Occasionally as we read through the historical narratives of
the Bible we come across a person who enters the story for just a brief
mention, then is never heard of again in Scripture. Some of these are figures
of far more importance to redemptive history than their short notice indicates.
One of these is found in Acts 9, right in the middle of the narrative of Saul’s
conversion.
Ananias was a follower of Jesus who lived in Damascus. Later
church tradition counts him as one of the 72 disciples Jesus sent out during
His ministry, but the Bible tells us nothing of his background. We don’t even
know if he was in Damascus due to the dispersion of the church due to
persecution or whether he had already been a resident of the city, who had
perhaps visited Jerusalem around Pentecost. What the Bible does tell us, in
Paul’s later retelling of his conversion in Acts 22, is that Ananias was “a devout
man according to the law, well spoken of by the Jews who lived there” (verse
12).
Jesus appeared to Ananias in a vision; this one was less
dramatic than Saul’s, perhaps because Ananias was prepared to listen to his
Lord. Jesus’ instructions are straightforward, but Ananias pauses when he hears
them. While he may never have seen Saul personally, he certainly has heard a
lot about him, even understanding that Saul could have him arrested and brought
back to Jerusalem. Ananias may not have been balking at his assignment, but
trying to make sure he was hearing correctly. Jesus was sending him to the
church’s chief adversary? And he was supposed to perform a miraculous healing
on that man? I think it safe to say no one else in the history of the church has
been given a mission like that!
Jesus not only confirmed His call, He added a message that
Ananias would pass on to Saul (see Acts 22:14-16). Saul, the devout Jew and
rabbinic scholar, was to become the Lord’s choice to take His gospel to the
Gentiles. In addition, Jesus added that Saul, who had caused so much suffering
to the church, would himself suffer much for the sake of the Lord.
Ananias went and fulfilled his divine commission. He went to
the place Saul was staying and found him fasting, probably along with prayer.
Ananias announced the Lord’s message and laid his hands on Saul, which restored
his sight. While we aren’t told details of Saul’s response, he apparently was
immediately baptized, even before he broke his fast. Ananias was convinced that
Saul was a genuine believer and follower of Jesus.
While God is in control of all of history, and our human
efforts cannot thwart His will, it is interesting to think about what the short
mission of Ananias to Saul, who later became known as Paul, meant to the
history of the church. Sixteen of the 27 books of the New Testament owe their
writing to Paul: his own 13 epistles, plus three book penned by writers
influenced by Paul (Hebrews, Luke, and Acts). A large number of churches were
directly planted by Paul, and others were strengthened by his ministry among
them. Paul’s writings changed the lives of many later Christians who became
powerful influences for Christ in their own times and beyond. Paul is viewed as
perhaps the Christian with the greatest influence of anyone after Jesus Himself,
yet it was Ananias who brought Paul the gospel message he needed to hear and
who helped him understand the changes Jesus would bring to his life.
Sometimes when we look at the great figures of the Bible, we
can be overwhelmed. Even though we understand that all of those heroes had
their weaknesses (even Paul), we look at their powerful influence and wonder
how we could ever be like them. When we think like this, we need to remember
that we are not all called to be Pauls. For many of us, our call is more like
that to Ananias: listen to Jesus, then go and minister in His name where we are
placed. No matter what you are called to do by Christ, you can have a profound
influence on the world through your faithful obedience.
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