Paul’s Conversion
Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus,
and suddenly a light from heaven shone 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.
(Acts 9:3-5)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
If the Apostle Paul played a critical role in setting the tone of the New Testament in writing first, then his faith story is critically important. Before his conversion, Paul was primarily known by his Hebrew name, Saul. (Acts 13:9).
Paul’s Conversion
No one anticipated Paul’s conversion, least of all Paul. Paul traveled to Damascus to arrest Christians and stamp out the church. The text makes it clear that he was obsessed with his mission of persecuting the church (Acts 9:1-2). As cited above, Paul’s plans changed when he encountered the Risen Christ.
Paul’s conversion experience on the road to Damascus is repeated three times in the Book of Acts (Acts 9:1-20, 22:4-21, 26:9-23). The first telling is simply part of the narration by the writer of the Book of Acts. The second is a speech given during a riot in the Temple in Jerusalem. The third is a presentation in Caesarea before King Agrippa. In each case the dialogue contains the same words given above, but in the third case Jesus also says enigmatically: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 26:14) A goad is spiked stick used to guide a pack animal.
We are not told what goads Paul is kicking against, but we might infer from the context that he is not paying attention to the testimony of the Christians that he has been arresting—a sort of spiritual deafness.
Paul’s Mission
Paul’s mission is also given in each of the three accounts. In the first account, the mission is given in a vision to Ananias:
“But the Lord said to him [Ananias], Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15-16)
In the second account, Jesus tells him: “Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.” (Acts 22:10) Later, Jesus gives him details in a trance (Acts 22:17). In the third account Jesus tells him:
“But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:16-18)
In this third account we hear an echo of the call of the Prophet Ezekiel (2:1). The observation that Paul is now paying attention to visions of his peers, such as Ananias, and his own visions, which is an indication of spiritual attentiveness and growth. This is big step up from kicking against the goads.
Paul’s encounter with the Risen Christ has clearly been a catalyst for spiritual growth.
Separation from Judaism
E.P. Sanders (1977, 552) in his exhaustive study of what distinguishes the Apostle Paul’s writing from other Jews in the first century writes:
“In saying that participationist eschatology is different from covenantal nomism, I mean only to say that it is differs, not that the difference is instructive for seeing the error of Judaism’s way.”
By participationist eschatology, Sanders is referring to passages like “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Rom 6:5) The Greek word translated here as united (σύμφυτος BDAG 6997) is unique to Paul and used nowhere else in the New Testament and it expresses this idea of participation that Sanders focuses on.
In other words, we should emulate Jesus’ life story in order to participate with him in glory (See also Phil 3:10-11). This salvation arises, not in adhering to the laws given in the Mosaic covenant (e.g. covenantal nomism), but in living in Christ, Paul’s expression for modeling our lives after Jesus’ example. Sanders sees this break with Judaism as coming, not so much from Paul’s conversion story or the political break with Judaism in the rebellion against Rome, but in the substance of Paul’s theology. God’s new covenant arises in following Christ’s example.
Paul writes explicitly about this break in his own life, which is often glossed over:
“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.” (Acts 26:19-21)
Paul did not have a death wish. He simply honored God rather than men. It was part of his witness to King Agrippa before going to Rome where he later died around AD 64.
References
Bauer, Walter (BDAG). 2000. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. ed. de Frederick W. Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .
Sanders, E.P. 1977. Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Paul’s Conversion
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
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