Examining the encounter between Paul and Jesus may seem straightforward given the presence of three accounts in the Book of Acts and an additional narrative in Paul's own epistle, Galatians. It is crucial to highlight that the Galatians account is penned in Paul's own hand, widely acknowledged by scholars as an authentic letter from him. Conversely, the Acts of the Apostles, believed to be written by the same author as the Gospel of Luke, offers second-hand perspectives on the events, presenting two additional retellings, allegedly by Paul, on two different occasions. In Acts 22, we find Paul addressing a Jewish audience in Jerusalem following his arrest. Another instance occurs in Acts 26, where Paul speaks before Herod Agrippa II.

Providing context, Herod Agrippa I, the father of the mentioned Agrippa II, ruled from 41 CE to 44 CE, appointed as the King of Judea by Emperor Claudius. His rule was flanked by Roman officials as predecessors and successors. Agrippa II, the last king of the territories once governed by Herod Archelaus, was the son of Aristobulus IV, executed in 7 BCE by his father, King Herod. Agrippa I's sudden death in 44 CE, presumably due to poisoning, left his son too young to govern. However, Agrippa II eventually received kingship over the Chalcis ad Belum region in Syria in 48 CE. Despite the geographical distance, he wielded authority over the administration of the Temple in Jerusalem and played a crucial role in appointing its high priest. In 53 CE, he acquired the tetrarchy of Philip, his great uncle, encompassing territories to the NNE and East of the Sea of Galilee, forming an "L" around the city of Damascus.

Our exploration begins with an examination of Paul's own account in a letter addressed to the followers in the central Anatolian region of Galatia, modern-day Türkiye.

Galatians 1

Let's delve into Paul's conversion and provide a summary of his subsequent missions as narrated in his own words found in Galatians 1:11-22 and Galatians 2:1-10. The backdrop for these passages is the divergence of interpretation among his followers in Galatia regarding Jesus. Paul, in response, endeavors to vindicate the gospel he himself ardently preaches:

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters,

that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin,

for I did not receive it from a human source,
nor was I taught it,

but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

[Paul's own account of his earlier actions] You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

But when the one who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace was pleased to reveal his Son to me,

so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles,

I did not confer with any human,

nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me,

but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterward I returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit [Peter] and stayed with him fifteen days,

but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord’s brother.

In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia,

and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ;

they only heard it said, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.”

And they glorified God because of me.

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.

I went up in response to a revelation.

Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the gentiles,

in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain.

But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

But because of false brothers and sisters secretly brought in,

who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us—

we did not submit to them even for a moment,

so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.

And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders

(what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)

—those leaders contributed nothing to me.

On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised,

just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised

(for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised

also worked through me in sending me to the gentiles),

and when James and [Peter] and John,

who were acknowledged pillars,

recognized the grace that had been given to me,

they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship,

agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised.

They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.

In summary:

Jesus was revealed to Paul by the Father.
Following this revelation, Paul journeyed into Arabia, which, in the context of Paul's time, referred also to the desert regions east of Damascus. It is reasonable to assume that Paul ventured into this desert, eventually turning north towards Damascus.
Three years later, he visited Jerusalem, but his interactions were limited to meetings with Peter and James.
For the subsequent fourteen years, Paul resided in Syria and Cilicia, covering the coastal regions of Turkey and Syria to the north and east of Cyprus.
Seventeen years after the initial revelation from Jesus, he openly traveled to Jerusalem. However, his mission faced challenges “due to false brothers and sisters secretly brought in” and that the leaders of the church in Jerusalem “contributed nothing to” his mission.

Paul's sentiment towards the Jerusalem encounter remains far from positive, and matters take a downturn upon his return to Antioch. This shift is elucidated in Galatians 2:11-14, where Peter's visit to Antioch becomes a focal point:

But when [Peter] came to Antioch,

I opposed him to his face because he stood self-condemned,

for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the gentiles.

