While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So I said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Acts 26:12–15
As Christians, we may wonder how anyone could hear the gospel and respond in any way other than humble obedience. Paul refers to this phenomenon as “the mystery of iniquity” (2 Thessalonians 2:7), and for a long time he himself lived as a victim to this clever device of the enemy’s.
When Saul met the Lord on the Damascus road, He told him that he had been kicking against the goads. The word translated “goads” or “pricks” (KJV) is one that usually refers to the sting of an insect (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:55–56) or an iron goad used to prod stubborn beasts. Even though it is painful to resist the prodding of a goad, some animals are so unwilling to move in the right direction that they will actually kick against the goad to go their own way. What were the goads against which Saul had been kicking? First there were the Scriptures that he had learned at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) which often spoke of the Christ. Then there were the arguments made by men like Stephen which even Saul’s superiors were unable to answer. Moreover, Saul must have had concerns about how the authorities were dealing with the Christian movement and about the Jewish faith itself. It had been years since the high priest had been chosen on the basis of qualifications; the position usually went to the highest bidder. In fact, after the deposition of Caiphas in AD 36, seven high priests were appointed over a span of ten years by three different rulers (none of which were Jews). Furthermore, some of Saul’s own kinsmen had already accepted Christ (Romans 16:7), and although he still zealously persecuted Christians, there was a struggle going on within. Conversion could mean estrangement from family (cf. Acts 23:6) and the loss of all the prestige and respect he had worked so hard to establish for himself (Gal. 1:14). When he finally obeyed, however, he found that what he had feared giving up was actually never worth clinging to (Philippians 3:7–8).
Saul is not the only one in the Scriptures who kicked against the goads. The Bible speaks of the wicked king Manasseh who set up idols and altars to false gods in the courts of the temple and burned his own children as sacrifices to Molech (2 Chronicles 33:3–7). Although God spoke to him, he would not listen until he was carried away in fetters to Babylon (vv 10–13). When Paul stood before Agrippa II and told him of his own failure to heed the Lord’s prodding, he asked the king, “Do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe” (Acts 26:27), but Agrippa declined this glorious invitation to Christ.
Are you kicking against the goads? Have you refused to let God take away your sins through repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38)? When you hear God’s word rebuking you concerning something that is amiss in your life, do you resolve to change? As the Lord told Saul, kicking against the goads is hard, and there are some who never stop resisting and lose their souls as a consequence. If the Lord has been prodding you, don’t resist His loving voice a moment longer.