Acts 10:44-48

Sick here for the Acts 10:44-48 PODCAST

44 While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given even to the nations. 46 These believers heard them speaking in different languages and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we did!” 48 So Peter ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. ~ Acts 10:44-48

Today, we conclude our study of Acts 10 where we see a continuation of Peter’s vision and obedience to go to the Gentiles with the Gospel. This chapter marks a major shift in Peter’s ministry due to the Lord's pinpoint confrontation of his prejudice toward the Gentiles. For Peter, as with all of us, it was an heart issue. Throughout the Bible God always brings everything back to the human heart. The jolting lesson learned from King David’s life isn’t that he fell into the worst of sins. The greatest lesson learned from David is his godly sorrow which germinated in his heart as he fought through it all with God.

In v.44-45 of today's passage we read, "44 While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given even to the nations."

After Peter gave a clear presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit was invited into the hearts of Cornelius' family and friends present there. By virtue of their faith in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, they were gifted with the Holy Spirit who guarantees the believer's salvation. It was their faith that invited the Holy Spirit into their lives. Up until this moment these friends and family of Cornelius were dead to God because their sin had not been forgiven them through the cross of Christ.

Every Jew who witnessed the "born again" nature of those Gentiles in Cornelius' house were utterly floored. They were  removed from their standing position due to the imparting to the Gentiles of "the gift of the Holy Spirit." A gift is not earned, and if it is, then it is not a gift. God does not impart the gift of the Holy Spirit apart from a proper response to the message of the Gospel. There must be an inner acceptance of the message that the blood of the Lord Jesus washes away our sin in God's eyes. These Gentiles or "nations" which means ethnic peoples, met the condition, and they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

In Ezekiel 36:26 God told us this would happen. God promised He would give the willing believer a new heart. Since the Fall we all needed a new heart, because the old one came deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. In Ezekiel 36:26 the Lord went on to say, "And a new Spirit will I put within you." Our salvation and the Holy Spirit were connected at the same moment. God promised to take away our rock-like hearts in order to give us hearts that believe in Him. If we didn’t have the Holy Spirit, we would lack the capacity to willingly and joyfully persist in our obedience toward God. 

In v.46-47 of today's passage we read, "46 These believers heard them speaking in different languages and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 'Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we did!'"

With the arrival of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of these Gentile believers, they were enabled to speak in languages they did not know themselves. This was the sign to them that the same Holy Spirit who had come on the day of Pentecost back in Acts 2 was indeed the same. This was the reversal of the dividing of the languages at the Tower of Babel way back in Genesis 11. Not only had the Jews spoken in various tongues as the Spirit gave them the ability, but even these Gentiles had now been imparted this gift. I find it quite instructive that in Acts 2, tongues were spoken. And, up until this point in the book of Acts, no one has spoken in tongues. As believers were being added to the Church daily, none of them spoke in tongues. In Acts 8, when Peter laid his hands on the Samaritans, it said that they "received the Holy Spirit." No mention of them speaking in tongues. And later, when the Ethiopian eunuch believed and was baptized, there was nothing said about the Spirit enabling him to speak in other languages.

Through the gift of tongues the people praised God. This word translated "praising" was used in Acts 5:13 where it noted that the people held the apostle in "high esteem." These born again Gentiles extolled the greatness of the God of the Bible. This is the point of all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to point others solely to the Lord Jesus. To evaluate someone's spirituality by the gift they have been given is simply not biblical. After these Gentiles were born again, Peter brought up the subject of water baptism which symbolizes the death, the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Water baptism does not save anyone but it does speak forth to others that we have identified with the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  

In v.48 of today's passage we read, "So Peter ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days."

Peter commanded these new Gentile believers to be baptized in Jesus' name. While the "baptism of John the Baptist" was a baptism of repentance preparing the people for the coming Messiah, the baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was the baptism declaring forgiveness of sin. Peter then directed the Gentiles themselves to do the baptisms because he wanted some corroboration to their testimony. It has always been the Holy Spirit who over and over takes care of these types of fine details, documenting for the sincere seeker of the truth the veracity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

After all of this, these new believers in Christ asked Peter to lodge with them a little longer. Once we have been born again, the Holy Spirit grants us a deepening hunger and thirst for God's Word. Essentially, these brand new believers wanted the Apostle Peter to teach them God's culture. There are 67 verses in the Bible which admonish or encourage us to feed on God's Word. When we were born again we innately knew that we must feed on God's Word because the Bible is the only food that can feed our souls. It is in Deuteronomy 8:3 that we read, "He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth."

Acts 10:34-43

Click here for the Acts 10:34-43 PODCAST

34 Peter began to speak: “I really understand now that to God every person is the same. 35 In every country God accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right. 36 You know the message that God has sent to the people of Israel is the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all people! 37 You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after John preached to the people about baptism. 38 You know about Jesus from Nazareth, that God gave him the Holy Spirit and power. You know how Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ruled by the devil, because God was with him. 39 We saw what Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem, but the Jews in Jerusalem killed him by hanging him on a cross. 40 Yet, on the third day, God raised Jesus to life and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but only by the witnesses God had already chosen. And we are those witnesses who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead. 42 He told us to preach to the people and to tell them that he is the one whom God chose to be the judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name.” ~ Acts 10:34-43

Today, we return to our study of Acts 10 where we will witness for the first time in the New Testament a Gentile family trusting the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Learning to trust the Lord more and more is a process and He knows that about us more than we do. As time goes on we all learn of the loving heart of our Creator and Friend who deals with us with such patience. I truly love the words of Thomas Merton whose words have aided me down through the years in my relationship with God. He said, “The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”

In v.34-35 of today's passage we read, "34 Peter began to speak: 'I really understand now that to God every person is the same. 35 In every country God accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right.'"

Peter had arrived at Cornelius' house in Capernaum which was where the Lord Jesus headquartered his ministry for 3 and 1/2 years. Capernaum is to this day a city by the Sea of Galilee.  When he arrived at Cornelius' house, Peter was prepared to respond biblically to Cornelius' previous request. Peter was prepared and equipped because he himself had wrestled with God regarding the subject. The Lord works in this very same manner with us. He teaches us, then we are positioned to teach others with authority. It is only as we walk with Him through their valleys of life that we are able to walk with others through their valleys. 

Here Peter uses a word that is only found once in Scripture. The word is translated here as a phrase, "to God every person is the same." Some translations use the phrase "no partiality." This is a contraction of two word, one meaning "the face" and the other meaning "to receive." Thus, this one Greek word means "an accepter of a face." Through the previous vision about the sheet coming down from heaven three times with the unclean animals in it, Peter had received this message from the Lord Himself. The he would the acceptor of any face that comes to him.

This was not an easy lesson for Peter to learn because time and again he had been warned about intermingling with Gentiles to some degree or another. Everyone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, God accepts into His family. The evidence that we have been born again is that we worship Him, and that which we worship defines us. So the second evidence is that God expresses His righteousness through those who worship Him and worship is just not a Sunday morning thing.

