Study #33: Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1

Study #33: Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1 - 9)

Acts, Chapter 1.4: God elected special Jews to hear the Gospel and be saved (8:5 - 9:31)

§Unique Introduction: Philip and the Apostles Peter and John destroyed the evil influence of Simon Magus among the Samaritans with the Gospel (8:5 - 25)

¶Opposite Philip won many Samaritans to the Lord Jesus, and away from the evil influence of the Simon the Magician (8:5 - 13)

¶Opposite Peter uncompromisingly rebuked the wicked attempt of Simon to bribe the Apostles for the power to give the Holy Spirit (8:14 - 25)

§Complement Body: Saul of Tarsus was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer for his Name’s sake (8:26 - 9:22)

¶Opposite Philip preached the Gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch (8:26 - 35)

¶Opposite After baptizing the eunuch, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip (8:36 - 40)

¶Complement Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and was blinded by the experience (9:1 - 9)

¶Complement The Lord Jesus Christ sent Ananias to baptize Saul and restore his sight (9:10 - 19a)

¶Unique Saul immediately preached Christ in the synagogues of Damascus, and proved that Jesus is the Christ (9:19b - 22)

§Complement Conclusion: Saul suffered persecution by his former allies at Damascus and Jerusalem (9:23 - 31)

¶Complement After Saul escaped persecution at Damascus, he met with the Apostles in Jerusalem (9:23 - 28)

¶Complement After Saul escaped persecution at Jerusalem, the churches of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were strengthened and multiplied (9:29 - 31)

Comment: We continue our study of Acts Chapter 1.4 with the most important event, outside of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, in the history of Christianity: the conversion of Saul of Tarsus in the 3rd paragraph of the Body Section.

Paragraph 3 Bible text with Golden Ratio outline:

¶Complement Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and was blinded by the experience (9:1 - 9)

Unique And Saul, still breathing out threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest; and he asked from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this Way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Complement And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shined round about him a light from Heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you persecute; it is hard for you to kick against the ox goads.”

Complement And he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” And the Lord said to him, “Arise, and go into the city; and it shall be told you what you must do.”

Opposite And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Opposite And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man; but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus; and he was without sight three days, and neither ate nor drank.

Paragraph 3 outline: The “UCC-OO” (one unique, two complements, and two opposites) Golden Ratio design of the sub-paragraphs for paragraph 3:

Unique Saul asked authority from the chief priest to expand his persecution of Christians from Jerusalem to Damascus

Complement A light from Heaven shined upon Saul, and identified Himself as Jesus Christ

Complement Jesus gave Saul his first commands to obey

Opposite The men with Saul heard the voice of Jesus, but saw no one

Opposite Saul was blind for three days

Comments: The conversion of Saul of Tarsus from a zealous Jewish persecutor of Christians into Christianity’s most powerful Apostle and influential teacher of Christian doctrine is something that liberals and Bible-denier such as Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists cannot explain.

And Jews in particular are confronted with the fact that one of their main religious soldiers turned around 180 degrees from a persecutor of Christians to the main Bible teacher of Christians! Impossible (they think)!

If the Bible is not true, and Jesus Christ was only a man (as they claim), then this event could not have happened. But it did happen!

And Saul (who later became known as Paul) went on to plant many churches in Greece and Asia Minor (today’s Turkey), and wrote most of the Apostolic teaching letters in the Bible, far more than Peter or any of the other Apostles.

Saul before his conversion:

“And Saul, still breathing out threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest; and he asked from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this Way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

Saul (who became known as Paul) after his conversion:

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. And indeed I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And I count them as dung, that I may win Christ; and be found in him; not having my own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith; that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead.” Philippians 3:7 - 11

This is the resurrected Jesus Christ who met Saul of Tarsus:

“And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded around the chest with a golden band. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire; and his feet like fine bronze, as if they burned in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of many waters. And he had seven stars in his right hand. And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. And his countenance was like the sun shining in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead; and he laid his right hand upon me, saying to me, “Fear not; I am the First and the Last. I am he that lives, and was dead. And, behold, I am alive into the Ages of the Ages, Amen; and have the keys of Hell and of death.” Revelation 1:13 - 18

Jesus said to Saul:

“It is hard for you to kick against the ox-goads.” An ox-goad was a pointed stick that farmers in those days used to help guide the oxen as they pulled the plowshare through the dirt. There was one goad on either side of the ox; and when the driver wanted to turn the ox to the left or the right, he would move the pointed end of the goad against the left or right side of the ox to prick it, to let it know which way to go. So the ox-goad was a method of controlling the ox. It’s probably still being used in some parts of the world today.

