Ananias of Damascus
In Acts 9, we view a small snapshot of the life of Ananias from Damascus. We meet him after he has accepted the gospel of the Way, in the capital city of Syria, about three years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. We don’t know how Ananias has become a disciple of Christ, but verse 10 tells us that he is a disciple. It is possible that he has heard the gospel message of the new kingdom while visiting Jerusalem or another area of Judea or from another zealous disciple who had returned with the good news. But he is a Christian, he is living in Damascus, and he is defined by his belief and obedience to do the will of God. I would love to meet him; I know I would like him.
Damascus is known to have had multiple synagogues and a large population of Jews during these days. We know there is already a group of baptized believers who Saul will get to know in the coming years. They are the reason Saul arrives in Damascus with a letter of commission, for he arrives to arrest and punish his brothers and sisters of Israel who have become disciples of Jesus. Saul’s desire is clearly stated in Acts 9:1: “Then Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
Of course, as we know, Saul’s plan is averted when he sees and hears the Lord: “So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?; Then the Lord said to him, ’Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do’” (vs 6). When at last Saul is able to rise from the ground, blinded and surely dazed and confused, he is led by the hand through the gates of the city. Still armed with a letter of intention to find the ones of The Way, he will now be brought to the location where arrangements had been made by God.
Saul will stay there for three days waiting. Not eating, not drinking, just waiting…and thinking, and thinking. God is wonderful throughout the scriptures to give hours and days of isolation and meditation to those who would know him. It was during this time I feel sure that Saul thought repeatedly about the appearance of the Lord, the crucified one. Surely, he thought of the letter that he had in his possession, from the High Priest authorizing him to kill those who believed in the One who had appeared from the Heavens now to him.
After days of meditation, Paul is informed by the Lord that a man named Ananias will come to him, lay hands on him, and restore his vision. Confirmation to Paul will come in the form of this one real person named Ananias – a man from Damascus who had believed in Jesus and has already become a disciple of The Way.
Acts 9: 10 – 14
“Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, ’Ananias.’ And he said, ‘Here I am, Lord.’
11 So the Lord said to him, ’Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.’
13 Then Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.’”
Ananias was quite possibly a native of Damascus and had not met Saul. But he knew of Saul and the reputation that preceded him. Ananias had heard the news that he had arrived in Damascus with the authority to persecute any who believed in Jesus the Messiah and the kingdom which He claimed. Of course, that was enough to cause Ananias to pause and question the instruction of the Lord. I can only imagine that Ananias wished that Saul and the grim work that was beginning way down in Jerusalem would just leave Damascus alone!
But unfortunately, Ananias would be forced to deal with the man with the mission and the letter. He calls to God’s attention what he knows; “Lord, I have heard” he protests, “how much harm he has done to Your saints.” God overrules the objections and tells Ananias that contrary to all Saul had done, He had chosen Saul. This man from Tarsus would be a vessel, an instrument for God, he would do great things in His name. Ananias is assured that Saul would be a great messenger, who would proclaim the good news of Jesus and the Way throughout many lands. The Gentile nations and rulers as well as the people of Israel would hear the message of salvation from the lips of this very man.
Ananias would learn not only of the goodness that Saul would perform, but that the pain he had imposed on others would pale in comparison to the suffering and affliction he would experience by the end of his life in the name of Jesus Christ. It was so much for Ananias to take in, so much to understand about the workings of God for the good of man. But, Ananias was able to hear the words and believe in God enough to drive his obedience to His instruction.
He makes his way through the street called “Straight” to the house of Judas where he fulfills his commission. Though he cannot possibly understand all he has been told, he lays hands on the blind man, addressing him as a brother in verse 17. He confirms to Saul that he is the man seen in the vision, and that God had sent him to restore his sight and allow him to receive the Holy Spirit.
Because Ananias has come, because Ananias overcomes his own fear, because Ananias is an early disciple who believes and obeys God’s instruction, Saul receives his sight. In quick succession, we are told that a flakey substance falls away from Saul’s eyes and that he obeys and is baptized as a confirmation that he is risen with Christ in a covenant that will bind him to this service until his death. And Ananias is there.
Ananias enters and leaves us within these few verses. We know nothing more of him. But as Saul’s first friend after his conversion, the first Christian to greet him as a brother, as well as the one who faithfully bore the Lord’s commission to him, he has an honored place in our hearts and in the history of this wonderful kingdom to which we belong. It is with our deepest gratitude that we think of this Ananias, the one from Damascus of Syria, the one who believed that this kingdom and this gospel was big enough for anyone who would call upon the name of the Lord. It is through him that the church that we are a part of was propelled and exploded.
For the first time in three days, Saul eats and drinks, and his physical strength begins to be restored. He is strengthened in Spirit as well. He will stay in Damascus for three years, and except during some time in Arabia, he will be with the saints there.
“But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.” (Gal 1:11-20)
We assume that Ananias was among those who loved and grew to know Paul during those days and years, and that he would have been a part of Paul’s escape from the city as well.
Before Paul met the apostles, before Paul spent time with his physical family, before Paul ventures off on journeys, he spends time with the ones in Damascus including his first acquaintance as a brother, Ananias. What stories Ananias must have recounted about these days and years. With only a few words written about this man, we are reminded that our lives can play incredible roles in the furtherance of this kingdom. I am so thankful for this Ananias, I know I would like him.