Acts 9:1-22
Saul's Conversion
Introduction
Christianity believes in the necessity of conversion. Yet many people
misconceptions about just what Christian conversion is. Today we will
examine the most important conversion in Christianity—Saul's—and
learn what conversion is all about.
BEFORE: Saul viewed Jesus as a false Messiah and Christianity
as a false and dangerous movement.
He led the charge against its most dangerous theologian. Review his
role in Stephen's execution (7:58; 8:1).
But he didn't stop there. He led the persecution in Jerusalem. Read
Acts 8:3; 22:4; 26:9-11.
But even this wasn't enough. He then took the persecution extra-local.
Read Acts 9:1,2.
Saul was not a policeman just following orders—he was a man
personally obsessed with wiping the Christian movement out in the
name of God (“ravaging” 8:3; “breathing threats and
murder” 9:1; “destroyed” 9:21; “furiously enraged”
26:11). Like RABIN'S ASSASSIN and ISLAMIC TERRORISTS, he was filled
with hatred and initiated violence justified by religious conviction.
AFTER: Yet just a few days later we read 9:19b-22. He had become
a zealous advocate of the very movement he had tried to destroy.
What happened? How did Saul's perspective and life-direction
shift so radically? The answer is given in vs 3-19a . . .
What happened?
Read vs 3. This blinding light was not a flash-bulb at night. Acts 22:6
says it happened at mid-day, when the sunlight is already brilliant.
Read vs 4. Saul's answer (read vs 5a) shows how convinced of Christianity's
falsehood he was. He knew that he was addressing a superior person,
but it couldn't be Jesus (he was convinced Jesus was dead), and it couldn't
be God (he was convinced God was leading him to Damascus).
The answer he got shattered his life (read vs 5b). Imagine what must
have raced through his mind in this instant:
The man he thought was a dangerous heretic is the Messiah!
The people he was persecuting in the name of God were God's people!
These people didn't deserve to die—he did!
Read vs 6. He probably understood this in an ominous way—the prisoner-taker
was being taken prisoner! Read vs 7-9. No wonder he didn't eat or drink
for three days! He probably kept remembering his persecution and Jesus'
words, and he prayed (vs 11b)—probably for the Lord's mercy . . . (evidently
saved by vs 17) . . .
Read vs 10-12. This is obviously a different Ananias than the one in
chapter 5. Read vs 13,14: “Are you sure you know what you're
doing here? Why not leave him alone—or send someone else?”
Read vs 15,16. This is Paul's apostolic commission . . .
Read vs 17-19a. “Brother” and laying hands on signify acceptance
and solidarity. Saul publicly identifies himself with Jesus by having
Ananias baptize him.
How typical was his conversion?
“Is Saul's conversion the norm for all Christian conversions?”
When we evaluate his conversion in light of what the rest of the Bible
says about this subject, we find that it has both atypical and
typical aspects.
ATYPICAL: He experienced a supernatural appearance of Jesus
(light; voice), which may have been the last such appearance until Jesus'
return (1 Corinthians 15:8). He also was blinded by Jesus' appearnace
and then healed. He was also chosen and commissioned as an apostle (official
and authoritative spokesman), which we are not.
This should free you up from feeling like such experiences are necessary
to convert to Christianity. On the phenomenological level, my own
conversion was the antithesis of Saul's. I saw no light, I heard no
heavenly voice, I felt no overwhelming emotion, etc.
TYPICAL: As different as some of the elements Saul's conversion
were, the most important aspects of it are common to every single person
who comes to Christ.
It is initiated by Jesus. The account leaves us in no doubt
about this. Paul's own reflections also confirm this (Galatians 1:13-15;
Philippians 3:12 “laid hold of”).
This is the way the Bible says it is for all of us. We would never
come to Christ if he didn't come out after us. Even when you begin
to search for God (as some of you are doing now), it is because
he has already been drawing you in a variety of ways which usually
become clearer to you after you come to Christ (ME). This leads
to the second observation . . .
It is the result of a process. Even though Saul's conversion
was dramatic, it was still the result of a process leading up to that
point. In Acts 26:14, Jesus says before identifying himself, “It
is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Farmers used goads
to break in wild young bulls. Jesus is saying that he has been prodding
Saul for sometime, but Saul has been resisting him. How was he doing
this?
