Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 8/5/01 Brad Brandt

Acts 9:1-19 "The Day Saul Saw the Light"**

Does the name Mel Trotter mean anything to you? I first heard of him while living in Grand Rapids, MI. There’s a mission named after him in the heart of the city. I didn’t realize the significance until reading his story this week:

"Mel Trotter was a barber by profession and a drunkard by perversion. So debauched had he become that when his young daughter died, he stole the shoes she was to be buried in and pawned them for money to buy more drinks. One night he staggered into the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago and was marvelously saved. Burdened for the men of skid row, he opened a rescue mission in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He went on to found more than sixty more missions and became supervisor of a chain of them stretching from Boston to San Francisco."

No one is too far gone for God. No one. God specializes at reaching down into the cesspool of sin and reconciling sinners to Himself. He knows how to rescue down-and-outers like Mel Trotter.

But there’s another type of sinner. Yes, there’s the down-and-outer. That’s the person who’s enslaved to his passions. But there’s also the up-and-outer. That’s the person who’s enslaved to his pride. This person may be very religious—and if he is he’s very proud of it. He refuses to admit his need for a Savior, because he refuses to see himself as a sinner. "Why do I need a Savior? I’m a good man!" So he thinks, but he’s blinded by his so-called "goodness."

Can God save up-and-outers, too? Indeed, He can save the down-and-outer and the up-and-outer. And not only can He, but He does.

Case in point. Saul of Tarsus. Saul, later to be known as Paul, was a Pharisee. He was a true up-and-outer. He had a noble family background (a Jew by birth), education (trained in the school of Rabbi Gamaliel), prestige (he was a Roman citizen), and connections (he had access to the high priest). He knew the Scriptures just about as well as anyone in his day. He had a passion to please God.

Yet he had a problem. It’s the same problem we all have from birth. He was spiritually blind. He thought he could reach God by his own efforts. He believed he was good enough to merit eternal life. In actually, he was blinded by his own, self-professed "goodness."

But that changed the day that Saul saw the light. Have you ever seen the light? That is, has the Lord ever opened your eyes to your blind condition and given you eyes to see the sufficiency of His Son?

This morning, we’re going to look at what is perhaps the most awesome testimony of salvation recorded in the Bible. In Acts 9:1-19, we see the dramatic conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Saul’s story is so important it’s repeated in Scripture no less than three times (in Acts 9, 22, and 26).

No one is too far gone for God to save. And no one is too good to need to be saved. The account shows how God took Saul through three phases, as He does with anyone who experiences genuine salvation.

The story begins with this backdrop in verses 1-2, "Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and 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."

The Church was about five or six years old. Though it started in Jerusalem, it scattered after Stephen’s martyrdom in Acts 8—an event endorsed by Saul of Tarsus. The believers went to Samaria, but the persecution continued as we see in chapter 9. The key instigator was Saul.

At this point in his life, Saul was a man who thought he could see, but in reality he was blind. Granted, he had physical sight, but nonetheless he was spiritually blind. We learn a couple of things about Saul from the first two verses.

A. He was zealous (1). He was a man on a mission. He took it upon himself to stop the spread of this fledgling movement called "The Way." This was no time for civility. This was warfare, and everything goes in warfare. "These followers of Jesus had their chance to stop this non-sense peaceably," Saul reasoned. "Since they refused to obey the Sanhedrin’s orders, I’ll silence them!"

One day Saul set out for Damascus. There was a large Jewish population in the city. In A.D. 66 between ten and twenty thousand Jews were massacred there, according to Josephus. It’s been said that Damascus could well have had thirty to forty synagogues at the time. The trip from Jerusalem to Damascus covered about 140 miles. On foot it would take about a week.

The trip would be worth it to Saul, such was his zeal.

B. He was religious (2). How do we know that?

1. He had connections. We’re told he went to the high priest, one of the most powerful men in Israel in his day. The high priest was probably Caiaphas, who held the post from 18-36 A.D. Remember, Caiaphas was no friend of Jesus, and it’s not surprising he was more than willing to authorize search warrants and the arrest of Jesus’ followers.

Stop there. It’s amazing what people will do in the name of religion. Here we see the man anointed by God to be the representative of His people—the high priest—and another man who’s had the best theological training available—Saul—and what are they doing? They’re using force to affect people’s beliefs.

That’s nothing new. Even people calling themselves "Christians" have done it since Constantine made Christianity the official language of the Roman Empire in the fifth century. Remember the Crusades that followed?

We can’t force people to believe a certain way. Nor should we. We don’t have to. Our God-given task is to proclaim the truth about Christ, knowing the Spirit of God will take that truth, penetrate hearts, and transform sinners from the inside out.

But Saul wasn’t interested in transforming sinners. His goal was to protect a religious system. And he had connections all the way to the top.

