A Christ hater becomes a Christ (Acts 9:1-19a)

[Stephan Choe]

14.6.2023

Leading verses 3-5:    "But on the way, as he was already approaching Damascus, it happened that suddenly a light from heaven surrounded him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' He answered, Who are you, Lord? This one said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."

The change of Saul contributed to fundamentally change the history of the world. The dark time of death turned into a bright time of life, so that the age of "anno Domini" began.

Today we want to learn about his change. We want to learn from it how we can be changed.

Saul first tried to destroy the church of Christians. When Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, suddenly a light from heaven surrounded him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

Saul asked, "Who are you, Lord?"

Then he answered: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Get up and go into the city, and they will tell you what to do" (5b-6).

When Saul got up; he could see nothing.

Therefore, his companions led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus to a house. And he could not see for three days. He fasted, neither eating nor drinking.

And the Lord said to Ananias, a Christian in Damascus:

"Arise and go into Straight Street and inquire in the house of Judas about a man from Tarsus, whose name is Saul; for he is praying and has seen in a vision that a man named Ananias has come in and laid hands on him so that he may regain his sight" (11-12).

In Damascus, there is still the road called "Darb al-Mustaquim," translated as the "Straight Street." It runs through the middle of the city from the East Gate to the West Gate. It is about 5 km long in the ancient city.

When we are in this city, we will be shown a house that is said to be the house of Judas, where Saul stayed for three days, although this is not entirely certain.

"He's praying." - this is the first reaction of Saul after the appearance of Jesus.

Saul said prayers of a Pharisee until now. He prayed on his own merits. But now he prays in the grace of Christ. He understands the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Everything else he once knew is now garbage. Everything he once hoped for, everything he trusted in, everything he worked for was dung. He cries out for the grace of God.

He realizes that he is saved by the grace of Christ and not by his works. This leads to the change of Saul to Paul, from a legal man to a gifted child of God. For three days he cries out to his new Lord.

God sent Ananias to Saul.

When Ananias lays his hands on Saul and says:

"Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Immediately, it falls from Saul's eyes like scales, and he can see again.

Saul gets up and is baptized; and he takes food and is strengthened.

He is completely changed from that day on.

When we believe in Jesus Christ, change happens to us. Our change happens when we recognize Jesus as God's Son and Christ, accept forgiveness through Jesus' death, and acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Even if we have not experienced an outward miracle like Saul, however, our rebirth is a miraculous event.

We were dead in sin; we are now alive as children of God. We were ignorant; now we recognize divine truth and are wise people. We did not recognize the divine presence; now we recognize that God is with us. We were blind about the spiritual world; now we experience the graceful world of God. We used to love sin; now we hate sin. We were in darkness; now we see the glorious light of God. We belonged to the kingdom of Satan; now we belong to the kingdom of the God. We did evil; now we have desire to do good. We were destined for hell; now we are destined for the Kingdom of Heaven. We were rebels against God; now we are God's children.

Such a change happened when Christ came into our heart. Our old man died and we are a completely new man.

Anyone can become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Lord calls Saul His chosen instrument, who is to bring His name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel (15).

He is chosen as an apostle by God to preach the gospel to the people of the world.

Christ says in verse 16, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake."

Later, Paul writes in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians 11:23-27:

"23b I have been imprisoned more often, I have suffered more beatings, I have often been in agony. 24 From Jews I have received five times, forty lashes less one; 25 I have been beaten with sticks three times, stoned once; three times I have been shipwrecked, a day and a night I drifted on the deep sea. 26 I have often traveled, I have been in danger by rivers, in danger among robbers, in danger from my people, in danger from pagans, in danger in cities, in danger in deserts, in danger on the sea, in danger among false brethren; 27 in toil and labor, in much watching, in hunger and thirst, in much fasting, in frost and nakedness."

The changed life means a changed relationship with God. God becomes the ground of our life. We are led to this relationship by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us and enables us to serve the Lord.

Let's look at verses 17-18:

"And Hananias went and came into the house, and laid his hands on him, and said, <Dear brother Saul, the Lord hath sent me, Jesus, which appeared unto thee on the way hither, that thou may receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.> 18 And immediately it fell from his eyes like scales, and he recovered his sight; and he arose, being baptized."

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?

It simply means that one is under the control of the Holy Spirit.  How does one come under the control of the Holy Spirit? By submitting to His will, and God fills him with His Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is in every believer. That is why it means that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit of God takes control because we trust God.

Through the Holy Spirit, we will believe in Christ, live in fellowship with God, and do the will of God. This is life in the Spirit of God. 

