Acts 9:5, commentary and pictures

Saul was on his way to Damascus with authority from the high priest to seize believers and bring them bound to Jerusalem for imprisonment and death. He was stopped by sudden light from heaven above the brightness of midday, fell blinded to the earth, and learned that the voice speaking to him was Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified, risen and ascended Messiah. To persecute his followers is to persecute Jesus himself, for he is the Head and Representative in heaven of his suffering people on earth. To kick against the goads is to resist divine light and conviction pressing on the conscience, a futile opposition to the onward progress of truth that cannot stop it and only wounds the opposer. Saul, though sincere in conscientious error and believing he was doing God service, yielded his will, asked what he should do, and was thoroughly converted from proud enemy to devoted apostle.

Damascus Road Encounter

Saul was on the road to Damascus to seize men and women who believed, to bring them bound as prisoners to Jerusalem to be condemned and punished without mercy by imprisonment and death. He acted with authority and honor from the high priest, in madness and zeal against the followers of Christ, making havoc of the church by entering houses and committing its members to prison. His determined purpose was to let no Christian escape his vigilance, to inquire after men, women, and children and their connections, and to crown his journey with success at no cost of difficulty or danger. The Commander of heaven saw the suffering brought upon His church and acted to arrest the bold persecutor.

He was stopped by sudden light from heaven shining round him, above the brightness of midday, which struck him to the earth stricken and blinded. Falling to the ground he heard a voice, and when from pale and terrified lips he asked who spoke, the Lord answered that He was Jesus whom Saul persecuted and warned that resistance was painful and useless. Paul beheld the glory of Christ's countenance and could not endure it, hearing His voice and knowing who He was, yet seeing only the light and glory and not the person of Christ. The vision first filled him with terror at the revelation of Jesus in divine glory, enthroned as the One he had despised and whose followers he was trying to destroy, and then became his greatest consolation. That revelation of the risen Christ in divine glory converted him, so that afterward when questioned he testified with an illuminated face, and the meeting ended his career of persecution as he united with the disciples to become among the chief of the apostles.

The encounter followed Stephen's martyrdom, in whose stoning Saul had taken part by consenting to his death and taking charge of the clothes of those who stoned him. Stephen's faith, constancy, God-marked and glorified face, and words stayed in Saul's memory and testified to the truth he had proclaimed. Even while his opposition continued, that witness had stirred doubts in him about the righteousness of his cause and resisted the voice of conscience and the grace of God. His martyrdom thus resulted in and helped bring about Saul's conversion, as Jesus chose the persecutor of the church to preach His name, strengthen the disciples, and take up the work Stephen had left.

Saul was a prominent Jewish leader taught by Gamaliel, a rabbi and statesman and member of the Sanhedrin. He came in proud satisfaction expecting ostentation and applause for his zeal and penetration in searching out believers. His plan was broken up and overturned, for instead of arriving in power and honor and wielding power, he entered the city virtually a prisoner himself, blind, helpless, and dependent on the guidance of his companions. Deprived of sight and tortured by remorse, he felt himself under sentence of death and did not know what further disposition the Lord would make of him. The voice from heaven reached him despite his pride, prejudice, blindness, and bigotry, in which God saw beneath a heart loyal to truth and duty whose zeal and intellectual power would then be joined to defending and proclaiming the gospel.

Christ One With Believers

In the answer, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, Jesus identifies himself with the believers Saul is hunting, teaching that in attacking them Saul is persecuting Jesus himself. The voice declares that violence against Christ's followers is violence against Christ, their Head and Representative in heaven. To strike them is to strike directly against the Lord of heaven, and to afflict his brethren on earth is to strike against their Head and Representative in heaven. Christ suffers in the person of his saints, whom he has redeemed with his own blood and called by his name. Those he has redeemed remain his own, and persecuting them persecutes him.

