Acts 9:1-19: Captured by the Grace of God

Acts 9:1-19: Captured by the Grace of God

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of Acts, and today the next passage we come to is Acts 9:1-19 as the passage upon which today’s message will be based. It says,

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 

[Prayer]

Before his conversion, John Newton was notorious for his life of sin. He lived during the 1700’s and was born to a father who was the captain of a merchant ship and who took young John out to sea with him when John was only 11 years old. That would be the first of six voyages John would go on with his dad. Then, when John came of age, he joined the British Royal Navy but was eventually discharged on not-so-good terms and found himself following in his father’s footsteps as a sailor on various merchant ships—specifically ships that were involved in the slave trade. So he basically kidnapped and enslaved fellow human beings for a living. He was also rebellious in just about every other way you could imagine as well. Of course, sailors aren’t typically known for their refined manners, but, by all accounts, John was something else. He lived a life of such profanity, coarseness, and debauchery that even many of his fellow sailors were reportedly shocked at his behavior. In fact, one time, the crew of his ship despised him so much that they actually left him in Africa to be the slave of a wealthy landowner there. Fortunately for him, though, his dad eventually sent someone to rescue him from that situation, and John subsequently rose in rank and became captain of his own slave ship. 

Yet, during one particularly severe storm, when John thought that the ship was surely going to sink and that all hope for survival was basically lost, he remembered some of the things his mother had taught him about Jesus when he was a young child. And in the midst of that storm, he experienced a profound change of heart. Even though, before that, he was known in the slave trading industry as “the Great Blasphemer,” he now embraced the God he had for so long rejected. Thankfully, through what can only be described as a miracle, the ship ended up weathering the storm. And John Newton subsequently devoted his life to Jesus. He was eventually ordained into the Anglican ministry and became a leader in the eighteenth century evangelical movement and also played a key role in the movement to abolish the slave trade. So talk about the grace of God changing a person—God took this profane, blasphemous, grossly immoral slave-trader and transformed him into a child of God with a new heart and new purpose and a completely new way of living. Toward the very end of his life, as John was reflecting on all that he had been through and all that God had done in him and for him, he stated, “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.” What a wonderful summary statement of John Newton’s life. His story is an incredible story of the extraordinary grace of God.

And there are many other stories I could tell as well, from throughout the history of the church, of God showing extraordinary grace even toward those who were once living lives of very visible and active rebellion. There are many other names I could mention and stories I could share. Yet perhaps, none of these stories is more notable or dramatic than the one recorded right here in Acts 9. 

The story begins with a man named Saul persecuting Christians. Now, if you’ve been attending here consistently, you know that we’ve already encountered Saul back in chapter 8. Acts 8:1 records how Saul stood by approvingly as a Christian named Stephen was brutally murdered, and then verse 3 states that “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” Then, as we come now to Acts chapter 9, here’s what we read in verses 1-2: 1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

So Saul’s basically spearheading the effort to stamp out Christianity once and for all. He actually takes the initiative to get letters from the high priest in Jerusalem authorizing him to go out to Damascus and arrest all the Christians he can find. He’s on a mission capture as many of them as he can. Yet, as he’s on his way to capture Christians, the passage goes on to describe how Saul actually ends up being captured by the grace of God. And that’s the main idea of this passage. On his way to capture Christians, Saul ends up being captured by the grace of God. God turns the tables on him and shows him extraordinary grace. In fact, Saul would later write in 1 Timothy 2:14, looking back specifically on his own conversion experience, that “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me.” That’s Saul’s own summary of what happens in Acts 9. “The grace of our Lord overflowed for me.”

And, by the way, just to make sure we’re clear, when the Bible talks about God’s grace, it’s not just talking about a personality disposition of God. Sometimes, in modern language, we describe certain people as “gracious” in order to communicate basically that they’re nice and thoughtful and kind. But God’s grace is a lot more than that. It’s something he actively demonstrates toward us in very significant ways. So perhaps God’s grace is best defined as his unearned goodness and favor. And there are five characteristics of God’s grace that we’re going to see as we work our way through Acts 9. 