But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction.

And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy,

so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel,

I said to Cephas before them all,

“If you, though a Jew, live like a gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the gentiles to live like Jews?”

Indeed, Paul, in his own letter, expresses scorn towards both the Christian leaders in Jerusalem and Peter. The disdain he articulates towards these Jewish leaders who follow Jesus implies that their messages might be influencing his followers in Galatia negatively. This sentiment aligns with Paul's earlier warnings at the beginning of his letter in Galatians 1:6-9:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ

and are turning to a different gospel—

not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you,

let that one be accursed!

As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received,

let that one be accursed!

It is reasonably clear that Paul's strong language of curses is directed towards the leaders of the Jewish followers of Jesus in Jerusalem and Judea. The subsequent focus on faith, works, and the law in the remainder of Chapter 2 and throughout Chapter 3 reinforces and affirms the notion that, according to Paul, the purported false gospel is originating from these specific Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Paul's concern lies in the potential influence of their teachings on the understanding and faith within the Galatian community.

As a side note, Paul also downplays the role of other early Jewish leaders in his authentic first letter to the church in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul expresses:

Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you,

which you in turn received,

in which also you stand,

through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you

—unless you have come to believe in vain.

Paul underscores that his followers received the message directly from him, yet he doesn't explicitly mention the source of his own reception, although his letter to the Galatians suggests a direct revelation from Jesus. Continuing,

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received:

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures and

that he was buried and

that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures and

that he appeared

to Cephas,

then to the twelve.

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time,

most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep [died].

Then he appeared to James,

then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.

Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.

In his effort to establish the credibility of the message he conveyed, Paul emphasizes his labor compared to those who witnessed the resurrected Jesus, including many who had known Jesus before his execution.

Earlier in that letter, in 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul also emphasizes that his mission was given to him directly by Jesus:

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel—

and not with eloquent wisdom,

so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

Let's now compare what Paul articulates in his own words with the accounts recorded in the book known as the Acts of the Apostles. The comparison of Paul's message with the narrative presented by the author of Luke and Acts is intriguing, though delving into it warrants a separate discussion. For now, Paul has delineated the sequence of events: encountering Jesus, venturing into the desert, spending three years away from Jerusalem, making a solitary visit—only to see Peter and James—and subsequently continuing his mission work closer to his hometown of Tarsus. His reappearance in Jerusalem occurs only 14 years later. It is crucial to emphasize a few points from Paul's account, for he said:

I did not confer with any human, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me.
In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!
I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

With Paul's timeline and these statements, let us look at what is told not once but three times in Acts.

Acts 9

First, let us examine the account in Acts 9:

[An account of Paul's earlier actions] Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus,

suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

He asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.

Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing;

so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias.

The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”

He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

So Ananias went and entered the house.

He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored.

Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and

immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

All who heard him were amazed and said,

“Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”

Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,

but their plot became known to Saul.

They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him,

but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall,

lowering him in a basket.

When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, and

they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and

described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord,

who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem,

speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

He spoke and argued with the Hellenists,

but they were attempting to kill him.

When the brothers and sisters learned of it,

they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up.

Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

In summary:

After being blinded by the light from heaven, Paul promptly continues to Damascus guided by his colleages.
In Damascus, he encounters Ananias in whose presence Paul experiences a miraculous healing.
He stays there for a period, but threats to his life force him to flee. It appears that he then travels to Jerusalem with Barnabas.
Despite his efforts to integrate into the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, they harbor fear of him.
Undeterred, he boldly speaks and engages in debates with the Greek-speaking Jews in Jerusalem, and this seems to ingratiate himself with the followers of Jesus.
Faced with yet another threat on his life from these Hellenized opponents, the followers in Jerusalem decide to send him to Caesarea to ensure his safety.

This last observation clearly shows that during this visit, Paul must have been known “by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.”

