Unsung Heroes: Ananias
Acts 9.10-19a
Have you ever heard of Jeremy Lin? Some of you have, but many of you probably have not. Jeremy Lin is a basketball player in the NBA. He plays for the Knicks, but up until this past February, very few people had ever heard of him. No one thought he could compete in the NBA. He sat on the bench and was traded around through multiple teams. It was not until the Knicks were plagued by injuries that Lin was finally put in the game on February 4th. Then everything changed. Jeremy Lin led his team to a 99-92 point victory over the New Jersey Nets scoring 25 points, pulling down 5 rebounds and 7 assists. For those of you who do not follow basketball, that’s good. Lin led his team on a winning streak that shocked everyone. Another thing you may care to know about Jeremy Lin is that he professes to be a Christian. He speaks about his faith openly.
We love stories like this, don’t we? We love to hear about underdogs coming off the bench to make the big plays that win the game. For a long time, Jeremy Lin was nobody, but now he has come out of nowhere to shock the nation and bring glory to Christ along the way.
Today we are starting a new sermon series looking at unsung heroes in the Bible. So often when we read the Bible, all we see are the superstars and the franchise players. We see the Michael Jordans and Shaqeal O’Neals like the Apostles Peter and Paul. We see the Old Testament men like Abraham, Moses, and David. Sometimes we feel like these guys are too big. We have trouble relating to men of such stature. We think, “I will never have the faith of Abraham or be an Apostle Paul.”
That is why it is so helpful to look at some of the unsung heroes in the Bible, the other men and women who were just as faithful to Christ, but who seem a little more like us. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Acts 9 this morning. We will begin by looking at an unsung hero named Ananias, but in order to understand the story of Ananias, we first have to understand the story of the Apostle Paul.
Before he became the Apostle Paul, he was the Pharisee Saul. As a Pharisee, Saul was extremely zealous for the Jewish faith, and he saw Christians as blasphemers and heretics who were corrupting his beloved faith with the claim that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. Saul took it upon himself to unleash a campaign of destruction against the followers of Christ. He arrested any he could find and cast them into prison. We do not know what happened to Saul’s prisoners, whether they were tortured or killed. However, we do know that Saul was breathing out murderous threats against the church.
Because of Saul’s campaign of persecution, the Christians fled from Jerusalem to neighboring cities and countries, taking the gospel with them, but Saul’s bloodlust was not quenched. He decided to take his show on the road, getting permission to travel to Damascus to hunt down Jewish Christians and drag them back to Jerusalem for punishment, but something happened along the way.
On the road to Damascus, Saul was stopped by bright light and a voice from heaven saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul’s question is perfectly reasonable, “Um . . . who is this?” Saul is confronted by the very Jesus of Nazareth whose name he utterly despises. He is challenged by the risen Jesus whose follower’s he sought to persecute.
Now I want you to try and imagine the tingle of fear traveling down the back of Saul’s spine at this moment. So often when we think of Jesus, we picture Him as our buddy, our pal. We think of gentle Jesus, meek and mild. We see pictures of Him holding lambs and smiling with children. Yes, the Bible does give us that picture of Jesus; however, that is not the only picture of Jesus. Jesus is not coming to Saul as a buddy. He is coming to Saul as the Risen King and Lord of the Universe. Jesus appears in His glory, and Saul, it he was a smart man, would be afraid, very afraid.
Have you ever had a boss call you into his office because he wanted to talk with you about your future? I once served under a guy who did this all the time. He would call me up on his way into work and say, “We need to talk?” “Talk about what?” “We just need to talk, meet me in my office in thirty minutes.” Have you ever dealt with that? Of course, we only assume the worst, right? “Am I getting fired? Did I do something wrong? What’s going on?” Now take that feeling and multiply it by a few thousand. Jesus says to Saul, “Go on into the Damascus and wait. You and I are going to have a little talk.”
After the voice fades and the light dims, Saul is there on the road struck blind. He cannot see and must be led by the hand into Damascus. Blind and helpless, Saul enters the city among the very people he was coming to persecute. If I were Saul, I would be a little nervous here. How many friends or relatives of the people he threw in prison were now living in Damascus? How many would be tempted to take revenge on the great Saul the Persecutor? Saul spent the next three days in prayer and fasting, no doubt pleading with Christ for mercy.
Let’s switch gears here and talk about Ananias. Ananias was a disciple in Damascus. We know next to nothing about him except that he was the one tasked to bring the gospel to Saul. Listen to his story in Acts 9.10-19a.
AC 9:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.
AC 9:11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
AC 9:13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
AC 9:15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
AC 9:17 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." 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
[Title Slide]
Jesus calls to Ananias, and Ananias answers, “Here I am.” This is different from Saul, right? Ananias knew the Lord, and He knew His voice. He does not need to ask who is speaking to him. He simply answers, “Yes, sir! Here I am! Reporting for duty, sir!”
Jesus gives Ananias his assignment, to go to Saul and restore the man’s sight. You can understand why Ananias would be concerned. He asks a question here of Jesus. I do not believe Ananias is asking disrespectfully. This is not asked out of disobedience, but rather out of a desire for clarification. “Let me clear, you want me to talk to Saul, right? The guy who goes around persecuting people, that Saul?” Just like Saul, Ananias does not know the end of this story. If I were Ananias, I know I would be a little afraid. Saul is not a nice guy, nor can we imagine his companions to be a nice guy. There are no guarantees here that Ananias will not be arrested or killed. Ananias risks his life to obey the call to take the gospel to Saul.
Finally Ananias gets there. There is Saul, helpless and blind. Did Ananias know a few of Saul’s victims? Did Ananias consider ridding the world of this monster? At the very least, Ananias could surely come up with a few words to verbally stab at Saul’s heart. How will Ananias address Saul the Pharisee?
Ananias comes to Saul and says, “Brother Saul.” Think about the power of those words. This is Ananias modeling the gospel for this helpless blind man. He could have said, “Murderer Saul” or “Butcher Saul.” He could have thrown Saul’s sins and violence in his face. Instead, Ananias addresses him as a brother, refusing to hold Saul’s sins against him. He shows the same forgiveness and compassion as Jesus Christ. He restores Saul’s sight, shares the gospel with him, baptizes him, and welcomes Saul into the church. For all this, Ananias is one of the unsung heroes of Scripture.
If you think about it, everything that Ananias did for Saul is what Jesus Christ does for us. Ananias risked his life to take the gospel to Saul. Jesus Christ gave His life to bring the gospel to us. Ananias refused to hold Saul’s sins against him, but greeted him as a brother. Jesus forgives us our sins and ushers us into the family of God. Ananias restored Saul’s physical sight. Jesus opens our eyes and gives us spiritual sight.
Why is Ananias a hero? Because he showed the love of Christ to someone. He did for Saul what Christ did for him. You may not be an apostle Paul, but you can be an Ananias. You too can show and tell someone about the love of Jesus and be a hero in their life.
Maybe you are here today and you are not like either Paul or Ananias. Maybe you are like Saul the Pharisee, living life without Christ and in rebellion against God. Maybe you are wondering if God would ever forgive and accept someone like you. If Christ could love and accept a man like Saul, a man who was systematically seeking to destroy His followers, surely He will love and accept you. In fact, He already has and is just waiting for you to realize it.
