Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 28-30
     New Testament Reading: Acts 26

I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26: 17b-18).

For the third time, Luke provides his readers with insight into Paul’s Damascus Road encounter with Jesus. Each time, he gives additional bits of information that were not included in the other two. Here in his defense before King Agrippa, Paul shared more details of Jesus’ commission to him while on the road to Damascus.

Paul’s mission was to open people’s eyes so that they would turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. The Scriptures often relate darkness to evil and Satan. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens (Ephesians 6:12). In contrast, God is associated with light. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him(1 John 1:5).

Paul had considered himself an enlightened man, for after all, he was a Jew, a scholar, and a Pharisee. But in reality, Paul had lived in immense spiritual darkness. He had been a self-righteous Pharisee who needed to discover that his good works and respectable character could never save him and take him to heaven. Paul was accustomed to being an honored leader, but after his conversion, he became a servant and Jesus Christ was his Master.

The Lord’s wish was Paul’s command. With the same dedication that drove him to destroy the church, Paul used to build it. For Paul, there was no place for casual commitment. He had to be all out, one way or the other. The Heavenly vision of the risen Lord had convinced him of the truth of the resurrection. Now he was ready to commit his life to proclaim the good news of the Gospel.

The light on the road to Damascus blinded Saul’s physical eyes temporarily, but his spiritual eyes were opened to behold the living Christ. At that moment, Paul made two surprising discoveries. Jesus of Nazareth was alive, and He was so connected with His people that their suffering was His suffering. Paul was persecuting not only the church but also his own Messiah!

Jesus sent Paul to Jews and Gentiles to open their eyes and lead them from spiritual darkness to the light of God. Those who received the message were promised forgiveness of sin and a place among the redeemed. Paul emphasized that this only comes by faith in Jesus. The lost sinner is like a blind prisoner in a dark dungeon, and only Christ can open his eyes and give him light and freedom. The Lord forgives their sins and wipes the record clean. He then takes them into His family as His own children and shares His inheritance with them.