Paul’s Conversion
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2023 · 8 January 2023
Paul is the author of 13 of the New Testament books. Paul is the figure in the book of Acts, he is the main player after our Lord ascends back into heaven. He has been a model of ministry, a pattern to follow in every way. He is the inspired author of the bible books that shape our theology and our understanding of the gospel. He is the one I follow as he follows Christ.
His conversion is one of the great stories of human history. Acts 9 tells us the conversion of Saul, whose name was eventually changed to Paul. So great was the transformation that it needed to be reflected in his name. The importance of his conversion is indicated by the fact that it occupies much of the book of Acts. His conversion again, is repeated in Acts 22 and Acts 26.
The conversion of this man was the pivot on which the future of the church turned, and it was fitting that because of the importance of his conversion that it be a unique conversion because he was such a unique individual. By birth, a Jew; by conviction, a Pharisee; by citizenship, a Roman; by education, a Greek; and then by grace, a Christian. He became a missionary, a theologian, a preacher all at the same time.
We met him back in Acts 7:58, when the faithful evangelist Stephen had preached his great sermon, going through the history of the Old Testament and culminating in the arrival of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ whom the Jews had betrayed and killed. They attacked him to stone him to death; and before that they laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And Acts 8:1 begins, “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.” And on that day, a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Saul was the great persecutor of the early church that caused the church to be scattered. After looking at the ministry of Philip, we now come to Saul.
Stephen’s words and demeanor eventually played a role in the end of a promising career for a young Pharisee named Saul, and was a critical point in him becoming history’s most effective evangelist. Let me tell you a little about Saul. His home was in Tarsus. It was a city in Asia Minor. Today, it would be on the border of Syria and Turkey. In those days, Tarsus was a distinguished city.
Saul’s father was a Roman citizen, but a Jew. He passed on the assets of Judaism and Roman citizenship to his son. His father was also a Pharisee and Saul inherited his Pharisaic tradition. His testimony in Philippians 3 says, “I was circumcised the eighth day, was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews - which means completely devoted to the law.”
At about 13, it is likely that Saul was send to Jerusalem. Why? Because his family wanted him to study Judaism at the highest level under a teacher named Gamaliel. The law was never more beautiful than when it was articulated by Gamaliel. Saul was rigid, zealous, and legalistic, a traditional Pharisee. This young Saul would have been a member of the Pharisees in the city of Tarsus.
However, by the time of Stephen, he’s back in Jerusalem. We know he is highly agitated because he is a Hellenistic Jew. And Stephen has been circulating in the Hellenistic synagogues in Jerusalem and preaching Jesus Christ. And there are converts, and these new believers in Jesus are saying that He died to pay the penalty of sin, and He rose from the dead to provide salvation.
They’re preaching a risen Christ. The church is expanding and exploding by the thousands, and he is furious. He may have tried to argue with them in synagogues. He certainly silenced Stephen, not with an argument, but with an execution. He then rose up by his sheer force of leadership and passion to become the leader of the movement to stamp out Christianity.
After clearing Jerusalem of those he believed to be heretics that were threatening the religion of Judaism, he decided that he would go after them. It wasn’t enough that they left Jerusalem; he wanted to hunt them down wherever they were. He heard that a group of them had gone to Damascus and he secured permission to go to Damascus, and that’s where we begin in Acts 9.
Acts 9:1-2, “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” He launches a fierce campaign, and he’s going to begin with a raid on Damascus.
With that authority, Saul takes off for Damascus. It was a white city in a green forested area of trees. Damascus was called, “the paradise on earth.” There was a large Jewish community there. It was, in ancient times, the capital of Syria. There was a Christian who was leading these newly converted Jews, and his name was Ananias. We’ll meet him in Acts 9:10. He was significant leader in the city.
“Belonging to the Way” was an early term to describe Christianity. Because Christians believed that through Jesus Christ was the only way to God. They referred back to our Lord’s words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.” Anybody who was associated with the exclusiveness of this Christian gospel was called “the Way.”
Saul didn’t go alone. He went with the temple police. Historians tell us that caravans usually took about six days. And then verses 3-7 said, “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.”
Verse 8-9, “Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” What happened? The Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven and stopped him. And then spoke to him and told him that he was wrong and made him blind for three days.
Consider four features. First, a divine contact, then second a divine conviction, thirdly a divine conversion, and lastly a divine communion. The divine contact comes in verse 3: “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.” Another illustration of how the Holy Spirit makes everything happen according to the will of God.