False accusations and false testimony against Christ's followers are accusations and testimony against Christ himself, and falsely accusing them is falsely accusing the Saviour of the world. Cruel and untrue words, suspicion, jealousy, and condemnation directed against them are directed against Christ, and those who oppress them will answer to him. Every blow aimed to wound Christ's servants wounds Christ, and harming or dishonoring the saints is wounding him. His hand reaches over every sincere follower to cover them as a buckler, so that every blow aimed to injure them wounds the hand of Jesus that covers them. Injury, oppression, robbery, insult, and injustice done to any wronged person is charged as done to Jesus himself, who stands close beside sufferers for the truth and partakes in their suffering.

The same oneness holds when one member of a divided household gives his heart to God and confesses Christ in word and deed, in spirit and actions, while the other members remain under Satan's control and rise in annoyed, angry, bitter opposition, misinterpreting the believer's best motives; their enmity against the child of God is enmity against Christ, the believer's hope and consolation, and opposition to believers is opposition to Christ himself, not to men only. It holds also for God's humble messenger, whose ill-treatment is charged as done to Jesus. The answer at the same time reveals the speaker as Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the long-looked-for Messiah, the Consolation and Redeemer of Israel. He is the Messiah and Redeemer once rejected, now revealed as crucified, risen, ascended, and alive, the world's Redeemer speaking with his own voice in heavenly glory.

Kicking Against Pricks

The saying pictures an animal kicking back against the sharp goads used to drive it, drawn from familiar objects to teach like a parable. To kick against the pricks is to resist Jesus himself and to oppose the onward progress of his truth. Such opposition is painful and futile and cannot stop that advance, for the truth marches on to triumph and victory. Saul's pursuit was driven by mistaken zeal, and his encounter exposed the error of fighting the very One he opposed.

Resistance of this kind only injures the resister, bringing pain, distress, conviction and suffering upon himself. The suffering brought on the opposer is far greater than what is inflicted on the persecuted, whose career of persecution is ended by Christ himself stopping him. Sooner or later his own mind and heart condemn him, and his own conscience testifies against him. In Saul's case the revelation brought his former opposition into the light of truth that Jesus was the promised Messiah, risen and alive.

Kicking against the pricks is resisting the divine light, conviction, direction and grace pressing upon the conscience. It is resisting the Holy Spirit's enlightenment and the force turning the sinner from his course to submit to Jesus' direction. It is opposing God's work while thinking to serve God, in ignorance and error about whom is opposed. The heavenly light and voice awaken but do not remove the need to choose and act, for receiving light must be followed by obedient action in cooperation with God, leaving self out of the question and yielding the will to obey.

The same resistance occurs when a person refuses God's warnings, counsels, reproofs and testimonies of reproof. Then he follows his own judgment because it is more convenient and pleasing to the natural heart, despises warnings and correction, and refuses to be humbled when God is dealing to bring humility. It shows itself in speaking bitterly against brethren and organization, opposing visions and the work of God, and opposing with unjust words the mission of God's delegated messenger. Such a course is fighting against God's dealing and against God himself, yielding to Satan's control and infatuation of the mind, becoming ensnared, overcome and blinded so as to be unable to discern the things of God. It is working directly against the light, enshrouding the self in darkness and error, strengthening the hands of God's bitterest enemies, injuring one's own soul more than any others, and wronging and dishonoring the Lord Jesus himself rather than a humble human messenger. It makes work for repentance by repeating a past harmful course and stores up a reckoning in its record that must be met again, accounted for, and met in the judgment.

Saul Convicted and Converted

Saul pursued believers to imprison, scourge, confine in stocks and kill them, consenting to Stephen's death and guarding the clothes of those who stoned him, yet in doing so he was persecuting Christ himself, who still is persecuted in the person of his saints by those of the same spirit and false religious views. He acted with mistaken zeal, sincere and conscientious error, prejudice, unbelief and ignorance, honestly believing he ought to oppose Jesus, exterminate his doctrine and do God service by suppressing faith in him. His zeal was not inspired by heaven or true religion but was erroneous conscientiousness in false ideas, so that while he thought he served God he stood on Satan's side and did Satan's work. The warning that resistance was painful and futile exposed the error of that zeal and confronted him with the truth about whom he opposed.

