Alive - by Dave Smith

his sight.’
13
‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man
and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he
has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call
on your name.’
15
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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’
17
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.’ 18 Immediately, something like
scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was
baptised, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
(Acts 9:1–19)
Before we examine the nature of this encounter, we need to debunk a
couple of myths. The first is that Saul was ‘knocked off his horse’,
something popularised by later religious painters like Caravaggio. 9
None of the New Testament accounts mention a horse (a donkey may
have been more likely), or him being knocked off any such animal!
Secondly, and far more importantly, is the fact that many detractors
of the resurrection suggest that Saul merely had a ‘spiritual’
encounter with Jesus, more like a ‘vision’ than an actual meeting with
the person himself. The evidence itself strongly suggests otherwise. If
we look at Acts 9, it indicates that there was an actual light from
heaven, so forceful that Saul fell to the ground, and there was an
actual voice that was heard not just by Saul but by his companions. In
Acts 22, this is brought out even more clearly as Paul recounted how
his companions ‘did not understand the voice of him who was
speaking to me’ (22:9b). Put simply, this was not just an impression