Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” (Acts 9:10-12)

We don’t know anything about this man named Ananias from either before or after this meeting with Saul. We don’t know how he came to Damascus, or what happened to him afterward. From what we do know we can think of him as an average follower of Jesus – a certain disciple.

Ananias was an ordinary man – not an apostle, a prophet, a pastor, an evangelist, an elder, or a deacon. Yet God used him because he was an ordinary man. If an apostle or a prominent person had ministered to Saul, people might say Paul received his gospel from a man instead of Jesus. In the same way, God needs to use the certain disciple – there is a special work for them to do.

In theory, it wasn’t necessary that God use a man like Ananias for this work in Saul’s life. Being simply a certain disciple, we can say that God simply used Ananias because God loves to use people, and Ananias was a willing servant.

God spoke to Ananias in a vision, a completely different way than He spoke to Saul. Saul had a bold, almost violent confrontation from God, but Ananias heard the voice of God sweetly in a vision, where God called and Ananias obediently responded. To say, “Here I am, Lord” is a perfect response to God.

In the case of Ananias, the vision from God was specific. God told him about:

– A specific street (the street called Straight).
– A specific house (the house of Judas).
– A specific man (one called Saul of Tarsus).
– A specific thing the man was doing (he is praying).
– A specific vision the man had (in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias).

This specificity was necessary and important, because God asked Ananias to do something bold and dangerous in meeting Saul, the great persecutor. He needed confirmation along the way that God was guiding him, and God gave him ways to confirm this.

The change in Saul is clear in the words, behold, he is praying. One might say that Saul, the persecutor of Christians, had never really prayed before; he merely repeated formal prayers. Before this:

– His prayers were more mechanical than spiritual.
– He had never prayed with Jesus as mediator.
– He had never prayed in Jesus’ name.
– He had not prayed with a humble heart, near to God.

Saul had said many prayers, but he had never truly prayed. Have you truly prayed today?

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 9

And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:5-6)

When Saul the Persecutor heard a voice from heaven, he asked who it was speaking. The answer from heaven was clear: I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Those words came with a flood of meaning to Saul. In that instant, he knew that Jesus was in fact alive, risen from the dead – because a dead man doesn’t speak from heaven! Saul also knew that when he persecuted the followers of Jesus, he actually persecuted Jesus who spoke from heaven.

Most everyone has questions they would like to ask God. Several years ago a survey asked people to choose three questions they would most like to ask God. The top five responses were:

– Will there ever be lasting world peace?
– How can I be a better person?
– What does the future hold for my family and me?
– Will there ever be a cure for all diseases?
– Why is there suffering in the world?

It is strange that people would want to ask God these questions when, in some way, they are already answered in the Bible. But they really aren’t the most important questions for us to ask. Saul asked two rightquestions, questions that I believe each one of us should ask.

Question: Who are You, Lord? We must ask this question with a humble heart and ask it to God. Jesus showed us exactly who God is, and He can answer this question. Paul spent the rest of his life wanting to know more completely the answer to this question (Philippians 3:10). You can ask this question every day: “Lord, I want to know You more. Show me who You are, as revealed in Jesus, explained in Your word.”

Question: What do You want me to do? This is a question from a surrendered heart. Not enough people dare to really ask God this question, but when we ask it, we must ask it with submission and determined obedience.

When Saul asked this question, Jesus only told him what to do right at that moment – the next thing to do. This is often the character of God’s direction in our lives. He directs us one step at a time instead of laying out at once the details of His grand plan.

Saul’s question was personal. He asked the question with a “me”: “Lord, what do You want me to do?” We often are quite interested in what God wants others to do. But the surrendered heart asks, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Can you personally ask God these two important questions?

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 9

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2)

We last saw Saul in Acts 8:3, where it says that he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. The picture of Saul here in Acts 9 is of an angry, violent man absolutely convinced of his own righteousness. Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Notice that Saul hated the disciples of the Lord.

This angry man went to the high priest to get approval for further attacks. Saul did his persecuting work under the direct approval of the highest religious authorities. He asked and received letters from the high priest authorizing his mission.

The high priest mentioned here was Caiaphas. In December 1990 an ossuary (a bone box) was discovered in Jerusalem. It was inscribed with the name of this Caiaphas and positively dated to this period. Inside were discovered some of the remains of a 60-year-old man, whom many researchers believe was this same Caiaphas. If true, these are the first physical remains (such as bones or ashes) of a specific person mentioned in the New Testament.

Here Saul continued and expanded this work to the city of Damascus, about 130 miles or 210 kilometers northeast of Jerusalem – a six-day journey altogether. Saul was willing to sacrifice to attack Christians. His intention was to travel to Damascus, look for any who were of the Way – that is, any who were followers of Jesus. This shows there was a Christian community large enough in Damascus to be concerned about. Christianity – the Way – was spreading everywhere.

