¹⁹ . . . Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, ²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” ²¹All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” ²²But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

Saul joined the company of the persecuted, those he once tried to destroy. What an amazing turnaround, one that can only be termed miraculous. However, lest we put Paul on a pedestal, we must remember what he later wrote, that he was nothing more than a trophy of God’s mercy:

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. (1 Tim. 1:15–16)

In fact, for each Christian, salvation is no less miraculous: God turns a person from spiritual blindness into seeing clearly, from death into life, from being rejecters of Christ to identifying with Him. Outwardly the conversion story may not be as startling as Saul’s, but the reaction of heaven is no less vivid. As the Lord Jesus put it: “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Even when the most obscure person quietly surrenders to the grace of God in the privacy of his room, all the hosts of heaven take notice and heaven responds with great celebration!

For Saul the change was remarkable. He began “immediately” preaching Christ—not just among Christians, but in the central places of teaching for the Jews. Saul was going for maximum impact. And the reaction was amazing. His reputation went from being the former destroyer of the movement to a preacher of the movement. The story of conversion is a powerful testimony to unbelievers. They all knew why Saul had come, but now were surprised by his turnabout.

This was not a flash in the pan. Saul’s preaching kept getting stronger, and his defense of the truth that Jesus is the Christ was more and more convincing. This was Saul’s message to the Jews, that Jesus was “the Christ,” the equivalent Greek word for the Hebrew term “Messiah.” This was all that the Jewish Scriptures pointed to, the fulfillment of God’s promise to His people.

Lord, You are amazing, using the fresh testimony of converted sinners to spread Your Word!