Compare the narratives in these two accounts. In Galatians, we found:

Paul makes no mention of any blindness; instead, he goes into the desert and only later proceeds to Damascus.
He refrains from going to Jerusalem for three years. On his first visit to Jerusalem, he meets only with Peter and James.
He explicitly states that he “was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.”
Never-the-less, the people of these churches heard “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.” Consequently, the followers in Jerusalem and Judea had nonetheless heard that Paul was proclaiming the gospel of Jesus, and they celebrated this transformation.
As a consequence, those in these churches in Judea “glorified God because of me.”
Fourteen years later, Paul went to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus.

In Paul's account, he meets only with Peter and James during his initial visit, suggesting that the visit described in Acts 9 pertains to his second visit fourteen years later. However, between the two visits, the followers in Jerusalem had already heard of his significant deeds in the name of Jesus and had "glorified God because of" Paul and his actions. So, why, fourteen years later, were the followers in Jerusalem afraid of Paul, and why did they not believe he was a disciple of Jesus? Apologists often focus on individual differences and attempt to explain away potential contradictions, but they seldom address how the two stories can be harmonized in gesamt. The true believer does not care about the truth, the true believer only cares about the belief, finding solace in any narrative that alleviate concerns about possible contradictions.

Acts 22

Here is another account, this time narrated to a crowd in the presence of a Roman tribune, as per Acts 21:37-40. According to the book of Acts, these were the words of Paul, as recorded in Acts 22:1-21:

[Allegedly, Paul's own account of his earlier actions] I am a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

While I was on my way and approaching Damascus,

about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.

I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

I answered, “Who are you, Lord?”

Then he said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.”

Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

I asked, “What am I to do, Lord?”

The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.”

Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light,

those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there,

came to me, and standing beside me, he said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!”

In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him.

Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice, for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.”

After I had returned to Jerusalem and

while I was praying in the temple,

I fell into a trance and saw Jesus saying to me,

“Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.”

And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.”

Then he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the gentiles.”

Most notably, we must juxtapose these two verses within the same book:

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.

Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

Did they, or did they not hear the voice?

Next, once again, the followers led Paul to Damascus. However, in Paul's own letter, he “went away at once into Arabia” and it was only “afterward” that he then “returned to Damascus.”

Also, compare the two passages of how Paul regains his sight:

He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored.

[H]e said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!”

In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him.

The words spoken by Ananias are very different, and while the first suggests an immediate restoration of sight, the second says that this occurred “[i]n that very hour.” Hardly a clear contradiction, but not as instantaneous as is suggested in Acts 9. However, nowhere does Paul in his own authentic letter mention this blindness in Galatians 1, nor does he mention Ananias. Of course, these may have been the actual words of Paul, so perhaps he was only abbreviating and summarizing the words of Ananias.

Later, however, Paul does go to Jerusalem, but the reason given for leaving Jerusalem is also very different. In Acts 9, it is because there is a plot to kill Paul:

He spoke and argued with the Hellenists,

but they were attempting to kill him.

When the brothers and sisters learned of it,

they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

In Acts 22, it is because he is told to leave by Jesus:

...while I was praying in the temple,

I fell into a trance and saw Jesus saying to me,

“Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.”

And I said,

“Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.”

Then [Jesus] said to me,

“Go, for I will send you far away to the gentiles.”

In Acts 9, the followers of Jesus actively assist Paul in his escape. In Acts 22, Paul expresses concern about how his past actions are perceived by his followers. Consequently, the two accounts in Acts exhibit marked differences. One could argue that the account in Acts 9 aligns with Paul's second visit to Rome. Still, the account in Acts 22 cannot be about this second visit: Between the two visits, Paul's spread of the gospel of Jesus became known to the followers in Jerusalem, leading them to glorify God for this transformation. Consequently, after seventeen years, Paul would not harbor such concerns. However, the story in Acts 22 could reasonably describe the remainder of his first visit to Jerusalem: he visited Peter and James, then went to the Temple, prayed, and embarked on his mission to the gentiles. Nevertheless, Paul makes no mention of this revelation at the Temple in his letters.

