Ananias is one of the unsung heroes of the New Testament. When Jesus called him to love Saul, a man notorious for persecuting Christians, Ananias did something extraordinary: he placed his hands on his enemy and called him “Brother.” Sometimes the greatest acts of love happen when we cannot see what God is doing or what difference our love will make. This week, we're exploring what it means to cast the first grace in a world that teaches us to cast the first stone.
A Note Before We Get Started
These questions assume your safety isn’t in question. If you’re in a relationship where someone is harming you physically, sexually, or emotionally, and that harm is active, ongoing, and unrepentant, with no accountability or consequence, this sermon is not asking you to stay, go back, or extend trust to that person.
Ananias walked into danger with a direct word from Jesus about what He was already doing in Saul. Most of us don’t get that kind of clarity, and his story doesn’t translate one-to-one to abuse.
Loving an enemy can look like distance. Forgiveness and trust are two different things, and a boundary can be one of the most loving things you ever do.
If this is your situation, please talk with one of our pastors or a counselor you trust. You can also reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline anytime at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788.
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Acts by Beverly Gaventa
Acts by Willie James Jennings
Sermon Video
Acts 9:10–27
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 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!”
21 All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?”
22 Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. 23 After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. 24 They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. 25 So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.
26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.
Ephesians 1:19-20
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
1 Corinthians 15:58
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
Ephesians 6:12
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Sermon Quotes
Enemy-Love Requires Three Things of You:
1. Place Your Hands Where Jesus Is Working
2. Love in Ways They Won't See You
3. Cast Trust Over Suspicion
The truth we know of a person or people must move to the background, and what we know of God’s desire for them must move to the foreground. - Willie James Jennings
Yet Ananias was there for the crucial time of blindness when someone could not see their way and did not know their future. - Willie James Jennings
The danger we imagine inscribed on their bodies must be read against the delight we know God takes in their life. That same divine delight covers us. - Willie James Jennings
Discussion Questions
Who has been an Ananias in your life?
Who loved you, believed in you, or extended trust to you when you couldn't see your own worth or a future for yourself? How might your life be different without their love? In what ways did their love impact your soul, perhaps in ways neither of you could see at the time?
How much does the love you give depend on seeing the difference it makes?
In your marriage, family, or other relationships, have you grown tired or discouraged because your kindness, patience, or generosity doesn't seem to be changing anything? How would your life change if you had the
“spiritual wisdom to know” that because of the resurrection power of Jesus, nothing given in love is ever wasted?What would it look like for you to be an Ananias to someone who has made mistakes, holds harmful beliefs, or has hurt you or others?
Jesus does not dismiss the harm Saul has caused. In fact, Jesus says that Saul has hurt Him by hurting others. Nevertheless, Ananias is called to see Saul's past in the context of God's delight in him and to place his hands where Jesus is working. Who in your life do you struggle to see through the lens of God's love? What might change if you began to see that person not only through what they've done, but through God's delight in who they are?
Finish this sentence honestly: “I’d trust them if they would just…”
Ananias called Saul “Brother” before Saul had proven anything. Paul reminds us that our real struggle isn't against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), yet suspicion is one of the ways the powers of darkness turn people into enemies. Think of someone you've struggled to trust. What is your suspicion protecting in you? What is it costing you, and what might it be costing them? What would it look like to cast the first grace without any guarantee of being understood, appreciated, or loved in return?
Most of us assume the biggest threat to our world is bad ideas, usually the other side’s. What if the deeper threat is suspicion? What if a lot of ideologies are actually born out of suspicion: deciding “those people” can’t be trusted, then building a whole worldview to prove it? Paul says our real fight isn’t against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). Where has suspicion cost you a relationship, or kept one from ever starting? What is it costing your family, our church, our city? What would it look like for you to go first and say “Brother” or “Sister”?
