Saul Is Converted

Saul agreed. “Now Saul was consenting to his death” (8:1). Saul approved when Stephen was killed. Trouble begins. “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem” (8:1). Persecution means hurting people because of what they believe. Saul leads it. Saul “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (8:3). Havoc means great harm and damage. Scattered. The believers “were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (8:1). Scattered means spread out in many directions. Still telling. “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word” (8:4). They had to leave home, but they kept their message. Jesus’ plan. Jesus had said His followers would be His witnesses “in all Judea and Samaria” (Acts 1:8). The trouble did not stop His plan. It carried the good news farther. Why Saul did it. Years later, Paul said he once thought he had to fight against the name of Jesus (Acts 26:9). He thought he was serving God, but he was fighting God. God is bigger. Saul wanted to stop the good news, but it spread to more places than before. What we learn. Hard times do not stop God’s work. When something hard happens, you can still trust Jesus and tell others about Him.

Consenting (8:1). “Now Saul was consenting to his death.” The witnesses laid their clothes at Saul’s feet (7:58), and he approved of what they did. A great persecution (8:1). “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem.” Persecution is harm aimed at people because of their faith. Havoc (8:3). “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” He went door to door after ordinary believers, women as well as men. Scattered (8:1). They “were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” The apostles stayed in Jerusalem while the others spread out. Preaching the word (8:4). “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” Ordinary believers, not only the apostles, carried the message. The persecution meant to silence them sent them out as messengers. Acts 1:8. Jesus had said, “you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Now the gospel moved outward from Jerusalem, just as He said. Sincere, but wrong. Saul later said, “I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:9). He was “more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14). Being sincere did not make him right. He was fighting the very God he thought he served. Application. When following Jesus brings trouble, keep trusting Him and keep telling others. God can use even hard days to spread His good news.

Saul thought the followers of Jesus were wrong. He agreed when Stephen was killed. Then he tried to destroy the church. He dragged believers out of their homes and put them in jail. Many believers had to leave Jerusalem. They went to towns in Judea and Samaria. Did they stop talking about Jesus? No! Everywhere they went, they told the Good News. Saul wanted to stop the church. But God used that hard time to spread the Good News. Now even more places heard about Jesus. God can bring good out of hard days.

Saul hurt the people who loved Jesus. Many believers had to move far away. But they kept telling about Jesus!

Still breathing threats. Saul was “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (9:1). He still wanted to harm them. Letters for Damascus. He asked the high priest for letters to the synagogues of Damascus. He wanted to bring any “who were of the Way” to Jerusalem as prisoners (9:2). The Way was an early name for the followers of Jesus. A light from heaven. Near Damascus, “suddenly a light shone around him from heaven” (9:3). Paul later said it happened “at about noon” (Acts 22:6). Saul, Saul. He fell to the ground and heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (9:4). Jesus called him by name. Who are You? Saul asked, “Who are You, Lord?” The answer came: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (9:5). Saul was hurting Jesus’ followers, and Jesus said, “Me.” The goads. Jesus also said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (9:5). A goad was a pointed stick a farmer used to push an ox along. An ox that kicks against it only hurts itself. Trembling. Saul, “trembling and astonished,” asked, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” (9:6). The man who came with orders now asked for orders. Speechless. The men with him “stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one” (9:7). Three days. Saul got up, but “when his eyes were opened he saw no one” (9:8). “He was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (9:9). In those days he was praying (9:11). What we learn. Jesus is alive, and He is Lord. You can ask Him the same question Saul asked: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Threats and murder (9:1-2). “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest.” He asked for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, more than a hundred miles to the north, “so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” The Way. Believers were called people “of the Way,” most likely because they followed Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The light (9:3). “Suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.” Paul later described “a great light from heaven” at about noon (Acts 22:6). The question (9:4-5). “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” “Who are You, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Saul was chasing down Jesus’ followers, yet Jesus said, “Me.” The goads (9:5). “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” A goad was a pointed stick for driving oxen. Fighting the Lord only wounded Saul himself. Surrender (9:6). “So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’” Saul called Him Lord and asked to obey Him. “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The companions (9:7). They “stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.” This was no private dream; others were there. Blind and fasting (9:8-9). “When his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.” “He was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” The man who planned to lead prisoners into the city was himself led in by the hand. Application. The risen Jesus is Lord whether people believe it or not. Saul’s question is the right one for every believer: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Saul still wanted to hurt the followers of Jesus. He got letters from the high priest. He planned to arrest believers in Damascus. Near the city, a bright light from heaven flashed around him. Saul fell to the ground. A voice said, “Saul, Saul! Why are you doing things against me?” Saul was hurting the followers of Jesus. But Jesus said Saul was hurting Him! Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice answered, “I am Jesus.” Jesus was not dead. He was alive in heaven! For three days Saul could not see. He did not eat or drink. Jesus had stopped Saul on the road to change his life.

A bright light shone around Saul. Jesus spoke to him from heaven. Saul learned that Jesus is alive!

