Saul of Tarsus believed he was serving Jehovah — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — the one true Lord of the Old Testament.
Saul was a religious zealot, a fanatic to the extreme, who thought he was doing his God a favor by stamping out everything connected with Jesus. He considered Jesus a blasphemer and an impostor, so when the light from heaven and the voice spoke on the Damascus road, he naturally assumed his God Jehovah was dealing with him. When the voice answered, 'I am Jesus,' Saul realized that the God he thought he was serving was actually the very Jesus he had been persecuting.
Acts 9:4-5 — This is the Damascus road exchange where Saul asks 'Who art thou, Lord?' and the Lord answers, 'I am Jesus whom thou persecutest' — the decisive revelation of who Saul was truly serving and opposing.
In Acts 9, Scripture records that Saul, 'yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord,' went to the high priest and asked for letters to Damascus so that 'if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem' (Acts 9:1-2). As he journeyed and came near Damascus, 'suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' (Acts 9:3-4). The exchange that answers the question is recorded in Acts 9:5: 'And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.' Scripture does not record Saul naming the God he thought he was serving; it records that he called the speaker 'Lord,' and the Lord replied that He was Jesus — the one Saul was persecuting. The biblical text thus shows that Saul's zeal against the followers of 'this way' was, in fact, opposition to Jesus Himself.
Les Feldick describes Saul of Tarsus as 'a religious zealot' and 'a fanatic to the extreme' who 'thought he was doing his God a favor' by having everything connected with Jesus stamped out and put out of memory (Clip 0). Saul's fierce persecution of the church in Acts 7 and 8 was, in his own mind, service to the God of Israel. Les explains that in Jewish practice the name Jehovah was so revered that a good Jew would not breathe it aloud, using the title 'Lord' instead. But Jehovah — the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — was exactly who Saul had in mind when, prostrate before the heavenly light, he asked, 'Who art thou, Lord?' Saul knew the light and the voice were coming from the presence of God, and his question was in reality 'Who art thou, Jehovah?' (Clips 1, 3, 5). When the Lord answered, 'I am Jesus,' Les says it 'blew his mind.' Saul thought he was doing the work of Jehovah by stamping out the name of Jesus — but the one he called a blasphemer and an impostor turned out to be his Jehovah, the God of Abraham, who had died and risen again. From that moment, Saul recognized that Jesus was 'the very God that he thought he was serving' (Clips 2, 4, 7).
Les makes clear that Saul considered Jesus a blasphemer and an impostor. His mission was to stamp out everything connected with Jesus and put it out of memory — and he did so with the zeal of a religious fanatic who thought he was doing his God a favor (Clips 0, 7).
Les explains that the term 'Lord' was the way a devout Jew avoided pronouncing the sacred name Jehovah. For Saul, 'Lord' and 'Jehovah' were synonymous, with Jehovah being the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So when Saul asked, 'Who art thou, Lord?' he was mentally asking, 'Who art thou, Jehovah?' Les adds that if Saul had not had such awe for the name, he would have said it plainly (Clips 1, 5).
Les says the answer 'blew his mind' — it was a transcending experience. Saul had thought he was doing the work of Jehovah by opposing Jesus, but he suddenly realized that what he thought was his enemy was in reality the God of Abraham. His resistance ended immediately; he did not argue or debate, but asked, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' It did not take him an hour to figure out who the Lord was (Clip 2).
Saul recognized that Jesus was the very God he had thought he was serving, and he went 'straightway to preach Christ' in the synagogues (Acts 9:20). Yet Les notes that Saul was still Jew-only at this point — he had no idea God would go to the Gentiles with a different program. All he knew was the Old Testament, and he was saved under the Kingdom Gospel, believing Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel (Clips 4, 6, 7).
Saul's Zealous Service
Les shows Saul as a religious zealot and fanatic who was convinced that stamping out the name of Jesus was doing his God a favor — he had no idea he was opposing the very God he served.
Jehovah, the God of Abraham
Les explains that for a Jew of Saul's day, 'Lord' was a respectful stand-in for the unspoken name Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — so Saul's question was really 'Who art thou, Jehovah?'
'I Am Jesus' — the Revelation
Les describes Saul's shock when the voice answered 'I am Jesus' — the one he considered his enemy was in reality the God of Abraham he thought he was serving.
The Light from Heaven
Les points out that at the sight of the light from heaven, Saul naturally assumed his God — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — was dealing with him, before he ever heard the voice.
Jesus Was the God He Served
Les shows that after his conversion Saul recognized that Jesus was 'the very God that he thought he was serving' — the breakthrough that changed everything for him.
'Who Art Thou, Jehovah?'
Les explains that had Saul not had such awe for the sacred name, he would literally have said 'Who art thou, Jehovah?' because he knew the voice came from the presence of God.
Saul's Post-Conversion Understanding
Les clarifies that at his conversion Saul knew nothing beyond the Old Testament promises — he believed Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, not yet the risen Head of the Body of Christ.
Blasphemer or Jehovah?
Les highlights the reversal: the Jesus Saul had branded a blasphemer and impostor turned out to be his very Jehovah, who had died and been raised from the dead.
Acts 9:4: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
The voice from heaven confronts Saul, revealing that his persecution of Jesus' followers was actually persecution of the Lord Himself.
Acts 9:5: And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Saul asks the identity of the speaker, and the Lord's answer, 'I am Jesus,' overturns everything Saul thought he was serving.
Acts 9:20: And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Immediately after recognizing Jesus as the God he had been serving, Saul began proclaiming Him as the Christ in the synagogues.
Saul believed he was serving Jehovah — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the one true Lord of Israel. As a devout Jew, he used the reverent title 'Lord' in place of the unspoken name Jehovah, so his question 'Who art thou, Lord?' was really 'Who art thou, Jehovah?' (Clips 1, 5).
Les describes Saul as a religious zealot and fanatic who was convinced that stamping out everything connected with Jesus was doing his God a favor. Because he considered Jesus a blasphemer and an impostor, opposing His followers seemed like faithful service to Jehovah (Clips 0, 7).
The Lord revealed that He was Jesus — the very one Saul was persecuting. Saul suddenly realized that the Jesus he thought was his enemy was in reality the God of Abraham he thought he was serving, and he immediately submitted, asking what the Lord wanted him to do (Clips 1, 2).
Watch the Teaching: Introducing Paul: Why God Stopped the Prophetic Clock