Acts 9:1-19
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
From Zealous to Humble
We human beings can so easily be swept up in our emotions.
Our feelings are an important part of how God designed us, and when we knit us together he called us “good.” I try not to make a habit of disagreeing with God. If he called it good, then it’s good. But of course, sometimes we can have too much of a good thing.
Emotions are powerful. Have you ever read a story, or watched a movie, or looked at a painting and been moved to tears? Something inside of us reaches out, forming a connection with that beautiful thing outside of us. A channel forms, and many things can flow through that channel: inspiration, meaning, realization, and most certainly, emotion.
When I was teenager, I fell in love with a series of books. I was deeply moved by these profound stories, and I quickly became an evangelist for the series. I longed to share my passion with anyone who would listen. I rarely found anyone who loved them as much as I did. Many of my friends were indifferent to my evangelism, and in fact, some were even opposed to it. They thought my stories were overrated. They hated the very thing that I loved.
This only stirred my zeal further. I remember on more than one occasion becoming emotional when my love for this beautiful thing was met with rejection. My tears were hot and angry, and I probably made a fool of myself. I might have even damaged some relationships over it.
That’s what zeal is like. It sweeps you up so that all you can see is the object of your zealotry.
That’s exactly what the apostle Paul was experiencing as he persecuted the church. Acts 9 says that Paul, “breathed out murderous threats” (9:1). He was consumed by zeal for the Lord. Paul was fully confident that the violence over which he presided was justified and holy, and fully blind to the fact that he was persecuting the very God he thought he was serving.
Imagine how humbling it was for Paul—in his mind, a holy soldier—to find out how wrong he had been? I imagine Paul wasn’t used to being wrong, and now he was confronted with it by a literal light from heaven. He had allowed his zealotry to form him into a weapon, and it took a stark confrontation and three days of blindness for him to see the error of his ways.
I’m reminded of the sermon on the mount, when Jesus says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:22-23).
We talk a lot about obedience in the church. Paul certainly thought he was being obedient, but he didn’t realize his emotional pursuit of what he thought God wanted had caused him to get out of step with God.
What do we do when we are confronted with our mistakes? Do we humble ourselves and repent, or do we run away, too full of shame or regret or anger to bow our heads and ask for forgiveness?
The second character in the passage, Ananias, is also confronted by God in a vision. He hesitates to obey God, saying, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done” (9:13). His protests seem pretty reasonable to me. But just like zealotry, sometimes reason can get in the way of obedience too.
Ananias humbles himself, and he obeys. He prays for Paul and the scales fall from his eyes. Paul is immediately baptized, which suggests that he has humbled himself and repented. He joins the very people he came to Damascus to arrest.
Acts 9 is one of the most dramatic reversals in the whole New Testament, and it’s an important example for us who want to serve and obey God. Being zealous is not a sin. In fact, it’s often seen as a praiseworthy quality (as long as it’s aimed in the right direction). Exercising reason isn’t a sin either. But nothing must stand between the disciple and their obedience to God.
It seems to me that the key factor in maintaining radical obedience to God is humility. I want to be passionate, and serve the Lord with zeal, but I must not do so without a healthy supply of humility—knowing who God is, and who I am in light of who God is. I also want to leverage my intellect for the Lord, and apply reason to the things I do for him, but I must not do so without also exercising humility – knowing that I don’t know as much as I think I know, and relying on God over and above my bright ideas.
How does this passage intersect with your own life? How are you being invited to obey God? The Holy Spirit creates a channel between all that you are, and all that God is. Ask him to highlight anything that might be impeding that channel, and ask him for the humility to repent, and obey.
Author Bio:
Christian Dzadek is an Alliance pastor as Zephyrhills Alliance Church in Central Florida. He writes music and runs a devotional podcast called The Daily Thread. He is a big fan of street food.
Alliance Church of Zephyrhills
The Daily Thread Podcast
Songwriting
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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