Ananias addresses Saul "brother Saul." Through faith, an enmity becomes a brotherhood. The transformation that Christ brings can change a person's life so dramatically.

How did Paul respond?  "Then something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, got up and was baptized."

What does baptism symbolize?

It also symbolizes our union with Christ: our burial with Christ and our resurrection to new life in Christ.

Baptism also signifies a union with all other believers in Christ: there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism. Thus, we are one family with all Christians.

Thus, Paul stays with the disciples in Damascus for several days (19b). In fact, Paul has become a family member of the Christians.

This is a real change; a new life in Christ, a new family and a new mission. 

Saul's conversion was in some ways a turning point in world history. Before the conversion, Saul was a zealous destroyer of Christianity. With his conversion, Paul became a builder of Christianity. His conversion shows us that each of us can be changed by Jesus Christ as a great blessing to the world. May God make each of us an active blessing to the whole world.

I summarize Saul's change in Paul in four points:

First, Saul realized that Jesus is the Christ.

The starting point of Saul's change was his realization that Jesus is the Christ. Saul had previously thought that Jesus was a false Messiah. He wanted to cleanse the earth of this "false believers." But Jesus appeared to him and said to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Saul now had to realize that Jesus is raised by God. This meant that Jesus is the Christ of God.

When I was a high school student, I was not yet a Christian. I had discussed a lot with my Christian friends about who Jesus was. But I could not yet believe in Jesus Christ. It wasn't until my first semester of college that I was able to come to know and believe in Jesus Christ through Bible study. For it is written in John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

So God became a man named Jesus and dwelt among us. This realization opened my spiritual eyes. I was very happy then.

Every person first needs to understand that Jesus is the Christ. Those who believe in Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God can have their spiritual eyes opened and look at the spiritual world.

Second, Saul realized that he was a sinner.

Before Saul believed in Jesus Christ, Saul was convinced that he himself was a good person. He wanted to do good for God. That is why he went against the Christians with all his might. When Jesus appeared to him and asked, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Then he realized that he was indeed an enemy of God. This realization was bitter for Saul. However, there is a saying, "A good medicine is bitter." This bitter realization helped Paul to be humble before God. Humility before God is the way to receive God's blessings.

Every person wants to be proud of himself. In doing so, one compares himself with others. But whoever compares himself with other people will be proud or downcast. This comparison with other people is a sign that man is a sinner before God.

But if man looks at himself before Christ or God, everyone will realize that he is a sinner before God. The realization makes man humble. This humility makes man open to the blessing of God.

Third, Saul realized that the Lord forgave all his guilt.

When Saul realized his guilt, he knew that he was lost. But he realized at the same time that the Lord forgave all his guilt. As a visible sign of forgiveness, the Lord sent Hananias to Saul when he did not eat or drink for three days. Hananias laid his hands on him and said, "Dear brother Saul, the Lord has sent me, Jesus, who appeared to you on the way here, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

It is a wonderful grace that the Lord forgave Saul all his guilt. If the Lord forgave Saul's guilt, then it is certain that He will forgive all men their guilt if they repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

Fourth, Saul became an instrument of world evangelization.

Verse 15 says about Saul's task: "For this is my chosen instrument, that he should bear my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake."

The Lord loved Saul and saved him from sin.

But does God love only Saul and only a few people? No. He also loved all the people in the world. Therefore, the Lord used Saul to save as many people as possible.

Later, Saul tried to lead Agrippa, a Jewish king, to faith in Jesus Christ.

When Agrippa said to Saul: "You do not lack much, so you will still persuade me and make a Christian out of me",

Saul answered him:

"I desire in the sight of God that sooner or later not you alone, but all who hear me today, would become what I am, except these bonds" (Acts 26:29).

Our God desires that as many people as possible believe in Christ Jesus and be saved. This is the desire of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why he wants to invite all Christians to faith. For this purpose, he needs to use us as spreaders of the gospel.

The conversion of Saul has a great significance in the history of the world. Until then, the believers were only those who belonged to the Israelite culture. I.e. Jews, Samaritans, and temple visitors from distant places. With the conversion of Saul, Christianity became a worldwide religion. Because he and other Christians actively missioned all peoples across the borders of cultures. God used his active mission for world evangelization.

God wants to use us well for world evangelization. We are to go beyond cultures to people and invite them. May God give us His grace abundantly so that many people will accept our invitation to faith and believe in Jesus Christ.

Let us be obedient to the will of God. May God help us to always recognize Jesus as Christ anew, recognize our sins, accept the forgiveness of our sin, and actively do world evangelization. God will use us precious as a great blessing for this generation and for this world.