Acts 9:1–20
The Third Sunday of Easter, Year C
When Grace Stops You in Your Tracks
Acts 9:1–6, (7–20)
Opening Reflection
Sometimes resurrection knocks you flat.
Saul wasn’t looking for Jesus. He wasn’t questioning his path. He was convinced he was right—marching forward with righteous violence to silence the ones who dared to say love was stronger than death.
And then light. And then falling.
And then a voice asking the question no one else had dared:
“Why are you hurting me?”
This story reminds us that grace doesn’t always come gently. Sometimes it disrupts us. Sometimes it blinds us, only so we can finally learn how to see.
Context
This is one of the most famous conversion stories in Christian tradition, Saul, the persecutor, becoming Paul, the apostle. But it’s not just a story about personal change; it’s a story about how God interrupts violent certainty with vulnerable love.
Literary Setting: Acts 9 sits in the wider movement of the Gospel expanding beyond Jerusalem. Saul’s transformation becomes a hinge point for the mission to the Gentiles.
Historical Setting: Saul (later Paul) was a deeply religious Pharisee who believed he was defending God’s honor by persecuting early Jesus-followers, who were seen as heretics. His encounter on the Damascus road completely reroutes his life, and eventually reshapes the church’s entire mission.
Theological Frame: Grace interrupts. It doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up. It meets us on the road we’re already on, and calls us into a new story.
Read the Passage
Acts 9:1-20 NLT
1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest.
2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!
8 Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.
9 He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied.
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.
12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!
14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.
16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.
19 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.
20 And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
Key Insights
Grace Interrupts Before We Deserve It - Saul wasn’t seeking forgiveness. He wasn’t on the verge of repentance. Grace ambushed him.
Hurting People Hurts Christ - When Saul persecutes the early believers, Jesus says, “you are hurting me.” Christ is inseparably bound to the wounded.
New Vision Requires Surrender - Saul is blinded first. Only when he stops trying to lead does he learn how to truly see.
Guiding Question
Where in your life might grace be trying to interrupt your certainty—and open your eyes to something more?
Reflections & Resources
Working Preacher Commentary on Acts 9:1-20
A Plain Account Commentary on Acts 9:1-20