2. He was sure God was pleased with him. First century Judaism was a works-based religious system. If you wanted to reach God, you had to do the right things. If you did the right things, God would accept you. It was a performance-oriented approach to God.

And Saul poured his life into attaining the right performance. He later shared his perspective (Phil 3:5-6): "If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless."

That was Saul in phase #1. He was just sure he was okay with God. In simple terms, he thought he could see.

What can you do to convince a self-righteous legalist that he’s wrong? The answer is, you can’t convince him. When a person is blind, you can give him more light, but he still won’t see it. He’s blind! No, you can’t change the mind of a legalist.

But God can! And that’s exactly what He did with Saul in phase #2. The Lord did two things with this zealous Pharisee in verses 7-9.

A. The Lord brought him to his knees (3-6). Here’s how it happened: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 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."

I read about one "scholar" who tried to explain the vision by saying Saul had epilepsy. If that’s true, what about Saul’s traveling companions? Verse 7 indicates they heard the sound, too!

In a later testimony (Acts 26:14) Saul—then Paul—says he heard the voice in his Aramaic mother-tongue. And what he heard shook him to the core. He made two staggering discoveries that day.

1. He discovered he’d been wrong about Jesus. Watch closely what happened. He was almost to Damascus. His adrenaline was flowing with the soon prospect of rounding up those pesty followers of Jesus.

All of a sudden a blinding, mid-day light drove him to the ground. And then a voice pierced his soul, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" he replied. He doesn’t know the source of the sound. "Who are you, Sir?" is the sense of the question, for at this point Saul certainly has no idea who’s talking to him.

The next words hit him like a ton of bricks. "I am Jesus."

Wait a minute. You can’t be Jesus! Jesus died five years ago on a Roman Cross. Jesus was buried in a tomb. Jesus’ body was stolen by his deluded disciples, and I’ve been trying to silence them since. You can’t be Jesus! If You are Jesus that means I’ve been…wrong all this time.

It’s tough to admit when you’ve been wrong, isn’t it? But it’s pretty hard to deny you’re wrong when the evidence is staring you in the face—or in this case, talking to you!

The eye-opening was just beginning for Saul. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Notice how Jesus identifies with His people. To attack the followers of Jesus is to attack Jesus Himself. Jesus owns us (1 Cor 6:19). Jesus is with us (Matt 28:20). Jesus lives in and through us (Gal 2:20).

Saul’s head was spinning at this point. Until now his whole life revolved around getting rid of the teaching of Jesus, whom he considered a farce. It never dawned on him that he was the farce. He was sure he was doing the will of God. Until this very moment when God brought him to his knees and he discovered he’d been wrong about Jesus.

Later, when Paul shared his testimony before King Agrippa, he said he heard Jesus make this statement, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads (Acts 26:14)."—a sentence included in the KJV of Acts 8, but not in the oldest Greek manuscripts.

Saul was confronted with a second, painful reality that day. Not only had he been wrong about Jesus, but…

2. He discovered he’d been wrong about himself. It’s ironic that the last person to have seen the risen, glorified Jesus, as recorded in Acts, was Stephen just before he died. And who was there giving consent to Stephen’s execution? Saul was. And now it’s his turn to see the very one he denied.

Remember, Saul is a very educated man. He’s a powerful man with connections, even religious connections. But he didn’t know the answer to life’s most basic question. Who are you, Lord? he asked. He didn’t know the Lord. Do you know Him?

"Get up and go to the city, and you will be told what you must do." Saul’s been used to calling the shots and giving orders. Now he’s learning a fundamental truth about true religion. The Lord calls the shots. And from this point on that’s the way it will be in Saul’s life. He will do whatever the Lord asks him to do. It started the day the Lord brought him to his knees.

B. The Lord brought him to his senses (7-9). "The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything."
To bring Saul to his senses, the Lord took some things away from him. Saul lost three things that day.

1. He lost his sight. When the light left and he got up from the ground, Saul squinted and tried to focus. But he saw nothing. The man who was so sure of himself, so sure he could see, was now experiencing the condition of his soul. He was blind. His sight was gone.

2. He lost his pride. The text says, "They led him by hand." Until now this man has been used to getting what he wants. He’s made things happen. But no longer. God stripped him of his self-sufficiency, and took away his cause for pride.

3. He lost his appetite. He didn’t eat or drink anything for three days.

I’ve pondered the question: Why did God make Saul wait in darkness for three days? Three days without food and water in the arid climate of the Middle East—he could have died. And in fact, that’s what needed to happen. Not physically, but spiritually.

In those three days, God brought Saul to the end of himself, and indeed, brought him to his senses. I’m sure that as Saul sat in darkness, his brilliant mind rehearsed the Scriptures he had memorized. He went over Old Testament text and text, looking for the Messiah. "What have I done? What have I missed?"

