God often chooses the most unlikely people to accomplish his will. Saul was blinded. Something dramatic certainly happened to Paul on his voyage to Damascus where the resurrected Jesus allegedly appeared to him. Paul did not know anything about that. Hidden years seem to be part of God's plan for his servants. And God wanted Paul to teach the gospel to people who were not *Jews. God did it. Even though Saul had been one of Jesus' cruelest enemies, he became one of his closest friends. Some Ancient Historians Didn’t Mention Jesus: Proof He Didn’t Exist? Did God Commit Genocide In The Old Testament? Who Was the Ethiopian Eunuch in the Bible? People were trying to kill him (Acts 9:22-23). RESPONSE: No. Like Jesus and all the first Christians, Paul was a *Jew. Paul is especially concerned to prove that he was not dependent on the original apostles in Jerusalem. He did not even know that he needed to change anything. (Acts 9) The road to Damascus was just the beginning. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.” Paul hated Christians and was hell-bent on destroying the church. So Paul thought that the Christians were very wrong. Luke also reports that Paul sanctioned the stoning of Stephen and thereby his death (8:1). Read the Acts of the Apostles and the epistles to gain a better understanding of Paul’s ongoing conversion to Christianity. God's forgiveness is full and final. Ananias was afraid because he knew Saul's reputation as a merciless persecutor of the church. The same Jesus who rose from the dead and transformed Paul wants to work in your life too. Twice he refers to his past as his life in Judaism. Next commentary: According to theologian Chris Price: “Most striking perhaps is that fact that Jesus appeared to Paul. He described this as putting off the “old man” and putting on the “new man” – the act of a moment, an act of faith. Paul's conversion showed that Jesus himself wanted the gospel message to go to the Gentiles, quashing any argument from the early Jewish Christians that the gospel was only for the Jews. 1:12-16, 22-23; Phil. But in that encounter, Paul says, God "made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6). What transformed him from a persecutor of Christians to a pastor, who was willing to endure extraordinary hardship to proclaim the Gospel? Many commentators have thought so, and it seems a reasonable inference to draw from the context. He was so zealous for Judaism, and so against this new religion (Christianity) t… On the Road to Damascus, Saul and his companions were struck down by a blinding light. After Paul met Christ, God used his strong will and drive for the purpose of church planting and spreading his message of forgiveness. Paul saw Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul answers this for us. Paul did not change his own life. Useful Bible Studies > He did not have a two-stage experience: first conversion, sometime later a commission to preach. He tells us of his persecution of the early Christians, and goes as far as to say that, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Cor. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. We should clarify one detail, however. The conclusion of Paul's conversion story is that after his conversion he did not consult any man. It seems clear from the context that Paul is setting up a contrast between going to Jerusalem to receive teaching from the apostles and going to Arabia. No wonder then that Paul's zeal for the Jewish traditions made him a fanatical persecutor of the church.