Series Saved and Sent

Blind in Order to See

Acts 9:1-19 · Kaká Monteiro · September 13, 2026

The persecutor intercepted, the three days of darkness, the ordinary man who calls his enemy brother

The central idea

“God transforms people, calls ordinary people to take part in that transformation and leads his people by grace.”

Saul was zealous, religious and convinced, and completely blind. The turning point of the text is not his effort, it is God's initiative: "suddenly" the story changes hands. And the grace that reaches Saul comes through the costly obedience of a simple man, who walks into his enemy's house and calls him brother.

The message in 3 movements

01
God goes after the lost, even those who think they are right.
Saul was Lloyd-Jones's "self-sufficient sinner": he never felt he needed Christ. When our convictions clash with the Bible, it is usually we who are wrong. And God may be working in someone long before we can see it.
02
Sometimes we need to stop in order to see.
The three days of blindness cut off the distractions so Saul could listen. It wasn't punishment: it was space, opportunity, kindness. Conversion rarely jumps from collision to joy; it usually passes through a valley of disorientation.
03
God uses ordinary people, and courage is obeying while afraid.
Ananias wasn't naive: he knew who Saul was and told the Lord so. He went anyway. Faithfulness, availability and a teachable heart. God still speaks, through many means, but never contradicting Scripture.

Reading the text · Acts 9:1-19

Acts 9:1-9 · The collision on the road

Saul, still breathing out threats against the disciples, asks for letters to arrest those "of the Way" in Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven throws him to the ground and a voice asks: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He gets up blind and spends three days without seeing, eating or drinking.

Acts 9:10-16 · Ananias's reluctant yes

The Lord calls Ananias in a vision and gives the address: the house of Judas, on Straight Street. Ananias answers "Here I am", but recalls the harm Saul has done. God doesn't deny the danger: Saul is his chosen instrument to carry the name of Jesus to the Gentiles, to kings and to Israel, and he will suffer for that name.

Acts 9:17-19 · The church's embrace

Ananias goes in, lays his hands on him and says: "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Something like scales falls from Saul's eyes; he is baptized, eats, regains his strength and stays with the disciples.

Questions for the group

To open: tell about a time you were absolutely sure about something and later found out you were wrong. What was it like to change your mind?

1
Saul was religious, zealous and convinced, and he was blind. In which areas of your life is it hardest to let the Bible correct your certainties? How do you react when it contradicts what you think?
2
Saul spent three days without seeing, eating or drinking: a time of darkness that wasn't punishment but space. Have you lived a season like that, when God interrupted your distractions so you could listen? What did you learn?
3
Ananias felt fear, told the Lord about it and obeyed anyway. Is there something you know God has already said (to forgive, to reach out, to serve) that you've been putting off out of fear? What would obeying look like this week?
4
Ananias called Saul "brother" before any sign of change. Are you waiting to "get there" before you feel you belong? Or is there someone you will only accept after they prove they have changed?

Key passages

Ephesians 2:4-5: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ." The "suddenly" of Acts 9 is that "but God": everything before is hopeless, everything after is grace.
1 Timothy 1:15: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst." Paul never forgot where he had been taken from: his life became a billboard of grace.
Isaiah 6:8: "Here am I. Send me!" Ananias joins the long line of ordinary servants who answer the call by name, ready and available.

To close

A step for this week. Think of someone you still don't treat as a brother or sister because you haven't seen the change you'd like to see, and take a step of welcome: a message, an invitation, a prayer together. If something needs to be said, confessed or set right, don't wait.

Prayer. Thank God that he reached us while we were still blind. Ask for Ananias's "yes" to obey even when afraid, and for attentive ears to what God has already said in Scripture.