“But Saul, still
breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the
high priest 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. Now as he went on his way, he
approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice
saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord? And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to
do. The men who were traveling with him
stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 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. And for three days he was without sight and
neither ate nor drank.” –Acts 9:1-9 (ESV).
The persecutor of the church was stopped
in his tracks on the way to Damascus, meeting the Lord Jesus in a dramatic way
in a blinding light and a voice from heaven asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (v. 4). Much has been written about Saul’s conversion
and why it came in such an unusual way.
Dr. Warren Wiersbe notes that the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the
leading persecutor of the Christians, was one of the greatest events in church
history after the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. Others have noted that Saul’s persecution of
the Christians was so heinous, God had to bring him down in a notable way. His conversion is recorded here in the ninth
chapter of Acts and again in Paul’s testimony before a Jewish mob (see Acts
22:3-11) and in his own defense before King Agrippa (see Acts 26:2-18). On the road to Damascus Saul’s purpose was
changed and, most importantly, he was changed and his life was changed. From a zealous persecutor of the Christians,
the Lord changed him immediately to one who was humbled in the presence of the
Lord and recognized Him as Jesus Christ, Saviour. The blinding was both real and symbolic. Saul was a learned man, well-versed in the
tradition of the Jews and in the law and the prophets. Yet he was blind in purpose as he zealously
consented to the death of Stephen and determined to bring those of the Way—the
Christians—down. So blind was Saul
before his conversion to the will and purpose of Almighty God that his blinding
on the road to Damascus became a symbol of the great change wrought in his
life. It did not take three days for
Saul to be converted. He instantaneously
recognized Jesus when He appeared to him:
“Who are you, Lord?” The three days of Paul’s physical
blindness and fasting represent his complete change from his old life of
stubbornness, rebellion and zealous persecution of the Christians to the new
life in Christ and a new purpose. Some relate it to Christ’s three days in the
grave. Later Saul, whose name was
changed to Paul, wrote in Philippians 3:12 that Christ “apprehended him” on the
Damascus Road. If “the chief of sinners”
could be saved, he reasoned, than the grace of God can save anyone!
The men with Saul saw the light but they
did not hear the voice nor see the Lord.
The message was for Saul, and he responded. They led the blinded Saul into Damascus and
found him a place to lodge.
He fasted and prayed for three
days. God was preparing him for an
anointing through Ananias, the Lord’s servant.
Luke does not tell us the thoughts that might have gone through Saul’s
mind during this three-day blindness, but we can imagine that he had time to
repent of his atrocities against the Christians and to repent of his past actions. He no doubt considered what Jesus whom he was
now acknowledging as the Messiah, the Lord and Savior, had in mind for him in
the future. He had faithfully practiced
the Mosaic religion all of his life, “a Pharisee of the Pharisees,” devout and zealous to a fault. Now by the grace of God he was saved and
ready to go in ‘the Way’ through faith in the living Christ whom He had met in
person. “I once was lost but now am
found, was blind but now I see!” Isaac
Watts’ words in “Amazing Grace” certainly describe Saul’s change.
And his disciples took him by night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when he had come to Jerusalem he attempted to join the disciples but they are all afraid of him for they did not believe he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists; but they were seeking to kill him. And when the brethren knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea and set him off to Tarsus. (Acts 9:25-30)
ReplyDeleteAnd (Ananias) . . .said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth; and you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now, why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name. When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me. And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in very synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in thee. And when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by and approving, and keeping the garments of those who killed him.' And he said to me, 'Depart; for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' (Acts 22:14-21)
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; and I still was not known by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea; they only heard it said, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. (Galatians 1:15-23)
My conclusion: Paul either had a very poor memory, was mentally ill, or lied about what he did in the weeks, months, and first few years after his conversion experience on the Damascus Road. Yet, Christians base their belief in the Resurrection, the pinnacle event of their faith, on this man's testimony, which in his own words, was a "heavenly vision" of a talking, bright light...along with the writings of four anonymous first century authors, writing decades after the alleged event, in a foreign language, in far away foreign lands, for purposes we do not and will never know.
That isn't evidence, folks. That is speculation, superstition, and fantasy.