The Lord Jesus had a special purpose for meeting Saul on the road to Damascus:

“...He is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will show him what great things he must suffer for my Name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16)

Saul would never have become a Christian without proof of Christ that could not be explained away, so Christ had to meet him in person, and change the mind and heart of Saul Himself, rather than relying on a Christian preaching a Gospel message or handing him a Gospel tract; that wasn’t going to work in the case of Saul.

And the testimony of Saul of Tarsus was documented and spoken before kings and many thousands of people. It is a fact that must be acknowledged and cannot be denied.

So if Saul of Tarsus truly did meet Jesus on the road to Damascus, then God truly does have a Son, and the Bible is 100% true from cover to cover. Muhammad lied when he said that God did not have a Son, and that Jesus did not die on the cross! Because Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, and his life was completely and totally changed for God and for eternity.

Saul was headed for Hell! And nothing but a sledgehammer of truth was going to change his mind about Jesus Christ!

But what about the many sinners who are like Saul of Tarsus today? Does Jesus meet with them also, in order to bring them to Himself? Sadly, no. I have heard many anecdotal stories about muslims who have seen visions of Jesus Christ recently, and became Christians as a result; but this is not the normal situation.

Most of the time, if you are going to be so bull-headed about Jesus Christ that you refuse to believe in Him no matter what, God will give you what you wish; and you will end up in Hell when you die.

Many of my sinner friends from high school are now in Hell, because they were not interested in repenting and turning to Christ to be saved. God sent a Christian to witness to me while I was still young; and fortunately, the Christian man was very persistent, and kept giving me Gospel tracts and books about the Bible to read for several months, even after I cursed him. Eventually, I realized that I was wrong about Jesus and I repented of my sins and asked Jesus to come into my life, and I was saved.

However, most people will reject the Gospel, because their hearts are hardened with sin; and they have no interest in being saved for many reasons. All of those reasons are wrong.

Jesus said that the road to Hell was wide, and MANY go there; and the road to Eternal Life was NARROW; and few find it.

Those of you who claim that the Bible is not true: how do you explain this away? You can close your mind and continue in your denial, if you wish, but the evidence for the Bible and the reality and truth of Jesus Christ is absolute, and your unbelief will vanish when you end up in Hell! The only problem then will be that you cannot get out of Hell, and it will be too late to change your mind then.

Saul of Tarsus was a dedicated soldier for the unbelieving Jews who opposed Christianity with all of his soul; but when he met Jesus Christ and realized that he had been completely wrong all along, he repented and believed in Jesus Christ and was saved. If you are a Jew or a Muslim or a liberal or any other kind of unbeliever, you need to do the same thing, my friend!

The Jesus Christ of the Bible that met Saul of Tarsus and saved him is the same Jesus Christ that is alive today, and will live forevermore, Amen!

He is the same Jesus Christ who will judge all mankind at the resurrection of the dead. Are you ready to meet Jesus Christ at the Judgment, my friend? If you have never repented of your sin and accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you are not ready!

Jesus Christ paid for all of your sins on the cross almost 2,000 years ago, and rose again from the dead on the third day, and returned to Heaven 40 days later. This same Jesus met Saul on the road to Damascus, and will soon return to Earth to claim his Kingdom and judge mankind.

If you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and rose again from the dead on the 3rd day, you can be saved, right now! But you must pray to receive Him; a belief in your head will not be enough; you must repent of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart to save you. This act of receiving Christ as your Savior can only occur one time in your entire life; it is not the same as receiving Communion, or your daily prayers.

Before God will hear your prayers, you must be born again by receiving Christ as your Savior. All of your religious works or your baptism in water or church membership or good name in the community will not save you; only the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for your sins will work to save you from going to Hell when you die.

The fact that you are reading this is evidence that God is still calling you to salvation through his Son Jesus; there is still hope for you!

You must pray to God to ask forgiveness for your sins because you acknowledge that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for you, so that you might be saved, IF you repent and accept Jesus as your Savior.

Here is a prayer that you can use to be saved:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.