On The Road To Damascus

Introduction

            You want to know one of my favorite kind of stories? Its conversion stories; Someone who ignores God, resists God, rejects God, fights against God and eventually runs headlong into God and becomes a faithful and passionate follower. I read a great story this week about a woman by the name of Kristen Powers. Kristen is a very successful American political pundit and columnist. She started her career as part of the Clinton-Gore presidential transition team and was appointed as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Public Affairs in President Clinton’s administration. She has worked in other roles including press secretary, communications consultant, and Democratic Party consultant. She is now a contributor to USA Today, she writes a column for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. She is also a political analyst for the cable news network Fox News. From a political perspective, most would consider her a liberal Democrat. And here is where my favorite kind of story begins because she is something many people don’t associate with liberal Democrats, she is an evangelical Christian. Kristen grew up in an Episcopalian home but spent most of her adult life as an atheist—refusing to accept the existence of God. Until one day when the man she was dating, a Christian, planted the seed of faith that she so desperately wanted nothing to do with, but it was too late. Here’s how she describes it during an interview with Focus on the Family:

            “Really, I mean it was just sort of like God…invading my life. It was very unwelcome. I didn’t like it…I started having a lot of different experience where I just felt…God doing a lot of things in my life. It’s kind of hard to describe, but I did just have this moment of the scales falling off my eyes, and just saying, ‘this is totally true, I don’t even have any doubt’…

            I don’t really feel like I had any courage…when I became a Christian, I just gave in…It wasn’t courageous; I didn’t have any choice. I kept trying to not believe and I…just couldn’t avoid it. If I could have avoided it, I would have. There is nothing convenient about it in my life, in the world I live in. It’s not like living in the South or living somewhere where everybody is a Christian. I live in a world where nobody is a believer.”

            Come on! You have to admit that that is such a great story. There is something about the image of the Creator of the universe pursuing an individual and luring them into a relationship with Himself. There is something so humbling about that particular aspect of God as I point out in my personal disclosure statement at the top of the web page. I know so many of you out there have very similar stories and at the end I’m going to invite you to share your story if you are willing. For now, Kirsten said something in her interview that immediately clicked with me. Whether she said it because she read it in Scripture or whether she said it because it was an apt illustration for her personal experience, she said it was “scales falling off my eyes.” I immediately thought of Paul and how his conversion was so similar to Kirsten’s while he was On The Road To Damascus.

Subject Text

Acts 9:1-18

            ¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ²and 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. ³As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He 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.” ⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. ¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. ¹¹The 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. ¹²In 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 saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” ¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” ¹⁷Then 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.” ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

Context

            Since our Subject Text begins with “meanwhile,” we should be compelled to see what is so important that it was necessary to reference overlapping events. The word is a bridge of sorts between important events that begin at the end of chapter seven when Stephen, who has just preached the Gospel message from the calling of Abraham through the death and resurrection of Jesus to the Sanhedrin, is drag into the street and stoned to death. And who do we see encouraging and accommodating the enthusiastic rock-throwers? A soon-to-be-infamous persecutor of the Church—Saul of Tarsus. The death of Stephen would be the spark the lit the flame of persecution against the Church in Jerusalem at the beginning of chapter eight that forced many newly converted Christians in Jerusalem to flee and scatter throughout the other cities of Judea and Samaria. Saul’s appetite for destruction was not satiated with the death of Stephen. He went door to door and had believers arrested and thrown in prison. However, Saul’s march to destroy the Church had some unintended consequences—those who fled the persecution in Jerusalem spread the Gospel within the towns and provinces where they settled. What Saul pursued with evil intentions, God used to accomplish exactly what He wanted and what Jesus told his followers would happen before he ascended to heaven—“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8b).” The remainder of chapter eight is dedicated to stories of how the Gospel took root as far as the northern border Samaria and even began to travel beyond the borders of Judea and Samaria to what Jesus refers to as “the ends of the earth.” You can almost envision Saul’s panic as he realizes that his actions have had exactly the opposite effect of what he intended. It’s like desperately trying to hold on to sand as it slips through your fingers. Nevertheless, Saul remains undeterred and redoubles his effort to stamp out Christianity as we learn in our Subject Text.