Clear but terrible light broke upon his soul when Christ was revealed as the Redeemer he opposed, who came in fulfillment of his mission, was rejected, abused, condemned and crucified by those he came to save, and rose and ascended, overturning Saul's trust in the priests' denial of the resurrection. In that light he saw his ignorance and error, no longer saw himself righteous but sinful, with thoughts, words and actions condemned by the law he thought he kept, and was filled with overwhelming guilt, abhorrence of self and bitter remorse. He remembered that holy Stephen had been sacrificed by his consent and that through his instrumentality many worthy saints had met death, scourging, imprisonment and killing by cruel persecution. Strict conscientiousness in that cruel work did not make him guiltless once the Spirit impressed its true character upon him, and hopeless and helpless he cast himself on Jesus as the only one who could pardon and clothe him with righteousness, yielding to conviction, giving up supposed righteousness and changing from a proud Pharisee trusting in good works whose tongue blasphemed Christ to a humble suppliant whose tongue praised him.

Stricken and wholly subdued, he left self out of the question and cried out in submission asking what Jesus would have him do, and was commanded to go into the city to learn his duty. The heavenly light and voice awakened him to the fact that the Jesus he persecuted was speaking and pressing divine light and direction upon him, yet did not force him to turn nor by itself convert him. He still had to yield his will, choose and act in cooperation with God, for light is useless if refused and abundance of evidence avails nothing while the sinner settles in disobedience.

The meeting ended his career of persecution and marked his thorough conversion from determined enemy and stubborn unbeliever to sincere, fervent believer, disciple and learner of the very disciples he had persecuted. In the light of God's law he recognized himself a transgressor, died to sin, abandoned confidence in hereditary piety, forms, ceremonies and his own blamelessness, repented, trusted Christ's merits for pardon, obeyed the law, was baptized and preached Jesus as earnestly as he once condemned him. He became a chosen vessel and apostle to Jews and Gentiles, professing faith in Jesus as Son of God from prophecy, wholly devoted to the Crucified One, living for Christ, rejoicing to suffer for him, bearing witness before kings and governors, and at last suffering martyrdom. The vision first filled him with terror and then became his greatest consolation, giving personal knowledge of Christ that shaped his whole life, teaching and understanding of Christian character, and placing him among the chief of the apostles united with the disciples.

Conviction of his great sin drove him into Arabia in solitude to be alone with God, search his heart, deepen repentance, and prepare by prayer and study for a work too great for him. There without conferring with the apostles he studied the Old Testament Scriptures with Christ as teacher, sought God earnestly until he knew his repentance was accepted, his sin pardoned and Jesus would be with him in ministry. Jesus communed with him, established him in faith and bestowed wisdom and sustaining grace, confirming him as an apostle chosen not by men but by God with a plain commission to work among the Gentiles. The heavenly light had blinded his eyes and left lasting marks of Christ's glory which he carried in his body ever after, and because he retired immediately the disciples heard of his change only as rumor and at first distrusted him and refused to receive him, to his great grief.

Doctrine and Prophecy Confirmed

The voice on the Damascus road taught Saul that faith in Jesus does not make void God's law but upholds it, for Jesus came to uphold His Father's law, not to set it aside. The One who spoke is the Author and Finisher of the faith and the foundation of all the religion of God's chosen people from Adam's day. He is the originator and foundation of the entire Jewish system of sacrifices, in whom type met antitype in death at the cross, the vindicator of the truth and of His Father's law, and the fulfiller of all prophecies concerning Israel's Redeemer and Messiah. Saul had sincerely believed that faith in Jesus rejected God's law and sacrificial service and that in opposing Jesus he served God, but the revelation exposed his prejudice, unbelief, mistaken zeal and spiritual blindness. Convicted by the Holy Spirit he saw his mistakes, abandoned confidence in his own good works, and humbly sought pardon and acceptance through the merits of the crucified, risen and ascended Christ.