Certainly Stephen's teaching and martyr's testimony must have affected
him. He must have known that Stephen had bested him in their theological
debate (6:10). He must have been unsettled by Stephen's defense
and indictment, and by the way he went to his death.
It is also possible that he had seen and heard Jesus during his
public ministry. He would have definitely been familiar with his
miracle ministry and claims.
So Jesus had been prodding him for some time before he appeared
to him. Perhaps this explains Saul's extreme hostility—he was
fighting off conviction in this way. Many of you are experiencing
this same tension—being attracted and convicted to receive
Christ, while at the same time feeling deep aversion about doing
that.
It involves our free choice. Even though Jesus took
the initiative and laid hold of him in a dramatic way, Saul was not
turned into a robot—he had a choice in how he responded.
By posing the question in vs 4, he was appealing to Saul's mind
and conscience. By answering the way he did in vs 5, he was calling
on Saul to make a rational, conscientious and free decision to follow
him as his Messiah. Saul could have said, “No!”
In the same way, no matter how powerfully Jesus reveals himself
to you, he will not overwhelm your free will. You will not wake
up some morning and find that you now believe. He will appeal to
your mind and conscience, and call on you to make a decision to
follow him . . .
What did he learn?
Saul learned three truths through his conversion that forever changed
his life. And they will change yours, too, if you learn them . . .
He learned, obviously, that Jesus is alive.
Prior to this encounter, Saul probably subscribed to the official
explanation of the empty tomb—Jesus' disciples stole the body
while they were sleeping (Matthew 28:11-15).
This explanation was pretty stupid. How could these guys overpower
a crack Roman squad? And how did they know who stole the body if
they were sleeping?
But now he knew that Jesus was alive, and not merely resuscitated—but
resurrected and glorified.
Ever since the empty tomb, people have tried unsuccessfully to explain
away the only rational explanation. We don't have time to go into
this today, but I would like to point to another line of evidence
for Jesus' resurrection—Saul's conversion. How do you explain
how this man's beliefs and direction changed so dramatically and so
quickly (cf. Philippians 3:4-8)? The explanations offered take
more faith to believe than Saul's (HEAT-INDUCED HALLUCINATION: asking
hallucination to identify itself; NERVOUS BREAKDOWN: victims don't
seek out stressful situations like vs 19b-22; EPILEPSY: doesn't effect
moral transformation).
So what? Because Jesus is alive, he can meet you personally! It is
the same risen Jesus who says Revelation 3:20. This is what it
means to convert to Christianity—to personally meet the living
Jesus and begin a relationship with him. Not to “get religion”—Paul
already had religion. He lost his religion and replaced it with a
relationship with Christ. He didn't embrace a philosophy—he met
a Person.
He also learned that God is a God of grace.
Contrast what Saul deserved and expected (judgment and death) to
what he actually got (forgiveness and commission). Jesus chose his
worst enemy to become his “chosen instrument!” This overturned
his rabbinic theology which centered around works.
This is what the Bible calls grace—God dealing with us
not on the basis of what we deserve, but rather on the basis of his
love. He can give us what we don't deserve (forgiveness and acceptance)
because Jesus was willing to take what he didn't deserve (punishment
for our sins).
Saul is the preeminent example that no one has been so sinful or
wicked that God is unwilling to forgive him or unable to transform
him. Read 1 Tim. 1:12-16. The only thing that prevents God's
grace from doing the same for you is your unwillingness to receive
it from Christ . . .
He also learned that Christians are members of Christ's body.
Misread 9:4 - “Why are you persecuting my followers?” Instead,
he asked “Why are you persecuting me?” There is an
actual spiritual union between each true believer and Jesus, and therefore
between each other. This is why Paul later said Rom. 12:5.
And since this is true, walking with Christ means being vitally involved
with other Christians—contributing to their spiritual lives and
being willing to receive Christ's resources through them.
This is probably why Christ decided to heal and commission him
through Ananias rather than directly. One of the first lessons he
needed to learn was that his proud self-sufficiency must go—he
needed to receive from Christ through his brothers and sisters.
Many of you are stagnated in your walks with Christ because you
have not learned or submitted to this truth. It was the major reason
for my own stagnation after receiving Christ, and it was the major
reason why I started to grow. By refusing to be personally involved
with other Christians, I was tying Jesus' hands. He didn't change
the rules for me, and he won't for you, either.
Copyright
1995 Gary DeLashmutt
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