God’s Grace Is Given to the Undeserving

First, God’s grace is given to the undeserving. God’s grace is given to the undeserving. If there was ever anyone who didn’t deserve God’s grace, it was Saul. Look again at how verse 1 describes him. It says that he was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” So the picture we get of Saul isn’t of someone who’s just trying to do his religious duty or discharge the responsibilities that have been placed upon him. This guy is in a murderous rage.  He’s obsessed with arresting as many Christians as he can and probably seeing them put to death. We’re talking about a full-scale inquisition here—and not just in Jerusalem. Saul actually gets authorization to travel 150 miles outside of Jerusalem to the city of Damascus—which was about a week’s journey—so that he can round up the Christians there as well. 

Also, listen to how he later describes his activities in a speech he gives in Acts 26:9-11: 9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. So, returning to Acts 9, let’s understand that Saul’s out for blood. He doesn’t just want Christians to stop their missionary activities. He wants to make them suffer. Yet, even while Saul’s in this murderous rage, God shows grace toward him. Again, God’s grace is given to the undeserving. 

In 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Saul—who was by then going by his Roman name of Paul—would later write that 15 …Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. So why does it say Saul received mercy? It’s so that in him, the foremost sinner, Jesus could “display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” In other words, Jesus wanted to make it clear that he’s able to save anyone. If he can save Saul, he can save anybody. 

And, by the way, that includes you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, how badly you’ve made a mess of things in your life, what people you’ve hurt, or what heinous sins you’ve committed. You can’t outsin God’s grace. That’s the beauty it. You can’t outsin God’s grace. Because, you see, whatever you’ve done, Jesus died to pay for that sin. That’s the answer to all of this. That’s how God can show such grace toward the undeserving and simultaneously uphold his standard of perfect justice and righteousness. Jesus bore our sins on the cross. He suffered the punishment for our sins—so that what we end up receiving isn’t the punishment we deserve but the grace we don’t deserve. Of course, in order to receive that grace, we have to repent of our sin and put our trust in Jesus as our only hope of rescue. So if you think you’re undeserving of God’s grace, you’re absolutely right. But that’s the whole point. God’s grace is given to the undeserving. And his grace toward Saul is a perfect example of that. 

Also, for those who are already Christians, make sure you never lose sight of that reality. Don’t ever lose sight of just how undeserving you were of God’s grace—because the more we grasp how totally undeserving we were of what God’s done for us, the more we appreciate the true depth and magnitude of his grace and the more we’re inspired to live for him as an expression of our gratitude. 

God’s Grace Initiates Our Journey to Faith

Also, not only do we see in our main passage that God’s grace is given to the undeserving, we also see that his grace initiates our journey to faith. That’s the second characteristic: God’s grace initiates our journey to faith. Look at verses 3-7: 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 

So notice here how Jesus is the one who takes the initiative. He takes the initiative to seek Saul out. Saul wasn’t looking for Jesus; Jesus was looking for Saul. And that’s the way it always is. God’s always the one who initiates the movement of someone coming to faith. In fact, he has to initiate, because we never will. You see, the Bible teaches that, in our natural condition, we’re spiritually dead. We don’t have the spiritual capacity to come to God or take even one step in the right direction on our own. 

You know, a lot of people mistakenly picture salvation as God reaching down to us as we simultaneously reach up to him. Several weeks ago, some of the men of our church went to Ohiopyle on a rafting trip. And it was a great time. I think there were two or three Class V rapids, which I thought were a blast. Also, not surprisingly, most of the men who went on that trip—I think five out of the seven of us—found themselves thrown out of the raft into the river at some point during the trip. And you might at first think, if you’re trying to get someone back into the raft who’s fallen into the river, that the best way to do that is to grab their hand and pull them in. But, as the rafting guides explained to us, that’s actually not the best way at all since it can be rather difficult to hold onto someone’s wet hands. Instead, the easiest way to get them back into the raft is actually to have them facing away from you in the water, grab the shoulder straps of their life jacket, and hoist them up. In other words, you do all of the work, and they just let you. And that’s a decent, though not perfect, picture of what God does for us in saving us. Listen, guys: we don’t have the capacity to reach up to God. We’re floating in the water unconscious. In fact, we’re dead. So there’s no way we can ever reach up to God as he reaches down to us. Instead, he’s the one who initiatives. He’s the one who makes the first move. He’s the one who draws us to himself and puts repentance in our hearts and enables us to put our trust in him. 

