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BIBLE CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE LESSON-SERMON*
October 30, 2005
For CSDirectory.com
Compiled by C. Norman Wood, Burke, VA 22015 703-898-8818, [email protected]
SUBJECT: Everlasting Punishment
SECTION II: Healing Naaman the Leper (II Kings 5: 1-4, 9-14)
TIME LINE: @825 BC
At the point of this narrative Syria apparently controlled Israel, and the King of Syria had heard
about some of the legendary healings attributed to the Israelites from Naaman, his Commander-inChief, who had heard this from his wife who had heard it from an Israelite maid forced into servitude
when she was captured by the Syrians.
Naaman
[Nay’a man] (“gracious, fair”)
Naaman was a common name in Syria. It was the name of three or four men in the Old
Testament.
This Naaman was the commander of the armies of Benhadad II in the time of Joram, king of
Israel. He was afflicted with leprosy; and when the little Hebrew slave-girl that waited on his wife told
her of a prophet in Samaria [northern West Bank, Israel] who could cure her master, he obtained a
letter from Benhadad and proceeded with it to Joram. The king of Israel suspected in this some evil
design against him, and rent his clothes. Elisha the prophet hearing of this, sent for Naaman, and the
strange interview which took place is recorded in II Kings 5. The narrative contains all that is known
of the Syrian commander. He was cured of his leprosy by dipping himself seven times in the Jordan,
according to the word of Elisha. His cure is alluded to by Jesus in Luke 4: 27.
“a little maid”
“The whole of Naaman’s fascinating story revolves around the nameless, captive little maid
who belonged to Israel. Do you never wonder why this maid’s name is not given, while another’s
maid’s is—Rhoda? Some twenty words cover all we know of this Jewish female slave whose record
consists of only one remark, which is often sufficient to describe a character as it does in the story of
this nameless heroine.” (All the Women of the Bible)
She was a believer, a slave, a maid, and a herald.
Naaman’s Wife
“The wife of Naaman (the commander-in-chief of the Aram-Damascus army in the ninth
century [BC] probably enjoyed a higher social status than most females in her culture because of her
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husband’s position. An Israelite captive of war, who becomes her servant girl, represents the other
end of the socioeconomic spectrum for women.” (Women in Scripture)
“Although primarily intended to glorify Elisha, this story also belongs to the genre of traditions
that portrays women (such as Esther and Judith) exerting considerable influence over foreign leaders
despite their lack of authority.” (Ibid)
Elisha
[Ē lī’sha] (“my God is salvation”)
TIME LINE: 850-800 BC
Kings of Israel:
Ahab
Ahaziah
Jehoram (Joram)
Jeru
Jehoahaz
874-853 BC
853-852 BC
852-841 BC
841-814 BC
814-798 BC
Kings of Judah:
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
Athaliah (Queen)
Joash (Jehoash)
873-848 BC
853-841 BC
841
BC
841-835 BC
835-796 BC
King of Syria: Ben-Hadad II 798-791 BC
Other Prophets:
Shaphat (father)
Elisha
Israel: Elijah Micaiah
Judah:
Obadiah
Joel
= (mother)
Elisha was an early Hebrew prophet who succeeded the prophet Elijah when Elijah’s time on
earth was finished. Elisha ministered for about 50 years in the northern kingdom of Israel, serving
God during the reigns of Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash. Elisha’s work consisted of presenting
the Word of God through prophecy, advising kings, anointing kings, helping the needy, and
performing several miracles.
Elisha was the son of Shaphat of Abel-Meholah, a town on the western side of the Jordan
River, and on the southern side of the plain of Beth-shean. Elijah found Elisha plowing with a team of
oxen. As Elijah walked past Elisha, he threw his mantle over the younger man’s shoulders.
Elisha “arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant, but Elisha is not mentioned again
until shortly before Elijah ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire. Before taking his leave, Elijah
fulfilled the final request of Elisha by providing him with a double portion of his prophetic spirit, making
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him his spiritual firstborn. Upon receiving Elijah’s mantle, Elisha demonstrated this gift by parting the
waters of the Jordan River, allowing him to cross on dry land.
There are two types of Elisha stories.
• One type is the lengthy narratives in which the prophet, sometimes with his servant
Gehazi, is involved with the great figures of the day.
