God's Prisoner of War (Acts 9:1-19)
Introduction
God shows his grace in capturing an unlikely prisoner. Saul assumed that Christ was a failure. Saul’s goal is to do everything in his power to destroy Jesus. Saul sees Jesus as the failed liar who ended up on a cross.
Saul was breathing threats and murder. This makes explicit that he was consumed with destroying the church. He had received authority to travel to Damascus, find those who confessed Jesus Christ as the Messiah, bind them, and bring them back to Jerusalem.
Saul's entire identity and purpose were wrapped up in opposing Christ and destroying his people. He will not bow the knee to the self-proclaimed Messiah. Saul soon realizes that he is closer to Pharaoh than to Moses.
A Changed Plan
Saul’s plan is to stamp out the church. However, the Lord had another plan. The Lord is going to take the Pharaoh oppressor and turn him into an agent of revelation like Moses.
Before Saul ever arrived in Damascus, Christ met him on the road. Heavenly glory surrounded him, and Saul was helpless on his knees. Ironically, he bowed before the Lord he sought to destroy.
This is the reality of God's sovereign grace. Saul did not change his own heart. He did not decide one day that perhaps he had been wrong. Christ confronted Saul in such a way that a stubborn man is kneeling before him. The Lord has a way of disrupting our plans when our plans are contrary to his will. Christ captured Saul on the road to Damascus.
We are reminded that we are truly saved by the Lord’s grace. It is by the Lord’s power. We can kick against the goads, but the Lord always gets his man. Pharaoh may have rebelled, but eventually he released the Lord’s people.
An Intended Destination
Saul might have a letter from the high priest, but the true heavenly high priest has different orders for Saul. He is still bowed down before the Lord.
He hears a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Christ does not say, “Why are you persecuting Christians?” He says, “Why are you persecuting me?” Christ is identified with his people. He heard the groanings of his people in Egypt. So, he experiences the persecution of his people. Christ is present with his people, literally feeling their pain.
That should be a tremendous comfort to the church. We can sometimes think that Christ is far away. We see the struggles of the church. We experience suffering. We wonder whether the Lord sees what is happening to his people. Acts 9 reminds us that the Lord does not just see it, but he feels it. The church’s persecution is persecuting Christ.
Saul asks, “Who are you, lord?” As Saul recounts his kicking against the goads, this is probably not affirming that Christ is God. Rather, it is just Saul affirming that someone with a bright light has captured Saul’s attention.
And then Saul hears the words that overturn his entire world: “I am Jesus.”
The Jesus that Saul thought was a failure is very much the messiah. Stephen’s sermon was not fluff, but the substance of Isaiah’s servant songs. Stephen correctly understood the connections of Christ in scripture. Saul must come to grips that his whole identity is his own self-deception.
Saul is not putting down a deviant movement. No, Saul is the deviant movement that seeks to destroy the Lord’s work.
A New Commission
When Saul arrives at Damascus, he is no longer following the directive of the high priest’s letter. No, he is fasting. He realizes that these threats and murder were against Christ. He realizes that he has destroyed the very thing he is called to build.
Then the Lord sends Ananias. Ananias is resistant to his mission. He knows that Saul is not someone who casually disagrees. No, Saul is here to arrest, haul back to Jerusalem, and potentially kill if he can get away with it. So, we can understand why Ananias does not run out the door.
But Christ assures Ananias that the Lord has taken hold of Saul and Saul has a mission. His mission is to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, and even his own people. Saul is going to suffer on account of Christ. Saul will not only be the messenger, but he will be invested in this message.
Ananias enters and addresses him as “Brother Saul.” A man who had intended to drag believers away as prisoners is now welcomed into the fellowship of God's people. The Lord restores his sight. Saul is baptized. He receives strength. We see how the grace of the Gospel works.
And the Lord gives him a new commission. Yes, Saul will suffer for Christ. He will proclaim Christ. He will bring the gospel to Jews and Gentiles. The man who once sought to destroy the people of God will spend the rest of his life serving the people of God and proclaiming the Christ he once hated.
Ananias is not giving him an assignment to undo what he has done, but commissioning him. Saul will suffer like the other disciples. Only the grace of God can produce such a transformation.
Thus, the Lord captures his prisoner of war. Little did Saul realize that he was going to be more Moses than Pharaoh.
Conclusion
What, then, is the point of Saul's conversion?
It reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of Christ.
Saul was actively opposed to Christ. He had heard the preaching of Stephen. He had seen the testimony of the church. He had heard voices calling for restraint.
The Lord had been pricking and prodding Saul, as Saul recounts in Acts 26. However, Christ will break his people.
We may look at someone and think there is no way that person will ever come to Christ. We may see anger, hostility, rebellion, and hatred toward the gospel.
The wisdom of the world would never have chosen Saul to become an apostle. Ananias certainly would not have chosen him. The church probably would have considered him one of its greatest threats.
The Lord’s grace will overcome. Christ will prevail. The reality is that we may taste the suffering of this present age, but we are not a defeated people. Christ is in the midst of our suffering. He conquered death. He gives us life.
So let us not think that Christ is distant. Let us not think that his grace is weak. Let us not think that anyone is beyond his reach. Let us not limit God’s power.
May we draw near to our Savior as his redeemed people. Let us trust in his power. Let us not test the boundaries of his grace. Let us see the joy that the Lord has made the unworthy share as the worthy only in Christ. Let us see the sweetness of his grace, his mercy, and his complete redemption. Let the peace of God rule within us so the joy of the Lord exudes from us.