The Might of Mercy: Acts 9:1-19a - Third Sunday of Easter

Whenever I read about major historical figure or discover a favorite character in a book or movie, I often wonder, “what were they like as a child?”

Since today’s sermon text is about the Apostle Paul, I’m curious about his childhood. Thanks to the Scriptures, there are some insights.

Before his conversion, he went by the name Saul. He was born in Tarsus, a southern coastal city in modern-day Turkey.  

Sunlight by Allan Craige on flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes that He was circumcised on the eighth day, an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, raised according to the law of the Pharisees. 

The Pharisees were a faction within Judaism whose name literally means “the separate ones.” They were known for their strict adherence to the Torah and traditions of the elders. Not everyone could be a Pharisee; only those who were educated and took great care to keep themselves ritually pure were worthy of belonging.

Saul was the Pharisees’ golden boy, educated by the rabbi Gamaliel, a member of the Sanhedrin and one of the most respected teachers of Jewish Law in his day.

Scholars suggest that Saul was 5-15 years younger than Jesus, which makes me wonder if he was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover when Jesus was crucified. I’m curious what it was that made him despise Christians so much.

We first encounter Saul in the seventh chapter of Acts, as he presides over the stoning execution of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. From that point on, Saul was on a mission to destroy the Church, going from house to house to arrest men and women and put them in prison. When we get to Acts 9, Saul has written orders from the high priest in Jerusalem to go to the synagogues in Damascus, in order to arrest any men or women who belonged to “the Way,” as it was called, and extradite them to Jerusalem for trial, and ultimately, execution.

He’s riding proudly on his horse when he’s struck by lightning bolt, knocked off his horse, and blinded.

Amid the blindness and terror, Jesus appears to Saul and identifies himself as the one he is persecuting. He commands Saul to proceed to Damascus and await further instructions.

Meanwhile, the Lord called a disciple named Ananias to care for Saul when he arrives in town. Ananias naturally objects, as Saul’s reputation as a persecutor of the Church was well-known. But the Lord said to him that Saul is his chosen instrument to bring his name to the Gentiles.

Ananias goes to the house the Lord sends him, and there he finds Saul.

Imagine what it must have been like for Ananias to see Saul, lying there, helplessly. Ananias knew that Saul’s hands were bloodied by the sisters and brothers in Christ he had killed. I doubt any Christ-follower would’ve shed for his death. Ananias wouldn’t have had to do anything at all, and Saul would’ve gotten his comeuppance.

But Ananias showed him mercy. He laid hands on Saul, prayed for him, and he immediately regained his sight. He got up, was baptized, ate some food, and regained his strength.

Three miracles have just occurred here: the healing of Saul, the conversion of Saul, and the mercy of Ananias, without which the other miracles would not have occurred.

I can’t think of anyone less deserving of mercy than Saul, because he showed his victims no mercy at all. But understand that Saul was raised in a world without mercy. In Saul’s world, holiness was all that mattered. You were either holy or unholy. Holiness was divine; and unholiness was demonic and must be addressed swiftly and decisively.

If Saul were to ask a Pharisee why he was struck by lightning, the answer would be that God was punishing him for sin; for unholiness.

A world without mercy is a world ruled by judgment. The question “am I good enough?” hangs over you constantly. Sooner or later, someone much more powerful than you will to tell you that you’re not. Saul writes that he was blameless under the law. But that wasn’t enough. He had to kill Christians to prove that he was good enough. And don’t think that still would have been enough for the chief priests.

The time between when Jesus first appeared to Saul and Ananias laid hands on Saul must have been terrifying. Paul had no reason to believe that Jesus would be merciful to him. Paul had every reason to believe that he was about to be cast into hell. But God showed him mercy when Ananias showed him mercy. It’s that mercy that transformed him from a destroyer of the Church to a builder of the Church. It’s mercy that destroyed Saul the Pharisee, with Paul the Apostle arising in his body.

Just the same, it’s our words and deeds of mercy that are going to have the greatest transformative impact on people and on society.

A lot of Christians, unfortunately, don’t agree with that point. There are some who, seeing the moral decay of our society the widespread secularism, believe that we must take on the zeal of Saul the Pharisee to an unbelieving world.

But Saul was on a fool’s errand. He caused a lot of terror and bloodshed, but he couldn’t stop the Holy Spirit. If anything, his persecutions strengthened the Church. As Paul the Apostle, he will strengthen the Church even more Fortunately, his ministry with strengthen it even more when he proclaims a Gospel of mercy.

After all, it’s God’s mercy that saved you—because God refused to give you what you deserve for your sins. God wants to be known through his mercy. The cross is the revelation of God’s mercy. Mercy is character of God—and therefore ought to be the character of the Church.

We’re not here to out-holy each other. We’re not here to judge the world. Our mission isn’t to fight a culture war. Our mission is to be merciful. Mercy is the holiness of God. Mercy is what we are here to do; mercy is what we ought to be. Where there is mercy, the stage is set for transformation and resurrection, the likes of which will make the conversion of Paul pale in comparison.