However, what is stated stands in even greater contrast with Paul's account in Galatians. In Acts 22, Jesus's words differ significantly from Paul's recollection. In Acts 9, Jesus said,

“But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

In Acts 22, Jesus said,

“Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.”

In Damascus, Acts 22 records Ananias saying a few words to Paul with respect to his purpose:

“The God of our ancestors has chosen you

to know his will,
to see the Righteous One, and
to hear his own voice,

for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard.

And now why do you delay?

Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.”

Contrast this with Paul's statements in his letter to Galatia:

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters,

that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin,

for I did not receive it from a human source,
nor was I taught it,

but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Also, recall that Paul indicated that he did not speak to anyone:

But when the one who...called me through his grace was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with any human...

Thus, the stories told in Acts 9 and 22 do not align well, and neither aligns with what Paul said in Galatians. An apologist may claim that this one point here can be explained if you interpret it this way, and that point can be explained if you interpret it that way. Still, I have not seen any apologist attempt to provide a reasonable description that summarizes all the differences, likely because they cannot be reconciled. In Galatians, Paul himself claims to have met none other than Peter and James during his first visit, three years after Jesus's appearance. Yet, in the fourteen years between that visit and his next, the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem and Judea were glorifying God because of him.

Next, let us look at the final account in the book of Acts of the Apostles. Hopefully this may offer some reconciliation between the two above accounts, but one may suspect that, instead, it will lead to more issues.

Acts 26

Finally, in Acts 26, he again recounts the story:

[Allegedly, Paul's own account of his earlier actions]

All the Jews know my way of life from my youth,

a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.

They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify,

that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee.

And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,

a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night.

It is for this hope, Your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews!

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests,

I not only locked up many of the saints in prison,

but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.

By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme,

and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,

when at midday along the road, Your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.

When we had all fallen to the ground,

I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.”

I asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

The Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but declared

first to those in Damascus,
then in Jerusalem and
throughout the countryside of Judea,

and also to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.

For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place:

that the Messiah must suffer and that,

by being the first to rise from the dead,

he would proclaim light both to our people and to the gentiles.

Let us step through what is said at the meeting on the road to Damascus:

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

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

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.”

“Who are you, Lord?”

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
“I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.”

“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”

Only in Acts 22 does Paul say “What am I to do, Lord?”

“But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

“Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.”

“But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

The most significant change is that in Acts 9 and 22, it explicitly states that Paul is to go to Damascus, and it would be there that he would be told what he is to do. In Acts 26, however, Paul receives full instructions as to his purpose from "the voice," and there is no mention of any blindness or any subsequent healing. Both of these align more closely with what Paul says in Galatians.

In Acts 9, it is Ananias who is told of Paul's purpose:

“Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

While it does not explicitly say that Ananias explicitly told this to Paul, I have no doubt that it is reasonable that this may be inferred, for in Acts 22, it explicitly records what Ananias told Paul:

“The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice, for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.”

However, now in Acts 26, the words of Jesus are extended from a single sentence telling Paul to go to Damascus where he will be given his mission to the following:

Paul words in Galatians would support this third telling:

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters,

that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin,

for I did not receive it from a human source,
nor was I taught it,

but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

The revelation occurred on the road to Damascus, and what he received at that time was the gospel through Jesus Christ. One might argue that perhaps Jesus's extended words were omitted from the first two versions, and the third version left out the command to go to Damascus where he would receive instruction. However, in Galatians, one point is clear: Paul stated that he “did not confer with any human.”

Finally, except for one brief visit three years after his conversion, where he only privately met with Peter and James, Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, states that he did not visit Jerusalem with a public presence for seventeen (17) full years. Despite that brief visit to Jerusalem, he was still “unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.” However, in this last testimony before the tetrarch Herod Agrippa II, Paul allegedly says:

...I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but declared

first to those in Damascus,
then in Jerusalem and
throughout the countryside of Judea,

and also to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.

