From Saul to Paul
July 5, 2026. Matthew 11:25-30. Rev. Edward Skutshek
Sometimes our lectionary readings really work together. We see Jesus’ invitation and promises found in our Gospel lesson fulfilled in the transformation of the man who authored Romans 7:14-25, first known as Saul of Tarsus into the Apostle Paul.
Saul was born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia (modern-day Turkey). He was both a Jew and a Roman citizen. He was a devout man and came from a background of privilege. He studied the Torah under Gamaliel, one of the leading Jewish rabbis of his day. (Acts 22:3, 22:25–28). He traced his lineage to the tribe of Benjamin. He was a member of the Jewish sect known as the Pharisees. As a Pharisee he was zealous for the law and its fulfillment. As we will see below, he described himself as the epitome of what it meant to be a “Jew.” (Philippians 3:5–6).
He saw the early Christian movement as a threat to Judaism and actively persecuted Christians. We are first introduced to Saul at the execution of Stephen, one of the first seven deacons of the Church and the first Christian martyr. Stephen was a great teacher and defender of the Christian faith. He was falsely accused and found guilty of blasphemy by the Jewish Council and sentenced to death by stoning. As his sentence was announced Stephen was given a vision. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56)
As the rocks hurled by the crowd mercilessly pelted him, St. Stephen did not call down curses on his attackers. Instead, the Book of Acts testifies: “Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60)
In the crowd that witnessed Stephen’s stoning was a young Jew named “Saul.” The men who stoned Stephen had put their coats at Saul’s feet. (Acts 7:58) This gesture meant that this young man was a powerful leader and gave his blessing to this atrocity and affront against God. Saul believed he had achieved a decisive victory over this new sect. A powerful voice in this sect had been silenced, with the approval of the crowd. Saul believed he was unstoppable. However, Saul was no match for Stephen’s prayer. Jesus answered Stephen’s prayer in the life of young Saul.
We all know the next part of Saul’s history. Acts Chapter 9 records that Saul went to the Jewish authorities and asked for permission to go the city Damascus (present day Syria) to arrest Christians there and bring them back to Jerusalem. The confident persecutor was stopped in his tracks. Suddenly a bright light from heaven surrounded him. He heard the voice of Jesus say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4) Saul’s response: “Who are you, Lord?” The response: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Blinded by the light, Saul was led into Damascus and he remained there for three days. Jesus sent a convert, a man named Ananias, to restore Saul’s sight and baptize him. Ananias was afraid of Saul. He believed Saul was a predator bent on killing Christians and his spots couldn’t change. Jesus calmed his fears by announcing: “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15).
Acts 9 records that Ananias went to Saul. “Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength”. This moment marked the beginning of Saul’s new life as a follower of Christ. (Acts 9:17-19).
Acts 9 further records that, immediately after his conversion Saul began to preach in Damascus.
He proved from the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah to the consternation of his peers. His preaching was so effective, that his fellow Jews plotted to kill him. As a result, he had to escape. He went to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles. They also were afraid of him. They also believed that a leopard can’t change its spots. They could not trust this man. Saul’s friend Barnabas interceded for him. Saul met with the Apostles. He preached in Jerusalem with the same fervor. His preaching led to death threats again. He had to escape again. He went to his hometown Tarsus.
Before meeting Jesus, Paul spoke of himself in this way: If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. When Saul was a emotionally and physically strong, smug and self-assured Pharisee, he was far from Jesus and far from the God he believed he was serving. He followed the rules, he did everything just right, but he did not know his Heavenly Father or His one and only Son. He thought that he was on the highway to heaven; the reality was that he was on the road to perdition. Jesus did not leave him there. He literally put Paul on his back. Jesus could have judged and condemned Paul for his persecutions; but he didn’t. He forgave Paul. Jesus called Paul to take his yoke upon him and move forward in mission with Jesus to the Gentiles, to us.
The good news of Jesus was spread almost exclusively to Jews (Acts 11:19). Some Jewish converts from Cyprus went to Antioch (present day Syria) and began to preach the Gospel of Jesus to Gentiles with success. When the disciples in Jerusalem heard of these successes, they sent Barnabus, who took Saul with him. The two preached with great success to the Gentiles. Acts 11:26 records that “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”
The change in name from Saul to “Paul” first appears in Acts 13:9 and from that verse onward, scripture consistently refers to him as Paul. The Apostle also refers to himself as Paul in his letters to the churches. This name change was not a divine renaming (as when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham or Jacob to Israel, or when Jesus renamed Simon to Peter). However, it does reflect a shift in mission and audience. “Saul” suited his Jewish background, and “Paul” suited his ministry to Gentiles in the Greco-Roman world. Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles, spreading the gospel across the Roman Empire (Romans 11:13). He founded churches, and endured persecution for the sake of Christ. His teachings centered on salvation by grace through faith, unity in Christ, and living by the Spirit. The change from Saul to Paul symbolizes more than just a change in mission and audience. The name change is emblematic of a movement in Paul’s life from law to grace, from self-righteousness to faith, and from persecution to proclamation.
The Hebrew name Saul means “to ask for, borrow or beg.” It was a good name for him. Saul had “asked for” a mission. He had begged for the authority to destroy this new sect that worshiped Jesus. The Greek name Paul means “small or humble.” Jesus made a “Saul” into a Paul. Paul no longer approached people full of himself and power he borrowed from some religious leaders; rather, he came humbly and meekly in Jesus’ name. He came only with the words of the Gospel that Jesus had given him. Through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus, Paul was the instrument that God used to reconcile sinful people to Him.
