From Darkness To Light
Acts 9:1–9 (NKJV)
1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Continuing from our last study we uncovered the truth behind any doubts or unbelief in the inerrancy of Scripture regarding Paul’s testimony of his encounter with the glorified Christ. Therefore as we enter into this study we should be empowered by the Spirit to trust Luke’s account of what transpired to Saul and those men on this day in church history. We should also enter in with some questions in our mind. How does Saul’s conversion story apply to me personally and how does it apply to the church as a body? We began our last study with Luke’s transition of the events of Philip to the simultaneous persecutions of Saul and his request to hunt down, arrest, and kill the defectors of Judaism. Christians ‘still’ suffer this form of persecution today. Islam, in the Middle East, treats ‘defectors’ much like Judaism treated the early Christians. Christians who defect from their traditional heritage for the church of Christ are put out of the protection of Islam at much cost to their physical and material wellbeing. Our brothers and sisters, in the Lord, pay a much higher cost, to name The Name above all names, in the Islamic cultures than what we do here. If Judaism thinks it is superior to Islam, she should reconsider how she treated Christians at the beginning of their faith.
The cross of Christ levels all self-righteous religions that ‘work their way’ to God’s favor in heaven. There is no religion that is superior to another under the sovereign grace of King Jesus. All religions are equal in the eyes of God that do not surrender to His superiority over them. James 2:19 (NKJV) 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! (1Tim.4:1). We also briefly studied “the Way” to God. The righteousness of Jesus of Nazareth is the only merit and favor we have before a Just and Holy God who must punish sinners. The Father’s love for His beloved Son is the only ‘imputed’ love we have that gives us the right to enter the holy presence of God for grace and forgiveness. God’s imputed love to us was only possible through the satisfaction of His righteous wrath and anger against sin; and through the imputation of our sin to the crucified Christ, we become children of God. Judgment for sin was dealt with through the death of God’s sinless Son. It was through the Son that the Father loved the world. All who see and understand can come and access “life” through the imputation of the Son. But you must first repent and trust in the “truth” of the Son. The truth is the body of facts and evidence that God has given to us in the Scriptures that speak and glorify the Son. John 14:6 (NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.
As noted in our last study we discovered that this ‘light’ actually surrounded Saul and those men that traveled with him on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:13). But the light was pinpointing Saul among the witnesses that day as Luke has recorded here in verse 3. The ‘light’ and the ‘voice’ singled out Saul as the one who the Lord was directing all His attention. The light was shining ‘directly’ upon Saul but was so bright that it encompassed all the men that day. 1 John 1:5 (NKJV) 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. The resurrected light of Christ is so bright that He will light up all of the new heavens and the new earth were there will be no sun or moon to give us day or night (time), for Christ will be the creation’s light and source of power. This, in a small degree, is the glorious light that dawned and exposed the hearts of these men sent with the authority and commission of the high priest of Jerusalem to judge the saints of God. The light was the ‘eternal’ resurrected Son of God (1Tim.1:17) who always was, always is, and always will be (Rev.16:5) the very power and nature of God our Creator (Col.1:15-18).
But Saul and these men did not know this first hand until the light of Christ was revealed to them on their journey just outside of the city of Damascus. This experience may have been a fresh reminder to Paul (also Saul) when he said these words to the Corinthian church. 1 Corinthians 4:5 (NKJV) 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God. The apostle Paul had to learn this fact ‘the hard way’ as he was faced to the ground by the brightness of the light of Christ. Saul had pre-judged the Lord and his saints; and now, in the Lord’s providence, was exposed to the darkness and hatred of his heart (1Jn.2:9); remember that it was Saul who consented to the death of Stephen (Acts 22:20), and now stands judged by the light of the Lord (Eph.5:8).
