Acts of the Apostles (21)
Introduction
We come now to Luke’s first account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (there are three accounts total). Remember that Saul is not his non-Christian name but is rather his Hebrew name—Paul is his Roman name, not his Christian name. He goes by Saul for some years after this event. But such was the nature of this remarkable appearance that we still routinely refer to any surprising conversion as a Damascus road conversion. One moment Saul had murder on his mind, and a few minutes later he was being led by the hand to the place where he would be baptized three days later.
Remember also that Saul of Tarsus was already wound tight inside when the Lord appeared to him. The Lord did appear to him directly, but the Lord had also done some preparation work in Saul’s heart beforehand through the faithful testimony of Stephen—how Stephen argued, how Stephen preached, and how Stephen died.
The Text
“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink” (Acts 9:1–9).
Summary of the Text
Saul was furious. He was breathing, as Luke puts it, both threats and murder against the Christians (v. 1), and so in that frame of mind he approached the high priest (v. 1), requesting letters to the synagogues of Damascus, authorizing him to arrest and bring back to Jerusalem any followers of the Way that he might find there, whether men or women (v. 2). Remembering our table of contents from chapter 1, notice that the Christian faith has spread by this point into the synagogues of Syria. So as he was approaching Damascus, a spotlight from heaven shone all around him (v. 3). It is worth nothing that Lord appeared to him in Syria—remember the central point of Stephen’s speech (v. 3). Saul fell to the ground, and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (v. 4). Saul asked, quite naturally, who it was that was speaking to him. The answer was “I am Jesus,” the one you are persecuting. The Lord Jesus then adds a quotation from the play The Bacchae by Euripides—it is hard for you to kick against the goads, which is an interesting thing for Jesus to say (v. 5). Saul was astonished, and so trembling, he asked what he should do. He was badly rattled. The Lord said to go into the city, and he will then be told what he should do (v. 6). The men with him said nothing—they heard a voice but saw no man (v. 7). So Saul got up, and when he opened his eyes, he discovered he was blind. They then led him by the hand into Damascus (v. 8). He was in this condition for three days, a suggestive note, and he had nothing to eat or drink (v. 9).
Three Accounts
Now there are three accounts of Saul’s conversion in the book of Acts. Recall that all three are coming from Saul and then given to Luke to record. There are variations in the three accounts, but no contradictions.
In our passage, Paul falls to the ground, blinded by the light. He heard Jesus, who told him that he would be further instructed when he was in the city. The men with him did not see the light but heard the voice. It records they were standing.
In Acts 22:6-11, Paul is giving his defense to a rioting crowd in the Temple. This account says that the men saw the light, but did not hear the voice. And although they saw the light, they were not blinded the way Saul was.
In Acts 26:13-19, Paul is giving his testimony before King Agrippa. In that place he says he saw a brilliant light and heard Jesus, who commissioned him as a minister and witness. And here he says that the men with him fell down also.
I would harmonize these accounts this way. Paul says elsewhere that he had seen Jesus (1 Cor. 9:1), which was his authorization to function as an apostle. So he saw Jesus and the light, and was blinded by the encounter. The men with him heard the sound of the voice but could not distinguish what was said. They heard without hearing; they heard noises but not language. Jesus was speaking in Hebrew (Heb. 26:14— Aramaic is a dialect of Hebrew). The men with him saw the light, but not the source of the light. They did not see Jesus, not seeing what Paul did. And they all fell to the ground but they had gotten back up again before Paul got up.
A Complete Transformation
We need to be reminded of what kind of person Saul was. He was a religious zealot, bigoted to the point of madness. He was an insolent persecutor, as he put it, and a blaspheming, insolent man (1 Tim. 1:13). In later life, he considered himself to be the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). He approved of the judicial murder of Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:1) and was very likely one of those behind the false charges against Stephen (Acts 6:9). When the persecution broke out after Stephen’s death, Saul took the lead in that persecution, savaging the church, dragging men and women both off to prison (Acts 8:3). He made havoc of the church, destroying it. He punished Christians, and compelled blasphemy from them, on account of being exceedingly enraged against them (Acts 26:11). He was clearly a cruel man and pitiless man. He imprisoned many (Acts 26:10), and when any of them were executed, Saul voted for the death penalty (Acts 26:10). The word for “voice” here is psephos, which means “voting pebble.” This indicates that Saul was quite possibly a voting member of the Sanhedrin, despite his youth. Although he was so conflicted inside, he was nevertheless a hammer against the saints. He was proceeding to Damascus in the full fury of his wrath, and that was the moment when God determined to save him. The sovereign grace of God can reach anyone, anywhere, anytime.
So Be Encouraged
So let us return to a verse cited earlier, in order that you might draw some comfort from it. If God can save someone like Saul, entirely and completely against Saul’s will, He can save anybody. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). When we are summoned to come to Christ for the cleansing He offers, the only thing that we contribute is the dirt.
Christ does all the saving, and the only thing we do is get in the way. Have you stolen what was not yours to take? Christ is powerful to save. Are you given over to lust and pornography? Christ is powerful to save. Are you full of complaints, murmurings, and grumbles? Christ is powerful to save. Are you unkind to your wife? Christ is powerful to save. Are you disrespectful to your husband? Christ is powerful to save. Are you proud and conceited? Christ is powerful to save. Are you an adulterer? Christ is powerful to save. Have you had an abortion? Christ is powerful to save. Have you embezzled money from your employer? Christ is powerful to save. Are you lazy in your work, a slacker? Christ is powerful to save. Are you better than everyone you know? Christ is powerful to save.
Have you murdered Christians simply for being Christians? No? But note this—even if you had done, Christ is powerful to save. And when He saves, He saves to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). Look at what He did for the future writer of most of the New Testament.