Text Analysis

            Persecution and hatred for Christians and Christianity is nothing new. Saul was furious in vv. 1-2 that his efforts to contain the advancement of the Gospel was having exactly the opposite effect that he intended beginning with Stephen’s murder. Therefore, in an effort to get in front of the Gospel’s race to reach the ends of the earth, Saul seeks and receives permission from the high priest to pursue Christians beyond the region of Judea and Samaria. “As communication between Damascus and the capital [Jerusalem] was frequent, refugees from Jerusalem would no doubt have fled to Damascus, and it is difficult to believe that the views advocated by Stephen had in him their sole representative. There is no reason to question…the existence in Damascus of a community of believers in the claims of Jesus at this early date; but whilst those Christians who devoutly observed the law would not have aroused hostility hitherto, Saul came armed with a commission against all who called on the name of Christ, and so probably his objective was not only to bring back refugees to Jerusalem, but also to stir up the synagogue at Damascus against their own fellow-worshippers who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ.”[1] There is an interesting designation to note at the end of v. 2 where Paul references his targets as those who are part of “the Way.” At its most basic level, followers of Jesus had to be called something and they wouldn’t be referred to as “Christians” until later in the Book of Acts in Antioch. At this particular point, they were identified as followers of the Way. Theologians and scholars are divided as to the meaning of this reference. Some believe it refers to the teaching of a new “Way” of life and faith as prescribed by Jesus (cf. Mt 5). Others believe it is a community of believers directly associated with Jesus who referred to himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). However, the “Way” is not either/or but both/and. “It is therefore not permissible to construct false alternatives here by insisting that “way” must mean either teaching or the Christian community. Both are involved in the term and both belong together. We shall, therefore, be obliged to understand “way” in its absolute use in Acts as a designation for Christians and their proclamation of Jesus Christ, which includes the fact that this proclamation also comprises a particular walk of life or way.”[2]

            Saul sets out on his mission of persecution in Damascus when the unthinkable happens in vv. 3-5—Saul runs headlong into Jesus. Not surprisingly, Saul is bathed in light as Jesus is elsewhere defined as “the Light of the world (Jn 8:12). Also not surprising, Saul falls to the ground when he hears the voice of Jesus coming from the light asking Saul why he is persecuting Him. It is important to remember, at this particular point, Saul did not believe that Jesus was divine and this takes some of the drama out of the story for us because we already know in advance who Saul is and what he will become. However, at this point, Saul still considered himself to be a faithful servant of Yahweh—“Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless (Phil 3:5-6).” Saul had no reason to believe he was doing anything wrong—until now. Saul’s confusion is understandable as he asks the identity of the One who was speaking to him. Jesus obliges Saul’s request and identifies Himself. “Though the text does not overtly state that Saul saw Christ, the fact is implied, since seeing the resurrected Lord was a requirement of New Testament apostleship (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8)…Saul thought he was pursuing heretics, but according to the voice, his actions were tantamount to attacking Jesus himself…Anyone who persecutes believers today is also guilty of persecuting Jesus because believers are the body of Christ of earth…As he lay there in the dust, Saul must have been reeling from the realization that Jesus, the crucified founder of this detested sect, had been resurrected by God and exalted in divine glory. Saul was not serving God, as he had thought, but opposing him!”[3] It seems imminently clear that Jesus has Saul’s attention now and in v. 6 tells Saul to go on to Damascus where he will receive further instructions.

            In all the excitement, we didn’t even realize in vv. 7-9 that Saul wasn’t traveling alone. No one, at least no one who had any sense, travelled alone in the ancient world. “In the interests of security travelers went in groups rather than singly.”[4] The text says they heard Jesus but didn’t see anything; they just stood there speechless. We can only speculate as to why they only heard Jesus but didn’t see Him (some scholars go so far as to say that only Saul heard Jesus speaking while the rest only heard a sound). Whatever the reason, it is safe to say with certainty that God can chose to reveal Himself generally or specifically depending on the intended purpose of his revelation. In any event, it is a good thing that Saul was not traveling alone because when he does eventually get off the ground, he is blind and his traveling companions must take him by the hand and lead him the rest of the way to Damascus. Paul was blind for three days and fasted from food and drink during that time. Let’s stop here for a moment and consider what might be going through Saul’s mind. You’ve spent your whole life training for one thing and pursuing it diligently and passionately just to find out you’ve been going about it all wrong. And on top of that, now you’re blind—literally! “This sort of conversion involves a journey from self-confident independence toward child-like dependence. The one who knows so much must become as one who knows nothing, one who must be led by the hand, healed, and instructed by the very ones he once despised. In this painful, baffling interim we turn and become as a little child. We progress by regression and go forward by falling backward. Such turning and helpless regression, accompanied by blindness, confusion, speechlessness, hunger and childishness is, for this peculiar faith, the very beginning of wisdom.”[5]