That’s why, in Philippians 1:29, Paul speaks of believing in Christ as something that has to be “granted” to us. And that’s why, later in Acts, in Acts 16:14, it says of a woman named Lydia that “the Lord opened to her heart” to respond to the gospel. She couldn’t do that on her own. God had to open her heart. So understand that salvation in its entirely is a work of God. He’s the author of salvation not only in the sense that he sent Jesus to die on the cross and resurrect from the dead but also in the sense that he actively and miraculously brings us to saving faith. We don’t meet God halfway or reach up to God as he reaches down to us. Instead, anything we do is the result of something that God first does in our hearts. Another way to say it is that God’s grace is the cause, not the effect, of any change within us. 

So just understand that, if you’re a Christian, you didn’t become what you are because you were wise enough or virtuous enough or because you somehow found enough strength within yourself to reach up to God. You were totally unable to take even one step in the right direction, and God came to your rescue.

God’s Grace Humbles Us before It Saves Us

Then, as we continue moving forward in this passage, we see thirdly that God’s grace humbles us before it saves us. God’s grace humbles us before it saves us. Look at verses 8-9: 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. So the result of Saul’s encounter with Jesus was that he became blind. And he remained blind for three whole days. He had to depend on others to lead him by the hand into Damascus and to take care of him throughout that time. And, in all likelihood, the reason Jesus did that to him was because Saul had to be humbled. You see, Saul was a Pharisee. And as a Pharisee, he was quite proud of his moral superiority and religious achievements. He studied under the most respected rabbi of his day—a man named Gamaliel—he would have memorized the entire Old Testament Law word for word, and he would have taken painstaking measures to go above and beyond what the law required. So Saul’s religious credentials were quite impressive. Yet that just made it all the more necessary for Jesus to humble him. 

And that’s something that’s necessary not just for Pharisees like Saul but for everyone before they can come to Jesus. Because everyone has a proud heart. Deep down, we all think we’re good enough, or at least that we have the capacity to be good enough, to earn God’s favor. So what we need is for God to demolish our pride. Kind of like a demolition company might take a wrecking ball to a building, we need God to take a wrecking ball to our pride. Not one brick can be left on another. Everything that we’re looking to and leaning on and trusting in apart from Jesus has to be utterly demolished, and we have to be brought to the place where we’re willing to come to Jesus with the empty hands of a beggar and receive salvation as the free gift that it is—dependent not in any way on our merit but only on the merit of Jesus. 

God’s Grace Reveals to Us the Glory of Jesus

Then the fourth characteristic of grace that we see in this passage is that it reveals to us the glory of Jesus. God’s grace reveals to us the glory of Jesus. Notice that the central feature of this passage is Jesus revealing himself to Saul. On the road to Damascus, Saul saw Jesus in his glory. He had a personal encounter with Jesus that forever changed him. 

And that’s the most fundamental aspect of any true conversion. Becoming a Christian isn’t just about assenting to a set of abstract theological propositions. It’s about encountering and embracing the person of Jesus. Not just the idea of Jesus, but the person of Jesus. Just like Saul saw Jesus in his glory on the road to Damascus, we have to see Jesus in his glory as well—not physically, of course, but spiritually. We have to see Jesus in the glory of his righteousness, the glory of his love, the glory of his power, the glory of his goodness, and the glory of his grace. And it’s his grace that reveals these things to us. We can’t behold Jesus in this way until he opens our eyes to do so. 

So what about you? Have you ever encountered not just the idea of Jesus but the person of Jesus? Have your eyes ever been opened to behold his glory in a life-changing way? Guys, this is what’s so transformative about conversion. Encountering Jesus is what changes us. 