In v.36-38 of today's passage we read, "36 You know the message that God has sent to the people of Israel is the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all people! 37 You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after John preached to the people about baptism. 38 You know about Jesus from Nazareth, that God gave him the Holy Spirit and power. You know how Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ruled by the devil, because God was with him." 

Peter now shares the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ with Cornelius and his family and friends. In essence it is God in Christ Jesus who preached the Gospel. The Lord Jesus is the means by whom God delivered this good news of forgiveness of sin. The message that God in Christ preached through His cross is a single, unified message that is applicable to all people. The message is that the Lord Jesus Christ came to this world proving Himself to be God incarnate through His many good deeds. 

In v.39-41 of today's passage we read, "39 We saw what Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem, but the Jews in Jerusalem killed him by hanging him on a cross. 40 Yet, on the third day, God raised Jesus to life and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but only by the witnesses God had already chosen. And we are those witnesses who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead."

Peter explained that those who were with the Lord Jesus now stand as witnesses to His death, burial and resurrection. Despite having been clearly presented to the Jewish people as their Messiah, they rejected Him. They killed Him by hanging Him on a tree. The note concerning those who ate and drank with the Lord Jesus was first documented in the gospels, and then it is repeated in this book of Acts. The Lord Jesus physically and bodily arose from the dead. It is rather incredible to believe that there are people who claim that He did not rise as a physical being even though they claim to believe in the Bible. After His resurrection the Lord Jesus appeared to and spoke with the two as they walked on the road to Emmaus. In that discussion the Lord Jesus revealed that all of the Old Testament was written about Him.

In v.42-43 of today's passage we read, "42 He told us to preach to the people and to tell them that he is the one whom God chose to be the judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name."

Missionaries exist not to extend Western culture to other cultures. No, missionaries are sent out because we believe every person on this planet will face the judgment seat of Christ. The truth had to be substantiated and thus the Lord Jesus fulfilled and satisfied the truth on our behalf. In doing so, the Lord Jesus redeemed us which the is greatest news ever because we were destined to an eternity in Hell. The Lord Jesus substantiated the truth and He redeemed us because it was God’s delight to save a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. This is why we go out and share the gospel with others. And, every man, woman, boy and girl must make a choice between God’s truth and the devil’s lie. This why our presentation of the Gospel must come out of a heart that is personally engaged with God. The truth offered in authenticity is much more believable in the end.

Acts 10:24-33

Click here for the Acts 10:24-33 PODCAST

24 On the following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I too am only a human.” 27 As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he saw many people gathered. 28 He said, “You people understand that it is against our law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that I should not call any person ‘unholy’ or ‘unclean.’ 29 That is why I did not argue when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.” 30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing shining clothes. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you. 32 So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come. Peter is staying in the house of a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was very good of you to come. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” ~ Acts 10:24-33

Today, we return to our study of Acts 10 where the Lord has noticed the faith of Cornelius, a centurion in the Roman army. While the Lord had been taking note of Cornelius' faith, He had been speaking to Peter who was some 35-40 miles away from Caesarea in Joppa. Peter had traveled there to Joppa in order to meet a lady by the name of Tabitha who was also known as Dorcas. When Peter arrived in Joppa he discovered Dorcas dead. It was then that he requested all of the people in the room to depart while he knelt and prayed for her resurrection which took place. On the heels of this most wonderful experience, Peter departed for Caesarea to meet Cornelius.

In v.24-26 of today's passage we read, "24 On the following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, 'Stand up. I too am only a human.'"

As he anxiously awaited the arrival of Peter and his men, Cornelius had also invited his family and closest friends. Since we have moved from death to life, from condemnation to forgiveness, we naturally desire for those we love to come to the same place. This is one of those signs that we have been truly born again. Peter had not fully entered the house when Cornelius worshipped him. Peter did not allow Cornelius to worship him. In fact, he helped him up showing forth the idea that in Christ all believers are equals.

Other than the Magi in Matthew 2, the first worship of the Lord Jesus is seen in Matthew 8. The worship of the Lord Jesus continues time and again in the gospels, and the Lord Jesus never corrected such worship. This highlights the fact that He is God. Peter’s words to Cornelius reveals believers in Christ must only worship the Lord Jesus because what we worship defines us. 

In v.27-29 of today's passage we read, "27 As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he saw many people gathered. 28 He said, 'You people understand that it is against our law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that I should not call any person ‘unholy’ or ‘unclean.’ 29 That is why I did not argue when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.'"

As Peter entered Cornelius' home they engaged in conversation. Even though Peter was a Jew and the teachings of the Jewish rabbis forbade him from going into Cornelius' house, Peter entered nonetheless. This prohibition is not found in the Law of Moses but was later added by the hard-hearted Pharisees. One clear evidence of the fact that one has a personal relationship with the God of the Bible is that he does not look down his nose at someone he might regard as less than he. Another evidence of one's relationship with the Lord is that he has a heart for all, especially the least.

With the Holy Spirit having already shown Peter to not consider anyone as "unholy" or "unclean," he then inquired to know why he was called to the house of Cornelius. Peter had made an about face in a very short period of time. It was clear that the Lord was freeing Peter from the bondage of the "Self-Life" which may sound righteous and holy but it is not. Any desire, any dream, even our own gifting is something essentially contaminated and must be crucified in order to truly live the Christian life. It is when we take delight in the Lord that He gives us the desires of our hearts. We must be alert to the "Self-Life" because our flesh will always present to us a will that is contrary to God's will for us. The Self is a mighty poor Savior and an utterly empty god which is why being rid of the exalted Self is such a wonderful relief.

In v.30-33 of today's passage we read, "30 Cornelius said, 'Four days ago, I was praying in my house at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing shining clothes. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you. 32 So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come. Peter is staying in the house of a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was very good of you to come. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.'"

It was in this moment that Cornelius began to share with Peter that just four days earlier while in prayer the Lord Jesus revealed to him that he was to send some of his men to Joppa, and to send for Simon Peter. The angel of the Lord who revealed this to Peter also told Cornelius where Peter would be, at Simon the Tanner's home. With their stories corroborating Peter and Cornelius knew they had been led by the Lord. 

The phrase "led by the Spirit" occurs only four times in the Bible. We see this phrase in Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1, Romans 8:14 and Galatians 5:18. A careful study of these four passages reveals to be led by the Spirit is to be sensitive to the leading or prompting of the Holy Spirit's directions. God's leading in our lives will always be consistent to what He has said in His Word. He will never contradict Himself. The Christian life is lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we "walk by the Spirit," we are being enabled by the Spirit to think God's thoughts and to walk in His ways. This is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36:26-27 which reads, "A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you . . . I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes."

