NL 435: Paul's Conversion

image: "Conversion of St Paul” by Charles J. Connick, 1875-. in stained glass at St. Dominic’s Church in San Francisco, photo taken by Lawrence OP (Flickr)

Acts 9:1-20

May 1, 2022

Acts 9:1-20

Initial Thoughts

  • Acts and Philippians

    • Acts 9:1-20 - Paul’s Conversion

    • Acts 16:16-34 - Paul and Silas in Jail

    • Acts 17:16-31 - Paul on Mars Hill

    • Then on to Philippians to Pentecost

Bible Study

  • Saul

    • First introduced in Acts 7:58 as the one holding the coats of the witnesses to Stephen’s stoning

    • Acts 8:1 - Approved of Stephen’s stoning

    • “Spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples”, but no indication he actually committed attacks or murder against the disciples

    • Yes- he approved of Stephen’s stoning, but is forgiven of this by Stephen - Acts 7:60

    • Is Saul’s calling made possible by Stephen’s forgiveness? Robinson & Wall, Called to be Church.

  • Theophany

    • Typical appearance of the divine on a prophet (Ex. 19:6; Ezek. 1:4, 7, 13, 28; Dan 10:6)

    • Saul responds correctly - falling to the ground

    • Main difference - Jesus is introducing himself instead of sending the prophet

  • Why are you harassing me?

    • Not why are you harassing my followers or my church, but “me”

    • Jesus makes no distinction between himself and those who follow Jesus

  • Conversion?

    • change of heart, change of perspective, not always a change of knowledge

    • He begins as a up and coming self-assured zealot for the High Priest (probably Caiaphas) and ends up blind and utterly dependent on others

    • He is blind- only when blind can he now see

      • Stories blind beggar - Luke

    • Not conversion but calling

      • No evidence Saul gives up his former faith, rather he remains proud of his faith and continues to appeal to Hebrew scripture

      • His calling changes from persecuting those following the Way to “a new understanding of the law which is otherwise an obstacle to the Gentiles. His ministry will be based on the specific conviction that the Gentiles will become part of the people of God without having to pass through the law.” Stendahl, Paul Among Jews and Gentiles.

    • Confirmed by members of the Jewish community (Ananias) and preached in Synagogues

      • Saul does not understand what has happened to him until Ananias interprets his experience for him and tells Saul what his calling will be.

      • Acts 22 - Ananias says to Paul, “The God of our fathers appointed you…” not a conversion - same God, just an expanded view of the law.

    • Saul’s name does not change until Acts 13 when his focus shifts to Rome (see more in Stendahl, Paul Among Jews and Gentiles) 

  • Why is this important?

    • Saul/Paul was and remains Jewish - stop interpreting his words and ministry as anti-semitic and super-secessionist 

    • Paul is a Jewish apostle to the Gentiles

  • Very different from the traditional, reformed and Lutheran interpretation of Paul

    • Paul is not the remorseful Jew looking for salvation - like Luther’s agony that he will never be able to meet the demands of the law and therefore comes to the gift of faith and justification by faith. 

    • Paul sees himself as righteous and blameless in the eyes of God as a faithful Jew. He expresses regret at the way he treated followers of the Way after his call. There is no evidence he was theologically troubled prior to his change in call.

  • This is not a story about Saul but about God (and possibly Stephen)

    • God is the one who takes action - appears in a flash of light, speaks, commands

    • Saul falls to the ground and asks a question

    • Stephen perhaps does even more by forgiving Saul

    • “Saul was so completely caught up with his own agenda that he could perceive nothing outside it...Conversion in Saul’s case means that the Other, Jesus, intrudes--almost violently--into his life and agenda, driving him to his knees, blinding him with light, terrifying him by calling his name in a voice only he can hear...That voice break in on Saul’s self-centered ego.” Robinson & Wall, Called to be Church

Thoughts and Questions

  • What is the obsession for a Damascus moment? For Paul, the fact, he needed this theophany to follow Jesus acts against his ministry. He repeatedly seems to justify that he is indeed an apostle even though he used to persecute the followers of the Way. Now it seems those who are “converted” have a higher profile than those who have believed their whole lives.

  • Importance of laying on of hands – ordination- when else do we do this? When should we?

  • With the exponential rise of “nones and dones” We have come a long way since Horace Bushnell’s Christian Nurture. What does it mean to provide an experience of the Divine and then the support to interpret that experience? Is this not one of our primary functions as church?

Year 4Eric FistlerActsComment