In the light of that law Saul saw that the law he thought he kept zealously he had transgressed, saw himself a sinner, died to sin, repented of his sins, had faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour, became obedient to the claims of God's law, was baptized, and preached Jesus as earnestly as he once condemned Him. His pride in Pharisaical strictness ended, and his confidence in hereditary piety, forms, ceremonies, zeal and his own claim to be blameless was shown to be of no avail without faith in Christ. He fully comprehended the difference between a living faith and a dead formalism, yet his change did not set aside his claim to be one of the children of Abraham. He kept the ten commandments in letter and in spirit as faithfully as before his conversion, while he knew the typical ceremonies that had shadowed forth Christ had met fulfillment at the crucifixion and must soon altogether cease, with the light of the gospel giving a new significance to the ancient rites of the Jewish religion.

Although Christ Himself stopped Saul, convicted him by bringing him directly into His presence, and chose him as a chosen vessel for a most important work, He did not immediately tell him that work nor teach him all the lessons of truth directly. Saul's question about what to do was answered by placing him in connection with and under the direction of the organized and acknowledged church, where he could learn God's will from those appointed to teach the truth. Christ respects the means He has appointed for enlightenment and salvation, working through the agencies He has ordained, with the church as His channel of light to the world and blessings coming through Ananias acting in Christ's name and authority. Thus Paul was turned from persecutor into a learner of the very disciples he had persecuted, made to confess his wrong to the people he meant to destroy, to join those he had sought to destroy, and to receive instruction, help and baptism, condemning the idea that religious light and experience can be held independent of Christ's acknowledged body or that a person is responsible to Christ alone apart from it.

Warning and Mercy Applied

The words prove that all heaven is interested in the believing church, for the Commander of heaven saw the suffering being brought upon His church and acted to arrest the bold persecutor on the road to Damascus where he was going in zeal and madness to seize men and women believers to punish them with imprisonment and death. The sudden light from heaven and the voice answering who speaks by declaring harm done to believers is harm done to Himself, and warning that fighting Him only injures the fighter, show that God will open ways before those who put their trust in Him. The same revelation, given while Saul was foremost in persecuting His people and followed by genuine conversion and leading into mighty apostleship, proves that heaven observes all human actions and that Christ still lives and works today with the same power He showed with the apostles.

Christ's mercy reaches even His persecutors, for Paul had sent men and women to prison and to death while as conscientiously serving the Lord as those in every church who know not the truth but live up to the best light they have while living in error in worshipping an idol sabbath, and as Jesus revealed Himself to Paul after a while so He can reveal Himself to them. They are to be saved by methods that enlighten rather than by piling up condemnation against them. Even beneath hatred and contempt a determined enemy of the gospel may be willing to receive heaven's truth, as Saul's rescue and making into a devoted minister shows. One snared in error into whose soul light is flashed so that he beholds his true condition and life can humble himself, become converted, accept the truth, and be guided by the Spirit of truth to the best and highest good, for destiny in this life and the life to come depends on the character of faith, belief of falsehood is destructive to interest in the truth, yet one who clings to false theories and advocates them by pen and voice can still be turned when light reveals his condition. Persecutors remain susceptible to divine impressions, and following God's instructions can avert much evil, with God responsible for the results.

Those who now stand in opposition in midnight darkness and in ignorance, without having rejected light and evidence, are precious in God's sight and, even when they seem to have passed the boundary of love and mercy, can still be won to Christ even in the very last work in the controversy. Therefore every soul in darkness needs aid, every man is to be treated as honest, and no word or deed should confirm opposers in unbelief. Saul was filled with bitter prejudice against Christ and His people, as bitter as the hardest prejudiced class to be met now, yet God can still work mightily to save and bring such prejudiced people into working order. Those who labor for them must be humble and teachable and molded by His Spirit, hiding in God and letting His Spirit soften them, not getting in the way, laboring with melting love and pity and tenderness, clinging to Jesus Christ, being ready to be counseled by more experienced brethren, going forth not in their own name but in the might and power of Israel's God, and enduring difficulties and the fiercest opposition without discouragement as good soldiers of the cross.