He advises the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom in
their war with Moab: He provided water to a thirsty army (II Kings 3:4-20)
He assists the king of Israel in the matter of Naaman
the Syrian: “He healed Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, who was afflicted with leprosy,
and refused to accept the lavish presents of the grateful Syrian (II Kings 5:1-19)” (Interpreter’s
Dictionary)
He plays a role in wars between Syria and Israel: He
gave timely warning, repeatedly saving Israel from defeat by the
Arameans [Syrians]. When the Arameans came to Dothan to capture Elisha, he prayed and his
servant was shown the armies of God protecting the city. The Arameans were stricken with blindness,
and Elisha led them to Samaria and persuaded the king of Israel to feed and release them.
He foments the rebellion of Jehu
• The other type is brief stories in which Elisha alleviates the distress of individuals:
He makes a spring’s water nontoxic: One of Elisha’s
“community service” miracles was his purification of an unhealthy spring near Jericho. After learning
that the spring was bad, Elisha threw a bowl of salt into it, making it pure.
He punishes irreverent boys
He feeds the Shunammite widow and raises her son from
the dead: Elisha became a friend of a wealthy family in Shunem. The Shunammite woman displayed
hospitality toward the prophet by regularly feeding him and building a room onto her home where he
could lodge. Elisha repaid the childless couple by promising them a son. Later, when tragedy struck
the child, Elisha, raised him from the dead.
He detoxifies a cooking pot and multiplies loaves of
bread
He multiplies the widow’s oil so that she can pay her
debts
He makes an ax head float
Elisha finished the work of Elijah, destroying the system of Baal worship, completed the tasks
assigned to Elijah of anointing Hazael and Jehu, and saw the final ruin of the house of Ahab and
Jezebel. “Powerful enough to perform miracles and appoint kings, yet sensitive enough to weep over
the fate of Israel (2 Kings 8:11,12), Elisha, disciple and successor to Elijah, proved to be both prophet
and statesman.” (Holman Bible Dictionary)
You may notice a striking resemblance between Elisha’s works and Christ Jesus’ works; in his
works there is a significant foreshadowing of things to come in Jesus’ ministry.
Fosbery, Arthur F., “The Captive Maid,” POEM, Christian Science Journal (August 1923), p. 233.
The Syrians by companies had gone out
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And captive brought away from Israel
A little maid to live in servitude,
A friendless orphan in a foreign land.
I love thy story, little captive maid;
The Book’s brief chronicle a volume speaks,
And humbles us with wonder and amaze.
Did angels guide thee, or that prophet tell
Of God to grateful ears that felt His love
And turned to hear the message: Child, be good,
For He that loves thee is the perfect One?
Or did that thought, of evil innocent,
Alone, a captive, hear God’s voice direct,
And unafraid, unquestioning, obey?….
Gardner, Elizabeth Hayward, “’Wash, and be clean,’” Christian Science Sentinel (17 January 1925),
p. 385.
--The fifth chapter of II Kings contains the familiar story of the healing of Naaman the leper.
• Very clearly the narrator sets forth the might and valor of the captain of the host of Syria.
---He makes it plain that in pomp and pride the mighty warrior waited upon the prophet
of Israel, seeking deliverance from his loathsome affliction.
• He portrays the anger of the haughty suppliant when Elisha sent unto him his messenger,
saying, “Go wash in Jordan seven times.”
---Naaman was wroth.
---He had expected to be healed, but he had a very definite idea of the manner in which
his healing should be accomplished.
• It should be a spectacular event, as befitted one of his rank and circumstances in life.
--The story of Naaman is paralleled n the life of many a student of Christian Science.
Gerahty, Laura, “To a Little Maid,” FOR CHILDREN: Poem, Christian Science Sentinel (4 April 1936),
p. 608.
She waited on the wife of Naaman;
Maybe she fetched and carried all day,
Finding but little time for gladsome play
Between the many errands that she ran.
But in her tender heart there dwelt the prayer
That God could heal her master of his ill,
If only he would bend to His sweet will
And take the healing that was offered there.
So you, just like that little serving-maid
Who waited on the wife of Naaman,
Must know each moment, as indeed you can,
That Love is always near to give you aid.
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Leishman, Thomas L., “The Widening Scope of Elisha’s Activities,” THE CONTINUITY OF THE
BIBLE, Christian Science Journal (September 1968), p. 476.
--In spite of his valor and his influence at court, Naaman was afflicted with the dread disease of
leprosy.
