Editor's Note: The following is a free chapter from Matthew Everhard's new book entitled, "Unknown: The Extraordinary Influence of Ordinary Christians." This new e-book is available FREE on Amazon until midnight tonight. (After tonight, $5.99).
1. ANANIAS: THE MENTOR
If I were to ask you to
name the man who was the first person to walk on the moon, I am sure that most
of my readers would be quick to cite Neil Armstrong. You might even be able to
add a couple other names to the mix: Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins also served
on that incredible Apollo space mission.
Our nation has always
been captivated by this incredible achievement of human ingenuity. When the
United States became the first nation to put human beings on the surface of the
moon, the rest of the world was put on notice: the USA has unmatched technology.
If it was possible, would
you have traded places with Neil Armstrong to become the first human being ever
(think about that!) to walk on our planet’s moon? Would you be pleased to have
your name perpetually committed to Trivial Pursuit and game-show status? Would
you desire to have your personal accomplishments become the content of every
third-grader’s routine course work?
Most of us, I think,
would jump at that chance. How amazing it would be to be a person of historical
significance!
But behind Neil
Armstrong’s amazing “first,” there were literally thousands of men and women
who helped him get there. While his name is inscribed indelibly in all American
History text books, these same books don’t have room for the names of all the
other persons without whose work the great space walk would have been
impossible.
Can you name any member of
the team that led the Houston-based mission control center? Can you name any of
the engineers who designed the now-famous lunar landing module? Can you name even
one of the men or women who designed Armstrong’s uniform or the individual who
sewed the flag patch on the shoulder of his space-suit? Likely not. I can’t
either. They are “unknown.”
Paul’s First Mentor
In the same way, while many of us could name many of the
details regarding the Apostle Paul’s conversion in Acts chapter nine, we might
get a bit fuzzy about the details of the aftermath. The truth is that God had
been preparing a man behind the scenes to help to train the great Apostle—a humble
“unknown” named Ananias.
Let’s look at this man who became Paul’s first mentor in
closer detail.
“Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias” (Acts 9:10). Notice
the word that is used to describe Ananias—a disciple. The Greek word mathetes simply means a “learner.” The
root word “math” is the same word from which we get the word mathematics. A
learner. A student. A pupil. One who is still in the process of learning the
faith and following Jesus.
I find it interesting that God did not use a man of great
prestige or reputation to train Paul. Ananias is not called a prophet, or a
priest, or an Apostle. God did not call one of the original followers to
disciple Paul. Peter and John were not given this task! Just an ordinary,
regular disciple: Ananias. A simple man who, like Paul, is on the path of
sanctification. He too is still learning about the great doctrines of the faith
and is following hard after Jesus. He may be a few steps ahead of Paul at this
point, but what does that matter?
“And the Lord said to him, ‘Rise and go to the street
called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul,
for behold, he is praying’” (Acts 9:11). Hmm. Straight Street? Sounds kind of
boring to me.
I can imagine Ananias thinking, “Wow. I’ve been waiting my
whole life for the Lord to speak to me audibly! Surely God could have called me
to a more exciting place than Straight
Street! Nothing remarkable about that at all! In
fact the only thing I know about it is, well, that it’s straight. What about calling
me to Mountain Pass? What about Adventure Island,
or even Devil’s Canyon? What about Calvary
Road? Oh well. Straight Street it is. Here goes…”
And so Ananias prepared for his journey to the other side
of town. He was obediently following the Lord’s leading as he had grown
accustomed to doing since he met Christ as his own master some time ago.
But wait, Ananias paused. An objection arose in his mind.
This one he even dared to voice aloud: Isn’t this the Saul of Tarsus (later to
become Paul) who has “done much evil to your saints at Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13)? I like the fact that
Ananias is concerned for the church. Here we are beginning to see why God chose
Ananias for this mission: this man had a tender heart of compassion for the
people of God.
His first thought was of the safety, unity, and health of
the Body of Christ. By raising this objection about the welfare of God’s
people, Ananias has only confirmed that he is in fact the right man for the
job. An arrogant man would not suffice for this task.
As he laced his sandals and gathered his staff and water
bottle to prepare for this strange encounter with the infamous persecutor of
the church—then known as Saul—perhaps Ananias’ thoughts began to wander. (Again,
I’m speculating here). He might have thought to himself something like this:
“Wow, I wonder what great message God has for me! If he is using such a scoundrel
as Saul to tell me something—even if he really is a changed man—it must be very
important! Perhaps God is going to raise me
up for some great work in His Kingdom! I can’t wait to hear what message Saul
has to tell me!”
And then, just as Ananias is about to leave for his journey
to Straight Street,
God gives further clarification about the mission. It’s not about Ananias at all. “Go, for
he [Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the
Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake
of my name” (Acts 9:16, emphasis added).