Acts 10:9-23

Click here for the Acts 10:9-23 PODCAST

9 About noon the next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. 11 He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean.” 15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ‘unholy’!” 16 This happened three times, and at once the sheet was taken back to heaven. 17 While Peter was wondering what this vision meant, the men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. 18 They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?” 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without doubting, because I have sent them to you.” 21 So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why did you come here?” 22 They said, “A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, an army officer and a good man; he worships God. All the people respect him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.” 23 So Peter asked the men to come in and spend the night. The next day Peter got ready and went with them, and some of the followers from Joppa joined him. ~ Acts 10:9-23

Today, we continue our study of Acts 10 where for the first time the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ will be presented to a Gentile. In one breath the gospel offends and encourages. It offends because when we look into it we must come face to face with our own wickedness. Then, after confessing our sinful  wickedness, we discover the gospel opens our eyes to the joy of letting go of seeking our own way. It is the gospel that reveals to us the One who by His grace laid down His life that we might be made whole.

In v.9-13 of today's passage we read, "9 About noon the next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. 11 He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to Peter, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'"

With the servants of Cornelius on their way to Joppa about 35 to 40 miles away, Peter, at about noon time, went up on the housetop to pray. The housetop was a place people would go for various reasons, including worship. It was at that point that Simon Peter became quite hungry. It was in that context that Peter had a vision. The message he received stems from symbolism going back to the book of Ezekiel, and it carries with it information that could only be conveyed to a person like Peter after the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross in fulfillment of the Law of Moses.

In this vision, Peter sees a big sheet coming from heaven with unclean animals in it. This sheet had been bound at its four corners. Under the law of Moses, animals were specifically divided into clean and unclean. The Lord very clearly was telling Peter the dietary laws of the Law of Moses had been fulfilled. And, since the dietary laws were fulfilled, then the entire Mosaic Code was being annulled. At the cross, through the death of the Lord Jesus, the Law was fulfilled on the behalf of those who could never measure up to its requirements. This is the gospel, the good news that Peter had yet to fully understand.

In v.14-16 of today's passage we read, "14 But Peter said, 'No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean.' 15 But the voice said to him again, 'God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ‘unholy’!' 16 This happened three times, and at once the sheet was taken back to heaven."

After the Lord had told Peter to eat the unclean food, Peter balked at the idea. The idea was so foreign to this observant Jew, he could not conceive of doing what he was told to do. And so, in response, he said, "No, Lord!" Peter probably thought this was a test of his faithfulness to the Lord. The law of Moses had made certain animals unclean but with the death of the Lord Jesus and Peter's faith in Him as his Savior, these animals are not to be considered unclean any longer. In his negative response Peter did what we have done a thousand times. In dogged determination he was not going to eat meat that God had declared unclean and he thought he was impressing God. Listen, stop trying to impress God and live out of the worthiness the Lord Jesus earned for you. And, when you fail and sin, do not confess that sin to gain God's approval because you already have it through the Lord Jesus. Oh, confess your sin so that your heart doesn't become hardened toward God. But, do not confess it to gain something you already have in Christ.

This event happened three times to ensure that Peter was fully aware of what God was revealing to him. The number three in Scripture points us to what is real, essential and substantive. This is the point of our sanctification that we go deeper in fellowship with the Lord. It is through our justification that we have a relationship with the Lord and it is through our sanctification that our fellowship with the Lord deepens. God wanted to bring an end of the prejudice in the heart of Peter who was an apostle. This just illustrates that we can be born again and operate in an important role but yet be oh so wrong.

The Old Testament informs us that God has separated the Jews from the rest of mankind. He did not choose them because they were superior in any other way to anyone else. In fact, God tells us that He chose them because he wanted them to be a demonstration to all the other nations of the relationship God wants to have with every nation and every people. In other words, the Jews were to be the pattern of God's relationship to every people. Only in that sense were they called or chosen.

But in typical arrogant human fashion, the Jews distorted their call from God and they began to believe that God had called them because they were superior people and that God was their exclusive possession. The hatred for the Jews today is partly due to the arrogance they still possess thinking themselves to be more than they really are. In addition to revealing to Peter that unclean meat could be eaten, God spoke to Peter in this obvious way in order to communicate something else, something much deeper as we will see in our next blog and podcast. 

In v.17-23 of today's passage we read, "17 While Peter was wondering what this vision meant, the men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. 18 They asked, 'Is Simon Peter staying here?' 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Listen, three men are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without doubting, because I have sent them to you.' 21 So Peter went down to the men and said, 'I am the one you are looking for. Why did you come here?' 22 They said, 'A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, an army officer and a good man; he worships God. All the people respect him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.' 23 So Peter asked the men to come in and spend the night. The next day Peter got ready and went with them, and some of the followers from Joppa joined him."

Peter was having a hard time working this encounter with God out in his mind. It was at that moment that the Holy Spirit spoke with him again. And, right after this the men sent by Cornelius arrived at Simon the Tanner's house. With their arrival Peter was able to conclude his vision was real and it was from the Lord, especially since Cornelius' story was the same and corroborated his. After this the Spirit of the Lord told Peter to go with these men to the residence of Cornelius. Since it was so late in the day they obviously decided to travel the next morning to Caesarea where Cornelius lived.

For Peter, the walls of bigotry were caving in as he invited these unclean Gentiles to be his guests overnight and he decided to visit a gentile in his home. This was the first step in the dismantling of this wall within Peter's soul. Once the wall came down, Peter was positioned to enjoy God's culture of liberty. Real freedom is the ability to live as a slave to Christ from the heart. When we believed on the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we were delivered from the penalty of sin. As we grow in our personal relationship with the Lord we will be more and more delivered from the power of sin. This is what is known as sanctification. It is our justification in Christ that gets us into heaven while it is our sanctification that is getting heaven into us now. 

Acts 10:1-8

Click here for the Acts 10:1-8 PODCAST

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, an officer in the Italian group of the Roman army. 2 Cornelius was a religious man. He and all the other people who lived in his house worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor and prayed to God often. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, “What do you want, Lord?” The angel said, “God has heard your prayers. He has seen that you give to the poor, and he remembers you. 5 Send some men now to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is also called Peter. 6 He is staying with a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier, a religious man who worked for him. 8 Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa. ~ Acts 10:1-8

Today, we transition into Acts 10 which is a significant chapter in the book of Acts because for the first time the gospel is taken to a Gentile household. The Jews have always thought that God was just interested in saving them but even all the way back to the beginning God has had a heart for all ethnic groups in the world. I find it most instructive to remember that before Abraham was a Jew, he was a Gentile from Mesopotamia. We shouldn't be surprised when we read the words of the Lord Jesus who said, "God loved the WORLD so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life."

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, an officer in the Italian group of the Roman army. 2 Cornelius was a religious man. He and all the other people who lived in his house worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor and prayed to God often."

