May 4, 2025
Pastor John Hering
Acts 9:1–20
Acts 9:1–20
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he might bring them to Jerusalem as prisoners.
3 As he went on his way and was approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?”
He replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you need to do.”
7 The men traveling with him stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone.
8 They raised Saul up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could not see anything. They took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. 9 For three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink.
10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 The Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. In fact, at this very moment he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he can regain his sight.”
13 Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man and how much harm he did to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. 16 Indeed, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Ananias left and entered the house. Laying his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw on your way here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. 20 Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
Everyone here has experienced a life changing event. Maybe it was traveling to a new country, volunteering, or falling in love. I was at someone’s house (the name will remain anonymous) and sat down, and as is their custom, they like to have a drink and a little snack out on the table. I saw the snack plate that had what I perceived to be broken up granola bars. The host said, “Go ahead and try it, I love them!” I took a little piece and popped it into my mouth. It kinda reminded me of those dry health bars some of you like. Well, it was a shock to me when I heard them say, “Have you ever tried dog food before?” I thought they were kidding. They weren’t!
There are things that you probably didn’t care for too much as a kid, but later on in life you learned how to cook them and even began to enjoy them. What comes to mind for you? Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, Greek Yogurt? But, over the years you tried it again and it tasted good and you see those veggies in a whole new light. This could be true for a person you didn’t use to get along with but later on had some interaction with them and now they are your best friend. Or maybe it was a sports player you didn’t care for, but later on joined your favorite sports team and now you cheer for them.
Having experiences like this probably aren’t life changing, but today we hear about a person who did have a life-changing experience when he met the living Savior. May the Holy Spirit use the Word of God before us today to
See The Resurrected Lord In A Whole New Light
Who Came For The Spiritually Blind
The Apostle Paul is famous for being the greatest missionary to the Gentiles and responsible for writing many of the New Testament letters to churches. But, Paul was not always on board with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He grew up and was educated with the Pharisees, was present and approved of the stoning of Stephen, and today we hear about his traveling to Damascus to arrest followers of Christ.
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he might bring them to Jerusalem as prisoners.”
Saul (who’s names was later changed to Paul) viewed his relationship with God as being self-righteous.
So, when the disciples were proclaiming peace with God through Jesus Christ, Saul fought against it thinking he was being zealous for the Lord God. Sadly, he was just blind to the truth that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promises of a Messiah. However, Jesus had plans for Saul.
“3 As he went on his way and was approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
First, notice that while Saul hated Jesus, Jesus loved Saul. Second, Jesus came to forgive Saul and even called him by name. We could answer Jesus’ question with a few possible answers because Saul didn’t. Maybe it was human reason. Maybe Saul was in love with the power he had as a Pharisee. Maybe he was just trying to catch more followers of Christ than the “other guy.” And while we can’t answer for Saul, you can answer for yourself. It would probably take you by surprise if Jesus showed up in a bright light on your way home today and asked, “Why are you persecuting me?” How would you answer? “What? I’m on the way home from church, what are you talking about?” Well, did you disobey God and sin? Why did you come to church today, because you had too? Why did you cheat God with your offerings, because you forgot that God wants offerings from the heart that are firstfruit, planned, proportional, generous and joyful offerings? Why did only 20% of our church show up for Bible Class today? Why didn’t you join Jesus on his mission and invite your neighbor to hear about Jesus today? Why does your uncertain future or challenges cover your eyes with worry and keep you from seeing Jesus? Why didn’t you like what I just said? Because just like me we are all too often spiritually blind to our habitual sins and cold to Jesus’ forgiveness! Our spiritual blindness leads to an eternal dead end.
There is no one better to open the eyes of spiritual blindness than Jesus. While he didn’t grab Saul by the neck and force him to believe, he did prove to him that he was the Savior who died and rose again.
“5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?”
He replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you need to do.” 7 The men traveling with him stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone. 8 They raised Saul up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could not see anything. They took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. 9 For three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink.”
How do you perceive the heart of Saul? For sure it was changed. The message about Jesus that he once couldn’t stand, that he tried to defeat, now became the message that changed his life.
That same message has changed your life, too. Notice I didn’t say the same bright light has changed your life. Bright lights, near misses, and over-the-top experiences don’t last very long and are soon forgotten. What lasts is God’s message. Jesus came to live for you, to suffer for you, to die for you, and rise again to show that what he came to do worked. The Message of Jesus brought you from Spiritual Blindness to Spiritual Life! It probably started with the message of the 10 Commandments and we learned how sinful we are and how much we need a Savior. Then you learned about the Apostle’s Creed that summarized the creation of the Father, the salvation of the Son and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. You were excited to hear that you can pray to Jesus without the aid of priest or mediator. You heard about the power of God’s Word, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And all along the way the Holy Spirit was guiding Spiritually Blind people like you and me to See The Resurrected Lord In A Whole New Light. You see Jesus! And just like Saul, Jesus calls you by name. He calls you to be his own, not through what you do, but through what he did for you. And just like Saul, when his spiritual eyes were opened both physically and spiritually, his life changed! His resurrected Lord inspired Paul to Bright Service!
Who Came To Inspire Bright Service
Saul now saw Jesus as the Savior of the world.
“10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 The Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. In fact, at this very moment he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he can regain his sight.”
13 Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man and how much harm he did to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. 16 Indeed, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Part of Saul’s miraculous conversion was the loss of his sight for three days. I’m sure during those three days he had plenty to think about. I wonder how many Old Testament prophesies rang in his ears as he considered the life of Jesus and the fulfillment of them all? Then God sent Ananias to connect all the dots.
“17 Ananias left and entered the house. Laying his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw on your way here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.”
Saul was Inspired By Jesus into Bright Service for Jesus. It certainly didn’t take him long to try out his new spiritual insights.
“Saul stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. 20 Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
What a shocking change! He went from prosecuting to proclaiming! Why? Because his eyes were opened to see Jesus and the need to share that good news. And the people that heard him were shocked as well!
“21 All who heard him were amazed and said, “Isn’t this the one who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? Didn’t he come here for this very purpose: to bring them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul continued to get stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.”
God does the same for you. He sent pastors and teachers all through your life to help you see Jesus. I hope you had parents that brought you to church. I hope you’ve had Christian friends who wanted you to learn about Jesus. When you see Jesus, you can see that you are special to him. You can see that you have a purpose in life. Now you get to love your Lord and share his love and message with the way you live and speak to others. I would love to hear that you confounded your relatives and neighbors because of the shocking way you were letting your gospel light shine! Rejoice that you See The Resurrected Lord In A Whole New Light Who Came To Inspire Bright Service.
If you ever get a chance to try some dog food, I probably wouldn’t if I was you. I don’t think it would be a life-changing experience. Most life changing experiences will fade away over time, whether traveling, volunteering, or falling in love. Your eyes may never be opened to the wonderful taste of brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus, but that’s okay because you don’t have to like those veggies to get into heaven. But, if you have the chance to learn more about Jesus, I would definitely take advantage of that. I pray that You See The Resurrected Lord In A Whole New Light not just today, but that he keeps you focused on him for the rest of your life here and into eternity! Amen.