The words are a lesson and warning to all to wake up and receive the converting power of God, for Saul before conversion was an unconverted man used by Satan to hunt up souls to persecute, and in persecuting them he was persecuting Jesus Himself. Unconverted men still do the same work, as satanic agencies did in crucifying Christ, and the history of Lucifer exalting himself is to be repeated in men of great experience who do not exalt Jehovah and His Son. Saul learned to his humiliation that while he thought he was doing God service he was persecuting Christ himself and using his power against the truth, and the revelation filled him with abhorrence of himself and his work, while the physical blindness caused by Christ's glory gave him days and nights for reflection that brought spiritual sight. He no longer saw himself righteous but sinful, with his thoughts, words, and actions condemned by the law, and his zeal in persecuting God's people filled him with bitter remorse, so that hopeless and helpless he cast himself on Jesus as the only one who could pardon him and clothe him with righteousness, yielding to the convictions of the Spirit, giving up his supposed righteousness, and changing from a proud Pharisee trusting in good works whose tongue blasphemed Christ to a humble suppliant whose tongue praised Christ. The same experience is required of those who despise the messages God sends for salvation and use their capabilities to make His work of none effect; they must repent and be forgiven or they cannot be saved.

Kicking against the pricks means resisting God when He sends warnings, counsels, and reproof in the Judgment, following own judgment because it is more convenient and pleasing to natural hearts, rising up against testimonies of reproof, despising the warnings, and choosing own wisdom. The result is being ensnared and overcome by the enemy, being so blinded by his infatuations as to be utterly unable to discern the things of God, working directly against the light, enshrouding in darkness and error, and sustaining and strengthening the hands of God's bitterest enemies. Resisting God's warnings leads away from God's way into serious error, and the response is to humble oneself, repent, and be converted. Jesus counts injury done to His servants as done to Himself, for His unfaltering servants who bear divine reproof are under the Infinite eye and carry heavy responsibility, and though they suffer bitter persecution from false teachers of religion they choose reproach and even death rather than unfaithfulness. Misrepresentation, falsehood, or abuse against them is regarded by God the same as though done unto Himself, and He will punish it accordingly. To wound His chosen is to wound the Lord Himself, for Christ takes the part of all who suffer unjustly and spreads His hand over His servants as a buckler, so cherishing suspicion and jealousy against those the Lord loves is exceedingly sinful because persecution of them is persecution of Him. God may long bear with perversity and delay punishment of the unjust course, but He records wrongs, remembers them, and will punish persecutors with the sword of justice.

Paul's conversion serves as a model for Farel's change, for like Paul, Farel turned from a life of fierce religious zeal and opposition to the truth, from the bondage of church tradition and hostility toward those who opposed it, to faith in Jesus Christ and the liberty of serving Him. Jesus confronts Saul as he persecutes Him by attacking His followers and shows that resisting Jesus is futile, and Paul's experience is the example of the thorough conversion ministers need. Paul was a persecutor before conversion, yet his heart was open to divine impressions. Like Isaiah, Saul of Tarsus meeting the Lord at Damascus was confronted with his own unworthiness and received assurance of full and free forgiveness, and seeing the Lord changed him, beholding divine love transforming his heart. The moment when Paul, while zealously persecuting Christ's followers, was suddenly stopped and given a view of the Saviour transformed him from a persecutor into one of Christ's most devoted and effective workers, and his life thereafter was wholly devoted to Christ.

Because Jesus reaches His hand over every one of His sincere followers to cover them, every blow aimed to injure them wounds the hand of Jesus that covers them. Because Christ takes injury to His people as injury to Himself, those whom God honors must be honored, and those who have toiled long and unselfishly for His cause must be treated with respect and tenderness even when they can no longer do what they once did or err in judgment. A warm place is to be kept for those grown gray in service, since notwithstanding imperfections they may be more useful than those who criticize and reject them.