Falling into Grace: The Conversion of Paul - Acts 9:1-20 -- Third Sunday after Easter

¹Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" ⁵He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." ⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." ¹¹The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, ¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." ¹³But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; ¹⁴and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." ¹⁵But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; ¹⁶I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." ¹⁷So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus.

Koenig, Peter. Conversion of St Paul, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

In today’s reading from Acts, we’re introduced to a disciple of Jesus whom I would consider to be among the unsung heroes of the faith. Not since the prophet Jonah had anyone been sent to do something as risky and outrageous and as Ananias of Damascus. 

A prominent member of the religious establishment by the name Saul of Tarsus has just presided over the execution of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. And now, he has letters from the high priest, authorizing him to arrest anyone who professed faith in Jesus, and bring them to Jerusalem, where they will be put on trial before the same ruling council that condemned Jesus.

Just before Saul entered the city, Jesus struck him blind—and declared that he was the one Saul was persecuting. Afterwards, Jesus commands Ananias to go to the house where Saul was staying. He is to lay hands upon him and restore his sight—because Jesus has chosen Saul to proclaim his name to the nations.

But what could Jesus possibly want with a killer like Saul? Why does he drag Ananias into this?

Ananias knows that Saul was a dangerous man—and likely realizes that he and his fellow disciples were much safer with Saul immobilized.

It’s difficult enough to love your enemies and pray for your persecutors. But to risk restoring your persecutor to persecuting? That’s a big leap of faith! Unlike Jonah, he doesn’t run away only to end up in the belly of a whale…

But now that Jesus is risen from the dead and the Holy Spirit has fallen upon the Body of Christ, the rules have changed. What was once impossible and unthinkable is now happening. Saul the persecutor was crucified with Christ. When Ananias lays hands upon Saul, a new man arises with Christ: Paul the Apostle. The person Jesus sent to restore his sight is a disciple he was going to kill. 

Ananias, for his part, will witness the risen Christ transforming his chief persecutor into one of his most influential voices. Entire nations and generations will come to faith in Christ because Ananias trusted Jesus and obeyed. 

Even though Paul wastes no time living out his new identity and new purpose, he cannot hide who he was and what he’d done. And he doesn’t try to. Paul knows he was a killer. He confesses to being “the chief of sinners.” (1 Tim 1:5 KJV)

What makes Paul such an effective evangelist is that none of the people he preaches to has ever needed God’s mercy as much as he does. He is a living, breathing embodiment of the transforming power of the risen Christ. He is living proof that God’s grace has no limitations.

And last, but certainly not least, Paul will bear the very same chains of the disciples he once persecuted. And he rejoices to be able to participate in the sufferings of Christ and his people. He embraces persecution and imprisonment and even death so that his life can glorify his Savior. 

If Christ can turn a violent, murderous persecutor into a passionate apostle, one can only imagine then what he can do in your life—and the lives of others. 

Far too many of us are worshiping a God that’s much too small. We see so much chaos and give up on hope. We see so much evil and give up on love. We see our wounds, our shortcomings, and our failures—and we give up on ourselves. 

Jesus is risen, and we must stop limiting God. We must open ourselves up to the new possibilities to live as children of a new creation. 

We are blessed that there aren’t people like Saul of Tarsus breaking down our doors and dragging us away for our faith in Christ. That is not the case in many other parts of the world right now. If there is anything that is threatening your growth in grace or our effectiveness as a church to reach new generations, it is our lack of trust in his promises—and personal ambitions and the lure of wealth that pull us away. 

If we are unwilling to take risks, make sacrifices, and dare to hold Jesus to his word—what good is the risen Jesus to us?

Even though the War in Ukraine rages on, violence plagues our streets, the economy is in turmoil and children hunger for bread, we do not lose heart. In these desperate and often hopeless situations, the risen Jesus shows up, and so must we. Because Jesus is risen, and present impossibilities are becoming new possibilities. Because Jesus is risen, it is never a lost cause to feed the hungry, seek reconciliation, share your faith, or pray. 

Because Jesus is risen, no one is beyond redemption. When you pray for someone, even if that person is your enemy, God’s answer may be to send you to them, awakening them to the gift of new life. That single seed of faith and lovingkindness you sow in that person may be all that it takes to drastically transform that person’s life. Nothing is impossible with God.

Jesus is risen. We are changed people changing the world. If Jesus can turn a persecutor into an apostle, just imagine what he can do with you and with us.