By: Louis Rushmore

Hello. My question is concerning Ananias in Acts 9. Was Ananias a rare exception in the laying on of hands to heal Saul in Acts 9:17-18? I don’t see him named as one of the apostles. Since learning more about the apostles authority in the laying on of hands, I wasn’t able to figure this out. I wanted to so that I wouldn’t speak presumptuously to anyone about the passage. Thank You. (Anthony Grigsby)

    First, Ananias was not one of the apostles of Christ. He was not one of the original twelve (Matthew 10:2-5). He was not the replacement apostle for Judas who by transgression fell (Acts 1:13-26). He was not the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul (Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17). Apostles were not replaced simply due to death (Acts 12:1-2). Second, laying on of hands, when it referred to miracles of healing, was not limited to the apostles, but believers in the first century (Mark 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 12:9). Ananias was not an apostle of Christ.