Acts 26:19

I was not disobedient. Paul did not “kick against the pricks” (see on v. 14). He made a full surrender, in response to the vision Christ accorded him. So complete was this dedication that henceforth he never hesitated once the path of duty became plain. He asked only to know what his Lord required, and then did it (see Acts 16:6-12). Throughout life his only question was, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). He could still have chosen to disobey, but the “love of Christ” constrained him (2 Cor. 5:14).

The heavenly vision. See on Acts 9:3-7. This was not a dream. Saul literally met his Lord on the Damascus road and came to know Him personally — in a sense more personally than those who had known Him in the flesh. To Paul this vision remained a living reality. Paul knew in whom he had believed (2 Tim. 1:12).