In Acts 9, we read about the conversion of Saul to Jesus. It’s a wonderful and powerful testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit and how He can use the Word of Jesus to totally transform a life of sin and hostility to the Messiah and King.
We remember Saul’s adamant purpose to stop the “blasphemers” of the way. He couldn’t tolerate Jews worshiping a man and calling Him God. Jesus didn’t fit his expectation of what the Messiah was, and he would do all within his power to defend the honor and holiness of the one true God.
So, after consenting to the death of Stephen, he arranged to have letters of authority from the High Priest and council of elders to bring back the followers of Jesus bound to stand trial for their blasphemy. His zeal for God fueled his unquenching determination to put an end to the Way. As he later recounts his conversion, Paul says,
“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 26:9 ESV).
And if Christianity were just another sect started by a false prophet, Saul would have been praised by God for his zeal. But Saul was confronted with irrefutable evidence that he was wrong, and when he was, the same zeal that caused him to kill, imprison, and persecute Christians caused him to repent and preach the good news of the one He had once despised.
When Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his belief in Jesus didn’t erase all the terrible acts he had committed. In fact, when Saul looked back on his time persecuting Christians, he said,
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV).
Saul considered himself the foremost, or chief of sinners, because of the violent way he had persecuted men and women of faith. And when he entered Damascus, Jesus appeared to another man to close the loop on the conversion of Saul. From what we can tell, Ananias was waiting in fear with other Christians in Damascus, knowing this man was on the way to wreak havoc in the church of the Lord.
“Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,
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.” (Acts 9:10-12 ESV).
Time out. Forget that you know the rest of the story. Forget that you know Acts 9 as the powerful testimony of Saul’s conversion. Put yourself in Ananias’ sandals. If we can do that in this story, it will be a powerful lesson to learn when the world begins to act more violently toward Christians and perhaps toward us personally.
How would you feel if you had word that a man who was sanctioned by the government was coming to drag you and your brothers and sisters in Jesus off to jail? Perhaps take away everything that belonged to you? To make matters more terrifying, the one coming in the name of the government to stop you from practicing your faith had already killed a fellow Christian with impunity.
This was the situation Ananias found himself in. And then something happened that made no sense. The Lord appeared to him and told him to go and lay his hands on Saul so that he might receive his sight. What would be going through your head at this moment? Don’t you wonder what was going through Ananias’ head?
Well, we don’t have to wonder because Luke tells us:
“But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” (Acts 9:13-14 ESV).
Yeah, he knew Saul was coming, and he knew exactly why he was coming. But the Lord sent Ananias anyway. Here is how Jesus responded to Ananias’ fears:
“But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15-16 ESV).
And with that, Ananias went. Jesus never told him that he would be safe from Saul. He never told Ananias that he wouldn’t be the first Christian from Damascus to be led back to Jerusalem to suffer a martyr’s death. He just told Ananias to go because He had plans for Saul.
Ananias acted in faith to walk into the lion’s den simply because the Lord told him to. I imagine it might have been a most frightening trip from his house to Straight Street, where Saul was waiting for him.
We know the rest of the story, don’t we? Any fear that Ananias had was unfounded. Saul would become Paul and one of the most ardent defenders of the faith he shared with Ananias. But on that path to Straight Street, Ananias put his faith in Jesus and was ready to let the chips fall where they may.
This is the faith we should all strive to have. As our world is becoming increasingly hostile to Jesus and His kingdom, we may find ourselves in the position of having to walk into the lion’s den because we, too, must look our persecutors in the eyes and follow Jesus, not knowing what the outcome may be.
Our outcome may not be as pleasant as Ananias’ outcome. We may be like the many who were thrown into prison by Saul and even killed at his hands. We may be like Peter and John, who were beaten for obeying God rather than man. We may lose our jobs, family, and social standing. We may be fined and imprisoned.
When we are, we will have a choice to make. How will we react to this threat against us? Will we lash out at Jesus for not protecting us? Will we figure that we made a mistake putting our faith in Jesus when it costs us more than we were willing to bear? Will we become disillusioned?
Or will we be like Peter and John after they were beaten and ordered never to speak in the name of Jesus again?
“and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” (Acts 5:40-41 ESV).
When whatever trials and persecution may come our way, will we have the faith of Ananias to walk into the lion’s den, not knowing what may happen to us? And if the worse happens, will we lash out and blame God, or will we rejoice that we were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus?
Jesus calls it “counting the cost.” Whatever cost to be paid for our faith in Him, will we joyfully pay it, or will we turn the other way? I hope I have the faith of Ananias and walk into the lion’s den, ready to commit my fate into the Lord’s hands for His glory, whatever comes my way.
There is an interesting parable in Luke I have learned to love more and more as time goes by. It is a parable of love and grace that many of us may overlook. But when we see ourselves in it, it will forever change the way we read it.
This four-verse parable of the barren fig tree starts off:
“And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?'“ (Luke 13:6-7 ESV).
Simple enough, right? There is a barren tree not worth the ground it's on. It would be prudent to cut it down and put something more productive in its place. But the vinedresser looks at this barren fig tree a little differently and asks for more time to get it to produce fruit and become productive.
“And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.
Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'“ (Luke 13:8-9 ESV).
For whatever reason, the vinedresser doesn't give up on this tree. He gives attention to it and gives it everything it needs to bear fruit. Can't we see the grace in this?
Let me tell you what I see. There was a time in my life when I was the barren fig tree. By all accounts, God should have cut me down. But my King and Savior, the Vinedresser, said to the Father, “Let it alone. Give me time to work on Tony. I will nurture him and care for him.”
Because Jesus didn't cut me down and cast me out when I was fruitless in Him but gave me His grace while I didn't deserve it, He nurtured me, breathed His Spirit into me, and made me a different creation in Him.
When I read this parable, I will forever be grateful that my Lord said to the Father, “Let Me have a little more time to work on Tony.”
And the Father said, “Yes.”
God is no respecter of people. What does that mean to me?
No matter what I've done, no matter how insignificant I am in this world, Jesus will still leave the ninety-nine safe sheep to seek me out when I'm lost.
I don't see the value in me that Jesus sees, but I believe it's there. I am blessed that my God and King loves me just as much as He loves you.