Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.
‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭18a‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Saul was a murderer. He claimed that he had good causes—after all, murdering people of God seems like the Good Samaritan thing to do, right?

The story of Saul-turned-Paul is radical, a transformation so huge that he turned from persecutor to persecuted.

Let’s read the following verses before diving into the message:

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Saul, who killed Christians for their faith, was convinced that Jesus was not Christ, not God, and not worthy. So he killed Jesus’ followers—the Christians.

(In fact, Christians today are still being murdered and persecuted for their faith in countries like Nigeria, India, and Romania. For them it’s an ongoing battle between staying alive and staying true to your faith. Read more about that at The Voice of the Martyrs.)

Now, Saul, is on his way to Damascus. Did you catch what the verse said he was going to do? He was on his ways to Damascus…to find more Christians to arrest for their faith.

And this part is so cool to me–God stopped Saul while he was on his way. This dude was ready, he had everything, all he had to do was get there. But God said, “Nah bro, you’re not going to hurt my people. Let’s reset your focus.”

So God blinds Saul. Pretty cool, right? But, that’s not the whole story. Let’s go to the next verses:

‘In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” ‘
Acts 9:10-16 NIV

Ananias: a disciple of the lord, and clearly a devoted one. He’s obviously heard of Saul, and he’s even more likely to fear Saul because he is a Christian. He was one of those people that Saul hated and was trying to kill. To Ananias, Saul wasn’t just some bad dude, he was the guy who was targeting Ananias and his fellow Christians.

Ananias had every reason to want to disobey God–except for the fact that Ananias was a sinner, just like Saul. And God had saved Ananias, just like he would save Saul. And Ananias knows this.

So he obeys.

‘Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.’
Acts 9:17-19a NIV

I love that Ananias calls Saul ‘Brother Saul.’ And what’s even cooler is that he doesn’t rebuke or scold the dude, he places his hands on Saul–demonstrating healing–and basically tells him, “Jesus wants to heal you.”

I mean, Jesus, the guy who Saul had apparently been persecuting, wanting to heal him? If that’s not awesome, I’m not sure what is.

Now this is the part of the verse that I wanted to focus on: the scales falling from Saul’s eyes.

(First of all, that just sounds like dry skin to me and that kind of grosses me out.)

Okay, but the real first of all is this: snakes have scales. And if you remember Genesis 3, a snake appeared to Adam and Eve, convincing them that God didn’t love them.

(Just so you know: snakes aren’t a bad thing, but that’s what the devil first came in the form of, so it is often used as a metaphorical symbol of evil in the Bible. But, the Bible doesn’t directly say that every single snake you see on earth is the devil and bad.)

I think that the snake scales are a good reminder that sometimes the devil is going to make his way into our minds to change our vision, convincing us that God doesn’t love us.

Another fun point I came up with: snakes shed their skin, giving themselves a new start. And when scales fell from Saul’s eyes, he was immediately given a new start from God.

I think that we will all have scales fall from our eyes at some point. Sometimes all we need is a fresh start, right?

Thanks for reading!
~Willow <3