4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
The fact that Saul fell to the ground speaks to the power and authority of the light and voice that confronted him on his way to Damascus. Again, it is good for us to continually keep in mind that Saul had ‘asked’ permission to destroy the Way. Saul honestly believed he was serving God in his mind, but was ignorant of the idol that dominated his heart that prevented him from seeing what he was really seeking. He was not seeking the honor and glory of his God, but the honor and glory of his own obedience to the law; as it is written: Romans 10:1–4 (NKJV) 1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For (I bear them witness) that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The apostle understood the heart of Israel, his brethren, because he was filled with the darkness and self-righteousness that the law had produced in them as the ones under covenant to be the keepers of the law. Therefore, in the mind of Saul, he ‘purely’ believed he was serving God, but not according to the Way of Jesus Christ. In reality he was a ‘hater of God.’ The fruit of the law was not made complete until he was confronted with his idolatry and laid bare before the powerful light of God. Once he became an apostle he made this statement to one of his students in the Word:
1 Timothy 6:13–16 (NKJV)
13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
The power of the Lord’s light put Saul on his face looking up into the light but could not see a figure or a shape of a person. Saul was seeking the wrong high priest. Saul was boldly entering into the Lord’s presence with pride and disdain without any thought to whom he was asking to sift as wheat. He was not seeking grace from the lawgiver, for he had seen himself as the law (James 4:12). His heart was proud and lofty and God put him down in his place! God is only ‘unapproachable’ when we enter in with pride, but those to whom have been given the grace to behold the crucified Lamb of God, can boldly come into His glorious presence for MORE grace!
Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Ephesians 5:8–13 (NKJV)
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
The saints of God were seeking grace from the throne of God for the protection and spread of His Word as Saul was simultaneously seeking permission to hunt down the sect called the Way. Do you pray saints of God? I, myself, have to revisit this often. I have access through the righteousness of Christ to the very throne of God and seldom consider how much grace I can seek at His right hand and throne of authority. Saints of God, we can labor in prayer for the light of Christ to shine on the most abominable of men. To Saul’s advantage, the Lord chose to save him; but the Lord would have had every right to dispose of him. The power and light of Christ burns so hot that it could have disintegrated Saul and his men on the spot as He did the men, women, and children of Sodom and Gomorrah. God has every right to save or cast into hell the worms of His creation (Mk.9:48); but if you behold his mercy in the light of His Son you can have eternal life (Jn.3:14). Go boldly into His presence to seek grace and you will live! Scripture doesn’t record how the saints were praying against this persecution but we know that we can seek God for the salvation of anyone to the dishonor of another who labors to prevent the salvation of men. We indeed are in a spiritual battle and the Lord is powerful to save the vilest of men.
2 Corinthians 13:4 (NKJV)
4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
Ephesians 3:1–7 (NKJV)
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
. . . “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
What did the Lord say to Saul that was so powerful? The simple question, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Saul was not merely putting to death and imprisoning rebellious people that have rejected his understanding of the law (Mat.25:40), Saul was causing grief and suffering to the Lord (1Tim.1:6; 1Pet.3:20; Rom.9:22; Eph.4:30). All those victims who were in the Lord had their prayers and cries heard before God. Revelation 6:9–11 (NKJV) 9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. It was because the Lord was so merciful to Saul, in spite of his cruelty to the saints, that Saul was able to suffer so much for the scandal of the gospel.
The tone in the Lord’s voice was gentle and compassionate. But even though the voice was gentle, the light was so bright and authoritative, that Saul actively prostrated himself before the light. The Greek verb, πεσὼν, is in the aorist, active, participle. The verb is used, both as a verb and an adjective, which means that Saul’s “fall” is to be taken both literally and figuratively. Saul literally prostrated himself before the light of Christ and Luke’s intention is also to give the reader the idea that Saul had fallen from his previous understanding of God.
πίπτω (piptō); ἐκπίπτω (ekpiptō); παραπίπτω (parapiptō). vb. to fall away. Referring literally to physically falling or figuratively to indicate abandoning beliefs or commitments.
