God struck Saul blind as part of stopping him in his tracks while he was persecuting believers — not to destroy him, but to prepare him for a special purpose.
On the Damascus road, the risen Jesus confronted Saul, who had been breathing slaughter and threatenings against believers. According to Les Feldick, God did not zap Saul with death; He zapped him with eternal life and confronted him, and Saul entered Damascus blind. The blindness was part of God's interruption of Saul's persecution and his preparation for something special.
Acts 9:5 — This verse reveals the identity of the One Saul was persecuting — the truth that brought him down and led to his blindness.
Acts 9:8-9 — These verses record the actual blindness and Saul's helpless entry into Damascus.
In Acts 9, Saul is on his way to Damascus with authority to bring believers bound to Jerusalem. Suddenly a light from heaven shines around him, and he falls to the earth. A voice says, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' When Saul asks, 'Who art thou, Lord?' the answer is, 'I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.' When Saul arises from the earth, he can see no man; he is led by the hand into Damascus, and for three days he is without sight. Scripture does not state in that passage the reason for the blindness, but it places the blindness immediately after the confrontation with the risen Lord.
Les Feldick teaches that Saul was a religious zealot who honestly thought he was serving the God of Abraham by stamping out anything that referred to Jesus of Nazareth. God suddenly stopped the man in his tracks on the Damascus road, and before Saul ever reached his destination he was blind. Les stresses that God's purpose was not destruction: instead of zapping Saul with death, God saved him on the spot and confronted him with the question, 'Why persecutest thou me?' The blindness, according to Les, came as Saul was being made ready for something special — and as God sovereignly interrupted his Old Testament program to make room for a Gentile bride.
Les Feldick points out that had he been God, Saul would have been 'zapped off the scene.' Instead, while Saul was still 'breathing slaughter and threatenings against believers,' God saved him right there and confronted him. He did not take Saul's life; He gave him eternal life and left him blind, so that Saul had to be led into Damascus and wait for Ananias to restore his sight.
In the Damascus road account, Jesus says, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' Les notes that Saul had punished believers often, voted for their death, compelled them to blaspheme, and was on his way to Damascus to drag Jewish believers back to Jerusalem. It was at that point, in the middle of that persecution mission, that God stopped him in his tracks and he was struck blind.
Les explains that a religious person naturally thinks of God as 'up there,' and Saul was no different. When the light came from heaven, Saul assumed his God was dealing with him — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose name he would have thought of as Jehovah. He did not yet realize that the speaker was Jesus, the very One he had been persecuting.
Blind, Saul was led into Damascus, where for three days he was without sight and neither did eat nor drink, according to the record. Les notes from the account that Ananias was told to go to the house of Judas on the street called Straight and place his hands on Saul so he might receive his sight, showing that Saul was being made ready for something special. Later, when death threats arose, God used circumstances — including letting Saul down over the wall in a basket — to get him out of Damascus.
Saul's Mindset: 'Who Art Thou, Lord?'
Les explains that Saul, as a religious Jew, thought of God as 'up there' and had Jehovah in mind when he asked 'Who art thou, Lord?' — he did not yet know his God was Jesus.
God's Response: Salvation Instead of Death
Les says God did not destroy Saul; instead He gave him eternal life and confronted him, even while Saul was still breathing slaughter and threatenings against believers.
God's Sovereign Interruption
Les shows that God sovereignly interrupted Saul's Old Testament program to make room for a Gentile bride, and the Damascus road encounter was that interruption.
Saul's Escape From Damascus
Les describes how God later used circumstances — rather than a direct vision — to get Saul out of Damascus when Jewish opponents threatened his life.
Following God's Circumstances
Les uses Saul's later exit from Damascus to illustrate that God leads through circumstances, closing doors and opening others — here, a conspiracy to kill Saul.
God Stopped the Zealot in His Tracks
Les directly mentions Saul's blindness: he was a religious zealot who thought he was serving God by stamping out Jesus' name, and God stopped him in his tracks; while still making his way into town, Saul was blind and being made ready for something special.
Saul's Record of Persecution
Les recounts that Saul voted to put believers to death and compelled them to blaspheme, showing the severity of the persecution that preceded the Damascus road encounter.
Persecution Even Unto Strange Cities
Les emphasizes Saul's fanatical persecution, noting that his purpose in going to Damascus was to drag believers back to Jerusalem for trial and death.
Acts 9:3: And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
The light from heaven marks the moment God stopped Saul on his mission.
Acts 9:4: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
God's first words to Saul address his persecution directly.
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.
Jesus reveals that Saul's persecution was actually against Jesus Himself.
Acts 9:8-9: And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
This describes the blindness itself and its immediate aftermath.
God was stopping Saul in the middle of his persecution. Saul was a religious zealot who thought he was serving God by stamping out Jesus' name, but Jesus told him he was persecuting Him. The blindness marked the moment God stopped him in his tracks and prepared him for a special work.
Les Feldick does not describe it as punishment. He says God did not zap Saul with death; He 'zapped him with eternal life' and confronted him. The blindness was part of God's interruption of Saul's persecution and his preparation for something special.
When Saul asked, 'Who art thou, Lord?' he had Jehovah in mind, not Jesus. He was a good Jew who thought his God was dealing with him from heaven. Only after the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom thou persecutest,' did he learn that the Jesus he was fighting was the One he had been serving.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Was Never One of the Twelve — Acts 9 Explained