Know this. The way up is the way down. In order to see, you must acknowledge that you are blind. Saul had to lost his sight so he could truly see himself for the first time in his life. To gain God’s salvation, you must first lose something. Your pride.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit," Jesus said. "The proud will not inherit the kingdom of heaven."

Perhaps you’re wondering, "Why didn’t Jesus stop Saul sooner? Why did He let him participate in the killing of Stephen and others? Why did He allow him to cause havoc against the Jerusalem church?" The fact is, we don’t know why. We’re not told. We do know it wasn’t because the Lord couldn’t stop Saul earlier than this. When Jesus asked Saul, "Why are you persecuting Me?" it’s not the why of a frustrated parent who doesn’t know how to bring his child under control. It’s the penetrating why of the Sovereign Lord. The Lord allowed Saul to do what he did. In fact, the Lord even used Saul’s persecution to cause the gospel to spread to new territory in Samaria. But in His time, the Lord stopped Saul in his tracks, and said, "Enough is enough."

Now phase #3. First, Saul thought he could see. Then Saul realized he couldn’t see.

At this point, the Lord recruited a man named Ananias for the Saul-project. God gave this unsung hero three things.

A. God gave Ananias a message (10-12). "In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. ¹¹ The 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. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

The message was twofold.

1. He told him what to do. The instructions were simple. Go to Judas’ house. It’s located on Straight Street (which is the main east-west road in Damascus). Ask for Saul. Place your hands on him and restore his sight.

2. He told him what Saul was doing. He’s praying.

That’s interesting. It tells us what’s happening to Saul’s soul during these three days of darkness. John MacArthur comments, "Prayer is the spontaneous response of the believing heart to God. Those truly transformed by Jesus Christ find themselves lost in the wonder and joy of communion with Him. Prayer is as natural for the Christian as breathing."

God also told Ananias that Saul would be waiting for him. "I gave Saul a vision. I even told him your name. He’ll be ready for you."

B. God gave Ananias a mission (13-16). Notice Ananias’ response to the Lord’s message, "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

In other words, "Lord, do we have our wires crossed up? I’ve heard about this fellow Saul. He’s a mean character. I’ve heard he’s come to our town to cause trouble." Which is another way of saying, "Lord, I don’t know where You’ve been lately, but everybody knows this guy is dangerous!"

Isn’t that what we often do with God? We treat Him like He doesn’t know what’s going on in our lives, like we know better than He does what’s best.

Watch God’s response to the objection in verses 15-16. He made it clear He had made two sovereign choices.

1. He chose Ananias to go to Saul. "But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go!" I didn’t ask you for a character reference on Saul. I know better than you do what he’s like. I just want you to go. Go, fulfill the mission I’ve given you, Ananias.

2. He chose Saul to go to the world. "This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

The Lord told Ananias His plan for Saul. He’s a chosen instrument. I’m going to use him to proclaim my name to the world, to Gentiles and Jew, to nobility and common people alike. And the one who has caused my people great suffering will himself suffer much for my name.

I don’t know an account in Scripture that better illustrates the sovereignty of God in saving sinners. God always initiates the work of salvation. Always.

Saul wasn’t seeking the Lord. The Lord sought him. Saul didn’t volunteer for the Lord’s service. The Lord said, "This man is my chosen instrument."

Please don’t water down those words. Saul didn’t initiate what happened in Acts 9. He wasn’t looking for Jesus—just the opposite. He was running away from the Lord with as much zeal as he could muster. Yes, he did it of his own free will—he was no puppet.

Then the Lord broke into his life. Know this. God didn’t chose Saul because He knew Saul would choose Him. No. God broke into the life of a rebel running away from Him as fast as he could. God humbled him, and then gave him a new heart. And by the time God is done working with him, Saul will gladly surrender his life to the Lord.

On what basis did God chose Paul? Paul himself addressed that question in 1 Timothy 1:13-14, and said the answer is grace:

"Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴ The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."

What about us? On what basis did God choose to save us? It’s the same answer—grace. Listen to Paul again, this time in 2 Timothy 1:9, "Who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time."

Yes, God is seeking people today. He’s not merely looking for candidates for salvation. He’s seeking a people He chose to save from eternity past. He calls them "the elect" in His Word (Rom 8:33; 2 Tim 2:10; 1 Pet 1:1). God alone knows who the elect are—we don’t. Our job is to preach the gospel to everyone, and to call everyone to repent and believe in Christ. We can know that everyone who repents and believes in Christ will be saved. And we can preach with confidence, knowing that God will bring to Himself the people He has chosen. Just like He did Saul of Tarsus.

Beloved, the Lord’s call is not based on the wishes of men, but on the sovereign will of God. That way God receives all the glory. Christ is always the initiator. He sought Saul, and He’s still seeking sinners today. Perhaps that’s why Francis Thompson referred to Him as "The Hound of Heaven."

