The
Life of Paul, Part II: Conversion
In the August 3rd Bible
Study article, "The Life of Paul, Part I: To the Damascus
Road," we examined Paul's beginnings and his very close association
with Judaism, and how he was a most avid defender of the faith,
even to the point of vigorously attacking the followers of Jesus
of Nazareth. This week we will look at that moment of tremendous
change in his life, something that happened on the Damascus road,
his conversion.
The life-changing experience
of Paul on the road to Damascus is narrated in three NT
accounts: The first is: "On his journey, as he was nearing
Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?' He said, 'Who are you, sir?'
The reply came, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now
get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.'
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard
the voice but could see no one. Paul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing; so they led him
by the hand and brought him to Damascus. For three days he
was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank" (Act 9:3-9).
In addressing a group of Jews in Jerusalem, Paul gives a very similar
account of his conversion in the first person (Act 22:6-16).
Speaking in his own defense
before King Agrippa, Paul again narrates the story of his conversion,
except this time in greater detail: "On one such occasion I
was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission
of the chief priests. At midday, along the way, O King, I
saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around
me and my traveling companions. We all fell to the ground
and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul, why are
you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the
goad.' And I said, 'Who are you sir?' And the Lord replied,
'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Get up now, and stand
on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to
appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me]
and what you will be shown. I shall deliver you from this
people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you, to open their eyes
that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of
Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an
inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.'"
(Act 26:12-18).
It would be hard to find
another experience recorded in history of such a sudden and total
personal reversal. It was not a change to a new God; Paul's
devotion to the God of Israel never changed. It was not initiated
in reaction to some moral depravity; as Paul made clear: "in
righteousness before the law, I was blameless" (Phl 3:6).
As the story is told, and
as Paul himself points out, this whole change and his entire following
career is based on his conviction that he had seen the real Jesus
in the flesh, the risen and glorified Jesus; and that this experience
was the basis of his claim that he was an apostle of the same rank
and rights as the Twelve: "Am I not an apostle? Have
I not seen Jesus our Lord?" (1Cor 9:1)
The journey of conversion
continued. According to The Acts of the Apostles,
he was taken to Jerusalem where he met a man named Ananias.
The Lord had previously appeared to Ananias saying, "Get up;
and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas
for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is there praying" (9:11).
But Ananias expressed concern over "the evil things Saul had
done to the Lord's holy ones in Jerusalem" (13). But
the Lord assured him: "Go, for this man is a chosen instrument
of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name"
(15-16).
So Ananias went to Saul
and laid hands upon him, saying: "Saul my brother, the Lord
has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit"
(17).
Paul recounts this meeting
in detail: "A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law,
and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me
and stood there and said, 'Saul, my brother, regain your sight.'
And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then
he said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you to know God's
will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice;
for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and
heard. Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and
your sins washed away, calling upon his name'" (Act 22:12-16).
He was baptized, ate, and recovered his strength (Act 9:18-19).
Paul stayed in Damascus
proclaiming "that he (Jesus) is the son of God" (21-22).
Then we read a vague "after a long time had passed" (23).
It is most likely that Galatians sheds light on what happened during
this "long time." "I did not go up to Jerusalem
to those who were apostles before me; rather I went into Arabia
and then returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went
up to Jerusalem to confer with Kephas and remained with him for
fifteen days" (Gal 1:16c-17).
Galatians 1:11-17,
reveals two very important elements that are involved in Paul's
conversion experience: the revelation of God's son and the commission
to preach him to the Gentiles. In this commissioning, Paul
is given divine authorization granted to him as an apostle and teacher.
"I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel
preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive
it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through
a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:11-12). "I
did not immediately consult flesh and blood, [that is, he did not
consult human authorities; his apostleship and inspiration came
from God's very self]" (Gal 16c).
Before his conversion, the
name was Saul. As Paul's ministry got into full swing with
his first mission, he underwent a change. Acts 13
begins by using the name Saul. But then with verse 9, he begins
to be called Paul: "But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with
the Holy Spirit, looked at him. . . ." (13:9). From this point
onward, he is called Paul.
Paul met Jesus on the Damascus
road; it changed him; and then he was ready to bring the Jesus whom
he had met to the world.
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| Text:
First Corinthians 2:1-9
1 When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming
the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of
wisdom.
2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except
Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 I came to you in weakness and fear
and much trembling,
4 and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom, but with a demonstration
of spirit and power,
5 so that your faith might rest not
on human wisdom but on the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak a wisdom to those
who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers
of this age who are passing away.
7 Rather, we speak God's wisdom, mysterious,
hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory,
8 and which none of the rulers of
this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: "What
eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered
the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,"
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