The Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early church, by Luke the physician - Acts 9:1-9 comments: Paul's experience with Christ on the road to Damascus

 

Acts 9:1 ¶  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2  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. 3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5  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. 6  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. 7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8  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. 9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

 

Remember what I said about 8:3. Saul will have his name changed to Paul. See Acts 13:9. As Saul he was a great terror to the early church and he admitted his guilt.

 

1Corinthians 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

 

Galatians 1:13  For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

 

Phillipians 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

 

1Timothy 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

 

Saul gets warrants to arrest Christians who at this time are considered as nothing more than a deviant sect of Judaism. These warrants give Saul the authority to arrest Christians and bring them to Jerusalem. But on the road to Damascus he had the experience with Christ that changed the course of history. Jesus asks why Saul persecutes Him? For Christians are the body of Christ on earth and should be doing His will in the physical world.

 

Colossians 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

 

In verses 4 and 5 we have Jesus asking why Saul was persecuting Him and then identifying Himself as the one Saul was persecuting, a nice piece of sarcasm. This is followed by a proverb of that world that Saul would have known quite well. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks, a reference to an ox-goad or pointed stick with a piece of metal on the end was a well-known and used proverb in the Greek world used by poets and playwrights like Euripides and Pindar among others. It is a sort of, “how is that working out for you,” kind of sarcasm. Saul has been fighting God, as Gamaliel, his teacher, had warned.

 

Acts 5:34  Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; 35  And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. 36  For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37  After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. 38  And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39  But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

 

Saul is blinded temporarily but his vision never fully recovers.  While the Bible does not specifically say that Paul’s vision was bad it definitely suggests that this was a problem from here on out.

 

2Corinthians 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

 

He refers to a messenger of Satan, a thorn in the flesh.

 

Galatians 4:15  Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.

 

This suggests there is something wrong with his eyes.

 

Galatians 6:11  Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

 

Paul typically wrote by a secretary, called an amanuensis.

 

Romans 16:22  I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.

 

Traditional editions of the King James Version have the accepted writers noted in a postscript.

 

For instance, after 1Corinthians it says, “The first epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi by Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus and Timotheus.”