The Lord Apprehended Paul
Pastor Tan Thai · Jul 25, 2023
This sermon presents the account of Jesus Christ apprehending the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, considered the most pivotal event in church history. Paul transformed from a zealous Pharisee persecuting believers into a devoted servant of Christ through divine love and grace.
The sermon opens by asserting that apart from Jesus Christ, no one in church history has had a more profound influence on Christianity than the apostle Paul. Paul's apprehension on the road to Damascus is regarded as the second most pivotal event in the history of salvation, following the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. Scholars such as F.F. Bruce and eighteenth-century theologians affirm that Paul's conversion itself constitutes sufficient evidence that Christianity is divine revelation from God.
The second section portrays Paul before his conversion: he was a Jew born in the renowned city of Tarsus, simultaneously a Roman citizen and a student of the famous teacher Gamaliel. Paul was a genuine Pharisee, thoroughly versed in Mosaic law, and driven by the mistaken conviction that the Christian faith was a heretical movement destroying Judaism, he zealously persecuted, imprisoned, and even participated in killing believers. He openly affirmed these actions in his epistles (1 Corinthians 15:9, Galatians 1:13-14, Acts 22:4-5, 26:9-12). Paul's conviction that Jesus was executed and cursed according to the law blinded him to spiritual truth, even though he acted with complete sincerity and zeal.
The third section describes in detail Paul's apprehension by light from heaven shining more brilliantly than the sun. This light struck Paul blind for three days, but simultaneously opened his spiritual eyes for the first time to recognize Jesus as the Messiah whom the Jewish people awaited. Through this apprehension, God revealed that He had chosen Paul from his mother's womb (Galatians 1:15). Paul's conversion teaches us that God's unlimited power can save those who oppose, persecute, and even kill believers—in contrast to the stories of Nicodemus (wealthy, powerful people) and the Samaritan woman (ordinary, sinful people).
The fourth section explains two crucial truths about salvation: first, the spiritual value of all who are saved is equal; second, each salvation experience is unique. Although Paul's apprehension was marked by miraculous signs and wonders foreign to our experience, his story is also the story of all believers: we must encounter Jesus personally, be apprehended by God's power, and be transformed as Paul was transformed.
The fifth section presents God's purpose in apprehending Paul: to appoint him as His servant and witness (Acts 26:16-18), author of thirteen epistles in the New Testament, and gospel proclaimer to the Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire. What transformed Paul from persecutor into devoted apostle? The unconditional love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Philippians 3:7-9) touched and transformed his entire soul, values, and life.