Acts 9 captures one of the most significant moments in all of world history: the Conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Just nine short verses tell the story:
‘But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.’
A Hatred for Jesus and His Followers
Up to this point in the story of Acts, we don’t know much about Saul except one thing: he hates the Church of Jesus Christ. He orchestrated the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7 and as a result a “great persecution” arose in Jerusalem, scattering the church throughout Judea and Samaria.
Luke reiterates Saul’s hatred of the Church at the start of Acts 9: “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…”
Scholars point out that the word here for “breathing” actually refers to “breathing in.” RC Sproul points out that probably what Luke is getting at here is that Paul is so passionate in his hatred of the church and his desire to stamp them out that he is like a wild beast, something like a bull who snorts in his anger. Saul is a man who is completely consumed with destroying this growing group of Christians.
This extreme passion leads him to go to the authorities in Jerusalem. Verse 2 says:
went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Saul, a Pharisee, having studied Judaism at the highest level under its greatest teacher, Gamaliel, would have been well known and respected within the leadership of the Jewish community (Acts 22:1-5). The fact that the high priest, the President of the Sanhedrin, the most powerful governing body in Judaism at the time, would be willing to write letters granting Saul authority to go and arrest followers of Jesus, reveals the confidence they placed in him.
An Encounter with Jesus Changes Everything
What happens next in this story is almost unthinkable. The church’s greatest enemy, the one responsible for scattering them across the region and who is now hunting them down like a wild beast, has a sudden change of heart. Look at verses 3 and following:
3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
In chapter 26, when describing this event he says that this light was so bright that it outshined the sun. Can you imagine that? In that part of the world the sun is very bright during the day. You don’t get a lot of clouds. And here Paul says, middle of the day, a light comes upon him that is brighter even than the sun. This is a blinding light. Paul knows he was standing in the presence of God. He responds with “Who are you, Lord?”
The response he received was crushing. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Here is told that the very person whom he hated so much, the one that was ultimately responsible for this movement that he had been seeking to wipe off the face of the earth, was the Lord. In the name of God, he had been making war against God Himself.
The intimate address, “Saul, Saul,” would have been salt in the open wound. Saul, an expert in the Old Testament, would have known that the double address, “Saul, Saul” was an intimate, loving, personal address and was only used a few times throughout the Scriptures in moments when great love was being expressed. Despite the fact that he had made it his aim to destroy all of Christ’s followers, this personal address showed Saul that he was loved by Christ himself. This would have shaken Saul to the very core.
Although Saul was highly educated, committed to his faith and religious traditions, a respected Pharisee and all the rest, he was still a fool. He was making war against God Himself. And yet, God still loved him.
These two realizations are at the heart of genuine conversion.
Genuine Conversion
John Newton, the man who wrote “Amazing Grace,” (maybe the most well-known hymn in the English language) was also a slave trader when he was a young man and came to see the wickedness of it. He was converted powerfully by God and eventually became a minister. Looking back across his life, when in his 80’s, he famously said:
“Although my memory’s fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”
Paul, on the road to Damascus had the same conviction after an encounter with Jesus.
Truthfully speaking this is what every genuine conversion is like. There may be no bright light from heaven, no audible voice that knocks you down on the road but there is an encounter with God. And that encounter with God leads to two deep convictions, the same ones that Newton and Saul had: conviction of sin—”I am a great sinner,” and a realization of Christ’s love—”Christ is a great Savior.”
In God’s kindness, Saul came to realize these two things and the world was never the same.
Have these two truths gripped you?
