Acts 9:3-19 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:… I. ITS CIRCUMSTANCES. 1. It was without any preliminary preparation or special instruction. 2. It was without human instrumentality. 3. It was attended with a miraculous display of light and sound of words. 4. The physical effect of these displays: blindness and prostration. II. ITS NATURE. A sudden and entire change in his views of Christ. 1. He had previously regarded Him as a mere man, as a bad man, unfaithful to His ancestral religion, and as an impostor, one falsely pretending to be the Messiah. Honestly, i.e., really entertaining these views, he thought it his duty to persecute the followers of Jesus, and to arrest the progress of the new religion. 2. This was very wicked because — (1) His views of the Old Testament and its prophecies of the Messiah were due to a carnal state of mind. (2) The evidence of Christ's Divine mission was such that none but a wicked person could reject it. Hence Paul considered himself the chief of sinners — a clear proof that honesty of conviction does not exonerate. 3. These false views of Christ were instantly rejected. (1) He saw Him to be the Lord, i.e., a Divine Person, the Son of God (Galatians 1:16). (2) He saw Him to be God manifest in the flesh. He believed that Jesus, a man, was the Son of God. (3) He saw that Christ was the promised Messiah. This was the truth that he at once preached (ver. 20). III. ITS AGENCY. 1. Not by the outward circumstances. 2. Not by the revelation of Christ to his sense of vision. The wicked at the last day shall see Christ and flee from Him. 3. But by the immediate power of God (Galatians 1:16). So our Lord said to Peter, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but MY Father." IV. ITS EFFECTS. 1. Entire submission and devotion, a willingness to renounce anything, and to do anything that Christ required. 2. This supposes the recognition of Him as God. So Christ became at once the supreme object of worship, love, and zeal. 3. It made him one of the greatest, best, and happiest of men. 4. It secured for him a place among the redeemed in glory. (C. Hodge, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: |
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