The Book of Acts and his own letters reveal that Paul went from persecuting Christians on behalf of religious authorities to being persecuted by those same Jewish and Gentile authorities for preaching Christ and him crucified. For the sake of the proclamation of the Gospel, Paul was thrown into the same jail cells that he had once thrown his brothers and sisters in Christ. He was shipwrecked. Like his fellow believers he was beaten. Paul was once even stoned and left for dead, but miraculously survived. (Acts 14:19) By the power of the Holy Spirit he became the New Testament’s most prolific writer (thirteen of his letters are preserved in the New Testament). The Holy Spirit continues to use his letters to inspire, chasten and transform individuals and congregations.
Scriptures reveal that Paul had been transformed by his ministry on the outside. In Galatians 6:17 Paul declared: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Paul here referred to the scars, wounds, and physical afflictions he endured while preaching the Gospel. Paul also revealed that he bore marks on the inside. Paul testified in many places in his letters that his heart, mind and soul also bore the marks of struggles for the sake of the Gospel. Today’s Epistle lesson taken from seventh Chapter of his letter to the Church at Rome reveals some of these scars. The central thought in Romans 7 is the inner struggle between the law of God and the power of sin within each of us —a struggle that reveals both the goodness of God’s law and the profound inability of human beings to fulfill the law on their own.
Paul declared that the law represents God’s perfect will for mankind. The law recorded the creation the nation of Israel and marked out its boundaries. It declared the nation’s mission: be fruitful and multiply, take the land, live in it and wait for a Messiah to come who will bless the world. The law regulated virtually every aspect of human life. Punishment was prescribed for each infraction of the law, which, for the most severe crimes, was death.
He argued that God’s law was not the problem; the problem was, is and always will be us. Paul declared that because of a force that we received at conception, the law does not naturally evoke thanksgiving and does not naturally inspire the desire for obedience. He declared that the law naturally evokes rebellious behavior. When we are told not to covet, our natural inclination is not to obey the law. He argued the prohibition creates in us an appetite to covet, to want something that belongs to another and inspires us to break the law to get.
So, I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7:21-23) His conclusion. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25)
He described the profound inner conflict like this: His desire was to do what was right; yet, he found himself doing what he hated. His behavior was not mere hypocrisy—it was a picture of a person who knew God’s will but lacked the power to carry it out. Sin was portrayed as an indwelling force at work within.
Paul’s testimony to us is that his journey with Jesus often seemed to be one battle after another. He fought with Jewish and Gentile authorities who were bent on stopping his preaching. He battled with false teachers who spread lies about Paul and contradicted his teachings. He fought division and conflict in the churches he had established. He fought with the Devil. He fought with himself. He fought through intense physical and spiritual pain. Sometimes he fought until he could no longer stand it. Paul wrote of about an especially severe bout of physical and spiritual pain: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul was able to endure, and in enduring he overcame. Jesus gift of endurance produced a change in Paul: “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).
The change in name from Saul to Paul emblematic of one of the most dramatic and significant transformations recorded in the New Testament. It reflects a change in the life, faith and mission of a man. It points to the transformation of a zealous persecutor of the church, into one of Christ’s most passionate advocates and one of the greatest missionaries of the Christian faith. Paul’s conversion should perpetually inspire hope in Christ’s Church. Paul’s life and ministry testify that Jesus can change a violent, self-centered, egotistical, blasphemous and zealous persecutor of the church into an evangelist and missionary. Paul’s life gives rise to trust and faith that Jesus can change people who are captive to lust and greed, who seem irredeemable and who openly hate God. For what purpose? So, as Paul said: “Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:16). In his walk yoked to Jesus, Paul experienced even more than Christ’s patience:
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Philippians 3:7-12)
Paul confessed that Jesus had taken hold of him; put his yoke on Paul and moved him forward. Paul confessed that as he walked further with Jesus, he experienced his love, presence and his discipline. With each step Paul came to know and love Jesus more intimately. In 2 Corinthians 11:2-6, Paul described being taken to the third heaven, the inner most inner sanctuary of paradise. When there he heard revelations that defied description and that could not be shared. Paul’s experiences increased the desire in him to know the power of Christ’s resurrection. He also came to understand Jesus suffering. Christ’s resurrection was preceded by intense suffering both physical and emotional. Jesus most passionate desire was for people to know him, to love him and embrace him so that he could heal, forgive, guide and resurrect them. He was mostly rejected, even by God’s chosen people who were waiting for him. Paul would be a conduit through whom Jesus and him crucified and resurrected was communicated and Jesus could snatch another soul from a life of unbelief headed down the road to perdition.
I am confident that Paul remembered Stephen’s prayer for all those who had a part in his murder. He asked God to forgive them. Paul confessed that his persecutions, including of Stephen, were fueled by ignorance and blind religious zealotry. I guarantee that Paul always gave thanks for Ananias who reluctantly came and placed his hands on Paul’s eyes for Jesus’ sake and in Jesus’ name. By this act of grace Paul gained physical and spiritual sight. Thereafter, at Jesus command, Paul, just like Ananias, removed the scales from the spiritually blind.
Paul also calls us to remember that many of the people we meet may appear strong and fierce, with impenetrable souls and who are unstoppable. He cautions us, that they, like us, are fighting one battle after another. We must confess to them that we too are fighting one battle after another. We too struggle with what we do and what we say every day and we often fail God. However, we have one who is in the battle with us, one whom we are yoked to, who helps us endure, and through whom we will overcome and so can they.
Thank you Jesus!
Amen.
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