Acts 26:13, commentary and pictures

At midday on the last day of the journey as Saul and his companions neared Damascus, a great light from heaven above the brightness of the sun suddenly shone round about them and continued to shine about them. Saul fell prostrate to the earth blinded and bewildered while his companions were terrified and nearly blinded, hearing a voice but seeing no one, whereas Saul saw clearly the Son of God. The light was a heavenly vision of Jesus enthroned in its midst in divine glory, the same Jesus who had lived in Jerusalem, died, risen and ascended, whom Paul had despised and hated. It revealed Jesus to him as the Son of God and the world's Redeemer, exposing his persecution of Jesus' followers as persecution of Jesus himself and proving by fulfilled prophetic history that he is the promised Messiah. The encounter first filled him with unspeakable terror at his wrong course and then became his greatest consolation, transforming him from stubborn unbelief and persecution to a sincere penitent believer and confirming his call to be a chosen apostle and witness of the risen Saviour especially to the Gentiles.

The Vision on the Way

At midday on the last day of the journey Saul with his companions neared Damascus after long wearisome travel over desolate wastes. As they gazed on the fruitful plain below with its gardens and orchards and watered lands, the light appeared. Suddenly a great light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun and too glorious for mortal eyes to bear, shone round about Saul and those journeying with him. It was a heavenly light brighter than the midday sun, and it continued to shine about them.

Saul fell prostrate to the earth, blinded and bewildered by a glory too great for mortal eyes to bear. His companions were terrified and nearly blinded by the same shining round about them. They heard a voice but saw no one, whereas Saul saw clearly the Son of God. The blinding glory left a lasting visible effect in Paul's eyes as a mark of Christ's glory. The verse gives the comparison for Jesus' countenance shining brighter than the sun at noon.

The verse belongs to Paul's account of his conversion given in defense before King Agrippa and other leading men of Caesarea. He related it before kings and governors, and while imprisoned, so that rulers and nobles heard the message for which he was imprisoned. That opportunity came while he waited for a ship to take him to Rome.

Christ Seen in Glory

The noonday light was a heavenly vision, a revelation of divine glory with Jesus enthroned in its midst. The Christ so revealed was the risen and enthroned One whom Paul had despised and hated while seeking to destroy His followers. Paul's encounter with Him was personal and real, for he both saw and spoke with the same Jesus who had lived in Jerusalem, died, risen from the dead, and ascended to heaven. That seeing and hearing convinced him that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The light revealed Jesus to Saul as the Son of God and as Jesus of Nazareth the world's Redeemer. Though his companions were terrified and nearly blinded, they saw no one, while Saul saw the Son of God clearly. The encounter exposed his error, teaching him that in persecuting Christ's followers he had been persecuting Jesus Himself. It stopped his persecution of the church, brought light to his understanding, and turned him from opposition to faith.

By that revelation Saul was led to recognize that Jesus' rejection, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension fulfilled prophetic history and proved Him to be the promised Messiah.

Conversion and Commission

The midday light first struck Paul with terror, even unspeakable terror at his wrong course, and afterward it became his greatest consolation and source of comfort. By transforming mercy the encounter stopped his persecution of the church and his effort to destroy Christ's followers, brought light to his understanding, and turned him from opposition to faith in Jesus as the world's Redeemer. From that hour he was changed from stubborn unbelief to a new man, a sincere, fervent, penitent believer in Jesus.

Seeing and hearing Christ in the vision convinced Paul that Jesus had risen from the dead, and that personal and real encounter grounds his testimony to the resurrection. It confirmed his call to be an apostle and chosen messenger of the gospel, commissioned to preach to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Jesus' command in the encounter made him a witness who proclaimed the risen Saviour whom he had seen and spoken with. When he related his conversion before kings and governors, that testimony brought listeners to conviction that Jesus was the Son of God, so that thousands believed and many were convinced.

The light from heaven shining about a person on every side is what is needed to answer Jesus' call to work for Him without procrastination, to dedicate oneself wholly to God, to act worthily of God-given intellect, and to keep independence subordinate to reason with the will under the control of an enlightened conscience.