Who Was Ananias of Damascus?

Ananias is one of the most significant yet overlooked figures in the New Testament — a faithful disciple whose obedience changed the course of church history. He was a Jewish believer in Damascus, known for his piety and good reputation among the Jews of that city. When Saul of Tarsus was struck blind on the road to Damascus and lay fasting in the house of Judas on Straight Street, the Lord appeared to Ananias in a vision. He called him by name and commanded him to go to Saul and lay hands on him to restore his sight. Ananias hesitated — and with good reason. He knew exactly who Saul was: 'I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.' Saul had come to Damascus to arrest believers, and Ananias had every reason to fear him. But the Lord's response is one of the most beautiful statements of divine sovereignty in Scripture: 'Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.' Ananias obeyed immediately. He entered the house, laid his hands on Saul, and said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.' At that moment, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he was baptized. Ananias was the first person to call Saul 'brother,' the first to baptize him, and the instrument God used to commission His chosen apostle to the Gentiles. Ananias's story demonstrates that God uses ordinary, faithful believers to accomplish extraordinary purposes. He was not an apostle, not a prophet in the formal sense, not a famous leader — just a disciple who feared God, loved the saints, and obeyed when called. His willingness to trust God's word over his own fears resulted in the conversion of the man who would write half the New Testament and carry the gospel across the Roman Empire. Every believer can be an Ananias — the one who goes to the feared, the hated, or the hostile with the gospel, trusting that God has already prepared the heart.