Paul had many occasions to “bear [Christ's] name before the Gentiles and kings…”, two of them recorded by Luke later in the Book of Acts. Paul also makes many references to this occasion in his letters to the churches, but does not repeat the details of the scene on the road to Damascus. To get a fully detailed picture of what happened on the road to Damascus that day, we need to incorporate Acts 22:6-16 and Acts 26:12-18 into our observations. Each passage adds small details, and, interestingly, each passage includes a detailed account of a two-person conversation.  Acts 9 records the conversation between the Lord and Ananias, Acts 22 records the conversation between Ananias and Saul, and Acts 26 records the conversation between Saul and the Lord.  These three conversations are like windows that let us see into this story from every angle.

Before looking at these passages in detail, it’s profitable to understand their historical context. Paul’s first, second and third missionary journeys had been completed, the third ending with Paul going to Jerusalem with a contribution for the poor, and because he desired to be present in Jerusalem for Pentecost. On arrival, Paul visited the leaders of the church in Jerusalem (James and the elders) who convinced him to take a Jewish vow in the Temple to quell rumors that he was teaching the Gentiles to “forsake Moses” and their Jewish religious customs. On the last day of his vow, he was discovered by some Jews from Asia (remember how they had persecuted him wherever he went during his missionary journeys), who incited the throngs in the Temple grounds to riot and who falsely accused him of bringing Gentiles into the Temple. The riot was broken up by Roman soldiers, who rescued Paul from the midst, and he was given opportunity to address the mob. Luke records Paul’s speech to them in Acts 22:1-21, the first of our reference passages. Paul was imprisoned, moved to Caesarea for his own safety, and then appeared before a number of Roman-appointed governors over a period of more than two years. In his own defense, Paul appealed to Caesar (a privilege of Roman citizens), and plans were made to send him to Rome as a prisoner awaiting trial. During this time, Paul appeared before King Agrippa, who happened to be visiting the Roman governor Festus, had heard of Paul, and asked to hear his testimony out of curiosity. Luke records Paul’s testimony before Festus and Agrippa in Acts 26:2-23, our second reference passage.

Presented below is a table that compares the three passages.  Where a verse in the reference passage (columns 2 and 3) merely repeats what the original passage states, you’ll see “(same)”.  If the column is blank, it means the passage doesn’t include the information.  I encourage you to verify the observations in all three columns, and especially to notice how much more detailed our understanding is because of the additional passages.

A Harmony of Saul’s Conversion Descriptions