God stopped Saul on the road to Damascus because Saul's persecution of the believers was actually persecution of Jesus, and God's grace met him there to save him rather than destroy him.
Saul was a fervent, sincere, devout Jew who saw Jesus of Nazareth as an imposter and was determined to stamp out the believing Jews. He was on his way to Damascus with letters to arrest believers and bring them bound to Jerusalem when the ascended Lord stopped him with a light from heaven and asked why he was persecuting Him. Les teaches that this was not judgment but grace — God saved Saul in that moment and transformed him.
Acts 9:1-2 — Shows what Saul was doing when God stopped him — going to Damascus with letters to arrest believers.
Acts 9:3-5 — This is the exact moment God stopped Saul and revealed why he was being persecuted.
Acts 9 opens with Saul "yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord." He went to the high priest and asked for letters to Damascus so that if he found any followers of "this way," whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Saul was not merely disagreeing with the believers; he was actively hunting them down. As he journeyed near Damascus, "suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven." He fell to the earth and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" When Saul asked, "Who art thou, Lord?" the Lord answered, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." The Bible's own explanation for God's intervention is that Saul's persecution of the believers was, in reality, persecution of Jesus Himself. God did not stop Saul to punish him; He stopped him to confront him and reveal the truth.
Les emphasizes that Saul was not a hypocrite. He was "fervent, sincere, and devout," and he truly believed Jesus of Nazareth was an imposter whose movement was destroying Judaism. Saul's persecution of the believing Jews was done in the name of religion, and he was like "a raging bull" in his energy to stamp them out. Humanly speaking, Les says Saul was the first man he would have "zapped off the scene" if he had been God. Instead, God "zapped him with eternal life." While Saul was still breathing out threatenings and slaughter, the ascended, glorified Lord confronted him from heaven with a light and a question: "Why persecutest thou me?" Saul was transformed in a moment. Les uses this event as the perfect picture of grace — God did not wait for Saul to straighten up his life; He saved him in his rebellion. Les further explains that God was sovereignly working to interrupt His Old Testament program in order to call out a Gentile bride for the Son, and God had greater things for this man.
Saul was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin who absolutely hated Jesus of Nazareth, believing Him to be an imposter trying to destroy Judaism. Les says Saul was fervent, sincere, and devout, and he thought the only way to do God a favor was to stamp out this heresy with persecution. Acts 9 says Saul was still breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, and he asked the high priest for letters to Damascus so that if he found any who belonged to "this way," whether men or women, he could bring them bound to Jerusalem.
As Saul journeyed near Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shone around him and he fell to the earth. A voice said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" When Saul asked who was speaking, the Lord answered, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Les notes that God didn't wait until Saul had second thoughts or cleaned up his life. He confronted Saul right in the middle of his mission, and Saul was transformed in a moment.
Les asks what we would have done with Saul of Tarsus if we were in God's place. He says we would have "zapped him" or punished him severely. Instead, God saved him. Les calls this grace. Paul was "the epitome of grace" because if anyone was deserving of anything but, it was Saul. Yet God poured out on him the opportunity for eternal life, just as He does for all of us who were rebels and lost before salvation.
Les teaches that God was sovereignly working to interrupt His Old Testament program in order to make room to call out a Gentile bride for the Son. God couldn't let Saul go on persecuting believers because He had greater things for the man. So the Damascus road encounter was not a side event; it was God's deliberate intervention in Saul's life to stop his persecution and move him into a new purpose.
Saul's Religious Zeal and Opposition to Jesus
Les explains that Saul was fervent, sincere, and devout, but he thought Jesus was an imposter and was trying to stamp out believers in the name of religion. This sets up why God stopped him.
God Saved Saul Instead of Destroying Him
Les says Saul was the first man he would have zapped off the scene, but God saved him while he was still breathing threatenings and confronted him with eternal life.
The Damascus Road Confrontation and God's Sovereign Purpose
Les reflects on the light from heaven and the voice asking why Saul persecutes Jesus, and notes God was sovereignly working to interrupt His Old Testament program to call out a Gentile bride.
God Had Greater Things for Saul
Les says God couldn't let Saul go on because He had greater things for the man, which is why God dramatically intervened rather than allowing Saul to continue to Damascus.
Revelation vs. Instruction: How Paul Received the Gospel
Oh, to fulfill his tremendous religious zeal, to stamp out the followers of this imposter from Nazareth, who Saul thought was nothing but a blasphemer. And he, in his religious zeal, was going to stamp it out at any cost. But before he gets to Damascus, you know what happened. He has that confrontation from the ascended, glorified Lord of glory.
Saul's Mission to Damascus
Les highlights that Saul was not satisfied with small towns; he wanted letters to Damascus to arrest believers, showing the extent of his persecution just before God stopped him.
Grace Instead of Judgment
Les says if we had been God, we would have zapped Saul or punished him severely, but God saved him — that is grace, and Paul is the epitome of grace.
Paul as the Perfect Picture of Grace
Les calls Paul on the road to Damascus the most perfect picture of grace in all of Scripture, because Saul was a religious zealot contrary to God and yet God offered him eternal life.
Acts 9:1-2: And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
This establishes what Saul was doing when God stopped him — he was on his way to arrest believers in Damascus.
Acts 9:3-5: And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and 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? 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.
This is the moment of God's direct intervention, showing that Saul's persecution of believers was persecution of Jesus Himself.
No. Les says God didn't zap Saul with death; He "zapped him with eternal life." The Damascus road encounter was a confrontation and a transformation, not a punishment. God saved Saul while he was still breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the believers.
Jesus said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" When Saul asked, "Who art thou, Lord?" Jesus answered, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Les says Saul was transformed in a moment and all his religiosity faded away.
Because Saul was a religious zealot who hated Jesus and persecuted believers, yet God saved him instantly instead of destroying him. Les says if anyone was deserving of anything but, it was Saul, making him the epitome of grace. God poured out eternal life on Saul while he was still a rebel, which is the very definition of grace.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Was Never One of the Twelve — Acts 9 Explained