For
I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Acts 9:16
Acts 9 [13.] But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to your saints at Jerusalem. Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
Acts 9 [15.] But the Lord said to him, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
Acts 9 [17.] Ananias departed, and entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, that you may receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. He arose and was baptized. He took food and was strengthened. Saul stayed several days with the disciples who were at Damascus. Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God. All who heard him were amazed, and said, “Isn’t this he who in Jerusalem made havoc of those who called on this name? And he had come here intending to bring them bound before the chief priests!”
Meaning:
Ananias had protested that Saul was a dangerous persecutor. The Lord replied, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Then he added this sentence. Saul’s calling would bring great honour, but it would also bring great suffering.
- “For I will show him”
The Lord himself would teach Saul what his calling would cost. This was not a punishment for his past, for Saul had been forgiven, but the shape of the service he was given. Yet there is a striking reversal in it: the man who came to make others suffer for the name of Jesus would now suffer for that same name.
- “how many things he must suffer”
The word “must” expresses God’s purpose, the same kind of necessity Jesus spoke of when he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things” (Luke 9:22). It began almost at once, with plots against Saul’s life in Damascus (Acts 9:23) and in Jerusalem (Acts 9:29). Years later Paul listed what he had endured: “Five times from the Jews I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck” (2 Corinthians 11:24-25). On his last journey to Jerusalem he said, “the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me” (Acts 20:23).
- “for my name’s sake”
Jesus had warned his disciples, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you … all these things will they do to you for my name’s sake” (John 15:20-21). Paul did not regard suffering for Christ as a defeat. He wrote, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake” (Colossians 1:24), and taught that “it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf” (Philippians 1:29). He also warned that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
The Significance of Acts 9:16
- Suffering is part of the calling
Hardship does not mean God has abandoned his servants. Saul was chosen and loved, and suffering was part of his path. Believers can face trials knowing that God has not lost control of their lives.
- Strength in weakness
Paul learned that the Lord’s answer to his weakness was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The suffering foretold here became the place where Christ’s strength was seen.
Cross-References:
Luke 9:22: “The Son of Man must suffer many things.” Jesus walked the road of suffering first.
John 15:20-21: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” Jesus’ warning to his followers.
Philippians 1:29: “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf.” Suffering as a gift.
Acts 20:23: “The Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.” Paul’s suffering foretold.
Conclusion: The Lord told Ananias that Saul, his chosen vessel, would be shown how much he must suffer for the name of Jesus. The persecutor would become the persecuted, and his life of hardship would display the grace and power of Christ. Suffering for Jesus’ name is not a sign of God’s absence but a share in the path Christ himself walked.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible