Kicking against the Goads

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.”

It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

(Acts 9.4-5; 22.7-8; 26:14-15)

I know what goads are because I grew up on a hog-farm on which we used shovels and pitchforks and electric shockers to get hogs to go where we wanted.

It is said that this was an expression in the Greek world of opposition to deity.

This statement by Christ set Saul’s [later called Paul] actions against God when he thought he was zealously doing God service in his war against Christians. 

Jesus revealed himself to  Paul as Divine, and thus the God whom Paul was zealous for, he was fighting against.

Paul was a zealous Jew fighting against the offensiveness of the Christ crucified. 

We don’t know what may be going on inside people, being the conflict and struggle between what they believe to be true and what is hard to refute.

There’s no record that Paul was wrestling within himself in light of the past events surrounding Christ, however, it’s possible in connection with the word “goads.” 

One of those goads could have been the testimony and martyrdom of Stephen.

“and they cast him [Stephen] out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul [Paul].

And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Now Saul was consenting to his death.”  Acts 7:58-8.1

Stephen had an effective testimony, spoke the Scriptures, and was stoned to death for his faith in Jesus as the Christ and Savior. 

Was this a  goad to the young man Paul who was a witness to his death?

Goads like this could have increased Paul’s fight against the truth. So much so that he went to war against the Christians by which Jesus said, “why are you persecuting me?”

Paul later writes concerning his past:

“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” 1 Cor 15.9

“Then he said: “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

 I persecuted this Way to the death,

binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.” Acts 22.3-5

“My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. …

Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

This I also did in Jerusalem,

and many of the saints I shut up in prison,

 having received authority from the chief priests;

and when they were put to death,

 I cast my vote against them.

And I punished them often

 in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” Acts 26:4-5; 9-11

“If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

 concerning zeal, persecuting the church;

concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” Phil 3:4-6

We don’t know of what is going on inside people, being the conflict and struggle between what they believe to be true and what is hard to refute. 

Are you fighting against God?