Many years later, Saul remembered his days as a persecutor. In Philippians 3:6, Saul (Paul) mentioned how his zeal made him a persecutor. In Galatians 1:13, Paul added more regarding his background: For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

Many of you know how this story turned out. This angry, violent man who hated Christians and the Messiah they served eventually became a Christian himself. What we read here in Acts 9:1-2 reminds us that Saul wasn’t seeking Jesus when Jesus sought him. We might say that Saul was decided against Jesus when Jesus decided for Saul.

I hope you have decided “for” Jesus – that you have repented and believed, and put your trust in who Jesus is and what He did to rescue you for now and eternity. Just remember that you can only decide for Jesus because He decided for you first; that you can only love Him because He loved you first – even if you’ve sinned greatly against Him as Saul did. His love is that powerful.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 9

Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38)

Philip preached Jesus to the man in the chariot, and the man was ready to respond to the good news of who Jesus is and what He did for us. The Spirit of God was at work through the word of God, and it was wonderful. As Philip explained the good news, he probably did as Peter did at Pentecost, giving those who heard an opportunity to respond in faith and be baptized (Acts 2:38).

So, the Ethiopian asked a question: See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? This shows that the Ethiopian did in fact believe, and that he wanted to be baptized to declare his belief. He saw the truth of God and knew that it was for him.

However, Philip insisted that the Ethiopian believe with all his heart before being baptized. In brief and simple words, this describes how we should respond to the gospel: believe with all your heart.

If we only believe with our head and not our heart, it isn’t enough. We may intellectually know that Jesus died for the sins of the world, but do we know in our heart that He died to cleanse our sins?

The man in the chariot did believe. He said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This confession of faith, taken in all that it means, is the essential belief for anyone who will come to God. We must believe in the person of Jesus, in all that He is and has done as Christ. We must believe that He is the Divine Son, and that He is the Son of God sent from the Father to accomplish the salvation of all those who will believe with all their hearts.

When the Ethiopian said “Jesus Christ,” he confessed that Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ). He agreed with his mind and heart that Jesus is the sin-bearing servant that Isaiah described and Jesus fulfilled.

One might ask: How could the man in the chariot know that he really believed with all his heart? The answer isn’t found in measuring percentages of commitment, but in simply trusting and surrendering to Jesus all one is aware of. More areas of trust will become apparent over time; and then we can believe Jesus as we see them.

Have you believed with all your heart? If so, have you received water baptism? Both are important. Each of us should follow the good example of the Ethiopian in Acts 8.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 8

Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:29-31)

The Holy Spirit directed a servant among the early Christians to leave a successful work in Samaria and go to a desolate wilderness. Once there, Philip saw a chariot carrying an important man – a Jewish man from Ethiopia. This man had an important position in the Queen of Ethiopia’s government and was returning from a visit to Jerusalem.

The Holy Spirit who led Philip to the desert then said to him, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” It took a lot of boldness to do it, but Philip did what the Spirit told him to do. The Ethiopian was a rich man, a man of power, and at least in some way a celebrity. Yet Philip knew he needed Jesus just as much as anyone else.

We often shrink back from speaking boldly about Jesus, and the world lets us know we shouldn’t talk about such things. But the world does not hesitate to preach own message to us. We should be just as bold to the world about Jesus as the world is bold to us about sin.

Coming near, Philip heard him reading because it was common in the ancient world to read aloud. Listening, Philip knew the Ethiopian was reading the prophet Isaiah.

Philip knew God gave him an open door, a prepared heart. Plainly, God had arranged this meeting. Philip was effective as an evangelist because he knew how to flow with what the Holy Spirit wanted to do. He was truly led by the Spirit, not by his own whims and feelings.

Philip then asked an important question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” It was good for the Ethiopian to read the Bible, but unless understanding was brought to him, there was little benefit from his reading. But God had brought someone (Philip) to bring understanding.

The Ethiopian man answered, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” This is the proper question of anyone who wants to understand the Bible. We should never feel bad if we need to be taught before we can understand many things.

Here are two principles to understand your Bible better. First, find good teachers. It is wonderful when we come to understand the great truths of Bible on our own, but this passage shows us that God also has a place and a purpose for teachers among the followers of Jesus.

Second, to get more understanding from our Bibles, we must plunge in. Butterflies wander over the flowers in the garden and accomplish nothing, but bees plunge right down into the flower, and they carry away essential food. We won’t get anything if we just hover over our Bibles; we must dive right in.

Click Here for David’s Written Commentary on Acts 8