• Knowing of her master’s trouble, a young Israelite girl who had been taken captive by the
Syrians and was now serving as a maid to Naaman’s wife reported to her mistress what she had
heard of Elisha’s healing activities.
---In due course her kindly suggestion reached the ears both of the Syrian king and of
his general.
--Traveling in state and with the king’s blessing, Naaman made the long journey from Damascus to
Elisha’s home in Israel, obviously anticipating a royal reception and swift healing administered by the
prophet in person.
• But to Naaman’s indignation Elisha did not even appear.
--When at last he was ready to follow Elisha’s explicit instructions, he washed seven times in the
Jordan, “and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (verse 14).
McCoun, Lester B., “’The man of God’,” Christian Science Journal (Vol 48, 1930), p. 802.
--A Biblical expression of special interest to Christian Scientists is “the man of God.”
--When Naaman sought healing of the king of Israel, it was not the world’s false sense of man and
power that was equal to the need.
• Elisha, “the man of God,” knew what to do.
• Fair consideration of this demonstration by Elisha and Naaman, viewed consistently with
Christ Jesus’ life and works, leads to at least two very definite conclusions.
---One is that Elisha had to prove the truth in his own experience, so far as he
understood it, or there would have been nothing to which the spiritual nature of Naaman could
respond.
---The other conclusion is that Elisha proved the plain truth about Naaman….that man is
created superior to sin, disease, and death.
Moses, E.C., “The Story of Naaman,” Christian Science Sentinel (5 November 1904), p. 147.
--Naaman was captain of the host of the king of Syria.
• He was a man of honor, a good and courageous, warrior, but, in common with many of his
fellow-mortals, both among the high and the low, he was a leper.
---His wife had in her service a little captive
maiden, an Israelitish girl who knew something of the prophet Elisha and of his demonstrations of
Mind-healing, and one day she said to her mistress, "Would God my Lord were with the prophet that
is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy."
• Naaman was probably suffering and therefore receptive, and after securing a commendatory
letter from the king of Syria he went with it to the king of Israel.
---The tenor of this letter indicates that the
king attributed such possible healing to necromancy, even as some to-day erroneously hold that
Mind-healing is a process or a result of hypnotism.
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SECTION III: Traditions Contradict Scripture Teaching (Matt 15: 1-3)
TIME LINE: The Year of Opposition (Jesus’ 3rd year of ministry)
PARALLEL GOSPEL: Mark 7: 1-13
Although the question of Matt 15:2 may seem very minor to us, it is actually one of the most
important in the New Testament. It was so important to the religious leaders of our Lord’s day that
the scribes (religious lawyers) and the Pharisees came all the way from Jerusalem to obtain their
answer from Jesus himself. It represents two aspects of religion so contrasting that one view must
give way before the other: Which is more important, God’s Word itself or mankind’s tradition of what
God’s Word means?
Scribes
Scribes anciently held various important offices in the public affairs of the nation. The Hebrew
word so rendered (sopher) is first used to designate the holder of some military office (Judges 5:14;
A.V., "pen of the writer;" RSV, "the marshal's staff;" marg., "the staff of the scribe"). The scribes
acted as secretaries of state, whose business it was to prepare and issue decrees in the name of the
king (II Sam 8:17; 20:25; I Chron 18:16; 24:6; I Kings 4:3; II Kings 12:9-11; 18:18-37, etc.). They
discharged various other important public duties as men of high authority and influence in the affairs
of state.
There was also a subordinate class of scribes, most of whom were Levites. They were
engaged in various ways as writers. Such, for example, was Baruch, who "wrote from the mouth of
Jeremiah all the words of the Lord" (Jer 36:4,32).
In later times, after the Captivity, when the nation lost its independence, the scribes turned
their attention to the law, gaining for themselves distinction by their intimate acquaintance with its
contents. On them devolved the duty of multiplying copies of the law and of teaching it to others
(Ezra 7:6,10-12; Neh 8:1,4,9,13). It is evident that in New Testament times the scribes belonged to
the sect of the Pharisees, who supplemented the ancient written law by their traditions (Matt 23),
thereby obscuring it and rendering it of none effect. The titles "scribes" and "lawyers" (q.v.) are in the
Gospels interchangeable (Matt 22:35; Mark 12:28; Luke 20:39, etc.). They were in the time of Jesus
the public teachers of the people, and frequently came into collision with him. They afterwards
showed themselves greatly hostile to the apostles (Acts 4:5; 6:12).