Cornelius was a gentle centurion in the Roman army. He was a captain over a hundred men. Centurions were military-minded, rugged and often cruel. But, Cornelius was different. His devotion was marked by his practice of seeking God with his heart which translated into him being a generous man to others. Having been converted to Judaism, Cornelius was a god-fearing man who recognized the wisdom in seeking the face of his Creator. He was moral, but he was not born again. There are many people today who are like Cornelius, they are moral but they lack a personal relationship with the God of the Bible. Just because one is moral doesn't mean he is born again. You see, morality is a prelude to eternal life but it doesn't mean one is right before the Lord. No amount of goodness that you and I can muster up will ever justify us in the eyes of God. God has never based our acceptability before Him on the basis of our morality or our good behavior. No, this is why the Lord Jesus said, "You must be born again."

The Lord Jesus said those words to Nicodemus who was one of 600 Pharisees in first century Israel. Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin who saw after the religious affairs of the nation of Israel. The Pharisees spent their lives studying and applying the Old Testament law to situations of life for those who wanted to know and live God's culture. Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus one night asking what he needed to do to get to heaven. The Lord Jesus cut right into Nicodemus' religious heart by saying to him, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." The Lord Jesus knew Nicodemus believed wrongly that he could earn God's favor through his good behavior. Nicodemus did not understand that he could not be good enough. This is why the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be "born again." In addition to our natural birth which left us all opposed by God since we were all born sinful, we have to be born again by God's Holy Spirit in order to go into His presence. 

In v.3-6 of today's passage we read, "3 One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, 'Cornelius!' 4 Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, 'What do you want, Lord?' The angel said, 'God has heard your prayers. He has seen that you give to the poor, and he remembers you. 5 Send some men now to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is also called Peter. 6 He is staying with a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.'"

Cornelius had accepted the idea that there is a God, and in response, God responded to his honest heart by granting him a vision. Even though God spoke to Cornelius through an angel, Cornelius was still not saved. Cornelius' prayers, devotion, faith and his goodness had caught the attention of the Lord but it was not his goodness that saved him. It is only the goodness of God that saves anyone. The Bible is consistent throughout that sinful man is only saved through his faith in the gracious God of the Bible. It is only our faith in the Lord Jesus that pleases God to the point of forgiving us. God forgave us on the basis of our faith in the veracity of His Son's death on the cross on our behalf.

God told Cornelius to send some of his men to Joppa in order to bring back Simon Peter who was lodging at the house of Simon the Tanner. God didn't share the gospel with Cornelius but he required him to send for Simon Peter whom God was positioning to receive this visit and request from Cornelius' men. The fatherly love of God was set into motion in the life of Peter when Cornelius' servants arrived in Joppa. As this chapter will unfold, God was not only doing a work through Simon Peter, He was also doing a work in Simon Peter.

In v.7-8 of today's passage we read, "7 When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier, a religious man who worked for him. 8 Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa."

As always faith, real faith in the God of the Bible leads to obedience. It is not our obedience that justifies us in the eyes of God. No, it has always been faith that makes us right before Him. Obedience is a sanctification word, meaning the more we respond to the revelation God gives to us the more He will give to us. It is His self-revelation that causes our faith in Him to grow. Real faith, the sort of faith that justifies and saves us, is like a seed when planted and watered: it produces fruit; it produces a life in which one’s heart is growing to love the things of God and desires to walk in obedience to the will of God. It doesn’t produce perfection, but it does result in passion for God and a pursuit of what is right according to God.

The Lord had Cornelius to send his men to Peter because He was working in the heart of Peter. God never works in our lives in isolation. He rarely blesses us with us only in mind. Repeatedly we are told in Scripture that the Lord kept the promises made to Solomon’s father, the man after his own heart. I am personally convinced that so many of the blessings of God in my own life are the direct result of the faith and faithfulness of my parents and my grandparents and my great grandparents. Every young man like Solomon must remember that he is building on a foundation that someone else laid. God doesn’t bless us for us to simply enjoy the blessings; He blesses us to make us a blessing to others. In the same way that Cornelius was about to enter into a personal relationship with God, the Lord was delivering Peter from some misconceived ideas which were really steeped in prejudice.

Acts 9:36-43

Click here for the Acts 9:36-43 PODCAST

36 In Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha. Her Greek name was Dorcas, which means “deer.” She was always doing good things for people and had given much to the poor. 37 But she got sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Joppa wasn't far from Lydda, and the followers heard that Peter was there. They sent two men to say to him, “Please come with us as quickly as you can!” 39 At once, Peter went with them. The men took Peter upstairs into the room. Many widows were there crying. They showed him the coats and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was still alive. 40 After Peter had sent everyone out of the room, he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body of Dorcas and said, “Tabitha, get up!” The woman opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Peter called in the widows and the other followers and showed them that Dorcas had been raised from death. 42 Everyone in Joppa heard what had happened, and many of them put their faith in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed on for a while in Joppa in the house of a man named Simon, who made leather. ~ Acts 9:36-43

Today, we conclude our study of Acts 9 where the Lord Jesus continues to build His church made up of people from various walks of life. The church is the unique group of people called out of the world for the sake of knowing God for ourselves. God builds His church by using ordinary people to share the gospel and to teach them His ways. God uses flawed people to accomplish His unthwarted plan. Every believer in Christs finds his confidence in the holiness of Christ alone. Historians estimate the total number of Christians at the end of the first century was about 7,500. And, by A.D. 300 that number multiplied so that nearly half of the population of the Roman world had confessed faith in the Lord Jesus.

In v.36-37 of today's passage we read, "36 In Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha. Her Greek name was Dorcas, which means “deer.” She was always doing good things for people and had given much to the poor. 37 But she got sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room."

Peter was still in Lydda but in Joppa a girl with the name of Tabitha died. Joppa or Jaffa, as we know it today, is a port city mentioned four times in the Old Testament and ten in the New Testament. Tabitha was her Aramaic name and her Greek name was Dorcas both meaning "deer." This woman was full of good works and her charitable deeds were many. It is important that Luke described Dorcas this way because she was full of good works that were not self-serving. This is what the imputed holiness of Christ produces in us: a heart motivated to love others selflessly.

Dorcas died in Joppa and her body had been washed. This was a traditional part of the burial process, and, it also included an anointing to fit her for her burial. After this they laid her in an upper room out of sight of any who came by the house except for those who would purposefully go up to view her one last time. The custom in the Middle East was to always bury a person as quickly as possible, usually within the same day. 

In v.38-39 of today's passage we read, "38 Joppa wasn't far from Lydda, and the followers heard that Peter was there. They sent two men to say to him, “Please come with us as quickly as you can!” 39 At once, Peter went with them. The men took Peter upstairs into the room. Many widows were there crying. They showed him the coats and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was still alive."

Two unnamed men were sent from Lydda to Joppa in order to fetch the Apostle Peter. They called for him hoping for a miracle. This is why they implored him to come so quickly. It is obvious that the word of Peter healing Aeneas had gotten out to all of the surrounding area. The anticipation was that the Lord Jesus, through the Apostle Peter would raise her from the dead. Peter went with them completing the journey in about 4 hours.

