7. “And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?”
This is the second of three times, recorded in Acts, of the Lord’s voice from heaven calling to Saul. The first (ch. 9:4) is the actual occurrence and we read that “he fell to the earth.” Here, where Paul recounts the event before the Jews, he makes that occasion very personal I fell to the ground. The Lord graciously deals with each soul in a personal way.
8. “And I answered, Who art Thou, Lord? And He said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.”
Again, for the sake of his Jewish audience Paul mentions something that is not recorded in Acts 9 I am Jesus of Nazareth. The Lord of glory humbled Himself to one of the lowliest and least-valued places in Israel Nazareth in Galilee. Only faith, looking beyond earthly circumstances, could lay hold of His divinity and glory. What an arrow to the consciences of that Jewish crowd! May we always seek wisdom from the Lord to speak a “word in season” and specially suited to those to whom we speak.
9. “And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me.”
In Acts 9 we learn that those with Saul saw no man. But here we learn that they “saw indeed the light.” We also know from Acts 9 that those with Saul heard a voice but did not understand what was being spoken. What a solemn example of the Lord’s quotation from Isaiah regarding the unbelieving Jews: “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive” (Matt. 13:1414And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: (Matthew 13:14); Isa. 6:99And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (Isaiah 6:9)).
It is to faith and obedience only that spiritual sight and direction are given. Self-will and sins rob even believers of the joy of hearing the Lord’s words and seeing Him in the path of faith.
10. “And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.”
To a man who by faith sees the risen, glorified Christ, as Paul had seen Him in reality on the Damascus road, the only appropriate response is, “What shall I do, Lord?” The only will that counts for the believer is the will of Him who is presently “crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:99But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)). May each be found daily walking in His “good, and acceptable, and perfect, will” (Rom. 12:22And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)).
11. “And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.”
It was more than mere physical brilliancy which blinded Saul we learn here that it was the glory of that light which blinded him to the world. Oh! that we might walk through this “waste, howling wilderness” blinded to all but the glorious light of that blessed, risen Man in heaven our Lord Jesus Christ.
12. “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there.”
Those listening to the Apostle recount his experience could not morally fault those who were witnesses to his conversion. Ananias was one who had a “good report of all the Jews,” even though he was a believer in Jesus. May our manner of walk before the world bring a like good report even of those who oppose us. “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov. 16:77When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7)).
13. “Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.”
Ananias did not stand in front of the blinded, former enemy in an arrogant or superior spirit. He was a servant of the Lord Jesus, there bearing the dignity of the One who sent him. How beautiful are the Apostle’s words, “I looked up upon him.” If we maintain the dignity of our position as sons of God, our pathway will be morally above the level of this world. Those in need will not look up at us as being superior, but as being servants of the glorified Christ.
14. “And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth.”
Ananias’ words confirm the truth of Saul’s account of his Damascus experience. The Jews, whether they would hear or not, now have two witnesses that Jehovah of Israel was inseparably linked with Jesus of Nazareth indeed, the testimony is clear; they were one and the same. Let us never give up the divine, precious and vital truth as to the Person of Christ He is God, Jehovah of the Old Testament.
15. “For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.”
Paul was to be a witness of a circle of blessing much larger than the Jews all men. The testimony of a glorified Christ was to reach far beyond Jewish boundaries. Paul’s witness was based on what he saw and what he heard. To be effective witnesses for Christ we must, by faith, delight in viewing Him as well as hearing and obeying His words. “Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:7-87That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (1 Peter 1:7‑8)).
16. “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
Water baptism does not bring soul salvation. But this baptism did bring Saul, a Jew, into a position of administrative (earthly) forgiveness from the sins of which the Christ-rejecting nation of Israel was guilty.
17. “And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance.”
It was only when a Jew, now a new creation in Christ, prayed in the temple that what had, in Jewish unbelief, become “an house of merchandise” (John 2:1616And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. (John 2:16)) was morally, once again, a “house of prayer. ” May our lives be characterized by dependence on God.
18. “And saw Him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning Me.”
How it must have touched the beloved Apostle’s heart to utter these words “get thee quickly out... they will not receive thy testimony” and to utter them in the very place which the Lord had forbidden him to visit. Yet grace still triumphs, for Paul uses the Lord’s words (that he did not heed) as a solemn warning to those Jews for whom his heart so yearned. We often fail our blessed Lord, yet He is able to turn even our failures into a testimony to the truth. “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:2828And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)).
19. “And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on Thee.”
The beloved Apostle hides nothing of his past, shameful as he may have felt it to be. And it is here we have an example of the loving intimacy that exists between the Lord and one of His blood-bought own. Do we individually enjoy a like intimacy with Him?
Ed.