THE CONVERSION OF SAUL

We come to the final, (the 12th), post-resurrection appearance of Jesus: to Saul on the road to Damascus. He tells this story in detail in Acts 22:5-16, 26:10-18, and even a bit in Galatians 1:11-24. Here’s what we can gather from ALL the texts in the NTT about this event:

1. Saul was personally commissioned by the high priest and the Sanhedrin with warrants for the arrest of “wanted” Christians; probably key leaders like the 70 Apostles. His goal was to bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners for trial.
2. Saul was traveling with an unknown number of others. They were near Damascus about noon when the encounter happened.
3. They all saw a brilliant light, brighter than the sun and they all fell to the ground. (The text says nothing about being knocked off a horse.)
4. Saul hears a voice speaking to him in Hebrew. It may be that the men with him did not speak Hebrew or were supernaturally kept from understanding what Jesus said because in one version of the story (Acts 22:9) Paul said his companions did not hear the voice, while in 9:7 he says the men heard a voice but didn’t see anyone. It may be like the instance when the Father spoke to Jesus in the temple. The people heard a sound but did not distinguish a voice.
5. The unabridged version of what Jesus said is only in Acts 26:14-18. Jesus did more than tell him to go into the city and he would be told what to do. Jesus also calls him to be a minister and a witness sent to the Gentiles.
6. After the vision, Saul is blind, so his companions led him by the hand (another reason to suspect he was not on horseback).
7. He was in Damascus (still blind) for 3 days. He fasted from food and water all that time. He has a vision of a man named Ananias coming and laying hands on him so his sight will return.
8. The Lord appears to Ananias in a vision and instructs him to go pray for Saul. He does this.
9. Saul is also “filled with the Holy Ghost” when Ananias prays and his eyesight is healed. He is then baptized and afterwards breaks his fast.

ANANIAS

Church history says that Ananias was another of the Seventy Apostles. He had gone to Damascus early on to preach the Gospel and was the first Bishop overseeing the churches. Ananias boldly and openly confessed Christ before the Jews and the pagans, despite the danger. 

From Damascus he went to preach at a city called Eleutheropolis (about 33 miles southwest of Jerusalem), where he healed many people. In about 60AD, the Prefect of the city, tried to persuade him to offer sacrifice to idols. When Ananias refused, the Prefect ordered that he be tortured but he would not be swayed. The torturers led him out of the city, where they stoned him to death. Like Stephen, Ananias prayed for those who put him to death.

DAMASCUS

The “street called Straight” is still being used today. Google tells me it is called Bab Sharqi.

Look at the street that connects to it just to the left. Hananiah (Ananias) Street. I think the main bit of “the street called straight” is the one that turns off to the left. That one goes a long way; all the way to the market.

The Cappella di San Paolo is the Chapel of Saint Paul.

Just up Hananiah Street is a little unassuming alley.

This is the Chapel of Ananias. You enter a little courtyard then go down to below street level to an ancient site where there have been churches since the 5th century commemorating where Ananias prayed for Saul.

The longer part of “Straight Street” leads to the ancient market (still there!). Google Maps says it’s a 16min walk from the arched entrance at the end of Straight Street.

🤔 So… “Straight Street” is L-shaped?

I don’t really know, having never been there, but Google seems to be telling me that it is now split into 2 parts. A short bit that runs north-south and a long bit that runs east-west. Here’s a super old postcard from Damascus with a picture of the famous Straight Street:

THE TRIP TO ARABIA

One incredibly important part of Saul’s life that is often missed is his post-conversion trip into Arabia.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul tells them about his conversion and says,

“nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

😯 What was he doing there?

☝️🤓 Was he hiding out after escaping in the basket?

I think Paul might have given us a clue in that same letter. It’s the only other time “Arabia” is mentioned in the NT.

“Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I think Saul took a trip to Mount Sinai.

Maybe he was hoping God would come down again in a smoking cloud and explain some things. But I suspect he needed to rethink everything he thought he knew about being in right relationship with God. His whole life, he had revered and studied the covenant God made with his people on Sinai. He had tithed his mint and cumin and followed the Law strictly. But, like the rich young ruler, he still lacked the peace in his heart that only comes by being cleansed from sin through faith in Christ.

The same God who came down on Sinai has now revealed Himself completely in the person of Jesus Christ who has established the long-promised New Covenant. And that God has called him to go share this New Covenant with the Gentiles. That’s a big ask for a former Pharisee.

We don’t know how long he stayed there but I bet cha it wasn’t just an overnight trip. He had a lot to think about. I suspect Paul spent several days or perhaps even weeks or months camped at Mount Sinai just like ancestors. I think he spent that time in solitude and prayer and fasting like Elijah who also visited Sinai where he learned that the LORD was not in the earthquake, the wind, or the fire; but in the still small voice.

You can tell by the verse above about Sinai, that Paul has a whole different perspective on the Law than he would’ve had as a Pharisee. He has been devoted to the Law handed down at Sinai. And now he moves his devotion from the Law to Christ, the fulfillment of the Law.

THE TRIP TO JERUSALEM

After the Arabia trip, Saul goes back to Damascus for 3 years, (Gal. 1:17-18).

THEN he goes back to Jerusalem and of course the disciples think it’s some kind of trap, so they aren’t letting him in to the group.

You might remember meeting a very generous brother named Barnabas at the end of Acts 4. He’s a Levite from the island of Cyprus. He’s as generous with his heart as with his money. Barnabas brings Saul to meet the apostles. We learn from Galatians 1:18-19 that the only apostles Saul met were Peter and James the brother of Jesus. There may have been others from the 70 but most of them had left Jerusalem to evangelize or because of persecution.

It doesn’t take long for Saul’s bold preaching and powerful debating to get him in hot water. He escapes again with the help of the Christians and heads back to his home city of Tarsus (in what is now Türkiye.)

The next few chapters shift to focus on Peter’s ministry, but Barnabas will go and find Saul again soon.

PETER IN LYDDA & JOPPA

Meanwhile…

Peter is doing crazy-powerful stuff just like Jesus. Aeneas has been bed-ridden for 8 years, and Jesus heals him.

Then Peter gets asked to hurry up the coast to Joppa. The disciple Tabitha has died and, in a scene that feels like Peter replicating what he watched Jesus do when He raised the daughter of Jairus, Peter sends everyone out of the room, kneels down, and says what Jesus would’ve said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she sits up.

Peter stays in Joppa because many people are believing in Jesus. And that’s where he’s going to have a vision about Gentiles.

The apostles have been preaching in Jerusalem and Judea, Philip had a huge revival in Samaria. Now it’s time for the Gospel to reach “the uttermost parts of the earth.” And it’s going to start with a Roman Soldier.