Wednesday, January 7th

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Wednesday, January 7

Acts 9:10-16

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." 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, 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."

But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." 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. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

Way back in the winter of 1981 or so I was working at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana and completing my graduate degree at Ball State University in Muncie, which was about 25 miles away. So I would drive 40 minutes every evening to my 6:30 pm class; then drive the 40 minutes back home again at about 11 o’clock at night.

One night I walked out of the classroom building and found myself in the middle of a blizzard. It was cold, I was tired, and just wanted to get home. The 40 minute trip was probably going to be at least an hour with all the snow so I wasn’t very happy. Then it got worse.

I only made it a couple of blocks when my 1973 Thunderbird stalled out at a stop light and wouldn’t start up again. It was 11 at night; snowing like crazy and I was stuck right in the middle of an intersection in Muncie, Indiana, no cell phone, no smart phone, no idea what to do next.

As I sat there feeling sorry for myself I saw a guy walking across the intersection toward my car. He was wearing a dark hooded jacket pulled low so I couldn’t see his face. My first reaction was to lock my doors because he looked kind of dangerous. I mean, what kind of person is walking around at 11 at night in a snowstorm. He walked straight to my car and as he approached he motioned for me to roll the window down. I rolled it down about an inch.

He said, “Pop the hood.”

I had no choice so I did what he said. I could hear him doing something under the hood but I couldn’t see what was going on. I had visions of him stealing my battery and leaving me there to freeze to death.

After a few seconds he yelled, “Try it now!” I turned the key and my car started right up.

The guy just waved and walked away; I never even got his name.

Jesus has confronted Saul; but Saul needs help.

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." 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, 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."

We don’t know much about this man Ananias. He was evidently a Jewish background follower of Jesus living in Damascus. Some scholars think he was likely a leader of the church in that city and may have had prophetic gifts. What we know for sure is that God calls Ananias to do an extraordinary thing!

He tells him to go to a certain house, giving him the exact street address, and to help a man from Tarsus named Saul.

Had I been Ananias, I think I may have responded like this:

“Uh... excuse me Lord? For a moment there I thought you said Saul of Tarsus!

“Maybe you haven’t been paying attention to the news lately, but I don’t think Saul of Tarsus is very interested in my help! In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s more interested in dragging me off to prison or worse. Come to think of it, Lord, I’m not very interested in going to help Saul of Tarsus!”

So it’s quite understandable that Ananias’ initial response is one of hesitation.

But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." 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. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

We’ll find out tomorrow that Ananias accepts his divine assignment, but can you imagine how strange it must have seemed to him?

Earlier in the fall I told the story of the five young missionaries from Wheaton College - including Jim Elliot and Nate Saint - who were speared to death in 1956 while trying to share the gospel with an indigenous tribe in the jungle of Ecuador.

But I didn’t share the rest of the story.

Within a year Jim Elliot’s widow Elizabeth and Nate Saint’s sister Rachel returned to the very people who had murdered their husband and brother and continued to share the love of Christ with them. The result was the establishment of a church in that tribe.

Has Jesus ever asked you to do a hard job?

Has Jesus ever asked you to move toward someone you knew to be hostile toward the gospel?

Has Jesus ever asked you to reach across a boundary for the sake of the gospel?

Remember the mandate Jesus gave back in Acts 1:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

If being a witness for Christ was easy, we wouldn’t need the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task! Sometimes to be a witness means to risk rejection or misunderstanding. Sometimes it means to risk far more than that.

Jesus asked Ananias to reach out to a man who once took delight in putting followers of Jesus in prison or worse. He asks Ananias to be his own hands and feet. He asks Ananias to trust his word and his Spirit.

He asks us to do the same.


Pastor Brian Coffey