By saying “first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem” suggests a proximity between the two, and then throughout the countryside of Judea. Yet, in Galatians, in his own hand, Paul says that he did no missionary work the first time he went to Jerusalem (three years after the appearance of Jesus), and his face was not known in either Jerusalem or Judea before he returned once again fourteen years later. You do not say “First to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea.” if there is a significant hiatus between the two. Instead, as recorded in Galatians, Paul immediately begins his mission to the Gentiles, but this is merely an afterthought: “...and also to the gentiles.”

This author suggests that, when writing his letter to his flock in Galatia, Paul may have heard these fantastic stories about himself being propagated by the Jewish leaders and Jewish followers of Jesus. He explicitly included these statements to counter these lies. Paul is very insistent, on a number of occasions, that his gospel for the Gentiles is different and revealed from Jesus himself. His telling of his story in his letter to the congregations in Galatia emphasizes this. The stories told in the book of Acts integrate Paul into the missionary work and message of those who were already followers of Jesus, and thus, under the influence of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Remember that when Paul mentions the brevity of the first visit, he includes a significant exclamation:

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit [Peter] and stayed with him fifteen days,

but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord’s brother.

In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!

If these chronological and theological differences are insufficient, there is yet one more inconsistency between the three narratives in the book of Acts: Let us look at the three accounts of the appearance of Jesus:

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus,

suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ...

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.

...a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.

I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ...

Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.

When we had all fallen to the ground, ...

Who fell to the ground? Did those around him hear a voice or not? These are different stories. I saw one humorous apologist attempt to try to explain in the Greek why the two statements about a voice were not actually a contradiction, but the first clearly says that only Paul fell to the ground and that the other men were standing, the second again has Paul saying that he fell to the ground, but says nothing of the others. The third, however, says that all had fallen to the ground.

Additionally, in all of these stories in Acts, Paul only sees a light and then it only says that he heard a voice, but does not suggest that Paul saw anyone. Yet, so often, Paul himself indicates that he saw Jesus, for in 1 Corinthians 9:1-2, he says

“Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.”

It seems odd that in none of these tellings do they record that Paul saw Jesus, and instead, simply record that Paul saw a light, and Paul heard a voice. If Paul had actually expressed these words recorded in Acts, one would think he would emphasizes that he saw the resurrected Jesus.

Thus, Acts 26 does not resolve the issues in Acts 6 and 22, but rather, it exasperates them by adding additional variations to the stories, and all these stand in marked contrast to the words of Paul himself in a letter he penned to his followers in Galatia.

Summary

Like many other accounts in the gospels, the narratives telling the story of the appearance of Jesus to Paul and subsequent events simply cannot be reconciled. You can explain away this difference or that, and give the illusion that all the differences can be accounted for, but they simply cannot; they tell different stories, likely subject to the fact that many of these stories had been told and retold many times over the years. It is interesting that when Paul tells his story in his own hand, he emphatically writes, “In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!” Why would he say this so emphatically if he did not already believe there were reasons for his audience to disbelieve him? His story is in such stark contrast to all those in Acts (which don't agree amongst each other) that it may very well be these stories told in Acts that Paul is attempting to counter by giving a full account of the appearance of Jesus to him, him receiving his mission, and his subsequent journeys. Again, I don't write this to de-convert any true believer, for true believing fundamentalists will be firm in their faith, and they will claim that their ability to continue to believe despite such painfully obvious contradictions only strengthens their faith in Jesus. No, this is written for those who are interested in the various accounts in the Christian scriptures, for those who were fundamentalists and need help understanding that there are indeed serious issues with the scriptures, for Jews who may have Christians attempt to convince them that everything that the Tanakh says about a future messiah is wrong and that all references or non-references to a messiah actually prophesy Jesus, and for Muslims who know that Paul's Christianity is false, for Jesus did not die on the cross, and thus, a resurrected Jesus could not appear to him.