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New Testament Heroes 15 – 18/05/25 – Martin Mowat
Readings: Acts 9:1-9 & Acts 9:10-19
As we’ve been working our way through the book of Acts in recent weeks, we’ve highlighted several heroes. First there was Luke because if it wasn’t for him, we probably wouldn’t know about many of the others. In fact, I even called him a super-hero because of his deep desire to lead others to a deeper and more personal knowledge of the Saviour.
Then we had Matthias and Joseph, two men who allowed their names to be put forward to complete an awesome task, that of replacing Judas Iscariot as the twelfth apostle.
After them, Peter, who we talked about for several weeks. We haven’t heard the last of him, though. Then there was Barnabas because he sold a field to give financial support to the apostles, and because he later became one of Paul’s right-hand men, so we haven’t heard the last of him either.
Then there was a Jewish leader called Gamaliel. He was a hero because he stood up to his colleagues on the Sanhedrin, thereby effectively saving the lives of Peter and some of the other apostles.
Two weeks ago we had Stephen, and last week Philip the evangelist.
Today we come at last the apostle Paul, but I’m not going to nominate him a hero just yet, you’ll see why in a minute.
Let’s admit that it’s easy to have mixed feelings about Paul. As Saul of Tarsus, he really wasn’t a very nice guy, although one has to respect his commitment to what he believed.
The reason we find him hard to like, at this point in Acts, is his quest to stop the church in its tracks, to kill it stone-dead, and also that he was so ruthless and indiscriminate in the way that he went about it.
Interestingly, and conversely, his efforts backfired and actually caused the church to grow faster and faster. I mentioned that last week.
Then, one day, as we just heard, when he was travelling north, to Damascus, a 150-mile journey that takes over 7 hours by bus, 4½ hours if you fly some of the way, but 62 hours to walk. Realistically it would have taken Saul between 10 days and 2 weeks in that climate and on the roads as they were then. It is possible that he was riding a horse, but although the text doesn’t say so directly, it does rather imply that everyone was on foot.
He had asked permission from the High Priest to travel to Damascus, arrest more followers of Christ, and bring them back to Jerusalem. As we just heard, when he neared Damascus, he saw a bright light and Jesus spoke to him. Very soon thereafter, he spent some time with a man called Ananias and was baptized by him.
Actually, this Ananias, not to be confused with the one who died because he had lied to Peter, but this Ananias is absolutely our hero today.
Word travelled fast in those days.
They didn’t have social media, and maybe they were better off without it. They didn’t have email or smartphones with WhatsApp or Messenger, but nevertheless word got around, and as is so often the case, bad news got around faster than good news.
“Have you heard, that guy Saul, you know, the one who’s been breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples and locking them up for no reason, well he’s coming our way.”
If I had been Ananias, I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere within a mile of Saul. Think about it, would you?
But God had called to him, audibly I imagine, “Ananias” “Yes, Lord” recognising the voice instantly, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles, and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Now let’s put ourselves in Saul’s shoes. He must have been scared stiff too, but for different reasons.
Just imagine. You’re a Jewish leader of some note. You’ve acquired instructions, from the High Priest himself, to go and do your worst in Damascus, and you’ve got a bunch of soldiers to help you. You’re probably feeling pretty confident, pretty pleased with yourself, and pretty self-important.
Then suddenly there’s this blinding light, and a booming voice that all those around you hear too, if only as a noise. You fall to the ground in shock. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Not, why are you, but why do you persecute me?”. Not why do you persecute my people, but why do you persecute me?”. “ME” – JESUS – “ME”. What you do to my people you do to “ME”.
“Now get up,” Jesus said to him, gently but firmly I imagine, “and go into the city, and someone will tell you what to do next.”
I think I would be pretty shell shocked too. Picture the scene. He had been knocked to the ground and spoken to from heaven. When he got up, he couldn’t see anything or anyone, let alone find this address in Straight Street. He was totally dependent on those of whom he had been in charge, to help him and lead him by the hand to where he had to go, and find the man he had to find. Wow! The boot was really on the other foot now, and his entry into Damascus wasn’t going to be anything like what he had imagined.
How totally humiliating that must have been for big Mr Self-important.
He learnt a lot of lessons that day, and he had 3 whole days for them to soak in while he waited for our hero Ananias to turn up.
Interestingly, he fasted while he waited. It’s a small detail and easy to miss in all the drama, but it tells us a lot about the man, and about what was going on in his head.
God was a work, he knew it, and he wanted to be part of whatever it was. He’d been convinced that he’d been serving God the right way but now he was beginning to realise how wrong he had been, beginning to realise the implications of what he had been doing, both in the lives of those poor individuals and their families, but in the life of the church that Jesus was establishing.
But most importantly of all – he realised now that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah, and how privileged he was even to be alive at this moment in history, let alone be spoken to directly like that. After that day he would never be the same again.
If only we could hear some of his prayers - as he waited – and waited.
And now, finally, in comes today’s hero, Ananias. “Brother Saul” he calls him. More than anything at this moment Saul needed a friend, someone who could explain to him what was going on, and God provided just that.
Saul hadn’t been the only one praying. Ananias had too, and Jesus himself had been telling him that not only did he not have to fear Saul, but that he had become a brother to love and to help.
To conclude, then.
Before that amazing day, Saul knew all there was to know ABOUT God, and ABOUT the Jewish religion, but it wasn’t until that moment on the road, that he came to know God personally.
Most Christians can look back, and point to a moment when they realised, when they knew for themselves, not just because their parents or Sunday school teacher, or someone else, had told them, that they are a child of God, and have a personal relationship with a loving heavenly Father.
Few of us have had such a dramatic experience as Saul, but that doesn’t make your experience, or mine, any the less important, and less life changing. It’s the turning point. It’s the moment when ‘I’ cease to be the focal point of my universe, the moment when I give that honour to Jesus.
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