Acts 9:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

NIV: In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.'

NASB: and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.'

CSB: In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight."

NLT: I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.'

KJV: And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

NKJV: And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

Ananias is a Jesus-follower in Damascus who knows about the Saul who initiated the violent persecution of the church (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2). Because Saul later refers to him as "devout" (Acts 22:12), he may be a Gentile who worshiped the Jewish God before he became a Christian. He is not the husband of Sapphira (Acts 5:1–6) or the future high priest whom Saul will offend (Acts 23:2; 24:1).

Despite living 133 miles from Jerusalem, Ananias is still nervous that Saul, under the authority of the Sanhedrin, is coming to Damascus to arrest Jesus-followers. Now, Jesus is telling him that Saul has reached the city and he needs to find him. On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul in a blazing light and asked him why he was persecuting Him (Acts 9:1–9). For the last three days, Saul has been in a house, fasting from food and drink, and praying.

What's more, Saul is blind, and Jesus wants Ananias to heal him. Healing the blind is a miracle that is particularly associated with the Messiah (Isaiah 42:7). Only Jesus is credited with healing of blindness in Scripture—including here, where Ananias acts as something of a surrogate or conduit for Christ's healing. If Saul has any doubt about who Jesus is, this healing will end it. But Ananias needs more convincing.

Acts 9:10–19 explains how the greatest earthly enemy of the early church experienced a change of heart. Saul is a Pharisee-trained, Greek-speaking Jew and zealous persecutor of Christians (Acts 8:1–3). He asked for permission to hunt Jesus-followers in Damascus, but found Jesus, instead (Acts 9:1–9). Blinded by Jesus' glory, he has been waiting in Damascus for Ananias, a Jesus-follower. Ananias arrives and participates as as Jesus heals Saul from both physical and spiritual blindness. Saul is baptized and takes physical nourishment. Saul stays in Damascus for some time and immediately takes his extensive training in Jewish Scripture to argue that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. The Sanhedrin's hitman is now a target of his former allies.

Acts 9 sets the stage for the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles. Saul continues the persecution of the church by traveling to Damascus to arrest Jesus-followers. Before he reaches the city, Jesus confronts him. Saul realizes Jesus is the Messiah and immediately starts spreading the news, first in Damascus and later in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Peter travels to modern-day Tel Aviv to heal a paralyzed man and bring a dead woman back to life. The miracles aren't unusual, but the story leaves him in Joppa, poised to take the next step in Jesus' mandate to be His witness (Acts 1:8).

The murder of the Jesus-follower Stephen has ignited a fierce persecution against the church, led by a young Pharisee-trained man named Saul (Acts 7:54—8:3; 9:1–2). When he realizes Jesus truly is the Messiah, that fervor fuels his own evangelism (Acts 9:3–30). Meanwhile, Peter travels to the coast of Judea. Soon, he will teach a prominent Gentile household about Jesus and discover that Gentiles can be saved (Acts 10). The stage will be set for Saul to spread the saving news of Jesus to ''the end of the earth'' (Acts 1:8) under the Greek version of his name: Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.