Vocation Story
SAUL’S VOCATION STORY
Acts 9: 1-19
LITERARY MEANING
This section is anyting but a simple story of how Saul was knocked off his horse and converted. Our popular religious imagination and art to the contrary notwithstanding, this section and its parallels in 22:1-6 and 26:9-18 nowhere say that he was riding a horse. Now do these texts speaks of Saul’s conversion as if he were the most wretched sinner antiquity sired. This section is a “vocation” story. We will mine the rich vein of this vocation story on three levels: (1) Saul as persecutor; (2) Saul’s vocation; (3) Luke’s intentions and the figure of Saul.
Saul as Persecutor
From what Luke says in Acts it is patent that Saul is not a private persecutor; he represents official Judaism. This factor is present in all three accounts of Sauls’call: 9:1-3, 22:4-5, 19; 26:9-11.
Saul’s Vocation
Saul would never have changed from awesome persecutor of the Lord’s disciples to tireless missionary to the gentiles unless the Lord had called him. In what have taken more time than the three accounts of Acts lead us to believe, Saul lets the Lord’s call to him sink into and under his persecutor skin.
The story of Saul persecutor edifies Luke’s community: God does preserve his church from persecution; encouragement is offered to those who suffer persecution like that directed by and enfleshed in Saul.
Luke’s Intentions and the Figure of Paul
A questio may help us peer into Luke’s threefold intention in this section: Why does Luke have three accounts of Paul’s call? First, by devoting precious space to three accounts of Paul’s call, Luke spotlights the significance of Paul as key points in his story. In chapter 9 the call of the missionary to the gentiles par excellence—Paul—is introduced when the Spirit is on the brink of moving the misson to the gentiles (see 10:1-48). In chapters 22 and 26 the call of Paul is introduced to show that Paul and Christianity are not apostates from Judaism; both
Acts 9: 1-19
LITERARY MEANING
This section is anyting but a simple story of how Saul was knocked off his horse and converted. Our popular religious imagination and art to the contrary notwithstanding, this section and its parallels in 22:1-6 and 26:9-18 nowhere say that he was riding a horse. Now do these texts speaks of Saul’s conversion as if he were the most wretched sinner antiquity sired. This section is a “vocation” story. We will mine the rich vein of this vocation story on three levels: (1) Saul as persecutor; (2) Saul’s vocation; (3) Luke’s intentions and the figure of Saul.
Saul as Persecutor
From what Luke says in Acts it is patent that Saul is not a private persecutor; he represents official Judaism. This factor is present in all three accounts of Sauls’call: 9:1-3, 22:4-5, 19; 26:9-11.
Saul’s Vocation
Saul would never have changed from awesome persecutor of the Lord’s disciples to tireless missionary to the gentiles unless the Lord had called him. In what have taken more time than the three accounts of Acts lead us to believe, Saul lets the Lord’s call to him sink into and under his persecutor skin.
The story of Saul persecutor edifies Luke’s community: God does preserve his church from persecution; encouragement is offered to those who suffer persecution like that directed by and enfleshed in Saul.
Luke’s Intentions and the Figure of Paul
A questio may help us peer into Luke’s threefold intention in this section: Why does Luke have three accounts of Paul’s call? First, by devoting precious space to three accounts of Paul’s call, Luke spotlights the significance of Paul as key points in his story. In chapter 9 the call of the missionary to the gentiles par excellence—Paul—is introduced when the Spirit is on the brink of moving the misson to the gentiles (see 10:1-48). In chapters 22 and 26 the call of Paul is introduced to show that Paul and Christianity are not apostates from Judaism; both
Bibliography: Karris, Robert, J., Invitation to Acts: A Comentary on the Acts of the Apostles with Complete Text from the Jerusalem Bible. New York: Image Books, 1978. Barcklay, William, The Acts of the Apostles Revised Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976. Kurzinger, Josef, The Acts of the Apostles, volume 1. London: Burns and Oates, 1969. Krodel, Gerhard, Proclamation Commentaries. Philadeplhia, Pensylvania: Fortress Press, 1981. Paton, Jeff, The Conversion of Paul, Free Grace or Forced Grace?