Paul in Damascus (Acts 9:1-23)
Luke had told his readers that his book is about what Jesus was continuing to do and teach from heaven. His readers would have been very encouraged by what Jesus did from heaven on the Day of Pentecost when thousands were converted. They would have even been encouraged even by the initial degree of opposition because it had not stopped the continuation of conversions. They would have been encouraged by the progress made in Samaria and by the account of the conversion of the Ethiopian finance minister. But the sky was not entirely blue and there was one big dark cloud that seemed to be immoveable, and which threatened to become bigger, much bigger – the opposition of Saul of Tarsus. Why was Jesus, who possessed so much power, allowing that man to do what he was doing?
Chapter 9 of Acts begins with a threatening description: ‘But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem’ (vv. 1-2). The dark cloud was moving to Damascus to arrest any followers of Jesus who lived there and bring them back for trial before the Sanhedrin. It would be a heresy trial for them, and he had a policy of gender equality – both men and women would be arrested.
We don’t know how the gospel reached Damascus, but since it is not very far from Galilee it would not be surprising that there were disciples of Jesus there. One of them is mentioned by Luke as playing a crucial role. Ananias was aware of Saul’s intentions, so it was likely that the disciples would have prayed about his visit beforehand. I wonder what they prayed for. Did any pray for his conversion?
Confronted by Jesus (vv. 3-9)
Maybe there were some Damascus disciples keeping an eye on the road from Jerusalem to warn the others that Saul had neared the city. Whether they did or not, Jesus did not stop Saul until almost the last minute, when he was about to enter the city. Maybe there were some Jews waiting for their hero to arrive, and all they would have seen was him lying on the ground in great distress, overthrown by what Luke describes as a light from heaven.
This description of the light is very intriguing, because how long was it? Perhaps you have seen drawings in children’s books that an artist has provided and often the light is placed as starting somewhere beside the moon. In reality, how far away was the light from Saul and those with him? Close enough for Jesus to have a conversation with Saul; the light was a person shining in his divine glory, a glory brighter than the midday sun.
Whatever else we would like to say about the conversation, it was certainly brief. In English, there are thirty-four words, thirty by Jesus and four by Paul. We can describe them as conviction, confession and clarification. The conviction is seen in the question asked by Jesus: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ That was a serious charge from someone who has just thrown you to the ground. What will Jesus do next? Yet Paul responds in a surprising manner.
What would you have said in reply to this question? I think most people would have responded by saying, ‘When did I do that? I have never seen you before.’ Paul’s response is primarily a confession that indicates that he has realised he is in the presence of the Lord. Yet he senses that something perplexing is happening because he had imagined until that minute that he had been serving God. Now, the Lord was here, and it was obvious that he was not pleased with Saul. What was happening? Saul, who knew a lot, had discovered that he did not know enough, and he also had discovered that he did not know what was truly important. In a moment, he had realised his deep inadequacy.
Of course, there is nothing surprising about that. Is that not how Jesus deals with everyone he converts? No person is converted if they think they are somehow self-sufficient. A sinner must be emptied of himself because there is no place in a heart for two Saviours – a man who can save himself is a contradiction in Christian terms. Paul had to be emptied of himself by being shown that he was a persecutor and ignorant of God. He had broken the two great commandments of loving God and loving his neighbour. In a moment, he discovered that he had been worshipping himself and his plans and his position in society. Now all that meant nothing as he lay on the ground unable to see physically.
The clarification is given by Jesus in verses 5 and 6: ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ Saul was told who the Light from heaven was. Of all possible people to meet in a place of real power was the One he had opposed with all his limited strength. Did Paul wonder what Jesus would say after he had revealed that he was the God of heaven? Was this his personal judgement day, with its terrible consequences? He discovered that was not going to happen.
Instead the proud Pharisee had to enter Damascus in a humiliated state. His sight had been damaged, he had to be led by the hand. It was not the entrance he had planned, but it was the entrance he had been given. Yet it was good that he was given this entrance, because where would Saul of Tarsus be now if Jesus had not met with him?
Saul realised that the Sovereign of heaven had given him space to think about his life. We can see that in the brief description of what he did when he reached his accommodation: ‘And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank’ (v. 9). Verse 11 informs us that Saul was praying; no doubt among them was prayer for someone to come and help him.
From one point of view, it all seems chaotic, yet it wasn’t because Jesus was at work in the heart of a great enemy of his cause. We should expect upheaval when a person is drawn to Jesus and who now understands that his opposition to Jesus was a great sin. In a moment, he has been stopped, he had become blind, his future would be different. And Jesus had done it with ease. Saul must have wondered what Jesus would do for him in Damascus.
Contacted by Ananias
Luke tells us Jesus appeared to Ananias in a vision and instructed him to visit Saul in his lodging in Damascus. In contrast to what was said by Jesus to Saul, the instructions to Ananias are more detailed. Perhaps this was because Ananias did not know what Saul looked like. Moreover, Jesus gave Ananias information about Saul’s future activity for the kingdom. Ananias’ response, ‘Here I am, Lord,’ was very different to Saul’s initial response to Jesus, which was a confession of ignorance. Jesus had also informed Saul through a vision that Ananias was coming to see him. The details that Jesus gave to Ananias were sufficient to persuade him to go and see Saul; until he heard the details, he had been reluctant to go.
