Acts 9 — The most dangerous enemy of the church becomes its greatest voice
8 min read
fresh.bible editorial
Key Takeaways
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Ananias calling Saul 'brother' — the man who'd been arresting believers — is one of the most courageous single words ever spoken in obedience to God.
Dorcas's legacy wasn't a sermon or a title — it was a room full of widows holding coats she'd sewn for them, and God thought that was worth a resurrection.
📢 Chapter 9 — The Man Who Switched Sides ⚡
This chapter is one of the great turning points in history. Not just history — human history. A man who had made it his personal mission to destroy the followers of is about to become the most important voice for the movement he tried to end. And the way it happens is so dramatic, so unlikely, that two thousand years later people still use the phrase "road to " to describe a total life reversal.
God completely flipped Paul's identity. What part of your identity is God trying to reshape?
Ananias was told to help the guy who was persecuting his people. Could you obey something that scary?
But that's not all. The chapter also shifts to , who heals a paralyzed man and raises a woman from the dead. The early church is growing, and it's growing in ways nobody planned.
Blinded on the Road 🌩️
Let's set the scene. — still going by his name at this point — was not casually opposed to the early . He was actively hunting believers. The text says he was "breathing threats and murder." That's not metaphor. He had gone to the and gotten official authorization — written letters — to travel to and arrest anyone who followed "the Way," men or women, and drag them back to in chains.
So picture him on the road. Documents in hand. Authority behind him. Completely sure he was doing God's work. And then:
A light from heaven — sudden, blinding — surrounded him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice:
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
He said, "Who are you, Lord?"
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Get up. Go into the city. You'll be told what to do."
The men traveling with stood there speechless. They heard the voice but saw no one. When Saul got up and opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. The man who had marched toward Damascus with total certainty had to be led by the hand like a child. For three days he sat in darkness. He didn't eat. He didn't drink.
Think about that question: "Why are you persecuting me?" Not "why are you persecuting my followers." Me. identified so closely with his people that an attack on them was an attack on him. Every arrest, every imprisonment, every act of violence — Jesus took it personally. That's not just theology. That's identity. When someone comes after the church, they're coming after himself.
The Most Reluctant Errand 😬
Meanwhile, there was a in named . He was about to get the assignment of a lifetime — and he was not excited about it. The Lord spoke to him in a vision:
"Ananias."
"Here I am, Lord."
"Get up and go to the street called Straight. At the house of Judas, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He's praying right now. He's already seen a vision of you coming to lay hands on him so he can see again."
Now here's where it gets honest. Ananias pushed back:
"Lord — I've heard about this man. Everyone has. He's done terrible things to your people in Jerusalem. And he's here with authority from the chief priests to arrest anyone who calls on your name."
That's not disrespect. That's a reasonable concern. reputation preceded him. Ananias was essentially being asked to walk into the home of the man who had been arresting believers across two cities and put his hands on him. But God's response reframed everything:
"Go. He is a chosen instrument of mine — to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel. I'm going to show him how much he must suffer for my name."
So Ananias went. He walked into the house. And the first word out of his mouth was the last thing Saul would have expected:
"Brother Saul — the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, sent me so you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Brother. Not "enemy." Not "suspect." Brother. That single word — spoken to a man who had dragged believers to prison — took everything Ananias had to say. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes. He could see. He got up, was , ate some food, and started regaining his strength. He stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days.
The person you think could never change? God might already be working on them. And he might ask you to be part of it — even when it doesn't feel safe.
The Synagogues Couldn't Believe It 🔄
What happened next was so jarring that people genuinely didn't know what to make of it. — the man who had come to to arrest followers of — walked into the and started preaching:
"Jesus is the Son of God."
Everyone who heard him was stunned. People were saying:
"Wait — isn't this the same guy who was destroying the church in Jerusalem? Didn't he come here specifically to arrest believers and bring them to the chief priests?"
