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Acts 9 – Conversion Of Paul – Glory and Pain
Glory and Pain
Have you ever been struck by an idea? Well, Saul (a.k.a. Paul) is about to get “struck” with an idea on the road to Damascus! He is about to descend from the pomposity of pious power, to the pain of the persecuted. Paul’s spiritual blindness will be rivaled by his physical blindness leading to his spiritual enlightenment.
Having read the entire account, I got struck with an idea. Have you ever paid much attention to how Jesus treats Saul (Paul)?
Let’s notice Jesus getting Paul’s attention:
[3] As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; [4] and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord (i.e. Sir)?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, [6] but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” (Acts 9:3-6)
Jesus’ words contrast the picture we see in verse two of Paul’s asking for letters of authority: and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:2)
After bending to Jesus, Paul doesn’t ask or demand anything, he is told to wait to be told what he must do. No longer the aggressor, he is now but a humble servant. “There is all of Christianity in what the Risen Christ said to Paul, ‘Go into the city, and you will be told what to do.’ Up to this moment Paul had been doing what he liked, what he thought best, what his will dictated. From this time forward he would be told what to do. The Christian is a man who had ceased to do what he wants to do and who has begun to do what Christ wants him to do.” (Barclay, Acts of the Apostles, p.71) While Paul is still not yet a Christian (Acts 22:16), he is beginning to walk the road that will lead to that sweet surrender.
Notice also Jesus’ words to Ananias concerning how He would continue to treat Paul: But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; [16] for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16) Yes, there would be much glory and fame, but it would be accompanied by much suffering and pain. Hurt and heartache are, in my opinion, Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). Notice in that context, just like here, much glory accompanied by much pain.
So we see Paul traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus, from aggressor to humble servant, from hunter to the hunted, from proud to humble.
Why did God take Paul on this journey? In looking at Acts 9, we see a microcosm of Paul’s entire ministry – Glory and Pain.
In Damascus:
Glory – But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 9:22)
Pain – When many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him, (Acts 9:23)
In Jerusalem:
Glory – And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. (Acts 9:28)
Pain – And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. (Acts 9:29)
Why did Paul seemingly so much more than others, become a target of the unbelievers? Why did God allow this? Why did Jesus say that Paul had to be treated this way?
Could it be because Paul himself was formerly a persecutor? Maybe, but Jesus allowing such a treatment towards Paul could not have been “payback.” There is forgiveness in repentance, not retribution.
Could it be because Paul needed the persecution as a type of catharsis? I doubt very seriously that Jesus would allow such a system of penance. We do not gain a greater spirituality through self-inflicted pain, but rather through experiencing grace.
Then why? Herein is where we can all profit. Before I give the answer as to why I believe Jesus treated Paul the way He did, let us all look at ourselves and ask the same question. “Why am I being treated by Jesus the way I am?” We are often dissatisfied with life, as Paul obviously was by his persecutions. And yet Paul’s life did not change – he died a martyr; and often our lives do not get altered by God despite our many prayers and moaning.
So why? The only plausible answer I can give is that Paul – for reasons only God knows – needed such glory and pain. Paul needed to be struck down, so that God could lift him up. That is how his conversion began, and that is how his life continued. Therefore, when we look at our lives, our tests and trials, our triumphs and glories, our pain and suffering, let us ask ourselves, why. Only then can we learn what God is trying to teach us. Only then can we be lifted up as we begin to understand why. And then maybe, just maybe, we too will be struck with the right idea.
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