Acts
9:1-20
Saul’s conversion
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous
threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged
to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed
around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he answered.” Now get up and
go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling
with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see
anything. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was
blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The
Lord called out to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord,"
he answered. The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight
Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision
he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his
sight."
"Lord,"
Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the
harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with
authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." But
the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry
my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I
will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
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." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. Promptly he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.