Another Ananias. “Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias” (9:10). He is not the Ananias who lied to the Holy Spirit in Acts 5. Here I am. The Lord called, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord” (9:10). He was ready to listen. Straight Street. The Lord sent him to “the street called Straight” and the house of Judas (not the Judas who betrayed Jesus). There he would find “Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying” (9:11). Tarsus was Saul’s hometown. An honest answer. Ananias said, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem” (9:13). Saints means God’s holy people, everyone who belongs to Him. A chosen vessel. The Lord said, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (9:15). A vessel is a container that carries something. Saul would carry the name of Jesus. He went. “And Ananias went his way and entered the house” (9:17). He obeyed the Lord. Brother Saul. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me” (9:17). The man who came to arrest believers was now called a brother. Scales. “Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once” (9:18). Jesus had sent Ananias so that Saul would see and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Baptized. “He arose and was baptized” (9:18). Baptism does not save. It shows on the outside that a person already belongs to Jesus. A picture. Many Christians see Saul’s eyes being opened as a picture of what Jesus does for every sinner who trusts Him. He opens our eyes to see the truth. What we learn. Ananias obeyed God and welcomed Saul as family. Jesus can change anyone, and His people welcome the ones He changes.

Ananias (9:10). “A certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias,” not the Ananias of Acts 5. The Lord said, “Ananias,” and he answered, “Here I am, Lord.” He was listening before he knew the task. The address (9:11-12). “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.” This Judas is not Judas Iscariot. Saul had already seen “a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him.” God was preparing both men at once. An honest objection (9:13-14). “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” Ananias told the Lord plainly what he knew, and the Lord answered him. Chosen (9:15-16). “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” God’s choice rested on His grace, not on Saul’s record. Brother (9:17). “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” The Greek adelphos (say: ah-del-FOSS) means brother. Believers used it for one another as members of God’s family. Ananias’ first word to the persecutor was a family word. Something like scales (9:18). “Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once.” The blindness was real, and so was the healing. Baptized and strengthened (9:18-19). “He arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened.” Faith in Jesus came first, and baptism showed it. Baptism does not save; it pictures the old life buried and a new life begun. A picture. Many Christians see Saul’s blindness and new sight as a picture of coming to faith: Jesus opens eyes that sin has closed. Application. Obeying God sometimes means welcoming someone you once feared. Ask God for Ananias’ courage, and treat every new believer as family.

God spoke to a follower of Jesus named Ananias. This Ananias was not the man who lied to God. God told him to go and help Saul. Ananias knew Saul had hurt many believers. He told God what he had heard. But God said, “Go!” God had chosen Saul for an important work. So Ananias obeyed. He put his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul.” Saul was now part of God’s family. Then something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes. Saul could see again! He was baptized. Baptism does not save us. It shows that we belong to Jesus. Many Christians see this as a picture of what Jesus does. He opens our eyes to see the truth about Him.

God sent Ananias, who called Saul his brother. Saul could see again, and he was baptized. Baptism does not save us, but Jesus does.

Immediately. “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (9:20). Saul did not wait for years before he told people about Jesus. The same synagogues. A synagogue was a meeting place where Jewish people gathered to pray and read the Scriptures. Saul had come with letters to these very synagogues (9:2). Now he came with good news. The Son of God. Saul’s first message was about who Jesus is. Jesus is not only a good teacher. He is God the Son. Amazed. People asked whether this was the man “who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem” (9:21). They could hardly believe the change. Stronger. “But Saul increased all the more in strength” (9:22). God made him stronger and stronger. Proving. He “confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ” (9:22). Confounded means left without an answer. The Christ is the Savior God had promised. A changed life. Saul had been fighting Jesus. Now he was telling everyone about Him. Only Jesus could make a change like that. Another name. Later the Bible calls him “Saul, who also is called Paul” (Acts 13:9). He became a great missionary and wrote many letters that are in the New Testament. What we learn. When Jesus changes a heart, it shows. You do not have to wait to tell others who Jesus is.

Immediately (9:20). “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” The man who arrived with letters to the synagogues (9:2) now stood in them to preach Jesus. Son of God. Saul’s first message was about who Jesus is. To call Jesus the Son of God is to say He shares the Father’s nature: He is God the Son, not only a teacher or a prophet. The Christ. Christ means the Anointed One, the Messiah promised in the Scriptures. Saul now believed that the crucified Jesus was the promised King. Amazement (9:21). “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” The change was public and impossible to hide. Proving (9:22). “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” The word for proving is symbibazo (say: soom-bih-BAHD-zoh), to bring together, like pieces fitted side by side. Most likely Saul set the promises of Scripture beside the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and showed that they fit. His own people. Saul was a Jew, and so were Ananias and the first believers. “For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin” (Romans 11:1). He argued with his own people because he wanted them to know their Messiah. Saul, also called Paul. Later he appears as “Saul, who also is called Paul” (Acts 13:9), the apostle who carried the gospel across the Roman world. Application. A changed life is strong evidence of a real meeting with Jesus. If you belong to Him, let the change show, and do not wait to say who He is.

Saul did not wait long. He went to the synagogues in Damascus. A synagogue was a place where Jewish people met to worship. Saul said, “Jesus is the Son of God!” The people were amazed. They said, “This is the man who was in Jerusalem.” They knew he had come to arrest the believers. Now he was a believer himself! Saul grew stronger and stronger. He showed people that Jesus is the Christ. The Christ is the Savior God promised to send. Jesus changed Saul from the inside out. When Jesus changes a heart, other people can see it.

Saul told everyone about Jesus. He said that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus can change anyone’s heart!

Saul Is Converted

🎉 All Matched!