What caused Saul to stop persecuting Christians and become a missionary?

Answer 1

Another answer from our community:

Saul had a life changing encounter on the road to Damascus with Christ who appeared to him in a bright light. This turned Saul from a feared persecutor of Christians into a great evangelist since the existence of Christ could no longer be denied. Ananias anointed him under instruction from the Lord, and he received the Holy Spirit. God had chosen Saul for the work of spreading the Gospel message to both Jews and Gentiles.

Answer 2

Jesus appeared to him, and told him that by persecuting the Christians, Paul was actually persecuting Him. After that encounter, Paul became blind, and he went to Damascus. He remained blind for three days. Then Jesus spoke to Ananias and told him to find Paul, who at that time was called Saul, to pray for him to receive his sight again. And after that, Paul served God the rest of his life.

Answer 3

Acts of the Apostles tells how Paul was blinded by a light, fell down and heard the voice of Jesus saying, "It hurts you to kick against the goad [or 'pricks']" (Acts 9:5 and 26:14). This is a quotation from the ancient play known as Bacchae by Euripides (d. 406 BCE). The scene has parallels to the play and peculiarly has Jesus quote a Greek proverb to Paul while speaking Aramaic ("in the Hebrew language"). Paul was then taken, blind and helpless to Damascus, where he was taught the gospel.

When considering history, scholars prefer Paul's own account. Paul himself never mentions the episode on the road to Damascus, and simply says that he was persuaded to support the Christian cause, and that after his conversion he went straight to Arabia.