Acts 9
Acts 9:1-43 (NLT)
1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest.
2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!
8 Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.
9 He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied.
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.
12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!
14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.
16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.
19 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.
20 And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
21 All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?”
22 Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
23 After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him.
24 They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot.
25 So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.
26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!
27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.
28 So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
29 He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him.
30 When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown.
31 The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.
32 Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda.
33 There he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.
34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!” And he was healed instantly.
35 Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around, and they turned to the Lord.
36 There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor.
37 About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room.
38 But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!”
39 So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them.
40 But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!
41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.
42 The news spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord.
43 And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a tanner of hides.
All that is required is belief, but belief in the right thing. While this would seem to be something easily done, and many would claim to believe if asked, belief can be more restrictive than enabling until there is a revelation about what to believe. For Paul, his problem wasn’t a lack of belief but the revelation of what to believe. Once the scales were removed from his spiritual eyes, he not only could believe the truth about Christ, but everything he was already equipped with in knowledge was now a source of validation for his new understanding. Now, though, for the audience of his newfound sharing, there was also a need for revelation, the removal of mental barriers based on prior ingrained information. Even though it was irrefutable information of proof about Jesus, receiving it from him was a major issue both for the group he was departing from and the one he was joining. The Jews were unable to see the truth as Paul himself had been unable, while the Christians could not receive from him because of personal reservations about him. This problem with revelation for belief was shown to be effectively overcome in the performing of supernatural demonstrations so powerfully demonstrated through Peter. Just as Jesus had done, the healings and miracles were powerful removers of blinders to revelation. As minds were blown by the unexplainable, hearts were opened with eyes to see the truth for believing.
As Paul would later tell (1 Cor. 2:4), just preaching, apart from a demonstration of God’s power, could prove to be ineffective in producing belief through revelation. Remaining in the mental realm alone would just produce bantering that was ineffective for any real transformation by the Truth. Where the barriers are raised, and all that is seen is the image and reputation of a man, there is a need for the Spirit’s confirmation of what is spoken by demonstrations that cannot be denied. For acceptance of the Truth and reception of its transformation, there must be departure from blindness in deception to clarity in Spirit revelation. Not all those who see the most amazing miracles are guaranteed to see the Truth, but there is for those who believe a powerful position to be taken in authority and power that will definitely remove any barrier of reason. In the telling of truth and the performing of signs and wonders, both by the Spirit, there is a confident hope that all is being done to enable belief in the Savior.