Acts 9:1-19 | God Can Save Anyone. Anyone!Sample

Acts begins with Jesus saying: You will be my witnesses. Jesus confronts Paul, but it’s through the witness of a disciple named Ananias that he fully comes to faith.

It wasn’t just Saul who saw Jesus. The Lord appeared to Ananias, too. His instructions are very specific: “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight” (Acts 9:11-12).

This was a tough ask of Ananias. He knew Saul’s reputation. He knew what Saul was coming to do. He knew what was at stake. But Ananias obeyed. He went and met Saul, and note the kindness in his warm greeting: “Brother, Saul.” Here he witnesses to him, lays hands on him, prays for him, baptizes him, and eats with him. The result? Saul could once again see, literally and hyper-literally – seeing the truth of Jesus and his Way for what it truly is.

God sometimes calls us to do tough tasks, tasks which, from our limited point of view, we can see that nothing good will come of it. But Ananias was obedient. And Saul would come to see. A man brought to life and faith. And through that man, a movement of salvation and witness to the world that echoes two thousand years later.

Paul will come back to his own story of meeting Jesus again and again. He references it throughout his New Testament letters, and we see him sharing it with others in Acts 22 and 26. He knows the power Christ works through witness. Never underestimate your witness and the power of salvation God will work through you.

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