He Called Him Brother

Imagine being told to knock on the door of the person who has been hurting your friends. Not to argue with him. To help him. And the first thing you must say when the door opens is a kind word.

That is what happened to a man named Ananias. His story is short and easy to skip. But he had the hardest job in the chapter.

The story so far

The story is in the book of Acts, which tells what happened after Jesus rose from the dead and went back to heaven. His followers were telling everyone that Jesus was alive.

Some leaders hated this message. One of the angriest was a young man named Saul. He was very strict about God's law, and he believed following Jesus was an insult to God.

But Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Acts 8:3

"The church" here means the people who followed Jesus, not a building. Ravaging means wrecking. Picture someone coming into your home and taking your parents to jail. That is what Saul's name meant to them.

Next he asked the high priest, the top leader of the Jewish temple, for official letters. With them he could arrest Jesus' followers in Damascus, a city more than a hundred miles north of Jerusalem.

But on the road to Damascus, a bright light flashed, Saul fell to the ground, and a voice spoke.

"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

Acts 9:4-5

To persecute means to hunt and hurt people because of what they believe. Saul thought he was attacking a group of people. Jesus says, "You are attacking me." His people are so close to him that hurting them is hurting him.

Saul got up blind. His friends led him by the hand into Damascus, and for three days he did not eat or drink. That is where Ananias comes in.

1. Ananias had a good reason to be afraid

Ananias was an ordinary follower of Jesus who lived in Damascus. One day God spoke to him in a vision, which is something God shows a person, a bit like a dream while awake.

The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul."

Acts 9:10-11

God gave him a street, a house, and a name. There was no mistaking who he meant. And Ananias knew exactly who Saul was.

"Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name."

Acts 9:13-14

"Saints" here simply means God's people, ordinary believers. The chief priests were the temple leaders, and they had given Saul permission to tie people up and take them away. Ananias is saying, "Lord, this man came here to arrest people like me." He was not being stubborn. He was being honest.

He was not the first to tell God, "Are you sure?" Long before, God sent a man named Moses to face the king of Egypt, who had made Moses' people slaves. Moses made excuses, and finally said this.

"Oh, my Lord, please send someone else."

Exodus 4:13

Moses and Ananias felt the same thing: this job is too dangerous, and I am the wrong person. The Bible does not hide that fear. What matters is what you do with it.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Psalm 56:3

David wrote this song before he became king, while he was running for his life. He does not say "I am never afraid." He says when I am afraid. Fear came, and he took it to God. Being scared is not the same as disobeying. Ananias told God his fear out loud, and then he listened.

2. God told Ananias what he could not see

God did not argue about Saul's past. Everything Ananias said was true. Instead, God told him something new.

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."

Acts 9:15

An instrument is a tool. Gentiles means people who were not Jewish, and "the children of Israel" means the Jewish people. God was saying, "I have picked this man. He will tell the whole world about me." Ananias knew Saul's past. God knew Saul's future.

This is how God has always seen people. When the prophet Samuel went to choose a new king, he was impressed by a tall young man. God said no.

For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7

We see what someone has done. God sees their heart and what he will do with them. Ananias had to trust God's view of Saul over his own.

Years later Saul, who also went by the name Paul, wrote a letter looking back on why God showed him kindness.

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him.

1 Timothy 1:16

Mercy is kindness given to someone who deserves punishment. "Foremost" means the worst one. Paul is saying, "If Jesus could save me, he can save anyone."

But the story is honest. Trusting a changed person can take time. When Saul later went to Jerusalem, the believers there did not want him.

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.

Acts 9:26-27

Disciples here means followers of Jesus. They were not wicked for being afraid. Saul had really hurt them. It took a man named Barnabas to bring Saul to the apostles, the leaders Jesus had picked, and speak up for him. The Bible does not ask us to pretend harm never happened. Welcoming a changed person is often slow, and it needs help from others.

3. The first word was "brother"

Ananias went. He walked into the room where the man who came to arrest him was sitting, blind and waiting.

So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Acts 9:17

Laying hands on someone was a way of blessing them, resting your hands on their head or shoulders. The Holy Spirit is God himself, coming to live inside a person. Right away Saul could see again, and he was baptized, which means washed in water as a public sign that he belonged to Jesus.

But look at the first word Ananias says. Not "Saul." Not "you." Brother. Before Saul could prove anything, Ananias called him family.

Saul never forgot that word. Many years later, he told his story to a crowd and repeated it.

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law ... came to me, and standing by me said to me, "Brother Saul, receive your sight."

Acts 22:12-13

Devout means serious about obeying God. One kind word, spoken by a scared man, stayed with Paul for the rest of his life.

Why could Ananias say it? Because Jesus had already done the same for him. Paul later wrote this.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 5:10

To be reconciled means to be brought back together as friends after a fight. We were God's enemies, with our backs turned to him. And Jesus did not wait for us to become good first. He died for us while we were still against him. Ananias was passing on the welcome he had already been given.

That welcome changes who we are.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Ephesians 2:19

An alien here means a foreigner. A household is the family under one roof. Jesus takes people who were outside and puts them in God's family. If God calls someone his child, we cannot treat them as a stranger.

What this looks like this week

Here is the whole message. Ananias was scared of Saul. But Jesus had changed Saul, so Ananias obeyed and called him brother. Jesus welcomed us the same way when we were against him.

Think about who your "Saul" might be.

• Someone who used to be unkind to you and has truly changed. Maybe a classmate who teased you has said sorry and is acting differently. Say hello to them by name this week.
• Someone new whose past makes people nervous. If a person with a hard history starts coming to church, be the first to speak to them.
• A believer you have been avoiding because of their past. Write down one kind sentence for them, and say it before Sunday.

One honest word of care. Welcoming someone is not the same as letting them keep hurting you. If someone is still hurting you, tell a trusted adult or a leader, and let others help.

But when Jesus has changed someone, he still sends ordinary, nervous people with one word to say. Brother. Sister. You belong here now. Saying it cost Ananias his comfort. Making it true for us cost Jesus his life. He welcomed us first.