The Miracle On Straight Street | Acts 9

INTRODUCTION

There are some days in our life that we not want to get over. The day I got married to Glory; the birth of our children. But one thing that is above all this is the day of my salvation. I probably heard the Gospel hundreds of times before I got saved. But I remember the day I got saved very vividly. My pastor, Pr. Mark Buntain was sharing the Gospel at a VBS and I gave my life to the Lord. I cannot get over this experience.

When Jesus meets us on our road; humbles us, transforms us,  and sends us to join His Mission.

FOUR SCENES OF PAUL

THE PERSECUTOR

Acts 9:1-2

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.

Paul is introduced in Chapter 7 & 8. And there he was a persecutor of the church. Paul was witnessing and facilitating the stoning death of Stephen. After the death of Stephen, Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

• The movement of the church was called “the Way.”
• He is on his way to Damascus synagogues, some 220 km north of Jerusalem. It would take 6 days on foot. Paul had influence both in Jerusalem and beyond.

“Paul was a man on mission – but not God’s mission.”

Application: Zeal without the truth can harm others and the church.

THE CALL

Paul who’s on the mission of persecuting Jesus followers, and all of a sudden God intervenes and turns him 180° and sends him out on another mission.

Acts 9:3-6

³As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him

• This light can be understood as shekinah, God’s glory (as at Sinai).
• This happens in theophany associated with divine call.
  • Jesus’s birth, the glory of the Lord shines around the shepherds.
  • Exodus 3 burning bush.
  • Isaiah 6, where Isaiah sees the glory of the Lord.
  • Ezekiel 1:4, flashing lightning and brilliant light
  • Each of these passages have a divine calling.

Acts 9:4

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

God who’s on this worldwide mission is that He’s also the God of the individual. Jesus called him, “Saul!” Jesus knows his name.

• Saul, Saul. Jesus calls him twice.
  • Doubles names:
  • Genesis 22:11 Abraham, Abraham
  • Genesis 46:2 Jacob, Jacob.
  • Exodus 3:4, Moses, Moses.
  • 1 Samuel 3:10; Samuel, Samuel

In the scripture when God speaks something very important, the name is doubled. Some of these cases were very nice cases, so Saul maybe expecting something nice, even though he fell down. Jesus does not say anything nice. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

How can Saul be persecuting the Lord? Remember what Jesus said in Luke 10:16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Saul has been persecuting Jesus’ followers, he has been therefore persecuting Jesus.

• Persecuting Jesus’ Followers = Persecuting Jesus

Acts 9:5-9

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.

• Blinded. God had sometimes blinded people to prevent an evil purpose.
  • Genesis 19:11, the men of Sodom are blinded.
  • 2 Kings 6:18-20; the whole army is struck blind to their surroundings.
  • Zechariah struck mute, Luke 1

• Paul fasts for 3 days.

God is active here. His blindness is indicating to Paul that he truly is blind. The blindness is just pointing out the state of his spiritual state. Back when Zachariah doubted God’s faith, what happened to him? Right, he lost his ability to speak. So Paul here is blinded.

He can’t go anywhere. He’s not going to lead anybody to prison. He’s struck such a way that he can’t say anything, he can’t do anything, and he just gets on his knees and starts praying. He is overwhelmed by a God who has arrested him. He’s not in control. God is in control. And so Paul is literally stopped in his tracks.

Application: Allow God to interrupt you. Embrace seasons of humbling as preparation.

THE CONFIRMATION OF THE CALL

It’s interesting that Paul gets his life straightened out on Straight Street. This was a fashionable part of the town. This was the place where the important people would go. So Paul’s sitting there, struck blind. He’s not eating. He’s praying. Right, thinking that God is possibly even moving toward him toward judgment.

Ananias dialogues with God

Acts 9:10

¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

Jesus calls Ananias and he answers: “Yes Lord or Here I am” Jesus appears to Saul and Saul says, “Who are you.” Ananias says, “Yes Lord.”

• In the OT 1 Samuel 3:10 Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
• Isaiah 6:8. Isaiah said, “Here I am, send me.”

Ananias is so happy that Jesus is appearing to him. Then he gets his instructions.

Acts 9:11-12

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.”

• Ananias was told that Paul also had a vision
• This is a paired vision. Remember in Acts 10 God has Peter meet with Cornelius. Peter has a vision and Cornelius has a vision. Paired vision confirms divine coordination. Also in Acts 10

Acts 9:13-14

¹³“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

Ananias gave his objections to God’s command, like Moses who gave his objections to God’s command to go to Egypt and liberate the people. Ananias is sent to Saul. Have you ever been impelled by the Spirit of God to speak to somebody and you have questioned God?

This is the first time in the Book of Acts where the people of God are called saints, holy people. This becomes one of Paul’s preferred terms for the way addresses his audience as saints.

Acts 9:15-16

^15SBut the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

• This is a shorthand description of Paul’s whole life and ministry.
• Paul is called to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles, their kings, and Israel.
• Paul is also called to suffer for the name of Jesus.
• Paul’s call resembles OT call or commissioning narratives.