The verb piptō means “to fall down.” It is used both literally and figuratively in the nt, though the overwhelming majority of usages are in the literal sense. It is used in Rom 11:11, 22; Heb 4:11; 1 Cor 10:12; and in Rev 2:5 to speak of falling in the sense of no longer being regarded as part of the faith one previously held. In Romans, Paul speaks of the failure of ethnic Israel to hold to the promises of God and recognize them as fulfilled in Christ (Rom 11:11, 22). In 1 Corinthians 10:12, the Israelites in the wilderness wanderings are used as examples that some may follow God outwardly yet still fall from their commitment to God. The usage in Rev 2:5 implies that one may yet recover from such an abandonment of the faith, while Heb 4:11 implies that such abandonment might be final (compare the use of parapiptō in Heb 6:6 below).
The form ekpiptō is used in 2 Pet 3:17 to point out that believers who follow false teachers invite instability since they will no longer have the solid foundation of the apostolic witness and interpretation. The most notable use of ekpiptō in this regard is in Gal 5:4, where Paul says that the Galatian believers have “fallen from grace” since they abandoned a gospel of grace in favor of a “righteousness” earned by works. The text seems to imply that such a fall is not necessarily final.
The form parapiptō is used only once in the nt, in Heb 6:6. This highly controversial passage may speak of the finality of someone’s abandoning the faith, though it may be used in the sense of apostasy as transgression as it is several times in the Septuagint of Ezekiel (Ezek 14:13; 15:8; 18:24; 20:27; 22:4; compare Wis 12:2). In the context of Ezekiel, the people are depicted as stubborn and determined to continue their rebellion. Their attitude alone does not fully eliminate the possibility of repentance, but their stubbornness makes repentance extremely unlikely. This is the tension of Heb 6:4–8 (note the echoes of Ezek 2:1–7, especially Heb 6:8 and Ezek 2:6).
Jones, M. R. (2014). Apostasy. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
In other words, Saul abandoned his rage against the saints of God through his prostration before the light of the glory of Lord Jesus Christ. The light ‘emptied’ him of the darkness of his ego and ambitious pride. 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV) 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Before Christ (BC) had shone into the darkness of Saul’s heart, all the law did for Saul was build his self-esteem in his own performance, for Christ said: Matthew 5:20 (NKJV) 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus of Nazareth raised the level of righteousness to a level that had ever been known in Israel. Jesus was saying that unless our righteousness exceeds His own (as a man) that we cannot enter into the glory of God.
Man’s fundamental problem is not the personhood that he sees in the natural mirror, but his beastly nature that is the core of being. A man cannot see his true likeness until he faces the image and glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Psalm 50:21 (NKJV) 21 These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. Isaiah 40:18 (NKJV) 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? Isaiah 40:25 (NKJV) 25 “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Psalm 71:19 (NKJV) 19 Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? Psalm 32:9 (NKJV) 9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you. Psalm 49:12 (NKJV) 12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49:20 (NKJV) 20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 57:4 (NKJV) 4 My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men who are set on fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Psalm 73:22 (NKJV) 22 I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Ecclesiastes 3:18 (NKJV) 18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” Ecclesiastes 3:19 (NKJV) 19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. Daniel 4:16 (NKJV) 16 Let his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times pass over him. Revelation 13:18 (NKJV) 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. 1 Corinthians 15:32 (NKJV) 32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Genesis 3:21 (NKJV) 21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
In the mercy of God, He temporarily held back His wrath and covered the nakedness of man with animal skins to remind Adam that his communion with God was lost. And every ‘animal’ sacrifice to reestablish communion with God to cover his shame and nakedness would extend no higher than the beast and life-blood that was slain. The sacrificial system that became the law of God was not to reconnect communion with God but to cause men to see the bloody reality of his death in sin (Rom.6:23). Even Jacob after his (AD) had seen how he ‘dogged’ his brother Esau of his birthright and his inheritance.
