Conversion of Paul

Biblical Text and Content

The event appears three times in Acts. Acts 9:1-19 is the narration of the book's author, Luke. In Acts 22:6-16 Paul himself recounts the event before a crowd in Jerusalem, and in Acts 26:12-18 he recounts it before King Agrippa. Paul also refers to it briefly in his own letters (Galatians 1:13-17; 1 Corinthians 15:8; Philippians 3:4-11).

Saul obtained letters from the high priest to the synagogues of Damascus and set out to arrest those who believed in Jesus and bring them back. On the way a light shone from heaven, and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" When he asked, "Who art thou, Lord?" the answer came, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." For the next three days Saul was without sight and neither ate nor drank. At the Lord's direction, Ananias came to the house of Judas on the street called Straight and laid his hands on him; something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he received his sight. He was then baptized (Acts 9:18).

Background

Saul was a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia and a Pharisee (Acts 22:3; Philippians 3:5). At the martyrdom of Stephen he kept the garments of the witnesses (Acts 7:58), and afterward he persecuted the church (Acts 8:3). Damascus is the city of the same name in present-day Syria. Acts 9:2 refers to the believers of that time as those "of this way." The event is generally dated to the AD 30s, though scholars differ in their estimates.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Paul understood this event as an appearance of the risen Jesus to him and treated it as a basis for his apostleship (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8). Acts 26:16-18 reports that in this encounter he received a commission to the Gentiles. The phrase in Galatians 1:15, "who separated me from my mother's womb," recalls the prophetic calling described in Jeremiah 1:5 and Isaiah 49:1. Paul wrote that after this event he did not go directly to Jerusalem but went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus (Galatians 1:17).

Interpretation and Debates

• Conversion or calling? Traditionally the event has been called a conversion. Since the twentieth century, some scholars, including Krister Stendahl, have argued that it is better described as a "calling," because Paul did not move to another religion but was called by the same God to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Other scholars hold that the term conversion remains appropriate, since Paul gave up a righteousness based on the law and chose Christ (Philippians 3:7-9).
• Grace and response: The Reformed tradition reads the event as a prime example of God's sovereign grace, which sought out and called a persecutor first. The Wesleyan tradition, while affirming that grace comes first, also emphasizes Paul's response, in that he "was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19).
• Differences in the accounts of Paul's companions: Acts 9:7 says the companions stood "hearing a voice, but seeing no man," while Acts 22:9 says they "saw indeed the light … but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me." One harmonizing interpretation holds that they heard the sound but did not understand what was said. Another holds that each account emphasizes a different point.
• Common additions to the story: The image of Saul falling from a horse does not appear in the text; it became widespread through Western painting. It is also commonly said that Saul changed his name to Paul at this time, but the text contains no such renaming. The name Paul is simply used from Acts 13:9 onward, where he is introduced as "Saul, (who also is called Paul)."

In the Korean Church

The expressions "Damascus experience" and "Damascus road experience" are widely used in sermons and testimonies to describe a decisive, life-changing experience of faith. Some pastors, however, caution that conversion takes different forms in different people, so dramatic experiences alone should not be made the standard of conversion. The Catholic Church in Korea and the Anglican Church of Korea observe January 25 as the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.