Some of the scribes, however, were men of a different spirit, and showed themselves friendly
to the gospel and its preachers. Thus Gamaliel advised the Sanhedrin, when the apostles were
before them charged with "teaching in this name," to "refrain from these men and let them alone"
(Acts 5:34-39; comp 23:9).
Pharisees
[Fair’uh see] (Heb. “to separate,” Gr. “separated one”)
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The Pharisees were a small legalistic sect (about six thousand) of specially observant and
influential Jews, mainly in Palestine, from the second century BC to the second century AD. They
were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e. the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of
Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy.
References to the Pharisees occur widely throughout Jewish and Christian literature of the first
two centuries AD. Josephus a Jewish historian of the first century who wrote for non-Jews in Greek,
lists them as one of the main Jewish parties emerging during the Hasmonean period. “In the land of
promise they lived more or less separate—and sometimes competing—tribal existences, bound by
their common history and their devotion to the God who dwelt in their midst in the shrine, which on
occasion was moved from place to place.” (Cambridge Companion to the Bible)
They constituted the most important of the groups opposed to Jesus. “The Pharisees were a
group that interpreted Torah so that its meaning could be applied to everyday life.” (Complete Bible
Handbook) “Jesus continually denounced their external observance of the Law, their multitude of
petty traditions, and particularly their self-righteousness.” (Who’s Who in the New Testament)
“The Pharisees were the successors of the ‘Holy Ones’ who had fought for religious freedom
during the Greek occupation of Palestine from 332 BC.” (Ibid)
The name is obscure. It may mean “separate ones” in Hebrew, referring to their observance of
ritual purity and tithing, or less probably “the interpreters,” referring to their unique interpretations of
biblical law. The Pharisees are described by two first-century sources, the New Testament and
Josephus, and also by rabbinic literature, which covers a broader period of time. Each source gives a
different account of the Pharisees and modern descriptions differ widely depending on which sources
are accepted and how conflicts are resolved. The picture of the Pharisees derived only from the
Gospels and formerly accepted as historical, that they were little more than legalists and hypocrites
and were culpably blind to Jesus’ message, has largely been discredited as early Christian polemic
against Jewish and rabbinic leadership. The interpretation of the Pharisees as religious liberals
emanated from modern Jewish apologetics and is ill suited to antiquity. Though a comprehensive
and secure description of the Pharisees eludes us, some insight can be gained from each of the
ancient sources.
“According to Josephus…a Jewish historian of the first century AD who wrote for non-Jews in
Greek, [he] calls the Pharisees ‘a choice [of life]’ and a ‘philosophy.’ He gives some general
characteristics of the Pharisees in contrast to the Sadducees and Essenes, recounts some of the
activities and influence of this group, and mentions occasional influential Pharisees.” (HarperCollins
Dictionary)
The Pharisees were strongly monotheistic. They accepted the Old Testament as authoritative.
They affirmed the reality of angels and demons. They had a firm belief in life beyond the grave and a
resurrection of the body. They were missionary, seeking the conversion of Gentiles. They saw God
as concerned with the life of a person without denying that the individual was responsible for how he
or she lived. They had little interest in politics. The Pharisees opposed Jesus because He refused to
accept the teachings of the oral law.
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Buckner, Martha J., “Truth Instead of Tradition,” Christian Science Sentinel (23 June 1945), p. 966.
--Jesus declared his purpose was not to destroy the law but to fulfill it, that is, to bring it into full
manifestation.
--It was Jesus’ reflection of…divine Principle which gave him his authority and which enabled him to
reverse material sense and fulfill the law.
--The times in which Jesus labored were heavy with tradition.
• The minutiae of living were controlled by it.
--Jesus was not motivated by a desire to be merely unconventional or different.
• He knew that the wall of misunderstanding dividing men must be leveled through viewing the
real man.
---Racial hatreds were not accepted or perpetuated by him.
Crane, A.M., “Jesus’ Relation to the Law,” Christian Science Journal (October 1887), p. 351.
--With the Jew, the Law and the Prophets, or the teachings of their Sacred Code and the declarations
of their Prophets, were considered of primal importance and supreme authority.
• Therefore Jesus, as he enters upon the discussion of the things he came to teach, allays any
fear they may have on this point, by the emphatic declaration, that he is not come to destroy either
the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfil.
---Then, as if this were not enough, he adds: "Till
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass away from the Law, till all
things be accomplished;" thus reaffirming and reestablishing, in the most solemn manner, the full
authority and binding force of the Law, until the ultimate accomplishment of all things, and until
heaven and earth pass away.