This is how salvation happens. It is always the sovereign will of God. It is always His purpose. It comes about by His power and His determination. This is a divine contact of God on Saul. Now not all people who are saved have this kind of experience. I certainly didn’t and neither did you. But in the case of Saul, Jesus called with a blazing, crushing and devastating appearance.
In Acts 22 and Acts 26 Paul gives his testimony when he’s called into court. Those chapters tell us it was about midday, where the sun is highest. But there was something far brighter than the sun because we read in Acts that a light brighter than the sun shown above the sun, shining around Paul and all those who journeyed with him. And the whole group then collapses to the ground in sheer terror.
Acts 26 says, “The men got up, but Saul remained flat on the ground.” Acts 22:9 says, “They heard the sound, they heard noise, but they couldn’t understand.” John 12:29 says, “So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered, others were saying an angel had spoken to him.” Christ had spoken there to Saul, and the people heard the sound, but couldn’t distinguish it.
But Saul sees Jesus. Go to verse 17, “Ananias later departs and enters the house, and after laying his hands on Saul says, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road,” that’s proof enough. Down in verse 27, Barnabas took hold of him, brought him to the apostles, and described to them how Paul had seen the Lord on the road. Paul saw the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then we see in verse 4 the divine conviction. In bringing a person to salvation, there is an initial contact initiated by God, and then there is the conviction of sin. And where there is genuine salvation, there is a potency to that conviction. And verse 4 says, “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’” He doesn’t know who says that.
Our Lord identifies for us this reality that to persecute any of His people is to persecute Him. He is inseparable from His people so that every stroke which is directed against us is a blow that falls on Him. Persecuting us is persecuting Him. The sin that is most important is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ. The issue for conviction is not that a men is a liar, or immoral; the crime is rejection of Christ.
The work of the Holy Spirit, our Lord said in John 16, “Is to convict the world of sin because they believe not on Me.” That is the unpardonable sin. And Saul is literally smashed with that indictment: “You are persecuting the Son of God.” That’s the conviction that has to reside in the heart. And that leads to divine conversion in verse 5, “And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
He has never seen Jesus before. This was Jesus in His glorified form. But he soon finds out that he has been indicted for persecuting Jesus who is Lord. And Jesus said in Acts 22:8, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.” Jesus has captured Paul’s attention, and filled him with the fear of conviction, and presented the truth concerning Himself: “I am Jesus of Nazareth.”
Paul (Saul) knew the Christian gospel well. He was a highly educated theologian. It was because of the heresy that he was killing these people. He knew what they were saying. He knew they were proclaiming this man as the Messiah, this man as the Son of God. This man is God’s chosen sacrifice for sin. This man rose from the dead. This man has been anointed by God as the Righteous One.
His heart is broken in repentance and sorrow, and at the same time, healed in faith. His conversion was shocking, and sudden. All his doubts were erased and he knew the truth immediately. Paul’s conversion has baffled people. Renan, the French atheist, said it was an uneasy conscience, fatigue from the journey, and a sudden fever that produced Paul’s hallucinations. Ridiculous.
Saul cried out, “Who are You, Lord?” The answer came back, “I am Jesus.” He used His personal name, because Jesus means “Jehovah saves.” It had been a very difficult battle for Saul. He had been kicking against the goads. What does that mean? A goad was any sharp, pointed instrument which was used to pierce, so it was painful and you would use them to stab an ox leg to keep him moving.
What does it mean to kick against the goads? It means to just inflict pain on yourself by continuing to do what you do. He was literally bashing his own conscience by resisting God. You can’t fight God, rebel against God and not feel the pain. So all of this is just to tell us of this amazing encounter. Paul responds in humble penitence, and divine conversion takes place.
1 Timothy 1:12-13 is Paul’s testimony to Timothy, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:7-9 tells us what was going on in his heart, “Whatever things were gain to me, those things I counted loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”
And there’s one final component: the divine communion. Verse 9: “He was three days without sight, neither ate nor drank.” What did he do? The last thing he had seen before he went blind was the blazing presence of the glory of Jesus. That sight dominated his now sightless eyes. Great guilt weighed him down. He had a lot to think about for three days, didn’t he? All that he had considered precious became rubbish.
Salvation was sudden, but its depth are often plumbed slowly. He has friends who are now enemies, and enemies who don’t know they’re to be friends. For three days, he communed with his Lord. And then that contemplation and communion that thinks deeply about this miracle. Well, that’s the beginning. Much more to come about even this encounter as we look at it next Sunday. Let us pray.