Acts 9:3-8 “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. (4) Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (5) And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." (6) So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (7) And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. (8) Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.”
The above passage of scripture describes among other things, Paul’s physical responses to the supernatural encounter which he had with the Lord Jesus. The encounter began with a bright light from heaven suddenly shining around both Paul and his travel companions, but although his travel companions also saw the light, he was the only one who was blinded by it (Acts 22:9). Evidently Paul was exposed to the fullness of that light during the vision, whereas his companions were not. Three days after this encounter, the disciple Ananias laid his hands on Paul and prayed for his sight to be restored and scales fell off Paul’s eyes and he could see once again (Acts 9:17-18). Obviously the Lord had placed the scales across Paul’s eyes to protect them from the brightness of that light, which Paul describes as being brighter than the sun (Acts 26:13). Another result of Paul’s encounter with the Lord is that he fell to the ground. Paul was not the only one to fall to the ground however, for in a later account of this same incident he describes how all who were with him also fell to the ground ( Acts 26:14). Clearly the power of the Lord was present, and their natural human bodies were not able to stand as they came into contact with the power of the supernatural. Paul also describes to us how his body trembled in the Lord’s presence. Evidently as the vision progressed, the men travelling with Paul were finally able to stand up. And they could hear Paul conversing with the Lord in the vision and heard the sound of the Lord’s voice, but were unable to make out the words that He spoke (Acts 22:9). But again we see that the reason Paul and his travel companions fell to the ground, was simply because they were overcome by the power of the Lord’s presence, and not because His power either forced them or threw them to the ground against their will.
Michael E.B. Maher
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