Acts 22:5&6
"5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me."
When God calls someone, He gives them a new heart and a new spirit, responsive and able to love and obey Him. We are studying God’s call of Saul of Tarsus.
Standing before an angry Jewish mob in Jerusalem, the Apostle Paul defends himself by recounting his former life as a persecutor. He establishes his credentials as a devout Jew: raised and educated in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the most respected rabbis of his day.
Paul explains that the high priest and the entire Sanhedrin can testify to his past zeal. He received official letters from them authorizing him to arrest followers of “the Way” in Damascus and bring them bound to Jerusalem for punishment. This shows he acted with full backing from the highest Jewish authorities.
As he approached Damascus around noon, a brilliant light from heaven, brighter than the sun, suddenly shone around him, knocking him to the ground. The timing at noon underscores the light’s supernatural origin.
These verses sharply contrast human authority (the Sanhedrin’s commission) with divine authority. Paul’s mission of persecution is dramatically interrupted by the risen Jesus, launching his transformation from Saul the persecutor to Paul the apostle.
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