rs for imprisonment and death. His zeal in carrying forward the
persecution was a terror to the Christians in Jerusalem. The Roman
authorities made no special effort to stay the cruel work, and secretly aided
the Jews in order to conciliate them and secure their favor.
The learned Saul was a mighty instrument in the hands of Satan to
carry out his rebellion against the Son of God; but a mightier than Satan
had selected Saul to take the place of the martyred Stephen, and to labor
and suffer for His name. Saul was a man of much esteem among the Jews,
for both his learning and his zeal in persecuting the believers. He was not
a member of the Sanhedrin council until after the death of Stephen, when
he was elected to that body in consideration of the part he had acted on
that occasion.
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37: The Conversion of Saul
This chapter is based on Acts 9:1-22.
The mind of Saul was greatly stirred by the triumphant death of
Stephen. He was shaken in his prejudice; but the opinions and arguments
of the priests and rulers finally convinced him that Stephen was a
blasphemer; that Jesus Christ whom he preached was an imposter, and
that those ministering in holy offices must be right. Being a man of
decided mind and strong purpose, he became very bitter in his opposition
to Christianity, after having once entirely settled in his mind that the views
of the priests and scribes were right. His zeal led him to voluntarily engage
in persecuting the believers. He caused holy men to be dragged before the
councils, and to be imprisoned or condemned to death without evidence
of any offense, save their faith in Jesus. Of a similar character, though in a
different direction, was the zeal of James and John when they would have
called down fire from heaven to consume those who slighted and scorned
their Master.
Saul was about to journey to Damascus on his own business; but he
was determined to accomplish a double purpose, by searching out, as he
went, all the believers in Christ. For this purpose he obtained letters from
the high priest to read in the synagogues, which authorized him to seize
all those who were suspected of being believers in Jesus, and to send them
by messengers
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to Jerusalem, there to be tried and punished. He set out on his way, full of
the strength and vigor of manhood and the fire of a mistaken zeal.
As the weary travelers neared Damascus, the eyes of Saul rested with
pleasure upon the fertile land, the beautiful gardens, the fruitful orchards,
and the cool streams that ran murmuring amid the fresh green shrubbery.
It was very refreshing to look upon such a scene after a long, wearisome
journey over a desolate waste. While Saul, with his companions, was
gazing and admiring, suddenly a light above the brightness of the sun
shone round about him, “and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying
unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? And he said, Who art
Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is
hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
The Vision of Christ
The scene was one of the greatest confusion. The companions of Saul
were stricken with terror, and almost blinded by the intensity of the light.
They heard the voice, but saw no one, and to them all was unintelligible
and mysterious. But Saul, lying prostrate upon the ground, understood the
words that were spoken, and saw clearly before him the Son of God. One
look upon that glorious Being imprinted his image forever upon the soul
of the stricken Jew. The words struck home to his heart with appalling
force. A flood of light poured in upon the darkened chambers of his mind,
revealing his ignorance and error. He saw that, while imagining himself
to be zealously serving God in persecuting the followers of Christ, he had
in reality been doing the work of Satan.
He saw his folly in resting his faith upon the
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assurances of the priests and rulers, whose sacred office had given them
great influence over his mind and caused him to believe that the story of
the resurrection was an artful fabrication of the disciples of Jesus. Now
that Christ was revealed to Saul, the sermon of Stephen was brought
forcibly to his mind. Those words which the priests had pronounced
blasphemy, now appeared to him as truth and verity. In that time of
wonderful illumination his mind acted with remarkable rapidity. He
traced down through prophetic history and saw that the rejection of Jesus
by the Jews, His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension had been foretold
by the prophets, and proved Him to be the promised Messiah. He
remembered the words of Stephen: “I see the heavens opened, and the
Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56), and he knew
that the dying saint had looked upon the kingdom of glory.
What a revelation was all this to the persecutor of the believers. Clear
but terrible light had broken in upon his soul. Christ was revealed to
him as having come to earth in fulfillment of His mission, being rejected,
abused, condemned, and crucified by those whom He came to save, and as
having risen from the dead and ascended into the heavens. In that terrible
moment he remembered that the holy Stephen had been sacrificed by his
consent, and that through his instrumentality many worthy saints had met
their death by cruel persecution.
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“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me
to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall
be told thee what thou must do.” No doubt entered the mind of Saul that
this was the veritable Jesus of Nazareth who spoke to him, and that He
was indeed the long-looked-fo