³As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”

Paul was not a small cog in the persecution machinery. His later recollection indicates he was at the forefront of the effort to snuff out the Christian movement. He writes to the Galatian believers:

For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. (Gal. 1:13–14)

Luke’s closing comments to the story of his conversion (Acts 9:31) indicate that after Saul’s conversion, persecution of the church stopped. So we are safe to say he was the linchpin, the “hatchet man,” for the religious establishment, who were more than happy to let him do their dirty work.

But God had other plans for this man, to take this personification of evil opposition to God and turn him into a champion of the faith. God saw in him a passion for the Law and the traditions of the Jews, misguided as it was, and redirected that for the spread of the Gospel. His unbridled passion remained, but his heart had to change. And this would take nothing short of a miraculous, personal intervention by the Lord of the Christian movement, Jesus Christ.

And so begins the story of his conversion. Jesus appeared miraculously before him and confronted him head-on! The phenomenological experience itself forced him to the ground. Saul was confronted, not with logic or theological reasoning; he was confronted with God in person. There was no questioning the validity of the experience, psychoanalyzing him, or questioning of his mental state. Saul met Jesus, and it arrested him!

Jesus now takes command over Saul’s life, and in His question conveys authoritatively that Saul’s actions in persecuting Christians is an affront to Him. Interestingly, He uses the initial phrasing “I am,” which in the original Greek is identical to John 8:58, where Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Here, though, He finishes the phrase, “I am Jesus.” As the great “I Am,” He commands Saul to go into Damascus and wait for further instructions. Saul had not yet expressed repentance or faith; but the Lord commanded; he must obey.

Lord, help me to be obedient to You as Lord over all of my life.