When they arrive there were there many widows crying. It appears that these widows showed to Peter her works as they wore them. Due to the usage of the middle voice, it is implied that Dorcas had made their coats and clothes just for them. This reveals the heart that Dorcas had for others. We are most like God when we are giving. God's greatest act of charity was demonstrated at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16 is the centerpiece of what we call “the good news” or the gospel. It is foundational to our faith and the classic expression of God’s saving plan for all humankind. Out of His loving heart God gave His Son and all who believe in Him receive the gift of eternal life.

In v.40-41 of today's passage we read, "40 After Peter had sent everyone out of the room, he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body of Dorcas and said, 'Tabitha, get up!' The woman opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Peter called in the widows and the other followers and showed them that Dorcas had been raised from the dead."

Peter excused those who were in the room in order to have his full attention just as the Lord Jesus had done with the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue in Matthew 9:25. Peter then assumed the posture of humility and spoke with the Lord Jesus about the situation. Peter yielded himself to God through prayer, not claiming any authority of his own. With that, Peter turned to Tabitha and ordered her to rise. The miracle that was hoped for had come to pass. Dorcas had been brought back to life by the power of God. Not only was she brought back to life, she was brought back to a state of vigor that enabled her to rise up on her own. It was then that the widows and the other believers could see that Dorcas was alive.

We must never credit ourselves with the Lord's victories. When we attempt to take credit for that which God alone has accomplished, we are actually attempting to steal God’s glory from Him! When we encounter human praise, we do well to be like signposts pointing everybody to God. When we encounter human praise or a manifestation of the presence of the God’s glory, we should be like signposts pointing all the glory back to God for He is the only source of all true glory!

In v.42-43 of today's passage we read, "42 Everyone in Joppa heard what had happened, and many of them put their faith in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed on for a while in Joppa in the house of a man named Simon, who made leather."

The main purpose of Dorcas being brought back to life is given in the words, "Everyone in Joppa heard what had happened, and many of them put their faith in the Lord." Here was a woman whose ministry of love and selflessness was interrupted by death. But now, by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, she was restored to ministry and she resumed her good works. 

Peter stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner which was an unclean profession among the Jews. Tanners were looked upon with distaste because they handled the skins of dead animals. As a result, they were ceremonially defiled. God had Peter stay with Simon in order to underscore that with the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus the legalism of religion had no place among His people. In the next chapter here in Acts, Peter will be given a vision from God about unclean animals underscoring this very point. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross and we believed that His death procured the forgiveness of God on our behalf, every sin that we have ever committed or will ever commit has been forgiven and He has applied His very holiness to us so that when we stand before we will be perfect. We are perfect in His righteousness.

Acts 9:32-35

Click here for the Acts 9:32-35 PODCAST

32 While Peter was traveling from place to place, he visited the Lord's followers who lived in the town of Lydda. 33 There he met a man named Aeneas, who for eight years had been sick in bed and could not move. 34 Peter said to Aeneas, “Jesus Christ has healed you! Get up and make up your bed.” At once he stood up. 35 Many people in the towns of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas and became followers of the Lord. ~ Acts 9:32-35

Today, we return to our study of Acts 9 the focus has turned from the conversion of the Apostle Paul to the church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria. In fact, in today's passage the focus turns to the Apostle Peter who was traveling to Lydda which is about 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Peter traveled there because he was the recipient of the heart of the Lord for the lost when he became a believer. Heaven, rejoices when a lost sinner recognizes his need for salvation and cries out to God for help. God, by nature, is in a league of His own because of His heart for His creation. His heart of love is what sets Him apart from all other manufactured gods of this world. He is, by nature, kind, gracious, loving and forgiving. And, He rejoices when one sinner is brought home.  

In v.32 of today's passage we read, "While Peter was traveling from place to place, he visited the Lord's followers who lived in the town of Lydda."

Peter and the apostles had been inculcated with the love of God and His truth. This is why they traveled throughout Israel risking their lives in a hostile world. They ran a huge risk because they had gained the Lord's heart for the eternal welfare of others. In our culture of moral relativism, the statement that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to God rubs a lot of people the wrong way because the statement itself seems narrow and dogmatic. And, in a way, it is. But it was the Lord Jesus who said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." His perfect life, death and resurrection underscores the veracity of the fact that He is the Only Savior. 

During this trip, Peter traveled down to Lydda which was situated on the road from Jerusalem to Caesarea Philippi. Lydda, today, hosts the airport for the area and it is situated just outside Tel Aviv. Lydda, also known as Lod was one of the cities conquered by the tribe of Ephraim in the Old Testament. In Lydda there were believers in the Lord Jesus. They arrived there having been thrust out of Jerusalem due to the impending persecution. I always find it amazing when I realize the Lord either caused or allowed something negative in my life only to discover it produced something good later. The Bible is full of examples of this: be it Joseph being sold by his brothers and being sent to Egypt or be it Paul's thorn in the flesh, God has been known to turn our setbacks into comebacks.

In v.33 of today's passage we read, "There he met a man named Aeneas, who for eight years had been sick in bed and could not move."

While in Lydda Peter met a man who had been paralyzed for eight years. This man's name was Aeneas and we know very little about him. When Peter arrived in Lydda, Aeneas may have been living in the streets. He may have been staying with a believer. Or, he may have been in a house where Peter stayed that night. He may not have been a believer at the time. Despite our lack of knowledge of him, it is certain that Aeneas had been told about the Lord Jesus already because, in the next verse, Peter called him by name, implying they had already met. Aeneas was lying paralyzed on a poor man's mattress for eight years. One wonders if he was ready to give up on life since he had it so bad for so long. 

In v.34 of today's passage we read, "Peter said to Aeneas, 'Jesus Christ has healed you! Get up and make up your bed.' At once he stood up."

Unlike the many faith healers in this world today, the Apostle Peter never said that he had the power to heal anyone. In fact, he said, "Jesus Christ has healed you." Peter was fully aware that the Lord Jesus had healed this man, thus he gave Him the credit. We should be leery of any human who tries to take credit for the miracles that God performs. The Lord performed this miracle in order to authenticate the message that the apostle was preaching. Faith or unbelief, for that matter, are not the result of proofs. We are mistaken when we say that if people saw more miracles of the Lord Jesus they would believe. The religious leaders of first century Israel saw most of the Lord's miracles, yet, they did not believe. Faith in the Lord Jesus is not an automatic result of witnessing His miracles. 

For eight years the paralysis in this man's body held him unable to move as he desired. In the spiritual realm this has happened to all of us. Every human being ever conceived after the Fall suffer from paralysis of the spirit. We were all born dead to God spiritually. The Lord Jesus Christ says to all sinners, "Rise and begin to truly live by entering into a personal relationship with me." This is why the Lord Jesus came in order to rescue us from more than paralysis of our spirit, He came to rescue us from being dead to God.

In v.35 of today's passage we read, "Many people in the towns of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas and became followers of the Lord."