We can note in passing how Jesus revealed to Ananias that Saul was praying. This seems to have been clear evidence to Ananias that Saul was a changed person. Obviously, Saul would have had a form of prayer before this; very likely a prayer like the Pharisee Jesus condemned in one of his parables. The reality was that he had never truly prayed until now. No longer were his prayers self-centred. Instead, he was concerned with God’s will for him.
We are not told if the man who owned the house was a Christian, so it is possible that the first word Saul heard from a Christian after his conversion was the word ‘brother’. The doctrine of adoption is one that Paul mentions frequently in his letters, which is not surprising since it is a doctrine that is full of blessing. There is an obvious sense in which Jesus could have said those details himself, but he chose instead to use another Christian to bring encouragement to Saul of Tarsus. Can we suggest why Jesus would have done so?
One reason could be the reality of Saul’s acceptance into a community that he had previously despised. Was it not amazing that Saul was welcomed into the family of God by a man he had gone to arrest in Damascus? His intentions had been to drag Ananias to a court in Jerusalem, but he now found himself welcomed into the divine family by his intended victim. In this we see the radical difference between the family of God and all other groups.
Ananias, through the laying on of hands, removed the temporary blindness imposed on Saul on the Damascus Road. What caused the blindness is unknown, but who caused the removal of the scales is clear. Jesus did, from heaven. At the same time, Saul was filled with the Spirit, probably a special unction that enabled him to understand the contents of the gospel and to preach it with such power soon after.
But none of this could happen until Saul was baptised, which baptism took place there and then, probably by Ananias. We are not told that anyone else was there, unless it was other guests in the house. There is something wonderfully simple about what took place. Perhaps Ananias used some water that was on a nearby table. However, it happened, the great enemy of the church now joined its ranks in the same way that everyone else who enters it does. There was no special treatment for Saul based on his status. This is not surprising because there is no higher body on earth that we can belong to than the church. His joining the church was followed by a meal, which means that his fast was over.
Confounding the Jews (vv. 19-25)
Luke divides Paul’s time in Damascus into two periods: ‘some days’ in verse 19 and ‘many days’ in verse 22. We know from Galatians 1 that Paul went into Arabia for a while during his time in Damascus, probably to have space to think through, with the Spirit’s instruction and the use of the Old Testament, all that had happened to him. He had moved from being a fierce opponent of Jesus to becoming an apostle, which at any level of assessment was a dramatic and huge change. Becoming a Christian was very dramatic for him, but Paul became more than a Christian in that he also became an official ambassador of Christ.
Paul’s response to his conversion was to preach about Jesus in the synagogues in Damascus. He would have intended to speak in those location when he had left Jerusalem to arrest any Christians in the synagogues. But his message now was very different, and it is summarised by Luke as saying that Jesus is the Son of God.
We might pass over that statement without much thought, but a little thought should tell us it contains much to think about. For starters, how could a Jew who believed in the one God now believe that there is more than one person in the Godhead? How could a Jew believe that a man who was crucified outside Jerusalem, a sign that he had been cursed by God, also be God? The initial catalyst for Paul was his experience of the resurrection of Jesus when he was stopped by the Saviour on the road to Damascus. But that experience was a door into discovering great things about the person of Jesus. Not surprisingly, his preaching about Jesus caused astonishment among those who knew about Saul’s original intention for coming to Damascus. Nevertheless, he persisted in explaining that Jesus was the Messiah.
Eventually, the opposition to Saul became so great that the disciples realised that they had to get him out of the city as soon as possible. Since it was impossible for him to leave via the city gates, the disciples had to improvise, and they decided that it was possible for him to be lowered in a basket through an opening in the wall. I suspect that since he could be contained in a basket Paul was a small man physically, but we can see that he was on the way to becoming a spiritual giant.
Paul tells us in Galatians 1:18 that he had been three years altogether in Damascus. He had not anticipated being away from Jerusalem for more than a few days when he set out on his mission to arrest Christians. But he himself was arrested by the risen Saviour and given a new purpose in life. Instead of his time in Damascus being trauma for the church, it was a time when the Saviour showed his powerful grace in numerous ways. And Jesus does not mind if the only way out of a difficult situation is by using a basket.
The obvious question that arises from Paul’s time in Damascus is when was he converted to Christ. Did that happen outside Damascus, or did it happen at some stage in the house of Judas in Damascus? Probably, a precise answer cannot be given by us. The change certainly started outside Damascus, and maybe he received assurance of the change later. It is obvious that by the time Ananias came to see Saul, he was converted and willing to confess publicly that he was. That, of course, is the important detail and not the actual moment of his conversion.
How should we respond to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus? While the details are interesting, surely our response should be to magnify the grace of Christ revealed to and through Saul. Here is an enemy captured in grace and overcome by love. Here is a captive who has found the best of Masters who will use him as a servant not only to bless the church of his day, but the church of all time.
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