Acts 22:12-16 (NIV)
“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
“Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
Everything that Paul said about Ananias was true. He was a Jewish believer who was fully observant of the law, although he no longer depended on it to save him. He had an impeccable character, and that character and integrity had won him the respect of the Jews living in Damascus. The main point Paul was making, aside from the simple, truthful recitation of the facts, was that being a Jewish believer in Jesus did not equate to turning away from or teaching against the law.
Ananias had been empowered to restore Paul’s sight, an impressive miracle. But it was his instruction to Paul that caused them to really be amazed.
- Ananias, the upright and law-abiding Jew, called Jesus “the Righteous One,” as opposed to the Jewish leaders who called Him a sinner and a heretic.
- The vision of Jesus was ordered by “the God of our fathers,” the true God of Israel, which was unthinkable if Jesus was really a wicked or lawless man.
- Paul’s commission, directly from God Himself, was to be a witness for Jesus of all that he had seen and heard from Him.
- And finally, Paul was to be baptized and forgiven of his sins by calling on the name of Jesus.
If all this were true, it would reasonably explain the transformation of Saul the Pharisee into Paul, the firebrand preacher of the gospel. But if it was true, it would also mean that the people in the crowd had been dead wrong, both about Jesus and about what Paul was doing. The crowd grew even more silent and thoughtful as they considered all this.
Father, it is difficult when we are suddenly confronted with hard realities that contradict our closely held beliefs and threaten to upend our worldview. But facts are facts, and Paul’s calm, matter-of-fact delivery showed clearly that he was not trying to mislead the people or trying to excuse himself in their eyes. Lord, when I tell my story, help me to do so with the same integrity and conviction as Paul was demonstrating here, so that my listeners can really know that they are hearing the truth. Amen.
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