ACTS 9:4

Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Concerning this great event, the Bible says in Acts 9:4-6, “And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

Saul of Tarsus had used a tremendous amount of energy and effort to go after the believers and cause them great sorrows and persecutions. But Saul was doing more than fighting against believers: he was also fighting against Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus said to him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Anyone who is against spiritual truth, is against Christ. That is why the Bible says that there are many antichrists. An antichrist is someone who is against Christ. Of course, such a person has chosen a very difficult road for themselves. Man was created to know and to serve the one true God. Anyone who fights against the truth fights against themselves and fights a hard battle and condemns themselves to a hard life, not to speak of their eternal destiny. And so Jesus said to Saul, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

Why did Jesus appear to Saul of Tarsus here at this spot and at this time on the road to Damascus? Probably because Jesus knew that Saul was ready. If anyone ever gets saved, it is only because Jesus comes to them and speaks to them and knocks on the door of their heart in some very real and meaningful way. But before that happens, the person’s heart must be prepared. Often the person must be shown that going their own way according to their own will was a big mistake. Their hearts must be prepared in advance. The Holy Spirit leads people to Christ, and no one gets saved unless God is speaking to their heart.

There are two things that show us immediately that Saul of Tarsus was saved right here in this incident on the road to Damascus. Of course, later there is the evidence of his changed life; but right now notice these two things. Saul said to Jesus in Acts 9:6, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Saul called Jesus Lord. No man can call Jesus Lord, and mean it, unless that man truly believes. Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Saul called Jesus Lord, and Saul also said, “What wilt thou have me to do?” Everyone who gets saved always has this attitude at least when they are first saved. When you get saved, you are turning away from your own selfish sins, and you are turning towards the Lord. Your desire at that point in your life is to do His will, and not your own will. Of course, later on in the Christian life you will learn that one of your worst enemies is your own selfish will, and unless you are on your guard each day, your own self-will shall cause you to go astray. Evidently Paul learned that lesson because he said later in First Corinthians 15:31, “I die daily.” Jesus told His disciples early on that they would have to die in this way if they were going to serve Him in this world and bear fruit. Jesus said in John 12:24, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it, bringeth forth much fruit.” You may think that you have died to your self-will and tomorrow it may show itself in a way that you did not expect or recognize until the damage was done. Learn to die to your self-will or you will be like all the other humans who go on their empty and fruitless way because they could not say consistently enough what Paul said: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

The Bible says in Acts 9:7-9, “And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man; but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.” When Paul made his journey to Damascus, there were several other men who journeyed with him. They knew that something was happening, but they did not know that it was the Christ nor did they know what the Christ was saying. Only Paul knew. It is amazing how the great God is: He works with the souls of the world one at a time. He works in our hearts individually and personally.

Another thing we see here is that after Paul saw Christ, and believed on Christ, and surrendered to Christ; Paul was still blind. In other words he still had some things to learn. Yes, it is wonderful to be saved, and yes, it is the most important thing in the world. But what God wants you to know does not stop with salvation. God wants you to grow as a Christian. God wants you to learn many other things so that you can become more like Christ and so that you can become useful in the service of the Lord. That is what the Bible is talking about in Hebrews 6:1. It says, “Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” You will spend an eternity learning about the infinite God. Do not think that salvation is all there is. Salvation in Christ is wonderful, but there are many other wonderful things that God wishes to add to your understanding.

In order to continue the work that Jesus started in the heart and life of Paul, the Lord used another believer, named Ananias. It says in Acts 9:10-16, “And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth. And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

We can see right away why the Lord chose Ananias for this task. As soon as the Lord called him, Ananias said, “Behold, I am here, Lord.” One of the things noticeable about what the Lord wanted Ananias to do was that Ananias initially thought it was a bad idea. Is it a good idea to just walk right into the house of someone who has the obvious goal to put you in prison and who has the authority to do so, even unjustly? Normally in the Christian life you want to do the thing that makes sense, and this just did not make sense to Ananias. But the final decision about a matter must always be made on one basis: is it the will of the Lord or not. Once in a while God will ask us to do the thing that does not make sense to us.

Ananias was looking at what Saul had been doing up to that point. Everyone knew the horrible things that Saul had done to Christians. But when God looks at you, He sees more than what you are: He sees what you can be, and what you will be if you follow Him. God sees your potential and wants you to realize that potential. When a child is born into the world, a loving parent looks at the child and knows that if they are the best parent they can be, then just maybe they will play a part in seeing that child some day reach for their potential. If only we could look at other people no matter what is their age and see in them the potential of a servant of God.

Of course, God knows what each of us can become. After all, He designed each of us for a specific purpose and gave us life. One of the challenges of life will always be to become what you were meant to become: to fulfill your potential. If we meet Christ and learn the things we are supposed to learn from Him, we can fulfill that purpose. The purpose that God had for Paul as the great missionary and evangelist and teacher and witness is given in Acts 9:15 where Jesus said about Paul, “he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.” Of course, we all know that Paul went on to do all these things that the Lord had chosen Paul for. These things were the will of God for the life of Paul.

But not everyone is called to do the things that Paul was called to do. Each of us has our own unique calling, and each calling is important. It is all a part of God’s plan and God’s work. Not everyone will appear before kings the way that Paul did, or travel from country to country and open new frontiers with the gospel. For example, Ananias right here in Acts chapter nine had a relatively small part, and yet a very important part in helping Paul stay on the right track after he was saved. The great pastors and preachers and evangelists of the world become well-known because of the nature of the work that they are called to do, but somewhere back in their lives individual Christians undoubtedly God had sent their way to help them come to Christ or to help get them grounded in sound doctrine or to teach them the importance of expository preaching or the like. Often these Christians remain unknown to the world and their words and their works went unnoticed, but the part that they played was extremely important in the grand scheme of things and in the plan of God. First Timothy 5:24-25 says, “Some men’s sins are opened beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.” Some tremendous things will be revealed at the judgment. We all pretty much know how greatly the Apostle Paul will be rewarded, and we are viewing here in Acts chapter nine the beginning of that journey of Paul’s that would result in such great rewards. There will be others who will be just as greatly rewarded, not because they accomplished the same kinds of things that Paul accomplished, but because they did the will of God for them.

Paul had experienced salvation, but before he could start his service to Christ, there were some things that Paul needed to experience and some things that he needed to learn. The Bible says in Acts 9:17-19, “And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales; and he received sight right away, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.”

Once again we notice that the baptism of Paul took place several days after his conversion experience. But the most important thing to notice here is the fact that the first thing that happened to Paul after he was saved and before he started his great ministry was being filled with the Spirit. The significance of this is to show clearly that Paul or any other believer can only do their service to the Lord by the power of the Spirit. Before Paul was saved, he did all of his works by the power of the flesh. He would not be able to serve Christ that way.

By the works of the flesh no man is justified before God. That refers to human effort without divine inspiration. When we are saved, we are given the Spirit for many reasons, and one reason is so that we will be equipped to serve the Lord fruitfully. We have the leading of the Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, and the power of the Spirit. The Spirit comforts us. The Spirit enlightens us. The Spirit reveals to us the love of Christ. Without the Spirit we cannot serve God, but with the filling of the Spirit we can do anything in the will of God. It is no wonder that Paul did the things that he did. He started with the filling of the Spirit, and no doubt Paul continued to rely on the filling of the Spirit throughout his ministry. Paul wrote to other believers in Ephesians 5:18 and said, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

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