May 27, 2024

Acts 9:1-9 (HCSB)
The Damascus Road
9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 4 Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 “Who are You, Lord?” he said. “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting,” He replied. 6 “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. 9 He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

Casey Morton
Here we see that Saul, who had been persecuting Christians, dragging them out of their homes at times and having them imprisoned, is taking his hate for them to Damascus. “Still breathing threats and murder” paints a picture of an angry man who must have literally hated any disciple or follower of Christ. Verse 3 says a bright light shown down from heaven, and Paul fell to the ground. This was not out of reverence for the Lord, but probably out of fear. This event took place in the middle of the day, and it said that the light was brighter than the sun. God asks, “Saul, Saul”; (when God says the name twice, it is to show deep emotion, not necessarily anger. (Martha, Martha - Luke 10:41) “why are you persecuting Me?”
Paul thought he was serving God by persecuting Christians, but here he is faced with the nature of his true crimes. He is persecuting God, not man. When Saul asks what the Lord wants him to do, He only tells him what he wants him to do at that very moment. He doesn’t give Saul the full plan. Have you ever asked that question of God and gotten the same answer? You might be looking for a long laid out path, but God only gives you a few steps?