Saul’s state of mind.
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said.
“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied.
6 “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
hearing the sound but seeing no one.
8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing.
So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.
9 He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.
recognize Jesus when they encounter Him.
Saul’s immediate recognition of authority in his use of the word “Lord.”
5) The one you are persecuting:
Jesus clearly identified Himself.
Later, Paul reflected on this event and declared that he had indeed seen the risen Jesus (1 Cor. 15:8).
Being a witness to the resurrected Savior was a requirement for apostleship (Acts 1:22).Jesus again identified closely with His followers.
Any persecution of them was a genuine persecution of Him.For his entire life, Saul thought that he was serving God and helping to prepare the Jewish people for the coming of the Messiah.
Now, he faced the reality that all of his past work actually opposed God’s work (Acts 5:39).
Briefly discuss the “sensory” words used.
while Luke only mentioned Jesus’s voice,
Paul also talked about seeing a vision of Jesus (1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8).
See nothing
Once the light retreated, Saul realized that he was blind.
Up to this point in his life, he had been blinded in a spiritual sense.
His physical condition now matched his spiritual condition.
Still, while encountering Jesus had blinded him in a physical sense,
it was the beginning of the end of his spiritual blindness.
All of us are spiritually blind until we meet Jesus.
Once we embrace Him, our eyes truly are opened.
verses 8-9 (PSG, p. 95)
8) Took him by the hand:
Paul repeated this part of his testimony when he was witnessing to a mob in Jerusalem later in the book (Acts 22).
Because of his blindness, he had to be led by his hand into Damascus,
where he fasted and waited for three days.
God brings His people to a point of complete reliance on Him
before He uses them to do God-sized things.
identify Saul’s response to Jesus’s authority.
Emphasize that God immediately commanded Saul to obey,
and Saul had no choice since he was helpless and blind.
Note that God had humbled Saul so He could use Saul for His purposes.