“The Lord said to Ananias, “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 NIV
I can hear Ananias’ response now. “Wait, Lord, what? Do you realize who this dude is? He’s trying to wipe us out! He’s one bad human, Lord. Are you sure? Really? You want me to touch him with tenderness to restore his vision? Why do I feel like I’d be caressing a cobra?”
To be sure, Ananias would have had many things like this rolling around in his mind. Yet, he knew God’s voice, too, and trusted that He really did know what he was doing. So he did as he was told.
Immediately the veil was removed and Saul could once again see. I’m thinking that he probably gave Ananias a huge bear hug and began praising God for his healing. And I see Ananias speechless in Saul’s embrace.
I think this interaction took a lot of courage from both men. Saul was helpless and at Ananias’ mercy. He could have easily slit his throat and taken credit for neutralizing the zealot. Ananias, on the other hand, ran the risk that once Saul’s faculties were restored, he would take him to prison.
According to Acts 9, Saul immediately took a crash course in the life and ministry of Jesus. And he, himself, began to preach Jesus as the Messiah to the Jews of Damascus. He started to cause a bit of an uproar and ultimately escaped from Damascus with his life. This was the first time he had to flee from the Jews. But it would not be his last.
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