WEDNESDAY November 22nd
Acts 9:20
And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
Have you ever wondered how it was possible for Saul to immediately be able to proclaim about Jesus and that he was the Son of God?
Well, he already had a knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures and despite his opposition to those in the Way, as a Jew, he would have had knowledge of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, the one who would come from God. But now, the knowledge that he knew and of course the evidence that he would have seen and been enlightened about while spending time with the disciples would have helped him to begin to put all the pieces together.
But there is something else that happened after Saul’s conversion, which we read of in Acts 9 verses 17-19, Ananias tells Saul that he was to lay his hands on him, so that he may regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now, the first thought ‘that you may regain your sight’, I like to think that there is a spiritual application here, his eyes were opened not only physically, but also spiritually to the wonder and the realization of who this Jesus really was, the One whose name and followers he had been seeking to deny and destroy.
Secondly, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, this was not his first encounter with the Holy Spirit, sadly the modern versions miss out something we read in the KJV which is this, that he had been kicking against the pricks! (v5 KJV) In other words while he was intent on persecuting the believers, the Holy Spirit had been convicting him! But now, after his conversion, he was filled with the Holy Spirit who would now become his teacher, helping him to understand the truths concerning who Jesus is and of the gospel which he had been called to proclaim.
We too need the help of the Holy Spirit, first to convict us and to lead us to Christ and secondly to help us as we seek to live for Christ and to play our part in proclaiming the gospel to those around us.
And I just love our text that says immediately he proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ.
Notice he was in the synagogues; he was among those who had rejected the Messiah and still to this day reject Jesus as the Messiah.
May we pray for the Jews, that as Saul’s eyes were opened, so the eyes of many Jews will be opened today to see who Jesus really is and will come to know him not just as the Messiah, but also as Saviour and Lord.