The Conversion of Saint Paul: An Apostle Formed On The Road To Damascus

The Conversion of Saint Paul: An Apostle Formed On The Road To Damascus

by

Rev. David A. Fisher

 
Introduction: The Acts of the Apostles

 
There are three key texts in the Acts of the Apostles of Saint Luke, that give testimony to the conversion of Saint Paul:

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.” - Acts 9:3-6 (NABRE)

“On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.  I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’ 9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. - Acts 22:6-9 (NABRE)

“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…” - Acts 26:12-16 (NABRE)

These texts from the Acts of the Apostles give three accountings by Paul of his experience on the road to Damascus and how his life was profoundly changed.  Saul the persecutor of the followers of “The Way” becomes, Paul the apostle to the Gentiles.        

From Saul to Paul?

First it may be important to explain why the Apostle to the Gentiles is called Saul and Paul.  The name Saul (meaning, “prayed for”) was from the first King of the Hebrew peoples, reigning before David the king.  Saul the king was from the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin, as was the future Apostle to the Gentiles: “Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee,” (Philippians 3:5, NABRE).

In Koine (Common) Greek Saul’s name was rendered as Paul, and in Latin as Paulus/Paullus.  It was very common for Jewish people in the Roman Empire or Greco-Roman cultural milieu, to carry two names.  One used with other Jews and the other used among the Gentiles.         

It is incorrect therefore, as is often said, that Saul the persecutor became Paul the Apostle.  Both names were used throughout his life, but the Scriptures most importantly center their attention upon his mission to the Gentile world, therefore, we primarily see the name Paul used in the New Testament.  

Conversion or Fulfillment

Paul was a Pharisee and had studied under the greatest rabbinical scholar of the day, Gamaliel, and had studied with him for possibly ten years in Jerusalem. Gamaliel the First, is mentioned twice in the New Testament and was a master of the Law of Judaism, which was the Mosaic Law followed by Pharisees.  Gamaliel was also a member of the powerful Sanhedrin, which served as a court of religious observance. 

Paul was from Tarsus of Cilicia (today in Turkey), and was therefore a Roman citizen.  Being a Roman citizen rather than a Roman subject like those born in Judea, he had certain rights that could not be violated.  For example, this is why he was executed by beheading, rather than the slow painful death of crucifixion like Saint Peter.  Also, his knowledge of Greek and Latin may have been more proficient than those born and raised in a predominantly Jewish and Aramaic speaking environment.

Paul was as a Pharisee and was so convinced, that strict observance to the Mosaic Law was an imperative to living the Jewish life and for the continuance of the Jewish people, that he actively persecuted the followers of “The Way,” the name used by the first Christians.  He brought many to execution and was present in the stoning of Saint Stephen the Deacon and First-Martyr:

When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.- Acts 7:54-58

Paul’s life changed on the road to Damascus when he encounters the Risen Lord. As we have seen it was repeated three times in Acts:

Now it may be that this repetition of Paul’s encounter with the Risen Christ in fact reflects Paul’s own preaching. The organizing principle that brings coherence to St. Paul’s life and work is his encounter with the Risen Christ, so it is plausible that this would be a theme he returned to time and time again with both Jewish and Christian audiences. The encounter with the Risen Christ was …the ‘genetic moment’ of St. Paul’s faith: a personal encounter with Jesus that communicates the heart and life of the Gospel. We read that on the Road to Damascus the then Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (from, Nicolas Crowe, OP, The Conversion of St. Paul - The Dominican Friars in Britain)

 
This event was not just a conversion of Paul’s faith but a fulfillment of what he had longed for as a Pharisee, the fulfillment of God’s plan for his people.  But this fulfillment was not through a slavish following of the Mosaic Law, but through a “Person,” Jesus Christ.  The “Word of God,” which Paul knew so well, he came to realize was not ultimately to be found in Law but in the “Word made flesh,” Jesus Christ.  

Along with this fulfillment of his faith being found in Christ, came the realization that faith, not works of the Law, was the catalyst of salvation and was open to Jew and Gentile alike. In other words God’s grace was not limited to one ethnicity or one group of people, who were taught to know God through the Mosaic Law; but all people can be united to God through the gift of faith in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ.   

Therefore the Conversion of Paul, is also the fulfillment of his faith in God.  An expansion of his horizon of faith, that came to encompass Jew and Gentile alike; in the Church, the Body of Christ, the People of God.