2026-01-25 The Conversion of St. Paul

Scripture Readings

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!

Last Sunday we talked at length about the Confession of St. Peter. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (MT 16:16). We talked about how he was a rough and tumble fisherman, a regular work-a-day Pete. Impulsive, perhaps rather brash and definitely not a refined scholar with degrees and book learnin’. Completely opposite to St. Peter we have St. Paul, also known as Saul of Tarsus. He was born into a devout Jewish family, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee and even the son of a Pharisee, with rigorous training in the Torah. He was also a Roman citizen which gave him an additional privileged status and legal protections. No doubt he was at least bilingual, speaking Aramaic and Greek with one foot in Hebrew culture and the other in Greco-Roman. As a young man he studied in Jerusalem under the absolute legend Pharisee Rabbi Gamaliel, one of the most sought out and respected teachers of his time. This level of education made Saul extremely zealous for the Torah and Jewish traditions. So when Jesus and His followers known as “the Way” show up, causing problems and upheaval, he began his systematic persecution. He was breathing murderous threats and actively seeking to arrest anyone he could. He watched with seething approval as St. Stephen became the first Christian martyr.

With this as the history and background, it makes it all the more mind blowing that Saul would not only convert to Christianity but also become the Lord’s chosen instrument to bring the light of the Gospel into the dark world! No doubt this is one of the biggest “who’da thunk it” moments in the entire Bible. Polymarket didn’t even have this on the table to place a bet! Saul would have been pretty much the last person on planet earth you would have ever expected to become a follower of Jesus - let alone perhaps the most important and impactful of all of the Lord’s Apostles! He is a reminder incarnate that the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Sometime after our Lord’s crucifixion, maybe 3 to 7 years or so, Saul is traveling to Damascus in southern Syria. It was an oasis city, a veritable gateway to the desert. It was quite an important place as the Capital of the Roman province. It remains as one of earth’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, a major economic and strategic place. So off Saul goes, with letters of authority from head office, to go and arrest Christians there. It is during this journey that Saul experiences a dramatic and profound vision from God. He is quite literally “blinded by the light” that flashed all around him.

You remember that old AT&T advertising slogan from way back in the day “Reach out and touch someone”? How ’bout reach out and blind someone! This seems like a very odd thing. But sometimes God needs to get our attention, bigly - especially if we are entrenched in sin. For Saul, this event on the Damascus road was like Nagasaki or Hiroshima - nothing short of a bombastic event was going to change his heart and mind. He had layer after layer of Jewish tradition that had to be blasted away in order for him to finally see the light. And see the light he did. “And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). The people traveling with Saul also heard the voice but looking around they saw nothing. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” (9:5).

John Newton. He was an English slave trader back in the 1700s. He was a pretty rough guy, living a very rebellious life. On a return voyage to England a violent storm rose up, threatening to sink his ship. It was this terrifying moment that Newton had no other choice than to call out to God in desperation. God delivered him from the tribulation of the storm. This event changed his life and he eventually became a clergyman. He dedicated his life to abolish the slave trade that he formerly participated in. Much like Saul he had this big, jarring, life changing moment by the power of the Holy Spirit. It caused him to write the words we just sang in perhaps the most famous hymn of all time, Amazing Grace. “I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind but now I see.”

The people who were with Saul led him to Damascus. “And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:9). Three days he is blind and fasting. He turns his attention to prayer though, which is something we should all do as well when we are faced with difficulties and tribulation in life. In a vision he sees a guy named Ananias. This name means “God has been gracious.” And truly, God has been gracious to Saul and to us, richly forgiving sin in an endless well of mercy and compassion for poor, miserable sinners. This mercy is extended to Saul through Ananias who God chooses to visit Saul in his distress. “But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name” (9:13). You can well imagine Ananias’ reluctance to go and be gracious to his monstrous man! There’s no harder thing in all the Christian faith than to love one’s enemies and pray for those who persecute you! (MT 5:44).

“Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15-16). Just like Peter and Andrew last Sunday, St. Paul is hand-picked to be an Apostle. He will bear the name of Christ to all the world, to Jews and Gentiles, kings and rulers and everyone in between. It’s kind of a funny thing when you think about it. When Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus and embraced despair rather than repentance, ending his own life in suicidal shame, the other Apostles take counsel to replace him. You can read about the whole process in Acts 1(12-26). The lot falls to St. Matthias. But if you think about it, God already had Judas’ replacement lined up: it was Saul who would become known as Paul in his Apostolic ministry.

Paul undertook extensive missionary journeys across the Mediterranean (Asia Minor, Greece, etc.), planting churches and writing letters to guide them. His letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians and Philemon are all among the earliest Christian documents and form a major part of the New Testament. Our Lord’s words come to stark fruition as Paul faced imprisonment, beatings, shipwrecks, and opposition during the course of his ministry. Paul persisted in proclaiming salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, emphasizing grace over strict law observance—a message that sometimes caused tension with other Jewish Christians. Paul was likely executed by beheading in Rome around 62–67 AD during Nero’s persecutions, facing the same fate as John the Baptist. His theological contributions—on justification by faith alone and the role of the law, resurrection, and unity of Jews and Gentiles in Christ all profoundly influenced Christianity’s development into a global faith.

The conversion of St. Paul really shows us that nobody, and I mean nobody, is beyond God’s grace and redemption. The worst sinners on the planet can be changed in the blink of an eye. God’s mercy is not limited by how far someone has strayed. If grace could transform Saul—the self-righteous Pharisee who thought he was serving God by persecuting Jesus—it can reach anyone: the hardened skeptic, the lifelong hypocrite, the person mired in addiction, anger, or doubt. For us, this fills us with the Epiphany light of hope and outreach - pray for and believe in the potential conversion of even the most unlikely people around you! For God truly works in mysterious ways.

St. Paul’s conversion reminds everyday believers that Christianity is about God’s amazing grace breaking into human resistance, leading to humble surrender and radical renewal - a life oriented toward Christ and His Kingdom. It inspires hope that transformation is always possible. It calls us to continual growth in faith rather than self-reliance. It motivates us to live as witnesses to that same amazing grace. As St. Paul himself wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” and his own dramatic turnaround proves just how far that amazing grace extends. Glory to God now and forever more. Amen!