Saul Meets Jesus on the Road

Saul was still breathing threats against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and asked for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. If he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he wanted to bring them bound back to Jerusalem.

As Saul travelled and came near Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly shone around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking why he was persecuting him. Saul asked who was speaking, and learned it was Jesus. Jesus told him to get up and enter the city, where he would be told what to do next.

The men travelling with Saul stood speechless. They heard the sound but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see no one. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and he neither ate nor drank.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision and told him to go to Straight Street, to the house of Judah, and ask for Saul, a man of Tarsus. Saul was praying and had seen Ananias come and lay hands on him so that he might see again. Ananias hesitated, because he had heard how much evil Saul had done in Jerusalem and that he had authority to bind those who called on Jesus' name.

But the Lord told Ananias to go. Saul was chosen to bear Jesus' name before nations, kings, and the children of Israel, and he would suffer for that name. So Ananias went, laid hands on him, and said that Jesus had sent him so he would receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes.

He was baptised, ate, regained strength, and then stayed several days with the disciples in Damascus. What began to change for Saul when he learned who Jesus is?