Hardy, E.R. (CSB and Lecturer), “The Scientist’s Side,” Christian Science Journal (April 1889), p. 8.
--One of the evidences of the Divine nature with which our Master claims oneness, is the distinctive
positiveness of his individuality.
• The positiveness of Jesus cannot easily be co-ordinated with any other known kinds of
positiveness.
---It is unique.
--There were in Jerusalem examples enough among the Scribes and Pharisees of one kind of
religious positiveness such as we are all familiar with.
• Dogmatists we have always with us.
---The scribes or teachers who will open their
books and say 'It is written,' and that is the end of the controversy.
• The bigot who holds fast to the letter of a creed and cries aloud, “So we believe, and without
doubt any one who does not believe as we do is beyond the pale of the church — a heretic.”
---Ignorance stands firm upon a tradition, and
swears to all passers by: “I know.”
Whitney, M. Fannie, “Who are the Pharisees?,” Christian Science Journal (June 1899), p. 197.
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--In “Miscellaneous Writings,” page 234, our Leader tells us that, “What hinders man's progress is his
vain conceit, the Phariseeism of the times.”
• On page 356 she gives us this rule: “One can never go up,
until one has gone down in his own esteem.
--What are Pharisees?
• In Jesus’ time they were personalities of self-righteousness, egotism, vanity, pride, and
hypocrisy.
---Jesus was constantly rebuking them and pronouncing woes upon them.
• They were ever on the watch to catch him in his words that they might accuse him.
---To them eating with publicans and sinners, or with unwashen hands, was very
defiling.
--While I studied this…I kept watch to see if I could discover the Pharisee within.
• I must confess I was humiliated.
---I had the form without the life, the letter without the spirit.
--Surely in Christian Science there is no room for a Pharisee, no place for the thought, “I am better
than thou.”
SECTION IV: Saul’s Conversion, Becoming Paul (Acts 9: 1-20)
TIME LINE: 36 AD near Damascus
“The conversion of Saul of Tarsus from persecutor to missionary is so important to the author
of Acts that he offers three separate accounts of it (cf. 22:3-21 and 26:2-23 with 9:1-19).” (Abingdon
Commentary)
Saul/Paul
TIME LINE: @10-68 AD
Benjamin

Father (a Pharisee)=Mother (unknown)
Saul (Paul)
(Sister)
(Nephew)
Paul, whose original name was Saul, was born a Roman citizen, although a Jew, in Tarsus
[south central Turkey], an important city of Cilicia. He was a tentmaker. All the influences about him
from the beginning—Jewish, Greek, Roman—contributed, apart from any consciousness or intention
on his part to fit him for the work of his life.
His Conversion. As a young man, he sought out and persecuted Christians. The conversion
of Saul is regarded as a miraculous event.
Near Damascus [Syria]
“At the height of Paul’s campaign of repression, he was confronted on the road to Damascus
by the risen Christ.” (Who Was Who in the Bible)
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Saw a Great Light
Saul Was Blinded
Christ’s Rebuke
Saul’s Reply
Was Led to Damascus
Fasted and Prayed
On one of his journeys on the way to Damascus, he saw a great light, was blinded by it, heard
the rebuke of the Christ, and was led to Damascus where he fasted and prayed.
Ananias Sent to Him
Was Baptized
A Christian disciple named Ananias was sent to Saul and baptized him, and from that point on
he received his sight, his name was changed to Paul, and he preached Christ in the synagogues.
After Conversion.
During his missionary, Paul made three specific journeys all around the area we know today as
the Middle East. Subsequently, he spent time in Jerusalem, and lived the remainder of his years in
Rome, mostly in prison.
Second Missionary Journey (50-52 AD)). At the beginning of the next journey came the
memorable difference of opinion between Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus.
So, on Paul’s second missionary journey, from Antioch [Syria] through what we know today as
southeastern Turkey, he journeyed to the Roman colony of Philippi [today’s Greek coast on the
Aegean Sea] accompanied by Luke and Silas.
The Vision at Troas [W coast, Turkey],
The text and meaning of Acts 16 are both in dispute. According to the “North Galatian” view,
Paul, Luke, and Silas now passed through the Phrygian and Galatic [Western Turkey] country after
and because he was hindered by the Holy Spirit from going west into Asia to Ephesus [Izmir,Turkey].