Genesis 33:8–11 (NKJV)
8 Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 11 Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.
Jacob associates his justification (his AD) with the ‘sight of the lord’ and ‘the face of God.’ His justification before his brother, as it was before God, was based upon the perception of the other, not of his own perception or face in the mirror of his own image; but of the image and face of another. It is good for us to seek the pleasure and smile of God. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Matthew 15:25–28 (NKJV) 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
When we come to God for mercy, it is in the dust, as Saul prostrated himself in the exposure of the light. We come, indeed, as we are, but we come knowing who we are in God’s light and what we have done in the secret places of our heart (Lk.18:7; Rom.2:16). To obtain the life that Christ gives we must come as beggars, as a dog who licks up the scraps that ‘fall’ from the table of the Lord. This is how Saul is now ‘asking’ the Lord for grace. He has been humbled in the light of the glory of God.
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
At this point in Saul’s repentance he only knows the Lord as the light but seeks to know Him further. He knows that this light can bring him understanding and direction. Saul further expresses his repentance and submission by identifying the light as the Lord. Jesus clearly answers and reveals Himself as the man from Nazareth in the defense of His disciples. He didn’t identify Himself as, YHWH (Lord) in Hebrew; but as, Ἰησοῦς (Jesus) (Greek), or Joshua (in Hebrew). Luke is writing the account in Greek but the Lord spoke to Saul in Hebrew. Therefore we don’t have the Hebrew words used, to study, so we go on the Greek inspired text to conclude the inerrancy of the account. Therefore the glorified Christ is identifying Himself as the man Jesus from Nazareth to identify with the sufferings of His disciples. The text in Acts 9:5 does not include “Nazareth” as it does in Acts 22:8 and it would have been clear in Saul’s mind that this “Jesus” is whom they crucified as King of the Jews.
The phrase “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” doesn’t appear in the earliest manuscripts (Alexandrian), but does appear in the Byzantine manuscripts. However, this doesn’t change the inerrancy of the Scriptures at all. Even if we ‘cherry pick’ only from the Alexandrian text that omits this section, this portion of the event shows up in chapter 26:14 in the Alexandrian. Therefore we added nothing and lost nothing from the totality of the Scripture (Rev.22:18). The scribe(s) who passed down the Byzantine tradition which the (KJV and NKJV) were translated from, most likely, memorized the account in Acts 26:14, and without thinking, added it in the Acts 9:5 account by ‘scribal’ error, and no other scribe picked up on it as it was passed down from one generation to another. This however doesn’t change the inerrancy and original perfection of the Holy Spirit’s intent and preservation of His Word. Again, nothing was added or taken away from Saul’s account through the scribal error if we examine the totality of God’s Word. God’s Word is still preserved, and as true and powerful, as it was in the day it was spoken. Therefore we can hold onto what is good (1Thess.5:21). A good translator will use both the Alexandrian and the Byzantine manuscripts to draw out the best translation for the context from which they may be teaching. Using both manuscripts can provide broader evidence of the Holy Spirit’s original intent on a particular text. Also, even the Byzantine omits this section of Saul’s account in Acts 22:8, while it appears in Acts 9:5 and 26:14 in defense of the sufficiency of the Alexandrian. To pin these two manuscripts against each other, like one is superior to the other, is to ‘kick against the pricks.’ Don’t get caught up in hardening your own heart by allowing doubt in your spirit that God’s word cannot be trusted. God’s Word will always be God’s Word and any textual variations will be sorted out upon the arrival of the King in the day that He will judge the world in perfect righteousness.
Luke 16:16–17 (NKJV)
16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.
Luke 21:31–33 (NKJV)
31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Matthew 5:17–18 (NKJV)
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Therefore upon the arrival of Jesus Christ and His ‘actual’ death and resurrection as witnessed by Saul the persecutor and his men, Jesus is 'still' fulfilling every word of His law:
Mark 1:14–15 (NKJV)
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
