NOTES for Деян 9:17-19
What is Christian washing (baptism)? Cleansing from sins? Yes, of course: it is rooted in the ritual purifying washings prescribed by the Torah as a most important part of the process of cleansing from sin. But even before Christ's coming, washing was not the only element of the cleansing ritual. The second, no less important element was the purifying sacrifice. Because in Yahwism it was precisely sacrifice that was the main means and main form of communion with God. God's presence overshadowed and sanctified all who took part in the sacrificial meal or simply stood by the altar. This presence cleansed a person from the consequences of committed sin or other uncleanness. Cleansing was not an end in itself; it was the necessary condition of full communion with God, insofar as such communion was possible before Christ's coming.
So it is with Christian washing (baptism): it was only the outward side of what was taking place. Yes, of course, the one washed in the name of Christ is cleansed from the consequences of earlier sins just as the believing Yahwist of former times was cleansed from them. But in addition, the one washed in the name of Christ meets during the washing with Him Himself. He finds himself at the threshold of His Kingdom, into which he can enter and in which from now on he is to live. He touches the life of the Kingdom in the fullness available to him, as one entering, at that moment. And he begins the spiritual path in the Kingdom so that the fullness available to the new inhabitant of the Kingdom may become ever deeper.
That is why one meeting with Christ on the Damascus road was not enough for Saul. That is why he too, for all the depth of what happened to him, needed baptism. And perhaps this is precisely why, after losing his sight at the first meeting with Christ, he regains it after receiving baptism and entering the Kingdom. Jesus Himself took him by the hand and led him into His Kingdom. And therefore into His Church.