Literarily, there is an article before the word "Sharon" in this verse. Literally, it reads "the Sharon" which was a large district or a region. The name Sharon is found only here in the New Testament, but it is mentioned seven times in the Old Testament. The healing of Aeneas impacted not just people in a couple small towns, his healing impacted people in a vast area. The people saw the man and the miracle, and they believed in the Lord Jesus as the Messiah. So, with a single healing in a small town, an entire district received the gospel and believed. With the change in Aeneas, the gospel message had been confirmed and the Lord added to the number of believers in that area. The eight years were all worth it once Aeneas discovered how God used him to draw so many to Himself. Aeneas was given a story about the goodness of God and his story bridged the vast divide for so many to the glory of God.

Acts 9:26-31

Click here for the Acts 9:26-31

26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a true follower. 27 Then Barnabas helped him by taking him to the apostles. He explained how Saul had seen the Lord and how the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also said when Saul was in Damascus, he had spoken bravely in the name of Jesus. 28 Saul moved about freely with the followers in Jerusalem and told everyone about the Lord. 29 He was always arguing with the Jews who spoke Greek, and so they tried to kill him. 30 But the followers found out about this and took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to the city of Tarsus. 31 The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria now had a time of peace and kept on worshiping the Lord. The church became stronger, as the Holy Spirit encouraged it and helped it grow. ~ Acts 9:26-31

Today, we return to Acts 9 where the Apostle Paul has become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unlike Paul, most people do not experience a bright flash from the heavens along with a radical encounter with the Lord Jesus Himself. For most, our faith in the God of the Bible was formed in a moment in life when we realized we needed help and so we turned to God for that help. At that point we began to learn of His faithfulness through which our faith in Him grew. We do not grow in our understanding of God's great faithfulness without facing our fears head on. When we are found avoiding our fears, we are found avoiding God. In 1 John we learn that perfect love casts out all fears. Only God has perfect love. So, getting to know God and His love for us and walking daily with Him, enables us to be defined by something much greater than our fears. It is then that our fears serve us rather than we serving them.

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a true follower."

Many would think that the change that came about in the Apostle Paul happened over night. It didn't. As is noted in Galatians 1, three years elapsed before Paul started preaching about the Lord Jesus. After he came to faith in the Lord Jesus as his Savior, he immediately went to Arabia where he spent three years. Then he returned to Damascus and preached the gospel as we have seen. Then he went to Jerusalem as we will see in today's passage.

In Galatians 1:15-18 we read, "15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days."

When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried over and over to be a part of the fellowship there but the fear of the believers there prevented it. Their fear had debilitated them. This is ironic since Paul was going everywhere to preach Christ to the lost, even at the greatest of peril. We are really good at allowing the Lord to come into our lives through the pleasant experiences of life. We are reluctant to welcome His blessings through the not so pleasant experiences of life. It is the Lord Jesus who is the best antidote to our fears. The Bible reminds us that "fear is the beginning of wisdom." This type of fear is "the fear of the Lord" which is the healthiest emotion because it brings us to the place of understanding the greatness of our God. The more we experience His faithfulness, the more we will see how we can depend upon Him. Depending on God brings wisdom. So, we are wise to expose ourselves to our fears because through them we see Him more clearly.

I find it quite instructive that the Lord addresses our fears in the Bible more than anything else. Of course, the answer is the fear of the Lord which includes the terror of being away from Him. We do not grow in our faith in the Lord until we address our fears head on. It was the Lord who forced Israel while in the desert to face their greatest fear by looking at the serpent on the pole. The Apostle Paul had been converted for three years and was a changed man, but the fear of the past wouldn’t allow the believers in Jerusalem to believe that he was a changed man. Rather, they probably thought it was a ploy to get them to let their guard down, and then they would all be rounded up and arrested. Their faith was wrongly in their ability to evade Paul.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "Then Barnabas helped him by taking him to the apostles. He explained how Saul had seen the Lord and how the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also said when Saul was in Damascus, he had spoken bravely in the name of Jesus."

The fear of the Apostles in Jerusalem opened the door of opportunity to Barnabas whose name means "son of encouragement." Barnabas was introduced to us in Acts 4 where the apostles gave him the name Barnabas. He had land in Cyprus which he sold and he gave the proceeds to the church. Through his generosity, Barnabas encouraged the church. He, as the son of encouragement, took Saul of Tarsus in and then he took him to the apostles. After telling the apostles about his conversion, the apostles changed their approach to Paul. Barnabas befriended Paul at just the right moment. In similar fashion to how Ananias did earlier in this chapter. Somebody once said, "A friend is one who comes in when the rest of the world goes out." 

In v.28-30 of today's passage we read, "28 Saul moved about freely with the followers in Jerusalem and told everyone about the Lord. 29 He was always arguing with the Jews who spoke Greek, and so they tried to kill him. 30 But the followers found out about this and took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to the city of Tarsus."

The word of Barnabas was sufficient to convince the Apostles that Paul was no longer a threat but rather a true brother in Christ and a defender of the faith. From this point onward Paul was accepted among all of the believers. Paul had become a defender of the name he once tried to destroy. Many of those in Jerusalem would surely have known him personally. His life as a Pharisee gave him great and detailed knowledge of the Scriptures. Paul used the many oratory skills the Lord had given him to talk with the unbelievers about the Lord Jesus. This man who once stood and guarded the garments of those who stoned Stephen became the greatest defender of the gospel. His was a story only given by God. The Jews were so threatened by Paul, the believers in Jerusalem saw it fit to send him away to safety in Tarsus.

In v.31 of today's passage we read, "The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria now had a time of peace and kept on worshiping the Lord. The church became stronger, as the Holy Spirit encouraged it and helped it grow."

With Paul sent off to Tarsus, the narrative in Acts now focuses on the believers in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria who found great rest out of their worship of the Lord. It was at that point that the emperor of Rome, Caligula, set up idols in Jerusalem. This made the Jews so angry that they concentrated their efforts against Caligula and consequently left the Christians alone for a period of time. With the departure of Paul and the Jews' preoccupation with Caligula pushing his idols, the church experienced some much needed rest. 

As a result, the Church grew both spiritually and numerically. People always wonder how a church is built. Man does not build churches. Oh, he builds buildings but only God builds the church. He does so by building believers. He builds believers through spiritual edification. He does this through the study of His Word and Prayer. Then multiplication as God sees fit happens. Most people become a part of a body of believers because of the changed lives of those whom they know there. This is the only way God ever intended the church to grow. Rick Warren once aptly said, "There is no growth without change, no change without fear or loss and no loss without pain."

