Day 7 of 14
The Conversion of Saul
From Persecutor to Apostle
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Acts 9:1-19. Saul is still "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord." He obtains letters from the high priest and sets out for Damascus to arrest any Christians he finds. On the road, a light from heaven flashes. He falls to the ground and hears a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" "Who are you, Lord?" "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Saul is blinded. He is led into Damascus, where he waits three days without food or drink until a man named Ananias comes, lays hands on him, and Saul receives his sight and is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Reflection
The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is the hinge on which the Book of Acts turns. Before this moment, Saul is the church's most dangerous enemy. After it, he becomes its greatest missionary. Luke considers this event so important that he tells it three times -- in chapters 9, 22, and 26.
Stott makes a vital point: Saul was not looking for Jesus. He was looking for Christians to imprison. The initiative was entirely God's. Jesus appeared to Saul uninvited, unwanted, and undeniable. This is a powerful corrective to any theology that places the burden of salvation on human decision. God acts first.
The question Jesus asks is profound: "Why are you persecuting me?" Not "my followers" or "my church," but "me." Wright observes in his biography of Paul that Jesus identifies completely with His persecuted people. To touch the church is to touch Christ. This insight would shape Paul's entire theology of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 5).
Notice the role of Ananias. He is understandably terrified. "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem" (9:13). But God overrides his fear: "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel" (9:15). The church's worst enemy is God's chosen vessel.
Wright emphasizes that Saul's conversion demonstrates that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace. If the chief persecutor can become the chief apostle, then the door is open for anyone. Paul himself would later write, "I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life" (1 Timothy 1:16).
Going Deeper
Saul spent three days in darkness before Ananias came. Those days of blindness were days of dismantling -- everything Saul thought he knew about God, about Scripture, about the Messiah was being overturned. Sometimes God has to blind us before He can give us sight. What assumptions might God be overturning in your life right now?
Key Quotes
“Saul's conversion is the most dramatic in the New Testament, and Luke tells it three times because it is foundational. It demonstrates that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace and that the risen Jesus personally intervenes in human history.”
“It is important to note that Saul was not looking for Jesus. Jesus found him. The initiative in salvation is always God's.”
Prayer Focus
Pray for someone you know who seems far from God, remembering that the same Jesus who stopped Saul on the Damascus road is still in the business of radical transformation.
Meditation
Jesus asked Saul, 'Why are you persecuting me?' He identifies completely with His people. When you suffer for His sake, He suffers with you. How does this change your understanding of Christ's presence in difficulty?
Question for Discussion
Saul was sincerely religious, zealous, and thoroughly convinced he was serving God by persecuting Christians. What does his story reveal about the danger of religious zeal without genuine encounter with God?