This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Paul was no ordinary followerhe became the most visible and active pillar of the new Christian church. 5 Why did Ananias and Sapphira lie to God? This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.. But everyone can pray for and with those who have scorned the church and are scorned by the church. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Paul Receive the Holy Spirit by the Laying One thing was certain; no matter how much time had passed, the apostles were not yet convinced of Sauls conversion. Did they think their task would be a simple one? Shortly afterwards, the Lord spoke to a disciple named Ananias, asking him to go to Saul, place his hands on him, and restore his sight. The casting of this spell on this false prophet could therefore have been an act of kindness, as Gods blinding of Saul had been, intended to cease his opposition and perhaps even to bring about his conversion. Ananias had not only heard of how Saul had been systematically destroying the church in Jerusalem, hunting down men and women and turning them over to the authorities, but also knew that he was on the march to Damascus, ready to destroy that church as well. The approach the Lord took was one of dealing with Saul in the light of his sin, of his salvation, and of his ministry. The conversion of Saul, as depicted in our text, was not only a divine call to salvation, but it was also a call to service. After this incident with Paul we hear no more of him. Then a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?, Saul asked the voice, Who are you, sir?, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:17-18; cf. Acts 9:17 - Ananias Baptizes Saul - Bible Hub Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. For Paul, the method of proclaiming the gospel must be consistent with the message itself, and so it was. Ananias was a disciple of Jesus who lived in Damascus and was helpful to the Lord. (5) Sauls salvation was an act of divine grace. It may well be a call to live transformed lives in the same circumstances in which we were found. Ananiass vision was intended to direct him to the house of Judas and to Saul. In this approach, preachers are offering their congregation a chance to relate to Ananias dream that leads him to overcome his preconception of Saul (a correct but now outdated preconception), come to see Saul as someone God has called, and respond faithfully. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? Ananias Upon hearing Peters words, Ananias fell to the ground and died. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. * [9:1930] This is a brief resume of Pauls initial experience as an apostolic preacher. Instead, he became the first believer to minister to Saul. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. He got up and was baptized, That Luke would narrate this conversion three times is testimony to the importance he attaches to it. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul,why are you persecuting Me? 5 And he said, Who are You, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Used by permission. What is meant by the competitive environment? 1:15; Eph. Acts 9:19-23 Saul in Damascus. The expansion is three-fold: (1) The expansion from Christ, to His apostles, to His church, (2) The geographical expansion from Jerusalem to Rome. Ananias is not the last believer who has seen fit to keep God up to date (The Storytellers Companion to the Bible: The Acts of the Apostles). 135 There are those who describe Saul as a tormented man after the stoning of Stephen. This would leave AD 33-46 for the visit to Arabia (Gal. also Isaiah 64:6). By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Then he turned to her body and said, Tabitha, rise up. She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.q (2) Sauls salvation was exclusively the work of a sovereign God. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed. 15:10; Gal. The conversion of Saul is a very crucial event in this book, which spells out from a historical point of view (Romans, from a theological viewpoint) the relationship of Jews and Gentiles in the plans and purposes of God. Ananias fulfills his task: He laid his hands on Saul and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain Up till now, Jesus was the sinner, and Saul was the saint. 23After a long time had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, Indeed, this seems to be the rule. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. Suppose you were a Christian who had just arrived in Damascus, and you had been able to learn the whereabouts of a group of believers. What is the significance of the story of Ananias and Sapphira? It was Gods initiative all the way. 19So when he had received food, he was strengthened. How do you write a good story in Smash Bros screening? Ironically, Ananias could have become one of Sauls targets of persecution for following the Lord Jesus. Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? As at Damascus, Saul eventually had to leave the city of Jerusalem to save his life. It is some 150 miles Northeast from Jerusalem and watered by the river Abana from Anti-Lebanon. in expanding, as well as justifying, their earthly wealth and power. They, not unlike Ananias, were very reluctant to have anything to do with this Christian killer. The results of Sauls preaching were predictable, very much like the response Saul would have had (or did have) to the preaching of the gospel before his conversion. 3 Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? What if They'd Said No But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze upon him, and said, You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Paul recognized that his ministry was that of bringing the light to those who were lost, including the Gentiles, kings, and his fellow-Israelites: For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth (Acts 13:47). What is the significance of the story of Ananias and Sapphira? A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel (Luke 2:32). Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7; cf. What did Ananias do for Saul? But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. The church did not shrink or suffer for Sauls arrival, but it grew because of it. Preachers can narrate verses 10-14, and then basically say, You see, Ananias didnt know what had just happened. `}Hq)l2hZ0r89asO70Da`qg SAUL Thus, he did not use the method of many others, which was man-centered, not Christ-centered: For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. Note Pauls summary of the gospel at the end of Galatians 2: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20). Lesson: Conversion Saul and Ananias Prayer It may be that Sauls conversion was the instrument God used to convert these followers of Saul, so that they really were his disciples, in a two-fold sense. We honor him on May 14. Web The children will describe Ananias as a man who helped Saul even though he was afraid. When all is said and done, the miracle which took place on the way to Damascus (and likely in Damascus as well) was that Saul saw Jesus as the Son of God, as the Messiah, and as his Savior and Lord: Am I not free? 10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. the citation of Ps 2:7 in Pauls speech at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:33). It was due to the intervention of Barnabas, a man who would prove to be a lifetime friend of Paul, that the apostles risked a meeting with him and then granted him the freedom to associate with the saints in Jerusalem. WebAnanias went. Ananias Get up and go to the street called Straight, to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. 1:11--2:10; Ephesians 3:1-13; cf. Introduction: suppose you heard someone was coming to arrest you, or even worse. It was, of course, Ananias who instructed Saul to be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16). 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. 1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:4-11). Jesus did not address the entire group but said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? The others knew that something unusual was going on, but they did not grasp it (Acts 22:9). He says: It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. (Philippians 1:4-9). It was an act of faith and If the blinding of Saul was a major turning point in his life, so was the blinding of Bar-Jesus. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". He trusted that Christ had a future purpose for Saul (verse 15) even though Sauls past as he knew it seemed to point toward a different future. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. 1:11, Acts 20:23; 2 Cor. He spoke of salvation as dying to the old manner of living and as rising from the dead in order to live an entirely new life (Romans 6). They are also very significant in what they conveyed to Saul. The obedience and faith that Ananias demonstrated in going to Saul and helping to restore his sight were incredible, to say the least. We know from Romans 7, for example, that Paul had struggles in his spiritual walk. 17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. 20and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. Saul was received as a true believer, as a brother.146 The laying on of Ananiass hands, however, was a distinct act of identification with Saul. This is a miracle, a miracle which is all of God, and all of grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And they were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; 25 but his disciples took him by night, and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. But there is a greater discrepancy between the accounts of Sauls conversion in Acts and that which Paul gave in Galatians 1. 24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to (1 Corinthians 7:15, 17-22, 24).154. Discuss 2 ways in which Paul suffered as an apostle But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. If Luke had any ax to grind on this issue, here would have been a great place to stress this matter, but he did not do so. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7). Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. We are simply told that the message itself was proclaimed powerfully and that people were amazed at the message and its miraculous impact on Sauls own conduct. WebAnswer: > 10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. Here I am, Lord, he replied. At this point, the conversion of the hero of the Gentile mission is recounted. Second, the gospel should be proclaimed in a way that is personal. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. The second option is to invite the congregation to identify with Ananias (who shows up in verse 10). Why was Ananias afraid of helping Saul? Ananias who was Lesson Text Acts 9:1-19 Scripture Memory Verse The Apostle Paul: Ananias and Sauls Obedience