"And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple." Acts 9:26, NKJV

Complete 180.  One of the most incredible turnaround stories in all of Scripture.  At the beginning of Acts 9, Saul of Tarsus leaves Jerusalem bent on persecuting Christians, but by the end of the same chapter he returns to Jerusalem in hopes of joining the fellowship of Christian disciples.  What made the difference?  We might answer that question based on the facts of the narrative.  Encountering the living Christ made the difference.  Being very literally knocked off of his high horse made the difference.  A season of humbling blindness made the difference.  All this would be true, but I would submit there was something much more deep and personal that made the difference between the Saul who left Jerusalem and the Saul who came back -- a transforming experience of grace.

The Grace of Jesus

As Saul the persecutor drew near to his target destination, heavenly light flashed around him and interrupted his sinister trajectory.  Heaven's light actually leveled Saul to the ground, and it's easy to imagine that the persecutor was gripped by fear even before any dialogue was engaged to explain what was happening.  In other words, Saul vulnerably felt his mortality and was completely at the mercy of God.

What came next was a voice, a word from heaven in the form of direct address and heartfelt question, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4).  When the glorified Lord spoke to the violent antagonist of His people, He didn't call down curses or declare absolute judgments, though He would have been justified in doing so.  Rather, Jesus asked a question to graciously extend dialogue toward mutual understanding.  Furthermore, this question is prefaced by a double-address, the twice repeated call of his name.  In the Old Testament, that kind of double vocative is reserved for extremely unique encounters when God shows up personally to affirm the calling/plans that He has divinely appointed for special individuals -- Abraham (Gen. 22:11-12), Jacob (Gen. 46:2), Moses (Ex. 3:4), and Samuel (1 Sam. 3:10).  

In Acts 9, the resurrected Christ is revealing His glory to an avowed enemy of His people, not to destroy Saul but to redeem Saul from his persecuting intent AND recommission him for a God-given mission (v. 6).  I believe that single exchange indelibly impressed upon Saul's heart the reality that his standing with God was not the result of his own merit but of God's own mercy.  Saul experienced grace -- unimaginable grace -- from Jesus that forever changed his life.  

The Grace of Jesus' Followers

Saul's experience of grace didn't stop there.  Still blinded by the heavenly light, Saul was led by the hand into the town of Damascus where he fasted and prayed for three days, likely experiencing a closeness with God in that stillness (cf. Ps. 46:10).  God moved upon the heart of one of the local disciples Ananias to visit Saul and restore his sight, but this commission was initially met with resistance...and understandably so!  All Ananias knew of Saul was that Saul's travel to Damascus was driven by plans to imprison Christ-followers (Acts 9:13-14).  When God revealed that His divine plans would override all of those previous intentions, Ananias was willing to minister to the one he had been trying to avoid.

And here's where Saul's story of grace continues, not just grace from Jesus but grace from Jesus' followers:

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” (Acts 9:17).

Do you see it?  Do you see the expressions of grace in deed and in word through Ananias?  Representing the body of believers faithfully living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, Ananias places his hands on Saul with a touch of blessing and favor, not vengeance or violence.  And with that touch of compassion, this faithful disciple declares restoration of sight and the infilling of the Holy Spirit with a very specific address:  "Brother Saul..."  

In other words, this was not just a touch of physical healing but relational healing.  Let me give you grace not just to transform your sight but to transform your relationships.  You are not my enemy, you are part of my family.  I believe that single exchange indelibly impressed upon Saul's heart the reality that his standing with God's people was not the result of his own merit but of God's own mercy.  Saul experienced grace -- unimaginable grace -- from Jesus' followers that forever changed his life.

The Ways Grace Flows

Amazing grace flowed into Saul's life in two directions.  Grace restored both his standing with God and his standing with God's followers (though admittedly there were plenty of growing pains in the development of those horizontal relationships).  Ever after, Saul (turned Paul) would see himself as an ambassador of that dual-directional reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20).  And it's my prayer that we would experience the flow of God's amazing grace in both of these directions ourselves.  May God ground us in the reality that we are all saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8), and may we at the same time know Jesus Himself as our peace who has broken down every wall of relational separation (Eph. 2:14)