Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for 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. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. - Acts 9:1-19
Compared to Peter in Matthew's gospel, we see that Paul had to learn the same lesson from a different angle. Both felt they were lifelong experts in a subject matter, both were humbled by God to show them that there was so much more to learn, both gave up their former profession and both followed Jesus. But whereas Peter was an expert on fishing, Paul was an expert on God and his law. Then he met Jesus.
I can imagine that there was a huge rethinking of everything that Paul knew in terms of the risen Jesus. Everything that he learned and thought he knew had to be reevaluated in fresh light. Also, his passion had to be redirected and there was a grieving and regret over people that he'd hurt in his righteous quest to destroy Jesus' followers.
I am frankly surprised at Paul because I ca imagine myself and so many people I know unwilling to go down a radical rethink like this because of the implications for my current way of life. Too much temptation to cling to what there is, to try and retrain some shred of self-justification. But once he was past that, there was a freedom.
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