This would be the occasion on which he first visited Galatia, and the Galatia now visited would be part
of Asia Minor ethnographically as well as politically entitled to the name. They instead turned north
and northwest, reaching the seaport of Troas. Here Paul was told in a vision to cross the north
Aegean Sea and preach the gospel in Macedonia.
At Philippi [Greece], Lydia and jailor converted
It was here that Lydia was baptized, and invited Paul to come into her house. Paul continued
to preach in Philippi and was jailed with Silas by the magistrates for teaching customs which were not
lawful. Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and a great earthquake shook the
foundations of the prison, and all the doors were opened and the prisoners’ bands loosed. After
converting the jailer, they continued their journey to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens [all cities in
Greece].
Athens. Sermon on Mars Hill
Some of the brethren went with him as far as Athens. “The idols in Athens stirred Paul’s
Semitic soul to its depth.” (Abingdon Commentary) Here the apostle delivered that wonderful
discourse reported in Acts 17. He gained but few converts in Athens.
Corinth Vision,--Church founded
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He soon took his departure and went to Corinth [SW of Athens], where he became acquainted
with Aquila and Priscilla, and where Timothy joined him. The two epistles to the Thessalonians—and
these alone—belong to the present missionary journey.
Ephesus,--a Brief Visit
The ship in which he sailed from Corinth touched at Ephesus, and he had time to enter the
synagogue and talk with the Jews, but though he promised to return, he could not stay.
The Return to Antioch
He returned to Antioch [inland, Turkey]. Much of his history is found in his letters to those
communities.
Third Missionary Journey (53-58 AD)
On the third missionary journey, several brethren were associated with him in this expedition,
the bearers, no doubt, of the collections made in all the churches for the poor at Jerusalem.
Visits Galatia and Phrygia
His companions were sent on by sea, and probably the money with them, to Troas, where they
were to await Paul. He went round by way of Philippi, where Luke joined him, to Troas where the
incident of Eutychus occurred, and thence to Assos [slightly SW of Troas; today Troy]. He completed
his third journey by going to Miletus [SW coast of Turkey]; through Rhodes [island, S of Turkey] and
Patars [S coast of Turkey], to Tyre [N coast of Israel]; and finally through Cæsarea [coastal city of
Israel] to Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem (@60 AD)
Seized by the Romans
After appearing before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, and before Felix and Festus at Cæsarea,
he was compelled to protest against injustice and delay (he had been a prisoner fully two years) by
exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the emperor. To the imprisonment belongs the
group of letters to Philemon, to the Colossians [Turkey], to the Ephesians [Turkey], and to the
Philippians [Greece].
Voyage to Rome (@62 AD)
After appearing before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, and before Felix and Festus at Cæsarea,
he was compelled to protest against injustice and delay (he had been a prisoner fully two years) by
exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the Emperor. The voyage to Rome is told by an
eye-witness.
The Storm
The Vision
The Shipwreck
On the island of Melita
Paul was a controversial figure in his lifetime, even within the Christian movement. In
accordance with early Christianity, he accepted slavery without criticism, and he assumes the
property right of a slave-owner; but he recognizes the slave as a brother in Christ, to whom is due not
merely forgiveness but Christian fellowship. He had
many opponents who disagreed with his interpretation of the message of Jesus. In the closing years
of his life, when imprisonment prevented him from moving about freely, Paul’s opponents were able
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to make headway with their rival interpretations. However, Paul became a venerated figure. His
letters, together with the Gospels, became the foundation of the Christian movement.
Ananias
[Ăn a nī’as] (Jehovah has been gracious)
Ananias was a common Jewish name; the same as Hananiah. Three men by the name of
Ananias are mentioned in the Bible—all in the New Testament, and all in the Acts of the Apostles
This week’s lesson refers to a Christian disciple at Damascus of high repute. (Acts 9:10-18;
22:12-16) He reluctantly restores Saul’s vision after Saul’s road to Damascus experience. He
became Paul's instructor; but when or by what means he himself became a Christian we have no
information. He was "a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which
dwelt" at Damascus.
Judas
[Joo’duhs] (“praise”)
Judas was a Jew of Damascus (Acts 9:11), to whose house Ananias was sent. The street
called "Straight" in which it was situated is identified with the modern "street of bazaars," where is still
pointed out the so-called "house of Judas."
Booth, W. Stuart (CSB; Lecturer; Associate Editor; and Trustee, CSPS) “Christian Conversion,”
Sentinel (28 January 1933), p. 430.