            When we get to vv. 10-12 we are introduced to the other prominent character of our Subject Text—Ananias. We learn that Ananias, a disciple of Christ, has had a vision wherein the Lord instructs him to go to a specific place where he will find Saul praying. There is an important principle in the exchange between Jesus and Ananias. Although we often witness only general instructions from God (i.e. “Go and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19)),” Sometimes, God has very specific instructions as is the case in v. 11 of our Subject Text. Understanding this can alleviate our hesitation to act in some cases as we procrastinate whether or not we are being obedient to exactly what God is calling us to do. This text makes clear that while we live and act freely through the grace offered by the boundaries of Scripture, we must always be prepared change the course of our normal and comfortable lives if God calls us to some specific task. In the case of our Subject Text, the instruction is so specific that God identifies the name of the street (Straight Street is still a main thoroughfare in Damascus that is now called Derb Le-Mustaquim) and the name of the homeowner where Saul is residing. We must never take for granted that God knows exactly where we are and what we are doing at all times. The event seems so unimpressive really. “Think of the dramatic follow-up the Sovereign Lord could have designed from the opening overture on the Damascus Road. Why not take Saul back to Jerusalem for a public declaration of faith on the steps of the temple or perhaps in front of the Sanhedrin in the very room where Stephen made his defense? Or maybe back to Tarsus, that ancient city with a significant Jewish population, likely proud of its young rabbi serving so effectively in Jerusalem. Not God. God sent Saul to the humble home of a humble servant whose name appears only twice in Acts.”[6]

            Not surprisingly, Saul’s reputation preceded him to Damascus and in vv. 13-14 we see Ananias objects to God’s instruction. At times we idolize believers from the Bible thinking that they were mindless robots who didn’t think for themselves and never questioned anything. Although God demands obedience, he is patient with our doubt. God’s instruction to Ananias is not misunderstood by Ananias based on his reaction to God. In essence, Ananias is saying, ‘Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute! I know this guy. I hear he’s got official papers that give him permission to come after us because we follow you! He’s the same guy who was part of Stephen’s killing party! That’s the guy you want me to go to?’ “Ananias was understandably shaken by the Lord’s command to go and find Saul of Tarsus. Christians wanted to stay far away from Saul. His reputation as an enemy of the church was well documented, and the intent of this particular mission to Damascus was widely known. Ananias knew that Saul had been authorized by the leading priests to arrest every believer in Damascus. Fearful of what might happen, Ananias began to protest.”[7]

            We reach the hinge-point or our Subject Text in vv. 15-16 when Jesus commands Ananias to “Go!” Jesus explains that Saul is the one He has chosen to carry out an important task. Saul is the one Jesus has chosen to carry the message of salvation to the Gentiles. And not just to the general Gentile populace but to the leaders of the Gentile nations as well. Jesus will also inform Saul of the suffering he must endure for the name of Jesus. Think about that for a minute. What mission would our wisdom have considered Saul to be perfect for? Remember? Saul had the perfect ancestral and religious pedigree to relate to the Jews. Religious authority and access would have made him a perfect candidate to bring the message of the Gospel to the Jews. But our wisdom is not God’s wisdom. Jesus had already designated Peter as the one who would anchor the Church in Jerusalem. Jesus knew that the mission to the Gentiles would require someone with a spirit of tenacity; someone who was relentless; someone who was committed to travel as far as necessary to get the task done; someone who would not be stopped even in the face of suffering and that someone was Saul. “Like Jesus, who ‘must’ travel to Jerusalem and suffer (Lk 9:51), so too Paul ‘must’ travel to Rome and suffer (Acts 27:1). The early church in effect completes the extended mission of Christ through its suffering. Its suffering is no more an accident than was Jesus’ suffering. This affinity between Christ and his church’s suffering is further illustrated in the response of Jesus to Saul on the Damascus road: ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’ The ascended Lord continues to suffer in and through his people’s suffering.”[8]

