Kick Against the Goads

It is hard for you to kick against the goads

Acts 26:14-18 Kick Against the Goads

Acts 26:19-23 King Agrippa

ACTS 26:14-15 14 “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Why did Jesus say it's hard for Saul to "kick against the goads"?
Stubborn animals kick against the goads (a goad is a long rod with a sharp end that is used to prick an animal to move or to move in a different direction). Kicking against the goads inflicts pain to the kicker. Jesus was saying that in the process of persecuting Christians, Saul was hurting himself. Since he wasn't hurting himself physically, the Lord was likely referring to the impact on Saul's conscience.

How did persecuting Christians hurt Saul's conscience?
Instead of behaving like criminals, the Christians he arrested, imprisoned and killed most likely exuded grace, confidence and forgiveness. Stephen's words and demeanor as he was martyred (see Stephen stoned) also may have stayed with Saul, who may have even tried to overcome the effect on his conscience by persecuting more vehemently - kicking against the goads - which aggravated the self-inflicted pain.

Why did they fall "to the ground" (Acts 26:14) in the first place?
See Saul on the road to Damascus.

ACTS 26:16-18 16 ‘But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Why isn't Acts 26:16-18 found in Acts 9:6 (see Road to Damascus)?
To use his trial 'defense' to instead preach the Gospel to his pagan Roman audience, Paul is condensing above what Jesus revealed to him since his conversion about the commission for his life, as well as the Gospel.

Whose "power" (Acts 26:18) is Paul telling his audience that they are under?
"Satan" (Acts 26:18) for everyone who hasn't been converted.

What must they do?
"Turn ... to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in" (Acts 26:18) Jesus.