When we end the Book of Acts, Paul is right there in the shadow of the throne of Rome. All along the way he has presented this good news Felix, Festus, and Herod Agrippa.

Application: God is very intimately aware of and involved in the life of Paul. God has a plan for Paul. God is intimately aware and involved in our live and has a plan for your life.

Acts 9:17

Then 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.”

• Brother Saul: Gospel kingship.
• Used for close relatives.

Ananias is walking  up to a man that may have been responsible for killing people he knew, for destroying the family lives of people, for ruining their reputations, for killing Stephen, and he calls him brother.

We have a culture that is rife with hatred across ethnic boundaries, class boundaries, political boundaries. The gospel can love people. We can love people, recognize that all of us have been saved by grace and only by grace. We are members of one family, children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

Acts 9:18-19

¹⁸ Immediately, 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 in Damascus and Jerusalem

Acts 9:18

• Scales fell from Saul’s eyes. Saul could see.
• Saul gets baptized.

THE BOLD WITNESS

Acts 9:20-25

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” (People are astounded at the grace of God that changed him.) ²²Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

He moves from this radical opponent to this bold witness for the very Jesus that he was opposing.

So let’s begin.

²³After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, ²⁴but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. ²⁵But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

• Escape
  • Houses sometimes built on city walls.
  • Tradition: Ananias’s house, in Nabatean quarter built on the wall.
  • 2 Corinthians 11:32-33; Galatians 1:17
  • Joshua 2:15, Remember Rahab let the spies down the house in the wall.
  • 1 Samuel 19:12. David’s wife Michal let him down from the wall.

Acts 9:26-30

²⁶When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. ²⁷But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. ³⁰When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Acts 9:26-27

• Jerusalem fears but Barnabas bridges the gap, brought him to the apostles.
• Sent to Tarsus. Paul possibly has some relatives in Tarsus, Acts 22:3
• Paul stayed there for a long time. Probably during this time (2 Corinthians 11), Paul received beatings in the synagogue.
• Long period before fulfilling full calling from Antioch.

We do know from the book of Acts that it was a long time before he could be sent out of the church in Antioch for his missionary trip. It is probably a number of years after his conversion and his calling before he really was able to enter into the heart of his mission. Yes, he preached before that, but for the real mission to accomplish, it took time.

• We need training to ministry.

The call does not mean right now. The call gives us a direction. It usually does not give you all the details ahead of time. Don’t be discouraged if some of the things the Lord has called you to do, you have not been able to do it yet. The Lord has his time, he is getting us ready for his calling. We too need to be intentional to learn. You know you have a call, you are headed there, keep it in mind and slowly the Lord will lead you there. This is a time for training.

Now let me reflect for a couple things here on this:

LIFE APPLICATION

1. THE SCOPE OF SALVATION: ALL PEOPLES

Paul’s conversion and call tell us about the scope of God’s mission. The Scope of God’s Salvation is Every person, Tribe, Every Nation. The scope of God’s mission is way beyond our church and family to the very edges of the Earth, to every people group, every tribe, every nation.

1 Timothy 2:3-4; Acts 1:8

³This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

All people; no matter what ethnicity, what background, rich, poor, wealthy, poor, educated, uneducated, powerful, powerless. God’s mission is worldwide, saving mission.

2. GOD IS SERIOUS ABOUT HIS MISSION.

God is serious about His mission, must get serious about God’s mission. We must share the Gospel to whoever we meet. We must pray for the gospel to reach others.

If you meet a war veteran, you don’t have to ask them about wars. They do not need any history lesson on the war, they are a part of the history, they will speak it out. Grandparents do not need any lesson to talk about their grandkids. You go to your grandparent’s home they have a lot of pictures of yours. They talk about you everywhere they go. When you love somebody we want to tell people about it.

God is serious about His mission and we must be involved in God’s mission.

3. WHEN THE LORD INSTRUCTs, OBEY

4. BELIEVERS ARE MEMBERS OF ONE FAMILY.

5. NEVER GET OVER THE MIRACLE OF YOUR SALVATION.

Paul never, ever got over his call. Luke tells the story here of what happened to Paul, and then he gives Paul two occasions to tell his own testimony in Chapters 22 & 26. And then if you read Paul in Galatians 1, or 1 Timothy 1, or Philippians 3, Paul just never got over what happened to him on the road to Damascus.

We need to get back to that day and remember, “No, I was a sinner. I was lost. Jesus saved me, He gave me life. He gave me hope.” And as you get older, your salvation experience should get sweeter.

Luke is famous for the parable of the Prodigal. What does He say? Every time a sinner repents there’s a party in Heaven. We need to have a party in our soul. There ought to be a party every time somebody comes to Christ.

Luke 10:20

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Rejoice that your identity is changed, your future is different, that everything is new.

I think somebody who never got over it, like Paul, was Charles Wesley. In his hymn “And Can It Be,” he is thinking about his conversion and what it meant.