legal machinery (that is, the authorization of the chief priests and the Sanhedrin130) to arrest and extradite131 the saints who were in the city. of him. 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. One cannot help but wonder if it did not send chills up and down Pauls spine when he cast the spell of blindness on the Jewish false prophet, Bar-Jesus: And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. 9. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 10. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 1:19; Rom. Instead, he became the first believer to minister to Saul. Present active participle of sunbubazo, old verb to make go together, to coalesce, to knit together. The first thing we shall do is to make some observations on the passage as a whole to attempt to see the forest before we scrutinize the trees. Did he still not realize who the Lord was? In this approach, preachers will offer their congregations a chance to relate to Sauls epiphany as a way of meeting Christ in the midst of our lives and being transformed by that encounter. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life (1 Thessalonians 4:7). the Romans . Straight Street was widened and colonnades added to it. Hear, you deaf! He is trying to inform God of whats going on. In the process, Saul was to greatly extend the outreach of the gospel to the Gentiles. 149 It is more significant than might be supposed at first glance that the only occurrence of the title `Son of God in Acts should be in this report of Sauls early preaching. Ananias found And so, Saul asked the LORD who He was. (what was bad was that they lied about the amount). Those who think themselves worthy of Gods blessings (as many Jews did in that day) are those who are in trouble. Saul was not seeking God. Saul was saved in spite of himself. * [9:1930] This is a brief resume of Pauls initial experience as an apostolic preacher. A devout Hellenistic Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, Saul was a member of the Pharisees and was taught by none other than Gamaliel, Perhaps Ananias called a meeting of the church to discuss how they would deal with Sauls arrival. Peter Heals Aeneas at Lydda. Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? 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). This light was more, much more, than just a bright light. 10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, here am I, Lord. 11 And the Lord said to him, Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight. 13 But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Thy saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Thy name.145 15 But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My names sake.. * [9:20] Son of God: the title Son of God occurs in Acts only here, but cf. What is the safe score in JEE Mains 2021? He had heard of all the terrible things Saul had done to Christians in Jerusalem and how it was his intent to do the same in Damascus, Ananias town. part of the price for themselves while donating it to the church 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Thus, he did not use the method of many others, which was man-centered, not Christ-centered: For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. 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. For less than $5/mo. 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. 145 We may note incidentally the two new descriptions of the Christians used here. What happened to Straight Street since then? 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. WebThere was no indication in Jesus words that Ananias was going to give Saul the Holy Spirit. All Ananias did was to obey Christs command to go pray with Saul so that Saul could do all those things. Finally, we shall attempt to focus on the application of this passage to our own lives. Saul proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God (9:20), a designation understood to refer to Israels awaited Messiah.149. In different contexts, preachers might want to draw specific analogies concerning those for whom the congregation should be praying even though it cuts against our grain to do so. 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. It was due to the intervention of Barnabas, a man who would prove to be a lifetime friend of Paul, that the apostles risked a meeting with him and then granted him the freedom to associate with the saints in Jerusalem. The pastor advised him to pray for the person every day for two weeks pray for the person not about the person. He was a man of great respect and influence, and thus he realized that his actions would have broad ramifications. The conversion of Saul, as depicted in our text, was not only a divine call to salvation, but it was also a call to service. It is not just in the Book of Acts that the importance of Sauls conversion is evident. Introduction: suppose you heard someone was coming to arrest you, or even worse. As persecution was no longer needed to disperse the church and the gospel, peace was restored to the land. Have you had such an encounter? Like Stephen, the enemies of the gospel attempted to kill Saul when they could not silence him by means of debate. Ananias small act of obedience led to a great harvest for the kingdom. 39So Peter got up and went with them. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Saul Visits Jerusalem. Who is blind but my servant {Israel}, and deaf like the messenger I send? He started NOW to trust 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. The remaining verses of this account describe the results of Sauls conversion, all of which serve as dramatic proof of his radical transformation as a result of his encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. Imagine for a moment that this is the week of Sauls arrival at Damascus. 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! 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. %PDF-1.2 % This is very evident in the conversion of Saul. . Gods promises and purposes would not be stopped by this madman, Saul. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. What is remarkable about the Lord's directions to Ananias? 2 Corinthians 4:14; cf. 116-117. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. 31* The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. There is a great deal of information we are not given, and thus we cannot be dogmatic about our conclusions. 3:7, 8; 1 Tim. The Lord seeks and saves individuals, and thus our methods should be personal. 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.
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