--While we have no record or indication of Saul’s thoughts as he journeyed toward Damascus that
memorable day, some of the preceding events may be enlightening on that point.
• In spite of bitter persecution, the Christians not only had persisted in their faith, but had
gained in numbers.
---Gamaliel, a reputable doctor of the law, under
whom Saul has received instruction, had thus counseled the incensed Israelites regarding the
Christians: “Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it
will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight
against God.” (Acts 5: 38,39)
• Probably Saul had heard of the healing works wrought by the Christians, and possibly he had
been present when Stephen offered his bold and stirring presentation of Christian doctrine, at which
time those who looked on him “saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” (Acts 6:15)
---Detached and candid consideration of these events may have been occupying Saul’s
thought when “suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven.” (Acts 9:3)
Fariss, Amy, “On the Road to Damascus,” Christian Science Journal (April 1924), p. 13.
--In the book of Acts we read of “Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord,” as he journeyed to Damascus, and of the light that suddenly “shined round
about him…from heaven.” (Acts 9:1,3)
• Like Saul, each mortal at some period of his life travels the road to Damascus.
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---Whether or not he sees the light from heaven, and hears the voice, depends upon
how he is attuned to spiritual harmony.
--Those traveling with Saul of Tarsus “stood speechless, hearing a voice;” but we have no record that
they heeded the vision.
• Saul alone rose transformed from the experience.
---Possibly the others were momentarily amazed; but they blundered on their way again,
content to let the incident pass from their thought.
Hyzer, Mabel Reed, “The Street Called Straight,” Christian Science Sentinel (21 April 1923), p. 663.
--The destination which we all hope to reach in Christian science is that perfect understanding of God
and man which will enable us effectively to assert dominion over every evil belief, and secure to us
the power to heal ourselves and those who come to us for help.
• The Bible is replete with accounts of honest, conscientious men who were sometimes
tempted to turn aside.
---But when Saul of Tarsus was ready to receive the heavenly vision, in other words,
when he was ready to acknowledge the Christ, he was found in the “street…called Straight;” and that
is where we shall be found, when we are ready to acknowledge the Christ and receive complete
healing.
• To seek it in any by-street, or in what claims to be a more direct avenue, is waste of time and
but adds trouble.
Kidder, Rushworth M, “Ananias,” POEM, Christian Science Sentinel (17 January 1976), p. 99.
“I heard you, Lord: ‘Heal him’
But…may I say a word?
This Saul—haven’t I heard
about Jerusalem
and how he scorched us there—
the violence, terror, or despair?”
Ananias,
what matters to us
nineteen centuries since
is that you shattered such logic
and listened.
Routing your own resistance, you trusted,
freeing the verse of your heart
with the rhythm of intuition.
Love-led, you dared face hatred with compassion.
Not that you didn’t question—
we all have….
Thomson, Elizabeth McArthur, “’Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?,’” Christian Science Journal
(August 1950), p. 355.
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--It has been said, “There is no personal pride in the beauty of holiness.”
• The beauty of holiness is our goal.
---As we draw nearer and nearer to it in purpose and practice, we accept the challenge
of Truth as did our Master and our Leader.
• We have their example, which includes no approval of false pride in achievement, but rather
the humility of Christlikeness, the spiritual knowledge that all good is from God.
---It is the humility of the Christ-awakened consciousness which beseeches (Acts 9:6),
“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
--Through Christian Science we are able to prove that mankind can depend at all times upon man’s
loving Father-Mother, God.
Whitney, Katherine S., “’Brother Saul’,” Christian Science Journal (August 1971), p. 414.
--In the Bible account of Saul’s persecution of the Christians we have an evidence of the false,
mistaken human conviction so often expressed in violence.
• With the awesome revelation of Christ Jesus’ true mission, and the realization of his own
mistake, Saul was outwardly blinded on his way to Damascus.
• But it was revealed to Ananias that he was to go to Saul where he was praying.
---Ananias protested.
---He had heard of the evil that this man had done, and that Saul had come to
Damascus with authority from the chief priests to bind all those who preached Christ.
• However, Ananias was truly an spiritually reassured.
---Obediently he went to Saul, greeting him with the words, “Brother Saul.” (Acts 9: 17)
*The weekly Bible Lessons are made up of selections from the King James Version of the Bible and
the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy,
who discovered Christian Science.
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