Acts 9:1-19a; Saul's Conversion--Born to Suffer

"Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ 5 He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ 7 The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ 11 The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ 13 But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ 15 But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ 17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength."

Introduction

This engrossing story of Paul's conversion fits neatly into Luke's theory of the development of earliest Christianity. Acts 1:8 stated his "thesis": that Christianity spread out in concentric circles as waves in a rock-impinged lake--first in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria and, finally, to the ends of the earth. We have been in Samaria in Acts 8; now we need the person/instrument who will enable Christianity to advance "to the ends of the earth." That person is Saul, aka Paul, who is first mentioned in connection with Stephen's killing (8:1), but now takes on a more central role. By the time we arrive at Acts 13, Paul will be the central figure in the development of earliest Christianity--especially to the Gentiles. So, from the perspective of Luke's approach to what the Germans used to call "salvation history," this narrative fits perfectly.

It also is one of four "personal" narratives which Luke gives us in the first half of Acts. That is, we become acquainted with the original Apostles, especially Peter in Acts 1-6, then Stephen takes center stage in Acts 8, Saul in Acts 9 and Cornelius/Peter in Acts 10-11. Each of these personal or biographical narratives also helps Luke achieve his theological purpose. Peter represents the Gospel going with moderate success to the Jews; Stephen indicates the controversy engendered by the Gospel among Jews; Paul shows the animosity of a hyper-religious Jew against the nascent Christian movement; Cornelius demonstrates the openness to the Gospel among the non-Jews. Thus, Luke's "thesis" is demonstrated not simply in the spreading of the message; it is also seen in the people who embrace this new message. The combination of these two artistic elements makes Acts an entertaining and compelling read.

In the passage for today we see a trajectory of action that seems almost to reflect the flow of a Greek tragedy, albeit with "comic" ending. There is a rapid buildup of the action stressing Saul's intensity and vituperative rancor (1-2); then there follows a stupendously sudden divine intervention, with the light blinding Saul and the words of the Lord stopping him dead in his tracks (3-9); finally there is a "new" Saul, who will later become Paul, "clothed and in his right mind," to use words from the story of the Gadarene demoniac (10-19a). Instead of a desperate Oedipus, however, who must in his self-imposed blindness be led around by a boy, we now have a docile Saul who is baptized, eats and will begin a new life. Let's briefly illustrate each of these points/passages.

I. The Beastly Saul (1-2)

Luke depicts Saul using language drawn from the world of raging beasts or maniacs. When we first meet Saul he is engaged in maniacal persecution of the church (8:3). The Greek word used there (lumaino--"lay waste") is also used in the Septuagint (Greek OT) of Ps. 80:13 to express the savagery of the boar:

"The boar from the forest ravages it/
and all that move in the field feed on it."

Then, in Saul's self-description of his activity in persectuting the early Chrstians (who were called "The Way"--9:1-2), he talks about he "tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged (Greek--emmaino--literally "to be raging within") at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities" (Acts 26:11). Finally, when others describe Saul, they say, "Is not this the man who made havoc (Greek--portheo--"annihilate, destroy") in Jerusalem (9:21)..?" Thus, when we see in 9:1-2 that Saul is "breathing threats and murder" (literally he is "breathing in" the threats, almost as if he is internalizing them or muttering what he is going to do to the Christians under his breath) against the Christians he is right "in character." Saul is, basically, out of control. He is a beast who inspires terror; like the Caledonian boar of old, he would descend into the "fields" of people's communities and ravish them, leaving people fearful of their lives. Luke creates a vivid picture of a bestial existence.

We are just getting started.

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