The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Scales” it comes from the Greek Word “lepis” which means “scale.”
A man traveling to arrest Christians is stopped in his tracks by a blinding light and a voice from heaven. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Acts 9.
Still breathing threats against the Lord’s disciples, Saul obtains letters authorizing him to arrest any followers of “the Way” he finds in Damascus. As he nears the city, a light from heaven suddenly shines around him, and he falls to the ground, hearing a voice ask, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” When Saul asks who is speaking, the voice answers, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest,” and instructs him to go into the city to receive further instructions. Saul rises blind, and his companions lead him by the hand into Damascus, where he neither eats nor drinks for three days. The Lord instructs a disciple named Ananias to go find Saul and restore his sight, and though Ananias hesitates, having heard of Saul’s reputation for persecuting believers, the Lord assures him that Saul is “a chosen vessel unto me” who will bear His name before Gentiles, kings, and Israel. Ananias obeys, and when he lays hands on Saul, something “like scales,” “lepis” in Greek, falls from his eyes, and he immediately regains his sight, is baptized, and begins eating again to regain his strength. Saul immediately begins preaching Christ in the synagogues, astonishing everyone who knew his previous reputation. As his preaching grows increasingly powerful, the Jews plot to kill him, watching the city gates day and night, but the disciples let him down over the city wall in a basket by night, and he escapes to Jerusalem, where Barnabas vouches for him before the still-skeptical apostles. Meanwhile, Peter travels through the region, healing Aeneas of paralysis at Lydda, and raising Dorcas, a beloved disciple known for her good works and charity, back to life at Joppa, causing many to believe throughout that region.
The same man riding toward Damascus with letters to arrest Christians became, within days, someone Christians in that very city could barely believe was the same person. No reputation, however hostile toward God, this chapter shows, is beyond the reach of a genuine encounter with the risen Jesus.
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