The Conversion of Saul/Paul

The Conversion of Saul / Paul 


Basic Info


Acts 9:1–30


Saul, from Tarsus in Turkey, was a Jew and a Pharisee who persecuted Christians and was involved in the stoning of Saint Stephen. Then one day, while he journeyed to Damascus looking for more Christians to persecute, a light flashed and he fell to the ground. (Artists tend to give him a horse to fall from. The Bible does not mention an animal.) While on the ground, Saul heard a voice. The voice called him by name and asked why he persecuted the speaker. Saul asks the voice who he is. The voice identifies himself as Jesus, the one that Saul is persecuting. Jesus then instructs Saul to go to the city where he will be given further instructions. When Saul opens his eyes, he is blind. His blindness lasts for three days. His companions could hear the voice but couldn’t see anyone.


Saul, doing as he is told, goes to Damascus, is given instruction as a Christian, is baptized, and begins to preach to the gentiles (everyone who wasn’t Jewish) about Jesus. His practice was to go to a town or region, preach for a while, start small communities of followers, see to it that they got up and running, and then move on to another town. When he would get news that one of the communities he started was veering off the correct path, he would send a letter to them straightening them out. He changed his name to Paul when he made his first missionary journey.


The art tradition tends to emphasize the conversion moment, the moment when Saul is on his way to find more Christians to persecute and Jesus brings him up short with a light and an appearance. The moment reflects how quickly one can go from being against God to being for God. Sometimes this is interpreted as a religious conversion or a conversion about having faith. Other times it is interpreted as a conversion from doing evil to doing good.


What to Look For


  • Saul’s physical appearance (strong, tough, aristocratic, self-confident, etc.)
  • Saul’s attitude or expression (awed, confused, attentive, etc.)
  • The amount of drama in the flash of light and the fall (just a guy walking, falling from a horse, at risk of being trampled, etc.)
  • Jesus’ physical appearance, if he is depicted (glorified, normal, with wounds or without, etc.)
  • The physical and emotional relationship that passes between Jesus and Paul


Questions to Focus a General Interpretation


What does the artwork say about turning one’s life around? Is it a whiz-bang event, or is it just something that happens in the flow of life?

Does the artwork stop at the big moment, or does it include the learning that Saul has to do in order to fully become a follower of Jesus Christ?


Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation


Does the artwork call you to be mindful of how you are or how you are not fully committed to God in the way Jesus Christ taught and lived?

What delights you about this piece? Are you called to imitate that aspect of the artwork in any way?


Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation



Does this artwork seem to be more about religious conversion or moral conversion? Which was more significant to Christians in the artist’s time and place?


Return to Saints Return to Saints and Sinners Return to Interpretations Return to Engaging the Art
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