Acts 9:20-25

Click here for the Acts 9:20-25 PODCAST

20 Soon he went to the synagogues and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 Everyone who heard Saul was amazed and said, “Isn't this the man who caused so much trouble for those people in Jerusalem who worship in the name of Jesus? Didn't he come here to arrest them and take them to the chief priests?” 22 Saul preached with such power that he completely confused the Jewish people in Damascus, as he tried to show them that Jesus is the Messiah. 23  Later some of them made plans to kill Saul, 24 but he found out about it. He learned that they were guarding the gates of the city day and night in order to kill him. 25 Then one night his followers let him down over the city wall in a large basket. ~ Acts 9:20-25

Today, we continue our study of Acts 9 where we learn of the dramatic conversion of Saul of Tarsus who was later named the Apostle Paul. Acts 9 opens with Saul of Tarsus breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. He traveled 150-miles from Jerusalem to Damascus to round up and imprison any believers in the Lord Jesus that he could possibly find. But, as he traveled on the road to Damascus the Lord Jesus intercepted him. After being made blind for three days and being able to see after, Saul emerged as a different man. It was on that road to Damascus that Saul became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saul was blinded so that he could come to the place where he could truly see. After Saul lost his eyesight the Lord sent a man named Ananias to him and Saul was given his eyesight back. But, this time he saw everything differently. 

In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 Soon he went to the synagogues and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 Everyone who heard Saul was amazed and said, 'Isn't this the man who caused so much trouble for those people in Jerusalem who worship in the name of Jesus? Didn't he come here to arrest them and take them to the chief priests?'"

After spending some time with the believers in Damascus, Saul set out on the road seeking to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the unique things about becoming a believer in the Lord is that we often experience a sudden and dramatic break from our past. When this happened to me way back in 1981 my friends thought I had lost my mind. After his conversion, Saul preached the gospel everywhere he went. This man who was once convinced the Lord Jesus was not the Son of God was given a heck of a story so that he would be more believable. In fact, everyone who heard him was amazed at his change. When we come to the Lord, there will be changes in our lives but we must be careful to not base our acceptability before the Lord on the basis of any change He brings into our lives. No, it is only through the cross of the Lord Jesus are we made righteous in the eyes of God.

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "Saul preached with such power that he completely confused the Jewish people in Damascus, as he tried to show them that Jesus is the Messiah."

The word translated "power" is used to describe the effects of what Saul preached. It became more and more evident that he had a newfound ability to speak with authority which blew the minds of his hearers. Since Saul was a Pharisee, he was fully versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. But, he had wrongly viewed those Scriptures through the wrong lens. It wasn't until his eyes were opened spiritually and he entered into a personal relationship with God through His Son that Saul could see that all of the Bible has one central figure, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Saul spent hours “showing his hearers that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah.” This word translated "showing them" gives the sense of walking in one accord. Saul took the Scriptures and showed the people that it consistently spoke of the Lord Jesus. The idea behind this word brings with it the idea to compare and to examine as evidence, and to so prove it to be true. All of the Old Testament pictures given point us to the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether it was the sacrificial lambs of the Passover or if it the Tabernacle where the sacrifices were made, it all points us to the sinless One who came to remedy our sin problem. 

Another one of these Old Testament pictures is found in Psalm 22:6 which reads, "But I am merely a worm, far less than human ..." This Psalm begins with, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" This of course was the fourth of seven sayings of the Lord Jesus while He hung on the cross. The Psalmist wrote, "But I am merely a worm." The crimson worm is a bit different than any other worm because it’s actually an insect with a shell and six legs. God created the crimson worm to live in the land of Israel, and have a life cycle that points us to one event: the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. When a mother crimson worm is ready to lay her eggs, she finds her way up a specific type of oak tree. She makes the long and difficult ascent up the side of the tree, knowing that she will not come back down again. She goes there to give life to her children by laying down her own life. Once she reaches her spot and secures herself against the wood, her shell turns into a hard, crimson shelter. It’s under this covering where her eggs are hatched. For three days, she provides protection for her children. She also provides life for three days as her babies feed on her body until she dies. Once she is dead, she produces a crimson dye that stains the tree and the children underneath her. It is at that moment that the babies become crimson worms for the rest of their lives.

In v.23-25 of today's passage we read, "23  Later some of them made plans to kill Saul, 24 but he found out about it. He learned that they were guarding the gates of the city day and night in order to kill him. 25 Then one night his followers let him down over the city wall in a large basket."

Life in Christ is one of hope and faith in what lies ahead. During this life we will encounter much pain and suffering. We do not have testimonies without tests. In order for our faith in the Lord Jesus to grow we must encounter challenges to our faith in Him. Our lives are in the Lord's hands and the time for our departure from this earth will happen when the Lord has determined it to be so. Paul’s letters repeatedly speak of suffering by those who are in Christ. In 2 Timothy 3:12 we read, "... all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." Our willingness to endure persecution is in direct proportion to how sure we are of the gospel message.

Acts 9:10-19

Click here for the Acts 9:10-19 PODCAST

10 A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias answered, “Lord, here I am.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying, 12 and he has seen a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so he could see again.” 13 Ananias replied, “Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done to your followers in Jerusalem. 14 Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here and arrest anyone who worships in your name.” 15 The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name.” 17 Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on him and said, “Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18  Suddenly something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see. He got up and was baptized. 19 Then he ate and felt much better. ~ Acts 9:10-19

Today, we return to our study of Acts 9 where the antagonistic Pharisee apprentice named Saul had been persecuting Christians throughout Judea, Samaria and on up into Damascus. Saul's hatred was fueled by the day the religious leaders of first century Israel stoned Stephen for preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. The more Saul breathed out threats of murder the more he was bent on doing the work of the devil without even knowing it. In fact, he was fully convinced he was doing the bidding of the God of the Bible.

In v.10-12 in today's passage we read, "10 A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias answered, 'Lord, here I am.' 11 The Lord said to him, 'Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying, 12 and he has seen a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so he could see again.'"

Saul had been in Damascus without sight for three days and during that time he neither ate nor drank. It was then that the Lord Jesus appeared in a vision to a man who lived in Damascus. His name was Ananias which means "the LORD is gracious." The name Ananias appears about 30 times in the Old Testament. In the New Testament it is the name of the husband of Sapphira in Acts 5. The Lord chose Ananias for the specific purpose of being a reliable testimony to the Lord having chosen Saul for his apostolic ministry.

The Lord told Ananias to go to the house of a man named Judas who lived on Straight Street which is still in Damascus to this day. In addition, the Lord told Ananias that he would find Saul of Tarsus at Judas' house praying. He then told Ananias that He will give Saul a vision of him coming to help him to see. I find it interesting that the Bible mentions the word "pray" about 400 times throughout. Even though God already knows the future, prayer includes us in on what God will do in conjunction with history. This is why prayer is so important. It includes us on what God is doing in this world. It was Mother Teresa who once insightfully said, “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 Ananias replied, 'Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done to your followers in Jerusalem. 14 Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here and arrest anyone who worships in your name.'"

Ananias balked at the request of the Lord because deep down inside he believed he knew better than the Lord. In essence his problem was the clashing of his will with God's. This is a big part of the purpose of prayer that our will would be lost in the will of God. Ananias, thinking the Lord Jesus was not aware of what Saul had done to believers, balked at His request. In this, Ananias lacked in his theology. Once again we discover that everything in our lives comes back to our theology. When we lack trust in the Lord, we have a disconnect with proper theology. This disconnect is not with God, but with us. The sooner we understand that all of life is all about Him, the more to Him will we render control over our lives. It takes a decisive choice to yield control over our lives to the Lord, especially when we believe great danger is involved. 

