Acts 9:5 And he said, “Who art Thou, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the goads.” KJ21

Goads here in the Greek is kentron, an iron goad, for urging on oxen, horses and other beasts of burden, hence the proverb, “to kick against the goad”, i.e. to offer vain and perilous or ruinous resistance. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary)

I’ve known this for some time but today I saw it in a new light. It is so simple I have no excuse for not having seen this before. Saul, soon to become Paul, is the ox. The yoke under which he is burdened is the law. (ref. Philippians 3:6) Saul feels the goad, is driven by his Master, but due to the restrictive nature of his yoke cannot see who it is that is goading him on.

Jesus Christ is the driving force behind the law. When Saul was knocked off his horse on the way to Damascus to persecute followers of the way, Saul recognized the authority which put him on the ground, calling him Lord. Even so, Saul did not know his Lord was this Jesus whom he had never met.

I see a kind of irony in that Saul was removed from a beast of burden at the same moment that his yoke was removed from him. All Saul’s life he had been driven to this moment. His training in the law would become invaluable in his ministry. He would go into synagogues and reason with Jews from the scriptures to show them that Christ was the driving force behind the scriptures and his very life.

I can see that events of my life brought me to that appointed time when Jesus revealed Himself to me. Have you met Jesus? Are the circumstances of your life leading you to a divine appointment? Will you recognize Him as Lord?