            Obviously, Ananias’ objections are overruled by Jesus. Ananias steps out in faith in v. 17 and goes to the home where Saul is staying. Ananias announces to Saul that Jesus has sent him. Ananias places his hands on Saul so that he can regain his eyesight but more importantly so that he can receive Holy Spirit. Ananias is such a great picture of trust. He went from fearing Saul to placing healing hands on Saul and ministering to him all because Jesus told him to. “The Lord’s disciples are not only the prominent ‘heroes’ of the faith like Peter of Philip but also ordinary folk like Ananias, who walked on stage for a particular mission and then exit as the story moves on. Ministry is a function (a job to do for the Lord) more than a status or a privilege. By the end of the scene faithful Ananias disappears.”[9]

            Jesus’ has once again managed to capture the one he was pursuing as we see the story of Saul’s conversion come to a miraculous conclusion in vv. 18-19. The text says that something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he immediately regained his sight. Like the story of Kristen Powers in the Introduction, the illustration of scales falling from the eyes has become a common modern day idiom to describe an unbeliever who is blind to the truths of God becoming believers and having their eyes opened to finally see the truths of God in all their glory. However, here we cannot use the illustration as an idiom. Luke is the only NT writer to use the Greek medical terms, lepides to describe the scales or flakes and apepeson to describe that they fell from Saul’s eyes. “The words cannot be taken as merely figurative…some scaly substance had formed over the eyes, probably as a result of the dazzling brightness which had struck upon them…Here as elsewhere, we may see traces of St. Luke’s accuracy as a physician…both words are found conjoined in medical writers…for falling off of scales from the cuticle and particles from the diseased parts of the body or bones, etc.”[10] And finally, Saul announces his new-found faith publicly the same way Christians have done in the centuries since, by being baptized “presumably by Ananias and…At this point the crucial initial transformation of Saul from a persecuting Pharisaic Jew to a zealous missionary for Christ is complete.”[11]

Application

            There are so many things our Subject Text teaches us. Let me try and identify and summarize them:

1)      No one can out-sin God’s grace (vv. 1-2).

2)      God will go to extremes to get our attention in order to accomplish his divine will (vv. 3-6).

3)      God will lead us, sometimes by hand if necessary, to get us to the place where we can serve him (vv. 7-9).

4)      You don’t have to be prominent or famous to be used by God (vv. 10-14).

5)      The greater the task, the more severe the suffering (vv. 15-16).

6)      Obedience opens the door to participate with God in advancing His kingdom (v. 17).

7)      God is the means for physical healing and spiritual reconciliation (vv. 18-19).

Aren’t these the stories that bring us back to the Scriptures time and again? Don’t they give us hope and encourage us to continue serving God even in the face of trials and tribulations? I didn’t really have a miraculous conversion experience (except a miracle that God would be willing to die for a sinner like me). So, when I hear stories like the one I shared about Kristen Powers in the Introduction, I am always in awe not so much with those who give their lives to Christ but what it says about the power and grace God. There is no greater witness to the existence of God than His ability to draw even the harshest unbeliever into a love-relationship with Himself. If you have a friend or family member who is far from God, never give up praying for that person because God is able to shine His light into anyone’s life. Never forget that your obedience to God, regardless of how insignificant you might think it is, can change someone’s life forever.

Consider for a moment how your story of conversion might be the tipping point for someone who is at the place between unbelief and belief. Would you be willing to share your story with us? If so, you can write your story in the comments section at the end of this lesson or you can send it to me via email at apastorsthoughts@gmail.com. If you are unable to tell your story in English, send it to me via email in your native language and I will have it translated into English and post it at the beginning of a future lesson (please identify the native language in your email). I know some of you have amazing conversion stories that rival the stories from Scripture that encourage us daily. We would love to hear your story and your own experience On The Road To Damascus.

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[1] W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983), p. 230.

[2] Colin Brown, gen. ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 3, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), p. 942.

[3] Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 504.

[4] C. K. Barrett, Acts—The International Critical Commentary, (Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark, 1994), p. 451.

[5] William H. Willimon, Acts—Interpretation, (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1973), pp. 78-79.

[6] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts—Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1998), p. 140.

[7] Bruce Barton, et al., Life Application NTC, p. 504

[8] Ralph P. Martin & Peter H. Davis, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), p. 1139.

[9] Willimon, Acts—Interpretation, p. 78.

[10] Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Vol. 2, p. 237.

[11] Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), pp. 319-320.