Acts 9:4

King James Version (KJV)

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

And he fell to the earth - Being struck down with the lightning: many persons suppose he was on horseback, and painters thus represent him; but this is utterly without foundation. Painters are, in almost every case, wretched commentators.

Was this helpful?

Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

And he fell to the earth - He was astonished and overcome by the sudden flash of light. There is a remarkable similarity between what occurred here, and what is recorded of Daniel in regard to the visions which he saw, Daniel 8:17. Also Daniel 10:8, “Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision; and there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness (vigor) was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength.” The effect was such as to overpower the body.

And heard a voice - The whole company heard a voice Acts 9:7, but did not distinguish it as addressed particularly to Saul. He heard it speaking to himself.

Saying unto him … - This shows that it was not thunder, as many have supposed. It was a distinct articulation or utterance, addressing him by name.

Saul, Saul - A mode of address that is emphatic. The repetition of the name would fix his attention. Thus, Jesus addresses Martha Luke 10:41, and Simon Luke 22:31, and Jerusalem Matthew 23:37.

Why - For what reason. Jesus had done him no injury; had given him no provocation. All the opposition of sinners to the Lord Jesus and his church is without cause. See the notes on John 15:25, “They hated me without a cause.”

Persecutest - See the notes on Matthew 5:11.

Thou me? - Christ and his people are one, John 15:1-6. To persecute them, therefore, was to persecute him, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45.

Was this helpful?

Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

So ill informed was Saul, that he thought he ought to do all he could against the name of Christ, and that he did God service thereby; he seemed to breathe in this as in his element. Let us not despair of renewing grace for the conversion of the greatest sinners, nor let such despair of the pardoning mercy of God for the greatest sin. It is a signal token of Divine favour, if God, by the inward working of his grace, or the outward events of his providence, stops us from prosecuting or executing sinful purposes. Saul saw that Just One, ch. 22:14; 26:13. How near to us is the unseen world! It is but for God to draw aside the veil, and objects are presented to the view, compared with which, whatever is most admired on earth is mean and contemptible. Saul submitted without reserve, desirous to know what the Lord Jesus would have him to do. Christ's discoveries of himself to poor souls are humbling; they lay them very low, in mean thoughts of themselves. For three days Saul took no food, and it pleased God to leave him for that time without relief. His sins were now set in order before him; he was in the dark concerning his own spiritual state, and wounded in spirit for sin. When a sinner is brought to a proper sense of his own state and conduct, he will cast himself wholly on the mercy of the Saviour, asking what he would have him to do. God will direct the humbled sinner, and though he does not often bring transgressors to joy and peace in believing, without sorrows and distress of conscience, under which the soul is deeply engaged as to eternal things, yet happy are those who sow in tears, for they shall reap in joy.

Was this helpful?

Ellen G. White
Gospel Workers 1915, 58

Foremost among those called to preach the gospel of Christ stands the apostle Paul, to every minister an example of loyalty, devotion, and untiring effort. His experiences and his instruction regarding the sacredness of the minister's work, are a source of help and inspiration to those engaged in the gospel ministry. GW 58.1

Before his conversion, Paul was a bitter persecutor of the followers of Christ. But at the gate of Damascus a voice spoke to him, light from heaven shone into his soul, and in the revelation that there came to him, of the Crucified One, he beheld that which changed the whole current of his life. Henceforth love for the Lord of glory, whom he had so relentlessly persecuted in the person of His saints, came before all else. To him had been given the ministry of making known “the mystery” which had been “kept secret since the world began.” [Romans 16:25.] “He is a chosen vessel unto Me,” declared the Angel who appeared to Ananias, “to bear My name before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of Israel.” [Acts 9:15.] GW 58.2

Read in context »

Was this helpful?

Ellen G. White
Selected Messages Book 1, 346

Through belief in Satan's misrepresentation of God, man's character and destiny were changed, but if men will believe in the Word of God, they will be transformed in mind and character, and fitted for eternal life. To believe that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), will change the heart, and reproduce in man the image of God. 1SM 346.1

As many are today, so (before his conversion) Paul was very confident in an hereditary piety; but his confidence was founded on falsehood. It was faith out of Christ, for he trusted in forms and ceremonies. His zeal for the law was disconnected from Christ and was valueless. His boast was that he was blameless in his performance of the deeds of the law; but the Christ who made the law of any value he refused. He was confident that he was right. He says: “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them” (Acts 26:9, 10). For a time Paul did a very cruel work, thinking that he was doing God service; for he says, “I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13). But his sincerity did not justify his work, or make error truth. 1SM 346.2

Faith is the medium through which truth or error finds a lodging place in the mind. It is by the same act of mind that truth or error is received, but it makes a decided difference whether we believe the Word of God or the sayings of men. When Christ revealed Himself to Paul, and he was convinced that he was persecuting Jesus in the person of His saints, he accepted the truth as it is in Jesus. A transforming power was manifested on mind and character, and he became a new man in Christ Jesus. He received the truth so fully that neither earth nor hell could shake his faith. 1SM 346.3

Read in context »

Was this helpful?

Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6 (EGW), 1084

“And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.” Paul was a very great teacher; yet he felt that without the Spirit of God working with him, all the education he might obtain would be of little account. We need to have this same experience; we need to be afraid of ourselves. We need individually to sit at the feet of Jesus, and listen to His words of instruction (Manuscript 84, 1901). 6BC 1084.1

1-4. See EGW on Acts 17:34. 6BC 1084.2

1-5 (Acts 9:3-6; 22:3, 4). Instruction for the Church Today—[1 Corinthians 2:1-5 quoted.] Paul was not an unlearned man, but the preaching of Christ was a new gospel to him. It was a work entirely different from that he had engaged in when he hunted the believers from place to place and persecuted them even “unto the death.” But Christ had revealed Himself to Paul in a remarkable manner at his conversion. At the gate of Damascus the vision of the Crucified One changed the whole current of his life. The persecutor became a disciple, the teacher a learner. 6BC 1084.3

Read in context »

Was this helpful?

Ellen G. White
Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 129-30

Jesus here refers to a class who have no desire to escape from the slavery of sin. By indulgence in the corrupt and vile their natures have become so degraded that they cling to the evil and will not be separated from it. The servants of Christ should not allow themselves to be hindered by those who would make the gospel only a matter of contention and ridicule. MB 129.1

But the Saviour never passed by one soul, however sunken in sin, who was willing to receive the precious truths of heaven. To publicans and harlots His words were the beginning of a new life. Mary Magdalene, out of whom He cast seven devils, was the last at the Saviour's tomb and the first whom He greeted in the morning of His resurrection. It was Saul of Tarsus, one of the most determined enemies of the gospel, who became Paul the devoted minister of Christ. Beneath an appearance of hatred and contempt, even beneath crime and degradation, may be hidden a soul that the grace of Christ will rescue to shine as a jewel in the Redeemer's crown. MB 129.2

Read in context »

Was this helpful?

More Comments

Expansion of the Early Church in Palestine

Paul's Conversion and Early Ministry

Paul's Journeys

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered