Saul of Tarsus, the devoted, zealous Pharisee and ambitious defender of the Jewish faith, had the letters. Now he had official authority from the high priest to go-ahead and hunt down this pernicious new sect, which had become pricks and thorns in the sight and minds of the leaders in Jerusalem.

Saul passionately hated these followers of an apparently risen Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph, a carpenter. Now at last he could, with full force, make havoc with them, to rid the land of them once and for all.

He could hardly wait to bring them bound to Jerusalem to await judgment. Soon he was ready. So were the hired horses and a company of soldiers. They mounted the horses and off they went. –

The goal was Damascus, a great city, days away. The party changed horses and slept in inns along the way.

When coming nearer to Damascus, the towers glistening in the sunlight, Saul’s excitement grew with the hour. Soon he would order the soldiers to search out the synagogues and houses for the hated sect; to round them up.

Saul saw himself already triumphant in this quest, so that his chest expanded with pride and enthusiasm for an assignment well accomplished.

After the last change of horses, the company refreshed themselves, and, with new vigor, hastened along.

Saul’s heart was beating faster the nearer they came to Damascus. He could barely contain himself, and filled with another surge of energy, he forced his horse to the utmost, galloping rapidly towards the city, leaving the others struggling along.

Acts 9:3–8

Suddenly, just as Saul saw the gates of Damascus, a light appeared in the sky, so bright that he could not see the road; the speed of the horse made him lose balance and threw him to the ground. At the same time he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?”

A shudder went through his body. . . Why, what is this. . . who is speaking?

And then he said: “Who art thou, Lord?” And he heard the most shocking, all-disrupting words: “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

Then Saul saw before him Jesus Christ in all His glory and majesty, so beautiful, so sublime, yet full of grace and love. This view penetrated his entire being, stamped upon his heart and imprinted in his mind. It never was erased for the rest his life.

And he, trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Then the vision was gone.

The soldiers also fell to the ground and were afraid (Acts 22:9), but were not blinded by the light, for they did not see the glory of Christ. They then helped Saul get up,. He was, blinded and stunned, and not able to say anything.

Instead of hastening with might and excitement into the city, the whole company now walked, quite somber and unhurried through the gates.

Finished, gone was the intended enterprise—literally stopped in the track!

DAYS OF SILENCE

The soldiers searched for the street called Straight, and took Saul to the house of Judas. There they left him, going to their appointed quarters.

Saul was crushed to the wheel. His face and whole appearance told that he had experienced something of an overwhelming and very dramatic nature.

Judas, seeing Saul’s consternation, and as a polite host, led him to a quiet room to be all by himself. And this was good also. For the turmoil going on in his mind could now not bear anyone near him.

Saul, sitting there at the bedstead, utterly dazed, stupefied and motionless, lost all sense of time and surrounding; unable to grasp the enormous impact of the event that had just transpired.

Through the silent hours and days the blindness was a blessing in disguise. It gave opportunity to sort out his thoughts and circumstances.

The shock—that he, Saul, had been persecuting Jesus, the Messiah Himself—was too great to take in. It literally took his breath away, he gasped for air; it was as if he forgot to breathe! Instead of being a helper to God—he was a destroying force to His cause!

It cut right to the core of his heart that all his life and zeal were going in the wrong direction—for he, Saul of Tarsus, the most diligent, honest servant of the Hebrew faith, was fully convinced that he was doing God service by his course of action.

He had seriously waited for the Messiah, like the priests, the nation and the Sanhedrin, who valued him as a most promising member. He was jealous for God and would not tolerate a sect that claimed the Messiah had already come and went back to heaven.

Surely, all Israel would have recognized and honored Him! It was to Saul nonsense what these people were saying and doing. It was absolutely unacceptable, period! A very smart imposter had deluded this weird group and must be seriously dealt with!

But now this—that he, Saul, actually did that very thing—persecuting the One he longed to see one day!

This is horrifying, utterly inconceivable, disheartening and totally shattering!

Nothing could not be worse, more devastating and more dreadful than what he had done—but it was the very truth!

Being blind from the brightness of Christ’s glory, Saul saw it now, clear as crystal, that he had been on a downward spiral, willing to plunge into the chasm of total destruction, full speed!

But, oh, the wonderful, marvellous love and grace of God—Christ Himself would make the Stop! How can this be, that he, Saul had been spared?

This marvel astonished him beyond comprehension. It completely absorbed his mind, he could not think of anything else.

Two days went by but he did not notice.

