I Appeal To Caesar!

P. 9 “ The appearance of Jesus to Saul is described in the same manner as theophanies in the OT. The shining light is a familiar feature in the OT and elsewhere (Exod. 19:16; 2 Sam. 22:13-15; Ezek. 1:13-14; Dan. 10:6), and also the heavenly voice (Exod. 3:1-6; Isa. 6:8). Falling to the ground is the appropriate human reaction to such manifestations (Ezek. 1:28; Dan. 8:1).” CONTUOT, p. 576. P. 9 Scriptures about Light. 1 John 1:5 (“God is light & in Him there is no darkness”); John 9:5 (Jesus said: “I am the light of the world”); 1 Peter 29 (“Called out of darkness into His marvelous light”); 2 Peter 1:19 (“A light that shines in a dark place”); Matthew 4:16 fulfills Isaiah 60:1-3 (“The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned”). Christ’s ministry in Galilee was like a breaking light! P. 10 God’s double use of a person’s name : Jacob (Genesis 4:2), Moses (Exodus 3:4), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10); Martha (Luke 10:41), Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37): indicates serious urgency and commands attention. “In varying ways, they express an emotion of deepest concern but never anger,” Lenski, p. 353.

P. 10 “…Why are you persecuting Me?” In modern jargon, “Why are you out to get Me?”

P. 10 “Goads.” Explanation from ESV, p. 2140.

P. 10 “Nazarene”: Matthew 2:23. Either refers to the fact that he came from Nazareth (actual village), or that He was a Nazarite (religious devotion), or a person who came from a lowly, unimportant place.

The Pharisees particularly liked to identify Jesus with Nazareth,

because of its small size and negligible influence.

A Harmony of the Gospels, p. 31, makes this comment: “No Old Testament prophecy can be singled out as the source of this statement. Probably the reference is to a number of prophecies which together anticipated the low estate and rejection of the Messiah (cf. Psalms 22:6-8, 13; 69:8, 20, 21; Isa. 11:1; 49:7; 53:2, 5, 8; Dan. (9:26). Of particular prominence is Isaiah 11:1 where the Hebrew word of ‘branch’ ( neser) is built around the same consonants as ‘Nazarene.’”