Reading the Bible often challenges our assumptions about Jesus. We think we understand Him, and then He does something that sends us back to the drawing board. Take, for example, what He does to Saul. We know what Jesus does with blind people in the Gospels, right? He makes them see. Why, then, does he blind Saul? And what does that tell us about Jesus? Am I next? Is this the kind of thing that Jesus does to people? Why wasn’t I warned about this in Sunday School?
Who was Saul?
If you’re unfamiliar with the details, Saul was an earnest Jewish scholar with a prestigious education under one of the top rabbis of his day. As a member of the Pharisees, he was a meticulous rule-keeper who endorsed the stoning of Stephen, the church’s first martyr (Acts 8:1), and then obtained permission to arrest the followers of Jesus while threatening to murder them (Acts 9:1-2).
Why did Jesus blind him?
It seems clear that Jesus blinded Saul for two main reasons, but not the reason you’d think. I would have assumed that Jesus was blinding Saul to hurt and punish him, but as you read the actual account, there’s no indication that retribution was part of the calculation. Saul’s blinding was all good news.
Saul had been trained to think one way for as long as he could remember. Jesus didn’t fit the mould that he’d been taught, and until he was blinded, he’d never slowed down long enough to consider a different way. When Saul lost his sight, we’re told that he went without food or liquids for three days. He was fasting as a way of seeking God and trying to discern His will. By taking away Saul’s sight, Jesus helped him to listen, and in listening, Saul found new life.
Saul’s blindness had another effect on his life, however. To have his sight restored, he would need another Christian to pray for his healing. Imagine how vulnerable he would feel in needing the help of the very people you had previously been intent on destroying. Imagine the grace and trust it would require for one of those people whom Saul had persecuted to now come and pray for his healing. And yet that’s exactly what happened (Acts 9:17). Saul’s blindness forged a bond between two people who would have otherwise been enemies and taught both of them a lesson on the importance of fellowship.
How might Jesus do the same to me?
God does things dramatically in Scripture to teach us lessons about Himself and His ways. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t regularly blind people today. But He does often use circumstances to stop us in our tracks and cause us to consider our ways. If you’ve put Jesus in the back seat and painful circumstances come into your life, respond the way Saul did, and make a priority of listening to God and humbling yourself before Him.
Many Christians consider themselves fully committed to Jesus but aren’t fully committed to what Jesus is fully committed to: the church. God will often use weakness in our lives to force us to draw near to others in fellowship. It seems that we need regular reminders that Christianity is not a solo sport. It’s often in the context of trials and disappointments that we learn that we need to get close enough for people to pray for us and for us to pray for them. Of course, this isn’t a lesson that we need a wake-up call to learn. As Jesus said, “ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Commit yourself in fellowship. Grow in vulnerability and openness toward other believers. Extend grace to people who need it.
Jesus blinded Saul as an act of pure grace. It was just what he needed to learn to listen and to love. Let’s lean into those lessons before the trial comes but all the more when it does.
In awe of Him,
Paul
