The Call of Ananias
 by John Hendrix

   In Acts 9 Ananias, a faithful, Jewish
disciple of the Lord, was given a special
calling by Jesus: Go preach to the most infamous
persecutor of the church in that time! Go find
Saul of Tarsus, lay your hands on him so that he
will regain his sight and explain to him that he
is going to be Christ’s "chosen instrument" to
preach to the Gentiles.
   Put in its proper context God’s command was
quite surprising and probably frightening. He
was being sent to a murderer (Acts 22:4), a
blasphemer (1 Tim 1:13), a very dangerous man.
Ananias knew Saul had come to arrest Christians
and take them back to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:2).
   Not surprisingly, Ananias was reluctant:
   Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard
from many about this man, how much harm he has
done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he
has authority from the chief priests to bind all
who call on Your name." (Acts 9:13-14)
   It is difficult to find fault with
Ananias. Surely there seemed to be better
prospects than Saul of Tarsus. Nevertheless,
Ananias obeyed, and Saul--through the inspired
word--is still teaching people today.
   Sometimes we can be too "choosy" about who
we try to teach. Most of us are more likely to
try and teach someone who is on the high side of
lower class or the low side of middle class. We
tend towards white people (some should fear
judgment day on this account--James 2:9). We
tend towards people who already have a certain
degree of religious training.
   Our tendencies are often misguided.
However, the Lord *did* give us guides that
limit who we should spend our time on.
   We are certainly taught to turn away from
the prospect that is not going to listen no
matter what we say:
   And whoever will not receive you nor hear
your words, when you depart from that house or
city, shake off the dust from your feet. (Matt
10:14)
   This verse is in the context of a special
preaching tour on which Jesus sent the
disciples. Still the principle applies today as
well. Paul and Barnabas practiced this according
to Acts 13:45-46. They turned from the Jews who
were not listening, to the Gentiles who were.
   We are taught to turn away from those who
completely reject God’s word. This is very
practical. Spend the time the Lord grants you
with more likely candidates. Try, but move on
when it is obvious that the trying is going
nowhere.
   Jesus also warned the disciples against
teaching perverse and potentially hostile
people:
   Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor
cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample
them under their feet, and turn and tear you in
pieces. (Matt 7:6)
   These terms--"dogs" and "swine"--usually
apply to perverse people, people who love to
wallow in their sins (2 Peter 2:22). We must be
careful to not waste God’s word on them. Given
the first chance these people will reveal their
nature. They will ridicule the word, blaspheme
God and turn on you as well.
   When a religious discussion is keeping you
constantly on the defensive concerning the
goodness of God, the value of His word and the
intelligence of those who believe it (as in,
"only idiots believe the Bible"), turn away. Do
not give these people continued opportunities to
blaspheme your Good Maker. Do not offer God’s
word as skeet for target practice. Do not
volunteer for ridicule and other persecution.
   But let them *prove* themselves dogs and
pigs--never just assume it.
   Then there are those who are so sure of
their own righteousness and holiness that they
will not listen to any instruction:
   Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do
You know that the Pharisees were offended when
they heard this saying?" But He answered and
said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has
not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone.
They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the
blind leads the blind, both will fall into a
ditch." (Matt 15:12-14)
   Their "knowledge" blinds them to learning
the truth. Remember the old saying, "Knowing is
the first barrier to learning." Paul taught a
similar lesson in 1 Cor 8:1 ("knowledge makes
proud"). Again, simply recognize when the
prospect is not listening.
   As we study these passages, we wonder why
Ananias should go to Saul of Tarsus. Of course,
we know that the Lord had softened his heart
through, at least, two visions and blindness.
Something else must be considered: while Paul
was doing awful things, he was doing them out of
misguided devotion to God. His conscience was
always clear (Acts 23:1).
   We cannot know someone’s heart. We do not
know what the Lord might have done to make a
prospect receptive to His word. That is why we
must always try. Give all men at least one
opportunity to hear:
   And He said to them, "Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature" [all
creation, NASB]. (Mark 16:15)
   "The Gospel Is For All" we often sing and
our Lord certainly spoke the words first. Sure,
some will not receive it, but that is their
fault. Our duty is to teach. That is *our*
command.
   We can too easily "write off" people
because they "aren’t listening." Maybe they are
not, but we should be careful that we are not
just covering the true reason we are not
teaching someone: we do not like them, we are
prejudiced or (could it be?) we would rather not
take the time. After all, teaching is a matter
of mercy as well as command. God’s mercy gave us
His word. We should have mercy towards those who
we feel are in error.
   I hope I never tire of saying that faith
and love demand action. If we love our neighbor
we will show him mercy, we will try to teach him
God’s word. We will try to convert him to Christ
or edify him in the Lord. That is love in
action. That is faith completed (James 2:22).
   Now let us look at some scriptures that
tell us who we should try to teach.
   Jesus taught by example that those who are
not righteous in their own eyes may be very
responsive to the word:
   Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in
the house, that behold, many tax collectors and
sinners came and sat down with Him and His
disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they
said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher
eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus
heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well
have no need of a physician, but those who are
sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I
desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance." (Matt 9:10-13)
   The "religiously cast out" might in fact
be the very ones who will turn and listen to
God’s word. Many of these may be cast out simply
because they have only been taught error.
Perhaps they have turned away because no one has
shown them the true way. This could have led
them to spiritual apathy and the resulting
depravity. If Saul of Tarsus could be taught,
perhaps these could be also.
   And patience is needed. I know that *I* do
not just immediately jump on every idea that
comes by and sounds good. That would not even be
right (Eph 4:10). I need time to study and
reflect to see my error.
   And have mercy on some, who are doubting;
save others, snatching them out of the fire; and
on some have mercy with fear, hating even the
garment polluted by the flesh. (Jude 1:22-23,
NASB)
   The passage teaches us to give some a
chance to strengthen their faith. Give them a
little time. God gave Saul of Tarsus a chance,
why not these?
   Even those who already openly oppose the
gospel are worthy of one hearing of the word:
   in humility correcting those who are in
opposition, if God perhaps will grant them
repentance, so that they may know the truth, (2
Tim 2:25)
   Give them a chance. Let God act in His
time. Do not underestimate the power of God’s
word. Obey your command, teach, and God will do
the rest.
   And if God touched the heart of Saul of
Tarsus, He might just touch these too.
   The call of Ananias was surprising and
frightening. But aren’t we glad he obeyed it?