Acts 9:5

Acts 9:5

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

a. ASV: And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT:  And he said, 'Who art thou, Lord?' and the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute; hard for thee at the pricks to kick;'  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified:  And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. It is dangerous and it will turn out badly for you to keep kicking against the goad [to offer vain and perilous resistance].  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text:  Saul answered and said, Who are you my LORD? and our LORD said, I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you persecute:  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT. Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

1. “And he said, Who art thou, Lord?...”

a. And [Strong: 1161. de deh a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. [he] said [Strong: 2036. epo ep'-o a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being borrowed from 2046, 4483, and 5346); to speak or say (by word or writing):--answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on), speak, tell.]

c. Who [Strong: 5101. tis tis probably emphatic of 5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), + no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, - with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.]

d. art thou [Strong: 1488. ei i second person singular present of 1510; thou art:--art, be.]

e. Lord [Strong: 2962. kurios koo'-ree-os from kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by implication, Master (as a respectful title):-- God, Lord, master, Sir.]

1). Stanley M. Horton, The book of Acts, p.116 “Saul knew the Hebrew Bible very well and recognized this had to be a divine manifestation. But the question confused him. Who was he persecuting other than Christians? So he asked, “Who are you Lord?...in response to this obviously supernatural manifestation, the word can only mean divine Lord. 

2.  “…And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:..”

a. And [Strong: 1161. de deh a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. the [Strong: 3588. [ho] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ho] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

c. Lord [Strong: 2962. kurios koo'-ree-os from kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by implication, Master (as a respectful title):-- God, Lord, master, Sir.]

d. said [Strong: 2036. epo ep'-o a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being borrowed from 2046, 4483, and 5346); to speak or say (by word or writing):--answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on), speak, tell.]

e. I [Strong: 1473. ego eg-o' a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when emphatic):--I, me.]

f. am [Strong: 1510. eimi i-mee' the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic):--am, have been, X it is I, was.]

g. Jesus [Strong: 2424. Iesous ee-ay-sooce' of Hebrew origin (3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:--Jesus.]

h. whom [Strong: 3739. hos hos, including feminine he hay, and neuter ho ho probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article 3588); the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, that:--one, (an-, the) other, some, that, what, which, who(-m, -se), etc.]

i. thou [Strong: 4771. su soo the person pronoun of the second person singular; thou:-- thou.]

j. persecutest [Strong: 1377. dioko dee-o'-ko a prolonged (and causative) form of a primary verb dio (to flee; compare the base of 1169 and 1249); to pursue (literally or figuratively); by implication, to persecute:--ensue, follow (after), given to, (suffer) persecute(-ion), press forward.]

1). Jesus identifies with the weak, the poor and the persecuted.

a). Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

b). Matthew 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

2. “…it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

a. [it is] hard [Strong: 4642. skleros sklay-ros' from the base of 4628; dry, i.e. hard or tough (figuratively, harsh, severe):--fierce, hard.]

b. [for] thee [Strong: 4671. soi soy dative case of 4771; to thee:--thee, thine own, thou, thy.]

c. [to] kick [Strong: 2979. laktizo lak-tid'-zo from adverb lax (heelwise); to recalcitrate:--kick.]

d. against [Strong: 4314. pros pros a strengthened form of 4253; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e. pertaining to; with the dative case, by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is predicated):--about, according to , against, among, at, because of, before, between, (where-)by, for, X at thy house, in, for intent, nigh unto, of, which pertain to, that, to (the end that), X together, to (you) -ward, unto, with(-in). In the comparative case, it denotes essentially the same applications, namely, motion towards, accession to, or nearness at.]

e. [the] pricks [Strong: 2759. kentron ken'-tron from kenteo (to prick); a point ("centre"), i.e. a sting (figuratively, poison) or goad (figuratively, divine impulse):--prick, sting.] [Zodhiates: a goad, point, or prick.]

1). The Book of Acts, Stanley M. Horton, p.116. “By this Jesus recognized that much of Saul’s persecution of the Christians was because he knew he had no answer for their arguments. It was a reaction by which he was trying to resist the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Like a man driving an ox, the Holy Spirit had been driving Saul toward the truth of the gospel, but he was resisting violently, kicking against the goads.”

2). It is obvious that God had been dealing with Saul and that Saul was resisting the Holy Ghost. Saul was one of the most, if not the most knowledgeable of the Jewish Scriptures of his day.

a). Galatians 1:14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

3). Being exceeding zealous of the Jewish tradition, surely Saul could see the Messiah in the Old Covenant scriptures. Jesus himself said that from Genesis to Malachi, the Scriptures spoke of him.

a). Luke 24:25-27 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

24:26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

b). Luke 24:44-47 And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

4). There is also a stumbling block to the Jewish mind because of the manner in which Jesus died. In the Jewish mind Jesus was cursed by God.

a). Deuteronomy 21:22, 23 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:

21:23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

5). Isaiah, one of the major Jewish prophets was inspired by God to put not only the stumbling block in writing but also the revelation of what that cursed death accomplished, in the wonderful passage of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.

a). Isaiah 53:4, 5 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6). The Apostle Paul many years after his conversion echoed Isaiah’s revelation of what the death of Christ accomplished. 

1). Galatians 3:13, 14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 

3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.     

7). The effect of this divine encounter was of course immediate, Saul instantly accepted Jesus as the Messiah and humbly asked for his will.