At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” (Acts 26:13–23)The line? It is Paul’s quote describing what Jesus first said to him: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
The first question is recorded in Acts 9:4, but in the most accurate and earliest manuscripts, the second part is left out, yet Paul includes it in his testimony to Agrippa. The most thorough lexicon says the word goad in this expression an idiom, literally ‘to kick against the goad’) or to react against authority in such a way as to cause harm or suffering to oneself or to hurt oneself by reacting against a person or command.’ It could be translated: ‘Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by your resistance.’
Why is this quote important? Because it reveals that the Holy Spirit had been convicting this man about his actions. His encounter with deity is not mentioned prior to meeting Jesus, yet it had happened, indicating that God was at work in his heart before he finally was met on that road and saw the light.
Too often Christians today make a thinly veiled boast about their salvation by saying, “When I accepted Christ…” as if that was the crucial moment. Either the period pf warming up the heart is ignored or unrecognized, or human pride wants to take credit for what God has done.
Even King Agrippa knew that salvation was seldom a quick process. His response — “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” — suggests he was not totally closed to the idea, but that is not why the goads are important. In my mind, this goading is part of the salvation process. It is the Spirit of God convincing sinners that faith in Christ is good for me and to say NO to Him is harmful to me. Those goads from God are important to move the attitude of sinners from Romans 3:9ff to a desire for repentance and faith in the Savior.
PRAY: Lord, as I pray for salvation of family and friends and wonder why it takes so long, I realize from Paul’s story that even when sinful people are violent toward Christians and our faith, You could be goading them toward faith by showing them Your goodness. How important that I be patient with You, but also loving toward those who do not yet believe. For all I know, love and kindness could be goads in Your hands. Not only that, when I share with others the goads that You used in leading me to faith, it could easily reveal to them that You are using similar goads with them.
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