Saul persecuted the Christians. On his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians there, he met the Lord, Jesus.  Jesus told Paul that He was Jesus whom Paul was persecuting.  For someone who was putting the Christians in prison and persecuting them, those words must have been very shocking.  He fell to the ground and couldn’t see anything.  The men that were with him took him to Damascus.

              In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias.　Jesus appeared to Ananias and told him to go to the street called “Straight” and visit Saul of Tarsus at Judah’s house.  God always goes before us.  He made all the preparations necessary for Saul to see again and to be able to standup again.  Also when he could see again, he would see things completely different from before.  By Christ he we was made completely new and he would see things differently now since he was completely turned into a new person. Today let’s look at 3 aspects of Saul receiving his eyesight.

I.                Focusing on God (vs.10-16)

God told Ananias to go to the street called “Straight” and visit Saul of Tarsus at Judah’s house. Ananias was shocked because it was because of Saul that the church was persecuted.  The original Christians in Damascus were there because they were dispersed there as the result of the persecutions.  It was unthinkable that Saul would be saved.  Therefore, the thought of going to visit Saul was scary and unthinkable for Ananias and Ananias told the Lord so. God gives His answer in verses 15 and 16. Saul is God’s “chosen instrument to carry” God’s “name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.” (15) Even though Ananias sensed great danger in going to Saul, the Lord tells him “Go!”(15) 

How we think is determined by the things we have experienced up to this point.  Therefore, we decide this person is dangerous, this person would never be saved, etc., but God is different.  He thinks freely and nothing is impossible for Him.  Therefore, he is able to save even Saul and use him as an instrument to spread the Gospel. God can do so much more than we could ever think or imagine.  Therefore, we need to not depend upon our own thinking or emotions, but keep our eyes focused on God. We need to think about what God wants.  Then we need to follow Him.

It’s almost Christmas.  It is unbelievable that God would become man and come into this world.  That Jesus would be born from a virgin is even more unbelievable.  This is more than we can conceive or imagine logically.  At first Joseph thought the same.  Therefore, he “did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” (Matt. 1:19) He was able to accept Mary because he heard the word of God.  An angel appeared to him and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  (Matt. 1:20) “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” (Matt. 1:24) This more than we can imagine.  However, when we focus on God who is above all that we could ever imagine and follow him, then God will perform great works. 

This is both in our personal lives and in the church too.  We need to live not by our own thinking or emotions, but by keeping our eyes focused on God.  Even if it goes against our thinking or emotions, if we follow the Lord’s will, God will do more than we ever imagined.

II.              Saul who regained his sight (vs.17-19)

Here Ananias is calling Saul, “Brother”.  Saul who persecuted the church, and came all the way to Damascus to persecute the church was the biggest enemy of the Church. However, Ananias calls him, “Brother”. The church is a spiritual family.  Ananias called Saul, “Brother” shows that Saul would become part of that spiritual family so that Ananias was accepting him as such.  Ananias no longer looked at Saul from a human standpoint. 

After calling Saul, “Brother”, he explains why he has come. That was “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.” (17) This means that he has come so that Saul will be saved, and the eyes of his heart will be opened.  “Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.” (18)  This means that Saul saw something that he had never seen before. In this case it means he saw a spiritual truth.  He saw that Jesus whom he had been persecuting is the Lord, Christ, the Savior that was promised in the Bible.  That is why Ananias said, “so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (17)  In Saul’s case, physically too his eyes were opened, but it was a sign that spiritually his eyes were also opened.  At this point God turned Saul’s life around 180 degrees. Saul was led to a new faith, and joyfully changed to a person who witnesses to the Lord. He experiences something like scales falling from his eyes.

After Saul experienced something like scales falling from his eyes, “he got up and was baptized and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” (19)  And then “he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.” (20)  It was the birth of the Christian and evangelist Paul. This is something that no one consider happening.

Mark 10:27

God can do anything.  We must give up our small way of thinking and follow the voice of God.  Ananias needed courage in order to go to Saul. He didn’t follow his thinking or emotions, but focused his eyes on God’s will. Therefore, this great thing happened.     

III.            He is praying (vs.10)

In verse 11 we are told that when the Lord appeared to Ananias, Saul was praying.  Saul had been in Damascus, but he hadn’t eaten or drank anything.  It was because he was praying.  When he was praying, he was given a vision.  While praying, he was led by the Lord.  To those who pray, God shows his will and leads them.  Therefore, in order to know God’s will and follow His will, we need to pray.   Through prayer we need to be taught what we should be doing. By doing what we are told to do, God will do a great work.  Just as Saul received a vision from the Lord when he was praying, we too, when we pray, God will do a great work. Therefore. please pray that the Lord will do a mighty work in your lives too.