People in Paul's Life
3 - Ananias of Damascus
The third person we are going to look at in this series of studies is Ananias. He was the first person to help Paul following his conversion.
We are told he lived in Damascus, but are not told he had any leadership office in the church there. How long he lived in Damascus we are not told. Some commentators believe he might have gone to live there following the persecution of believers in Jerusalem. However, he could have lived there before that, because it appears he hadn’t witnessed Paul’s persecution of the church at Jerusalem first hand, because we are told that he had heard from many people about Paul, and how he had persecuted the believers.
Acts chapter 9 and verse 10 tells us that Ananias was a disciple. What do we mean by the word, ‘disciple’? The original Greek word means, ‘A learner or pupil’; so a disciple can be said to be someone who is a follower of a particular person’s teaching. The word is mainly used in the New Testament to refer to a follower of Christ; in other words, someone who has responded to the gospel by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and is living in a way that pleases God.
He was obviously a loyal disciple who the Lord knew He could rely on for him to be singled out by name for such an important task as to be the one to speak to Paul following his conversion. Later on Paul speaks of him as a man who strictly kept the law and who was well respected by the Jews in that city for his beliefs. Paul, when writing his second letter to Timothy tells him that the Lord knows those who are His. You can read this in chapter 2 and verse 19. Jesus, when referring to Himself as ‘the Good Shepherd’ in John chapter 10 and verse 3 says, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them ...” and in verse 14 of the same chapter He says, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” In the case of Ananias, it is obvious that there was a two-way relationship with the Lord, because when the Lord called him, he knew the voice of the Lord and responded to it by saying, “Here I am Lord.”
Occasionally I will answer the phone and the caller begins talking without announcing their name. When this happens I usually recognise the voice of the caller, but occasionally I don’t; or at least not immediately, because I don’t know the caller that well. Ananias recognised the voice of the Lord immediately and was therefore able to respond.
God speaks to us today through the Bible which we refer to as God’s Word. In order to hear God speaking to us through it we have to spend time in prayer and meditation on His word. If we do, God will reveal His will to us. He will tell us where He wants us to be and what he wants us to do and say, but we have to be ready for when He does, because he may want to say something special to us.
Ananias was ready for what the Lord had to say, so once He knew he had Ananias’ full attention He tells him what he wants him to do. He knew that if God was calling him, He must have a good reason for doing so, because God does not make mistakes. He doesn’t call the wrong person because he doesn’t call someone to do something they are not capable of doing, and he doesn’t call someone who He expects to turn His request down. God knew Ananias wouldn’t turn Him down, although Ananias wasn’t expecting such a request.
The request, or more of a command, was to go and visit Saul of Tarsus. This request must have come out of the blue and would not have been a welcome one to Ananias because he had heard that Saul was in Damascus for the sole purpose of arresting all the believers living there. However, Ananias did not respond with a definite ‘no’ because, although he was willing to do the Lord’s will, he needed reassurance from the Lord, and he got it. The Lord told him the plans he had for Saul’s future.
Once Ananias had this reassurance he lost no time in going to find Saul. God tells him exactly where he will find him. He would find Saul at the house of Judas in Straight Street. What is interesting is that we don’t read that the Lord had to tell Ananias what to say, although I am sure he would have sought the Lord’s will in this matter. He was sufficiently mature as a believer that he would be given the right words to say when they were needed and therefore know immediately what to say. He had obviously received good sound teaching from the scriptures and was able to apply it to whatever situation he found himself in. We can, however read some of what he said to Paul by turning to Acts chapter 22 and verses 12 to 16.
There is possibly another reason why Ananias hesitated when the Lord asked him to go and see Saul. Because of what he had heard, as well as being concerned for the safety of the believers in Damascus, he would also have the continuance of the Christian witness in the city at heart. He had heard all about the persecution of the believers in Jerusalem and how the authorities had tried to prevent the apostles from preaching and meeting as a church. He didn’t want the same to happen in Damascus.
Once Ananias had the reassurance from the Lord that it was safe to go and visit Saul he obeyed the command to go.
Notice how he greeted Saul when he met him. He put his hands on him and called him, “Brother Saul.” He was prepared to accept him as a fellow believer and brother in Christ. God had revealed to Ananias that Saul had been born again into the family of God and was therefore his brother. Such was the warmth that Ananias showed to Saul that Saul never forgot it. Years later as Paul, when addressing the crowd in Jerusalem following his arrest, mentions the part that Ananias played in nurturing him as a new believer.
Ananias was the right person, in the right place, at the right time for God to call on to do a specific work for Him.
He was prepared to do that work because God commanded him to do it, and he was prepared to obey God’s command to serve Him. We don’t read any more about Ananias in the Bible, but I am sure he continued serving the Lord in Damascus for as long as the Lord wanted him to. Each Christian today is called to serve the Lord in a particular way and in a particular place. God has given us, as individuals, special gifts which he can use in His service, if we let Him. As the old hymn by Elsie Yale puts it:
“There’s a work for Jesus, ready at your hand,
’Tis a task the Master just for you has planned.
Haste to do His bidding, yield Him service true;
There’s a work for Jesus none but you can do.”
If you have accepted Jesus into your life as your personal Saviour, can you look back and give thanks to God for someone who helped you as a new believer to strengthen your relationship with the Lord or have you been the person that has helped someone come to know the Lord and given them the pure milk of the Word of God? Are you the sort of person who is prepared to serve the Lord regardless of any danger or even inconvenience? Ananias was such a person.