“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.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one” (Acts 9:6–7).
Several details evidence the fact that Saul saw the resurrected Jesus. Let us note these details, and let us also consider the significance of the occasion.
Verse seven gives us an antithesis to what Saul was seeing. The men with Saul heard a voice, but saw no man. This is a small detail evidencing that Saul did see the man, Jesus. Next, we see that Ananias later indicates that Jesus “appeared” to Saul:
“And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 9:17).
The word translated “appear” is not merely a term which indicates presence, but also sight. Finally, in Paul’s recounting of the occasion, he reveals these words of Jesus:
“But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you” (Acts 26:16). The Greek word translated “appeared” at Acts 26:16 is the essentially the same as the instance of Acts 9:17, which we noted indicated literal sight of Jesus.
Now, why is this significant? First, this is significant because in order for one to be an apostle, he had to see with his own eyes the risen Christ. In the selection of a man to be an apostle that would replace Judas Iscariot, it is revealed to us that such an one must be an eye-witness of the resurrected Jesus:
“‘Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection’” (Acts 1:21–22).
Second, this is significant because it disproves claims of being saved by seeing Jesus. Even Saul, who saw Jesus, was not saved by his sight. Verse six indicates there was more Saul had to do in order to be saved.
With the Bible as our guide, we know that Jesus is not making private appearances to people, today, in the way that He did to Saul.
Rather, His next appearance will be to the entire world (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17, this also refutes the false idea of a secret rapture). Are you ready?