Francis Thompson’s story is representative of many, maybe yours. In his early years he met one dead end after another. He studied for the priesthood, but dropped out. He tried medicine, but again didn’t cut it. He signed up for the military, but was let go after one day. He became addicted to opium, but God never gave up on him. Later Thompson shared his story in the now famous poem, The Hound of Heaven:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

C. God gave Ananias a ministry (17-19). "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." ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength."

Ananias’ ministry was twofold.

1. He welcomed Saul into the family (17). "Brother Saul," he said. Notice Ananias didn’t hold Saul at arm’s length. He brought him near.

No matter what your past, if you are a believer in Christ, you are my brother. Nothing should be between us. Ananias had the privilege of being Saul’s first friend after his conversion.

It’s been well said that Ananias is one of the unsung heroes of the Christian faith. We never hear of him again, but the Church is eternally indebted to his obedience. Never underestimate the importance of one small act of obedience.

On April 21, 1855, Edward Kimball led one of his Sunday School boys to faith in Christ. You say, "I’ve never heard of Edward Kimball." Maybe not. But you’ve probably heard of that boy. His name was D. L. Moody, one of the greatest evangelists the world has ever seen.

2. He witnessed Saul’s transformation (18-19). Dr. Luke says that something like "scales" fell from his eyes. That’s quite symbolic of what happened to his once-calloused, spiritual eyes, too.

It’s amazing to watch the Holy Spirit work. Take a close look at what He did in Saul’s life—Ananias saw it firsthand. The Spirit convicted him of sin, opened his eyes to the Lordship of Jesus, converted him, and then placed him in God’s family. Beyond that, He filled him, thus preparing him for a unique ministry to follow.

And what did Saul do in response? He was baptized. Jesus commanded baptism (Matt 28:20). The early church practiced baptism. There is no such thing as a non-baptized Christian in the book of Acts. If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, don’t be ashamed. Make it public through baptism. Let the world know.

There’s a true story about two men who lived in the eighteenth century, two Englishmen by the names of Lord Lyttleton and Gilbert West. In their youth both men were unbelievers, in fact, staunch unbelievers. Both men happened to be lawyers with keen minds. And both men thought they had good reasons for rejecting Christianity. James Boice tells what happened next:

"One day in a conversation one of them said, ‘Christianity stands upon a very unstable foundation. There are only two things that actually support it: the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and the alleged conversion of Saul of Tarsus. If we can disprove these stories, which should be rather easy to do, Christianity will collapse like a house of cards.’

"Gilbert West said, ‘All right, then. I’ll write a book on the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ and disprove it.’

"Lord Lyttleton said, ‘If you write a book on the resurrection, I’ll write on the alleged appearance of Jesus to the apostle Paul. You show why Jesus could not possibly have been raised from the dead, and I’ll show that the apostle Paul could not have been converted as the Bible says he was—by a voice from heaven on the road to Damascus.’

"So they went off to write their books. Sometime later they met again, and one of them said to the other, ‘I’m afraid I have a confession to make. I have been looking into the evidence for this story, and I have begun to think that maybe there is something to it after all.’ The other said, ‘The same thing has happened to me. But let’s keep on investigating these stories and see where we come out.’

"In the end, after they had done their investigations and had written their books, each had come out on exactly the opposite side he had been on when he began his investigation. Gilbert West had written The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, arguing that it is a fact of history. And Lord Lyttleton had written The Conversion of St. Paul."

Be honest with yourself. Have you seen the light on the Damascus road? No, I don’t mean a literal road. And I don’t mean a literal light. But I do have in mind something very literal. Has there been a time in your life when Jesus Christ intersected your path, entered your life, and transformed you?

One of the most amazing statements in Scripture is the testimony of the man to whom Jesus gave sight in John 9, "Once I was blind, but now I can see (25)." That can be your testimony, too. Perhaps you’re wondering how…

If you are a Christian, this is what happened in your life. If you are not, this is what you must do. You must do the same three things that Saul did in Acts 9.

1. You must admit the truth about your blindness. We enter the world with the disease of spiritual blindness. We cannot see God, and are cut off from Him. We try to reach him on our own strength, but to no avail. We cannot reach Him. We cannot find Him. We are blind.

2. You must admit the truth about Jesus. The truth is, God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He sent His Son to find us. He gave His life on the Cross to pay our penalty for sin. He rose again. He alone is the way to God.

Have you admitted the truth about Jesus? Repent and believe in Him—and you will see the light! There is no other way.

3. You must be willing to leave the darkness and walk in the light. You do not become a Christian by changing yourself. True. But to become a Christian, you must be willing to be changed. Like Saul was. Are you willing to leave the darkness and walk in the light?

Acts  Sermon Series