by Harry BuererIn many Bibles, the ninth chapter of Acts is headed with the words, “Saul’s Conversion”. Is this an accurate representation of the contents of this chapter? I believe that it’s not, that it presumes too much. Let’s look at the scripture text and see.
We first see Saul at the stoning of Stephen. Saul was guarding the clothes of those who were doing the stoning. Saul was also giving approval to his death (8:1). After this, he joined in the persecution of believers in Jesus. “Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison” (8:3).
We need to picture accurately what is happening. Here is a Torah-observant practitioner of Judaism fighting against other Torah-observant practitioners of Judaism. The point of contention is that they believe that Jesus is the Savior and the Messiah, while Saul doesn’t. In his eyes, that makes their message dangerous.
As chapter nine opens, Saul is on his way to Damascus. He has requested of the high priest “letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem” (9:2).
A couple of things are noteworthy about this passage. Saul expects to find these people in the synagagues of Damascus. This is strong evidence that the believers worshiped in synagogues along with other Jews. In later days Saul (Paul) reiterates this in his testimony to other audiences. “Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished” (26:11 cf. 22:19). Clearly those he was seeking were practicing Jews who believed in Jesus.
Also prominent is his mention of the identity of those he sought as belonging to “the Way”. This term is mentioned several other times in Acts as the self-identification of those who believed in Jesus. In one of those passages (24:14) he claims to “worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect.” A “sect” here is a group within a religion, in this case, Judaism. The usage here is parallel to Paul’s statement in 26:5 that “according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee”. Both Pharisaism and the Way were sects of Judaism. Saul embraces one without abandoning the other, as he states later, “I am a Pharisee” (23:6).
What is it that happens to Saul on his way to Damascus? He sees a light which blinds him for three days, and hears a voice which identifies itself as that of Jesus. He is instructed to go into the city for further instructions. Subsequent retellings add further details, such as that Jesus was Speaking to him in Hebrew (26:14).
After Saul is led into Damascus by his companions, he is met, by divine appointment, with a man named Ananias. A later retelling describes Ananias as “a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there” (22:12). Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, spoke words, and Saul’s sight was restored.
The purpose for this encounter is described in the vision to Ananias. “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (9:15). Comparing this with the retellings of Paul later (22:21; 26:20), it seems clear that this was a commission to Saul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
It’s interesting to notice how Saul’s subsequent message is described. In Acts 9:20 it says that “he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God”. In Acts 26:20 he describes his message differently. “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds”. He goes on to emphasize the continuity of his message with Judaism. “I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen” (26:22).
The word “conversion” implies a change from one religion to another. That is clearly not what happened here. Saul, an observant Jew, became an observant Jew who embraced the Way and faith in Jesus. This passage would perhaps be better titled as “Saul’s Commission”.