New Testament · New Testament
Ananias of Damascus
“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord — Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'”Acts 9:17
Biography
Ananias was a devout Jewish Christian disciple in Damascus, described by Paul as 'a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews living there.' When Saul of Tarsus arrived in Damascus, blind and fasting after his encounter with the risen Christ on the road, God appeared to Ananias in a vision and instructed him to go and lay hands on Saul. Ananias knew exactly who Saul was — the persecutor of the church — and expressed his very understandable concern. God sent him anyway, revealing that Saul was 'a chosen instrument.' Ananias went, laid his hands on Saul, called him 'brother,' and Saul's eyes were opened. He was baptized and received food. It was Ananias who first received the blinded Saul and who made the introduction that would change church history.
Spiritual Lesson
Ananias teaches us that ordinary obedience, extended to an enemy, can redirect the course of history. He was not a famous figure, not an apostle, not a bishop. He was a disciple in Damascus who heard a difficult instruction, expressed an understandable fear, and then went anyway. The word 'brother' that he spoke to Saul was possibly the most important word spoken in the entire New Testament era, because it was the first human welcome the murderer of Christians received after his conversion. To call an enemy 'brother' before you have evidence that they have truly changed — this is the cost and the miracle of obedience.