GOSPEL MEDITATION # 66
Paul Tells of His Conversion
Acts 26:12-32
- Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
- Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
- Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
- Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
- Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
- Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
- Paul is at Caesarea, in protective custody, and is called by Festus to address King Agrippa, his sister Bernice, and other prominent officials from the surrounding area.
- For the third time in Acts Paul gives an account of his conversion while on the road to Damascus. It is interesting to note the slight variations, likely due to different audiences, that Luke provides.
- In this account is an interesting phrase, “kick against the goads.” This would be a reference to sharp spikes that prevented an animal, donkey, etc., from kicking a person riding a drawn cart. The injury from kicking the goad ought to be enough to prevent more kicking.
- Here again we find that Paul’s persecution of followers of the Way is tantamount to persecuting Jesus Himself. And most obviously, Jesus is alive then, having been certainly resurrected from the dead. There would be no other way for Paul to so interpret the event.
- Again Jesus commissions Paul, appoints him, an apostle, whose work it would be to be a witness to the Gospel. This is the role of an apostle both then and now.
- There are five aspects to the witness Paul is to bring: 1- open their eyes; so then, 2 – turn from darkness to light; 3 – from the power of Satan to God; 4 – receive forgiveness of sins; 5 – receive a place among the sanctified.
- Paul states he was faithful to the call and appointment by Jesus, which stirs up Agrippa who is obviously under Holy Spirit conviction.