I’ve always wondered if this disappointed Ananias, that the
message primarily concerned Paul’s future and not his own.
Perhaps his heart lamented, “Wait! So SAUL is the chosen
instrument? I thought I was being chosen for a great mission? This is about
SAUL? How can that be fair? He persecuted your church and I have been a
faithful disciple all this time!”
(I can’t prove that Ananias thought along those lines; but
I confess that is exactly what I would have been thinking if I were him).
And then, objections aside, Ananias did what he had grown
accustomed to do as a simple, unknown disciple: he obeyed. We read these words
next, “So Ananias departed and entered the house” (Acts 9:17). Once again, he
simply obeyed and put one foot in front of the other all the way to Judas’
house across town.
After a few brief words of exhortation (vs. 17) to Saul—hereafter
to be called Paul—some prayer and the laying on of hands (always more powerful
than we realize by the way), the new convert regains his sight, is baptized,
and eats a meal. The passive construction of verse 18 makes it impossible to
know if Ananias was the one who did the baptizing, although that would seem
highly likely from the context. We might also wonder who prepared the meal that
Saul ate. I’m guessing Ananias did that too. Would a man that just recovered
from blindness be expected to fix his own omelet?
In summary, Ananias obeyed the Lord, prayed with the future
“hall of famer,” baptized him, and whipped up a tasty morsel for the man that
God chose to change the world. I think it is likely that Ananias did some other
instructional and doctrinal teaching with Paul privately, but if so, the text
does not emphasize that.
The whole flavor of the text seems to minimize Ananias’
role in Paul’s conversion. This is not unusual. God is always given the credit
when salvation occurs.
For the rest of the book of Acts, Ananias falls into utter
obscurity. (This Ananias is not to be confused with the two men of the
same name in Acts 5:1 and 23:2). He is never
mentioned again except in Acts 22 when Paul’s conversion story is recounted another
time. In this later account of Paul’s conversion, a few details are added that
confirm our sketch of Ananias’ general character: he is “devout” and “well
spoken by all the Jews” (Acts 22:12). We don’t read words like “amazing,”
“gifted,” or “awesome.” Just well spoken of.
He was good, not great. Yep, that’s our man. Obedient,
solid, faithful Ananias: a model for all of us “unknowns” today. Nothing fancy
here. Nothing sexy. Nothing rock-star-ish. Just faithful.
Spurgeon’s Conversion
This entire story reminds me of the conversion of the great
Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon of course is remembered by history as the “Prince of
Preachers.” The shadow of his legacy grows longer each generation as the number
of believers that are influenced by his writings multiplies. Spurgeon published more words than any other
man in history. Each sermon and book he wrote is dripping with the honey-sweet glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One would have thought that a great man would be chosen to
lead Spurgeon to Christ. But as history records the event, it was a far less
spectacular beginning. One snowy day the young Charles Spurgeon, then just a
lad, trudged to the local church. The weather was terrible. The snow was beginning
to grow so fierce that Charles was forced to reroute his path and fall into a
local Methodist church for shelter. There, only a handful had gathered for Sabbath
Day worship.
As God’s plan would have it, the ordained minister himself
was absent that day. The snow was too thick. And so, rising to the pulpit, was
an untrained and under-prepared deacon. Obviously terrified to preach, this
poor soul had no other recourse. He opened his Bible to a text in Isaiah, and
in the simplest language, pointed his single-digit audience to look to Jesus in
faith.
Out of words after just a few short moments, the preacher
looked directly at Spurgeon, apparently trying to stretch the sermon out a few
more minutes. He pleaded with the young boy to repent and believe. That
Spurgeon did, and God used the latter vessel infinitely more than the first.
Or so, it would seem, to the human eye.
Perhaps you never will be a Charles Spurgeon. Certainly you
never will be an Apostle Paul. But to think that we might be used as an Ananias is a thrill indeed! Maybe you
and I will never lead a stadium full of people in worship or preach to
thousands, but perhaps God will use us to save the person who one day will!
Maybe in God’s great plan, He is calling us to serve in a way
similar as that Methodist lay preacher did. God might use us to reach the one
who will reach hundreds. I often wonder if that snow-day preacher ever learned
of how greatly God had used him that morning. He might have lived and died not
knowing that the great Charles Spurgeon was converted during his own
ill-prepared sermon one morning.
Sometimes I think that God even hides our best fruit from
us so that we don’t grow too proud.
Look around you. Look at the children in your Sunday School
classroom, or the irritating neighbor boy on your block. Consider your own
children or grandchildren near you at the dinner table. Is there a Spurgeon in
your midst? Is there a Paul there?
Perhaps you will be chosen by God to sew the patch on the
shoulder of the next Neil Armstrong!
If God would be pleased to use me in that way, I wouldn’t
trade it for the world—even if my name never made it into the history books!
Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. He is also the author of several books in both traditional (print) and electronic formats.
