Saul was a seeker of the truth and had come to realise that the law that he was trying to keep was condemning him daily and that he was unable to achieve the standard of righteousness that God demanded of him. Frustration overtook him.

He must have heard about Jesus while he was a student in Jerusalem. It is even possible that Paul was in Jerusalem when the Lord was crucified or at least shortly after that historic incident. Could this Jesus be the Jewish Messiah? It was a question that pricked his heart now and again.

Gamaliel, the senior member of the Sanhedrin warned the authorities against any drastic action meted out to the disciples probably because he had a hunch in him that Jesus was the Christ, the Jewish Messiah. This spark of faith in his teacher should have had a real impact on the religious faith of Saul, but he tried to suppress the inner voice that was sounding in him. He tried to quench this urge by indulging in more atrocities against the believers in Jerusalem. All the while the reality was hitting him hard – Could this Jesus be the Christ? Prick!

Saul was keeping watch of the clothes of those Jews who were stoning Stephen to death; in fact, he also had consented to the death of this first martyr of the church in Jerusalem. He, for sure, should have wondered why anybody would dare to give his life for a falsehood – the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Could the resurrection of Jesus be true? Could this Jesus be the Prophet the Jews were waiting for? Prick!

The Lord met him on his way to Damascus (Syria) where he was headed to, so that he could bind the believers and bring them to Jerusalem for torture and murder. The Lord asked him, “It is hard for you kick against the pricks”. That was the last straw! Saul submitted himself to the Lord that very moment. He who went on a hunting trip ended up being hunted down. He had to escape for his life from that day onwards.