Out of all the appearances of the resurrected Jesus as the gospels report, let’s discuss one of them here – the resurrection of Jesus to apostle Paul.
Paul as described in a previous post was an enemy of the Christians when he met the resurrected Jesus.
Who was Paul? Is he an enemy to Christians, or is he a Christian as mentioned in the previous post?
Paul’s name was Saul before he became a Christian. The name was first mentioned in the Book of Acts, one of the books in the New Testament after the gospels. It was recorded that the first Christian martyr, Stephen, was stoned to death shortly after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Those who stoned Stephen “laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul”. Saul took care of those people who stoned Steven to death. In the beginning of the next chapter of Acts, the bible says “And Saul approved of their killing him”.
Saul did not just approve the killing; he went ahead to arrest Christians. The Book of Acts tells us that “Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem”. Saul was arresting Christians.
Why did Saul so eager to stop the spreading of Christianity? We will see a little later.
On his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, Saul met the resurrected Jesus. The Book of Acts says that ‘as he (Saul) neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”’ The resurrected Jesus came to Saul.
Saul replied to Jesus’ question: “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do”. Biblical scholars believe Paul’s conversion happened around A.D. 36, a few years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The above is what the Book of Acts tells us about how Saul, later named Paul, met the resurrected Jesus. Perhaps you, like me some time ago, feel that is just another fable in the Bible. But please allow me to tell you what Paul said about this incident afterwards.
After meeting the resurrected Jesus, Paul made a dramatic change in his life. Instead of persecuting Christians, he devoted his life in preaching the gospel. The religious leaders in Jerusalem arrested Paul. Paul was put on trial with the last Jewish king of Judea, King Agrippa. He reigned in Judea from AD 49 to AD 92. The trial would have to be at least a decade after Paul’s conversion to Christianity.
The Book of Acts tells us why Paul prosecuted Christians before he met the resurrected Jesus. Paul said in the trial in front of King Agrippa that “They (the Jewish accusers) have known me (Paul) for a long time….that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee (Jewish upper class religious teachers)….I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth”.
That is why Paul persecuted Christians in his former life. He believed that is the right way to serve God – to oppose the name of Jesus.