Then the great shock that so entirely permeated his being with horror was calming down, and the extreme intensity of disrupted emotions begun to subside somewhat.

Then—a sorrow so very deep, so all consuming arose from the innermost part of his soul. Putting his hands in shame before his face like as to hide himself from his crime, he fell on his knees, while rivers of tears burst from his eyes in never-ending streams, wetting the floor as he bent forward, weeping broken-hearted.

His body shook from grief and burning woe that he, Saul of Tarsus, had hurt his Messiah—this was too much to conceive! The thought of it caused such anguish, not only to his horror stricken mind, but it was also felt upon his heart; a keen pain, as if it would be wrenched out of his body.

With all his soul he longed for forgiveness for his atrocities, having given consent to the death of Christ’s faithful followers! The persecutor lay before his Lord and Saviour in deepest contrition, intensely pleading for pardon.

He had only one desire, to serve Christ with all his heart, mind and strength, to love, to obey Him, to be spent for Him till his last breath. This would be the only consolation for what he had done.

Then a wonderful peace rolled over him—Saul knew he was forgiven and accepted.

A NEW MAN

Then there was a knock at the door. Ananias, a certain

disciple of Damascus (Acts 9:17–19) entered, laid his hands on Saul, as Jesus directed him in a vision. And Saul could see again.

Ananias could see that Saul was not anymore the hateful tyrant of Christians. He saw before him a quiet, humble man seeking direction. Then Ananias took Saul to the water to be baptized.

There, a new life, a new spirit entered into him; the former Saul lay dead in the watery grave and a new man emerged, filled with the Holy Spirit and a love for his Saviour Jesus Christ. A love so ravishing to his soul as to never lose its force; flowing out of him to impart to others.

Saul had not eaten or drank for three days, neither did he miss it. But now, newly born by the Spirit of Christ and clear in his mind, he felt hunger.

“And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples in Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” Acts 9:19–20

DEVASTATING NEWS

When the soldiers returned to Jerusalem without Saul and the bound company of the troublesome sect, and the leaders heard of his conversion, they at first thought they did not hear right. There must be some mistake, was this a bad joke played on them?

But upon hearing the whole story they realized their favored member deserted them—joining their enemies—their anger then knew no bounds. This blew their minds!

Full of rage, the visage disfigured with satanic fury, all hell broke loose within them.

“Has he gone mad? How could he do this to us?” they shouted, gnashing with their teeth.

This was the worst news they could possibly receive. The leaders felt betrayed, despised and terribly let down.

Then the only conclusion they could come up with was murder, death to this treacherous fellow, who disappointed them in so despicable a manner. Every cell in the body of these men breathed out hatred towards Saul, who so utterly destroyed their high expectations and hopes for him.

They hated him now more than this pestering sect, because he would labour to gain new members, causing even more trouble! Saul was to them the worst apostate in the land.

Their sour faces and the taste in their mouths, bitter with gall of that indignant assembly, revealed a very grave and sad truth about them. They were at the wheel of God’s work—but were total strangers to Him, aliens to the love, mercy and righteousness of God’s character.

It never entered the minds of the priests and scribes to take a closer look as to what happened to Saul that noonday. Having such a drastic impact, perhaps it truly must have been a supernatural, experience; a vision of heavenly origin.

Since they had no connection with God, and blinded by bigotry originating from the angel cast out of heaven, it was far from them to desire the truth about this extraordinary event. They held on to their traditions, closing the mind to anything that could upset their old ways, and were dead set against allowing the light of the gospel enter their hearts. Satan had them fully in his grip.

PAUL—The Chosen Vessel of the Lord (Acts 9:15)

After his stay in Damascus, Paul needed time for personal reflection. His life was radically turned around; he felt he must have time for much prayer to gain a close relationship with Jesus, that he might glorify Him in his new mission.

He went to Arabia (Galatians 1:17) where he received visions and revelations concerning his new faith. Jesus Himself would teach him that the old sacrificial system, which had pointed to the sacrifice of the true Lamb of God was fulfilled in His life and death on the cross of Calvary.

Here Paul gained divine insight and a clear understanding of the gospel, the good news for all men, which he then could preach with power in the Spirit to convict.

Then a life of service with holy passion and love for souls began. He would begin to proclaim Jesus Christ crucified, to testify before kings and rulers, Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

Thus Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle, the chosen vessel of the Lord.
Amen.

Edda Tedford, Canada

(Author’s comments are based on her own thoughts as to what Paul may have experienced during his conversion.)