And yet Saul kept going. He grew stronger. He debated the Jewish community in Damascus and kept proving that Jesus was the . He wasn't just a convert — he was immediately effective, because he knew the inside and out. The same training that had made him a fierce persecutor now made him an unstoppable .
It's like watching someone use the exact tools they used to tear something down to build it back up. Same mind, same intensity, same relentless drive — completely redirected.
Escape in a Basket 🧺
Here's the part they don't usually put on the inspirational posters. After many days, the Jewish leaders in decided to kill . They set up a watch at the city gates — day and night — waiting for him to try to leave.
But Saul's followers found out about the plot. Under cover of darkness, they lowered him through an opening in the wall in a basket.
A basket. The man who would one day write half the New Testament made his great escape dangling from a wall like cargo. This is how the biggest career in Christian history started — not with a triumphant launch, but with a midnight getaway. God's plans don't always look impressive from the outside.
Nobody Trusted Him 🚪
When finally made it to , he tried to join the there. And every single one of them was afraid of him. They didn't buy the conversion story. They thought it might be a trick. Can you blame them? This was the man who had overseen the arrest and imprisonment of their friends. The idea that he'd suddenly switched sides felt too good — and too dangerous — to be true.
But stepped up. He took Saul directly to the and vouched for him — told them the whole story. How Saul had seen the Lord on the road. How the Lord had spoken to him. How he'd been preaching boldly in in the name of .
So Saul was welcomed in. He moved freely among the believers in Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they started plotting to kill him too — the same pattern all over again. When the believers found out, they brought him down to and sent him home to .
Notice the pattern: conversion didn't make Saul's life easier. It made it harder. He gained a mission and lost his safety. Every city, someone was trying to kill him. That's what Jesus meant when he told , "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Following Jesus cost Saul everything he used to have — his status, his network, his security. And he never looked back.
A Moment to Breathe 🌱
Then comes one of the quietest, most beautiful verses in Acts:
The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace. It was being built up. Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
After all the persecution, the arrests, the threats — a season of . The wasn't just surviving. It was growing. Sometimes growth happens in the dramatic moments. But often, the deepest roots go down during the quiet seasons when nobody is watching.
Eight Years Flat on His Back 🛏️
The narrative shifts to , who was traveling through the region visiting believers. In a town called Lydda, he found a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years — completely paralyzed.
Peter said to him:
"Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed."
And immediately — he stood up. Eight years of lying there, and in a single moment it was over. Everyone in Lydda and the plain of Sharon saw what happened, and they turned to the Lord.
No buildup. No lengthy session. Just a name — the name of — and a command. Peter didn't say "I heal you." He said " heals you." He knew exactly where the power came from.
The Woman Everyone Loved 💐
In the nearby town of , there was a named Tabitha — Dorcas in Greek. The text describes her simply: she was full of good works and acts of charity. She was the kind of person who showed her by what she made with her own hands.
Then she got sick. And she died.
The believers washed her body and laid her in an upper room. When they heard was nearby in Lydda, they sent two men to him immediately, begging him to come without delay. There's a desperation in that request — they weren't ready to let her go.
When Peter arrived, they brought him upstairs. The room was full of widows, weeping, holding up tunics and garments that Dorcas had made for them while she was alive. Think about that. They weren't showing Peter her resume or her credentials. They were showing him coats. Things she had sewn with her own hands for people who needed them. That was her legacy — not what she said, but what she made for others.
Peter put everyone outside the room. He knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said:
"Tabitha, arise."
She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand, helped her to her feet, and called the believers and widows back in. He presented her to them — alive.
The news spread through all of Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in the city for many days, living with a man named , a tanner.
There's something deeply moving about this scene. Dorcas wasn't a preacher. She wasn't a leader with a title. She was someone who quietly served the people around her — and when she was gone, an entire room of widows stood crying, holding the proof of her . Not everyone's calling looks dramatic. Some people change the world one coat at a time. And God thought she was worth bringing back.
