What Happened to Saul

          In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2, Good News Translation)

In last Sunday’s blog post, I mentioned a guy named Saul. He was born between 5 BC and 5 AD to a devout Jewish family in the area of Tarsus and was a Roman citizen by birth. He was well-educated in Jewish law but became a tentmaker by trade.

As belief in Jesus as the Messiah spread through his area, Saul, along with many other Jewish leaders, began chasing down these new believers. They harassed, arrested, and tortured the men and women who attested that Jesus Christ was their Savior.

And then something happened.

As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” he asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you persecute,” the voice said. “But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.”

The men who were traveling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. For three days he was not able to see, and during that time he did not eat or drink anything. (Acts 9:3-9, Good News Translation)

If you are familiar with the Christian faith, there is a very good chance that you know how this story ends. But let’s stop here for a minute and pretend we are viewing this cliffhanger for the first time.

What would be going through your mind if you were Saul and were suddenly blinded? If a voice without a body was speaking to you, asking you what you were doing and why you were doing it? If the voice answered that He was the One who His followers believed in? And you remained blind and didn’t eat or drink for three days? What would you believe?   

(The picture above is from my third trip to Kenya, in 2015. Maybe the road to Damascus looked a little bit like that.)