Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. His life was termed turbulent; his attitude โ mad, bad and perilous.
He lived by the sword and was apparently prosecuted for having carried one in public without a license. With the eventual death sentence hanging round his neck, he flees from Rome to Naples, Sicily and Malta. Thanks to his powerful Roman lobby, in the summer of he receives a pardon for his crime.
As he sails northwards towards Rome the news of his sudden spasmodic death spreads throughout the region. The cause was cited to be fever but later argued to be a murder. Saul, a fiery Pharisee, loved the law and in faithfulness lived by it. Like his co-patriots, he too awaited with great hope the coming of a powerful Messiah who would save His people from the pagan yoke. The Christian concept of the suffering and crucified Messiah did not appeal to him.
He could neither comprehend nor accept the new found Way. In fact he loathed and questioned it. As curiosity seized his conscience, his soul suffered in chaos. In determination to preserve the purity of the Messaianic ideal, Saul began a series of hateful persecutions. Breathing murderous threats, he galloped off to Damascus to pursue and secure the truth.
But the Truth he sought, seized and secured him. God changed the hateful man who in turn changed the history of the world. Phil Caravaggio captures this overpowering, world-changing phenomenon with absolute vehemence. Eliminating the extras, the artist lets darkness pervade his canvas. It leads us to the essential and the intimate encounter between Paul and Christ.