In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 The Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name.'"

The Lord informed Ananias that He had big plans that involved Saul. Of course, Ananias had to exercise great faith because Saul had been persecuting Christians at every turn. Ananias' willingness to do as the Lord had commanded led to Saul, whose name will be changed to Paul. It was this same Paul who wrote in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." Long before the Apostle would agree to be a drink offering, he saw Ananias run the risk accordingly. We never know how our choices in this world will impact others for eternity. Had Ananias rebelled the story would not have unfolded as it did. Ananias' willingness to run the risk and go to Saul was a huge risk. This resulted in Saul seeing once again with his eyes but also to see with his heart.

In v.17-19 of today's passage we read, "17 Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on him and said, 'Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.' 18  Suddenly something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see. He got up and was baptized. 19 Then he ate and felt much better."

Once Ananias arrived at Judas' house and he placed his hands on Saul, it was quite clear that the same Lord Jesus had carefully orchestrated the events for the both of them. Each man would be able to bear witness that the outcome was shown to them in advance and that it occurred just as it had been revealed to them. It was after Ananias had placed his hands on Saul that Saul received the Holy Spirit. It is significant that this happened without the apostles being present. Confirmed here is that Paul's commission would be considered one directly from the Lord Jesus as an apostle, and one bearing the charge that would follow. 

But before that would happen, the scales had to fall from Saul's eyes. Great men debate as to whether the scales were physical or metaphorical. The miracle was that Paul had been given his eye sight back along with a heart that could see God. With that Saul was baptized. He had already received the Holy Spirit  when Ananias prayed for him and he had been born again. But the Lord had commanded that an outward sign be demonstrated for those who wondered if this Saul had ceased to persecute the church. After his baptism Saul ate some food and was strengthened in his body. I find it quite instructive that it was in Damascus just outside of Israel’s borders that Saul came to faith in the Lord Jesus. So appropriate since he would be later called "the apostle to the Gentiles." 

Acts 9:1-9

Click here for the Acts 9:1-9 PODCAST

1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord? Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. ~ Acts 9:1-9

Today, we transition into Acts 9 where we witness a major turning point in the history of the church. It was the Lord Jesus who told us in advance that the gospel would move in three stages: First to Jerusalem, then to Judea and all Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. During the first and second periods of time the gospel was being systematically preached throughout Jerusalem and every village of Samaria and Judea, all the while the Lord was preparing a man through whom the gospel would move into the third stage. Today, we come to the conversion of the Apostle Paul who will be that man whom the Lord will use to take the gospel into the third stage.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem."

When Saul witnessed Stephen being stoned to death back in Acts 7, it had an effect upon him. Saul seemed to go into overdrive with regard to persecuting Christians. It just goes to show that when we feed the flesh or the evil desires within us, the flesh will become stronger and more demanding. This explains how Saul got to the point of breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Saul was so driven by his flesh that he went to the High Priest to ask for permission to hunt down those who were of "the Way." Very early on, these words "the Way" were used by others to describe Christians. It was in John 14:6 where the Lord Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Me." Perhaps this is why the world referred to believers as those in "the Way."

Saul set out to persecute Christians 160 miles away in Damascus. He was so dedicated to his teachers that he was willing to commit violence and murder. Later on in Acts 26 Saul, whom we know now as the Apostle Paul said, "I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem; I not only shut up many of the saints in prison by authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme; and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities." 

In v.3-5 of today's passage we read, "3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' 5 And he said, 'Who are You, Lord? Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'"

While on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, Saul was intercepted by the Lord Jesus. Suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. The word translated "shone" is the same word used in the Greek language to describe the light that comes with a bolt of lightning. This light was so strong that Saul was knocked from his horse to the ground. The enormity of the moment never left Paul’s consciousness. This transformative event not only changed Saul, it changed the course of human history as we know it.

The phrase, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads," was a famous biblical metaphor. When the Lord Jesus spoke those words to Saul on the road to Damascus, He was pointing out that resisting God's will is a painful exercise that ultimately ends up hurting the rebel more than anyone else. A "goad" was a sharp stick farmers used to prod and steer oxen. If a stubborn ox kicked back against the sharp point in defiance, it would only drive the goad deeper into its own flesh. 

When the Lord Jesus asked Saul why he persecuted Him the Lord gave him his first glimpse into the great doctrine of Christians being in Christ. The word translated "compassion" in the New Testament comes from a word meaning "to suffer with." When the Lord Jesus took on a human body, He revealed a brand of compassion that no religion knows. This is why the cross is the central symbol of Christianity. The vertical and the horizontal bars meet and become inextricably linked. Suffering entered the world because of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to save us not by eliminating suffering but by transforming suffering, using it to grant us a vehicle to go deeper with Him and with others. This means our pain serves our ability to be honest and transparent resulting in a deeper level of intimacy with God and with others. 

In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' Then the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.' 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one."

Through this encounter the Lord Jesus privileged Saul with a fearful amazement of Himself. Saul experienced conversion that day which is a change from thinking that we can run our own lives to an acknowledgment that God is the only one who can do that. In fact, God is the only one with the right to tell us what to do. This was the first thing Paul experienced when he became a Christian. 

The next word translated astonished gives the idea of being perplexed or amazed. Saul was both terrified and he was unable to mentally grasp the enormity of the situation. The realization that he had fallen upon was that the One he had been pursuing and persecuting was not the followers of the Lord Jesus but the Lord God Himself. The word translated "speechless" is found only here in the Bible. It pictures a man who was mute. He couldn't say anything because the moment was too big for him. In addition, the men who accompanied Saul were silent from a state of complete astonishment. They saw the light but they could not see the Lord nor could they hear Him. 

In Acts 22:9 Paul wrote, "And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me."

To see and to hear the Lord Jesus is a privilege for anyone. The Lord purposefully revealed Himself only to Paul even though he had companions with him that day. The others were given enough information to know that something took place, but not enough to allow them to be converted. For those of us who are saved, this happened for us. Oh, we didn't see Him with our eyes nor did we hear Him with our ears. No, we experienced something much deeper, we saw Him and we heard Him with our hearts. 

The Lord Jesus had told the disciples earlier in John 20:29, "So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." 

In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank."

Saul had to be blinded in order to truly see. Religion had done a number on him. For three days he could only see in one direction, inward. Saul, later named Paul was a Christian-killer before he was a Christian leader. Like him, we all have assumptions about the Lord Jesus. We think we know Him. Even after getting to know Him for the 45 years, I have just begun to scratch the surface. It is the Lord Jesus who is known as the One who helps the blind to see. He blinded Saul in order to help him see what was most important. Thankfully, the Lord Jesus has been known to use the circumstances in our lives in order to stop us in our tracks and cause us to look more intently at Him. The Lord Jesus blinded Saul as an act of His grace. It was just what Saul needed to learn to listen to the Lord and to also to learn to hear Him for himself.