And the same can be said not only of our conversion but also of the entirely of the Christian life. The way we grow and the way we’re continually transformed to a progressively greater degree is by beholding the glory of Jesus. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” So how does it say we’re transformed? What is it that brings about our transformation? “Beholding the glory of the Lord.” Listen, the way we overcome sin isn’t by gritting our teeth and trying harder. It’s by experiencing Jesus and enjoying Jesus and beholding the glory of Jesus in such a way that sin just becomes undesirable. Not only that, but beholding the glory of Jesus positively changes us as well. Something happens within us when our eyes gaze upon Jesus in his manifold perfections. We’re “transformed…from one degree of glory to another.” So as a Christian, hopefully you’re seeking that out. For example, when you read the Bible, you should be on the lookout not just for practical principles for living but also—and I would say especially—for things that are revealed in that text about Jesus. Ask God to help you see in that text with fresh eyes how amazing and how wonderful Jesus is. 

God’s Grace Opens Our Eyes to Truly See

Then finally back in Acts 9, we see a fifth characteristic of grace—that God’s grace opens our eyes to truly see. The passage goes on to describe how God sends a Christian named Ananias to heal Saul of his blindness. Verses 18-19 describe what happens when Ananias comes and lays his hands on Saul. We read, 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened…. And those scales falling from Saul’s physical eyes are intended to picture the way in which God’s grace had removed the blinders from his spiritual eyes as well. For the first time, he was able to see things as they really are. 

Conclusion

And that leads us to the theme that’s been communicated throughout this passage, which is that salvation, from beginning to end, is a work of God’s grace. God’s grace is given to the undeserving, God’s grace initiates our journey to faith, God’s grace humbles us before it saves us, God’s grace reveals to us the glory of Jesus, and God’s grace opens our eyes to truly see. It all comes back to grace. 

In fact, we read about Ananias in this passage, right? Well, guess what the name “Ananias” means? Ananias is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Hananiah, which means “Yahweh has been gracious.” Do you see how every nook and cranny of this passage is filled with God’s grace? 

And as we think about the grace God’s shown to us even when we were in such a helpless and wretched condition, it should inspire us to something more than mere contemplation. It should inspire us to action—so that we devote our lives to the God who’s been gracious to us in this way. I remember one time I encountered a lady who was going door-to-door as a Jehovah’s Witness. And she was rather elderly—I’d say at least 75 years old, maybe even 80. So, I asked her how often she went door-to-door like she was doing. And she told me that she was in what they call the “Pioneer Club,” which involves going out door-to-door for a minimum of 70 hours each month. This elderly lady was spending 70 hours a month knocking on people’s doors. And, of course, if you’re familiar with the theology of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, she was doing it ultimately with the belief that that would help her earn salvation. And as I thought about what she said and what she was doing, I became very convicted of the disparity between her religious devotion and my own religious devotion. And I thought to myself, “Shouldn’t we who understand that we’re saved by grace be more devoted rather than less devoted than this woman who thinks she can earn salvation? Shouldn’t a grace-based mentality motivate us to do more than this woman’s works-based mentality was motivating her to do?” Something’s not right if our devotion is less than hers. Of course, our devotion doesn’t necessarily need to manifest itself in knocking on people’s doors, but it does need to manifest itself in some way. 

It all comes back to this idea of being captured by the grace of God. If you remember, that’s what I identified as the main idea of this passage. On his way to capture Christians, Saul ends up being captured by the grace of God. So when’s the last time you were captured by the grace of God? When’s the last time you were so overwhelmed and in awe of God’s grace that it’s like it took hold of you and captured you in a life-changing, sin-renouncing, Jesus-loving, evangelism-motivating kind of way? When’s the last time you found God’s grace truly amazing? 

We began our look at this passage with the story of John Newton—the profane, blasphemous, grossly immoral slave-trader who experienced God’s grace in a way that radically transformed his life. And out of the depth of his experience of God’s grace, he wrote the most famous hymn of all time. 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come
‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home

When we’ve been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun

So again, I ask, when was the last time you were amazed by grace?