Did Paul see a physical Jesus

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Phill

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When Saul was on the road to Damascus, he encountered the Lord. Was this encounter physical or merely spiritual? I recently was debating with someone on this topic, and they brought up many arguments I wasn’t familiar with; such as the similarities between paul’s encounter and Ezekiels vision. Paul admits he had a heavenly vision acts 26:19. There was a little bit more but those were the highlights.

So I guess my question is Did Paul see a physical resurrected Jesus or did he just have a spiritual vision and if it was a vision, does that hurt Christianity?
 
We do not know, the Bible does not specify it. However, the key issue is that a “real” encounter with the Lord, transforms people for the better, St. Paul’s conversion is solid proof of it.
 
Well, “merely spiritual” doesn’t do those experiences/revelations justice, as they’re incomparably profound and real.
 
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Phill said:
When Saul was on the road to Damascus, he encountered the Lord. Was this encounter physical or merely spiritual?
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There were elements of both.
  1. Some of the accompanying men also saw a light. Although they did not see Jesus.
  2. Others also heard the voice. But did not see Jesus.
  3. They all fell to the ground.
  4. Saul was blinded.
Acts 9: 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could see no one.

Acts 22:9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.

Acts 26:14 We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’[c]
I recently was debating with someone on this topic, and they brought up many arguments I wasn’t familiar with; such as the similarities between paul’s encounter and Ezekiels vision.
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Interesting. What are those?
Paul admits he had a heavenly vision acts 26:19. There was a little bit more but those were the highlights.
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So I guess my question is Did Paul see a physical resurrected Jesus
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Probably the same manifestation that the Apostles saw.

Luke 24:39Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”
or did he just have a spiritual vision
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Are you asking whether he only saw a spirit? Like a ghost?
and if it was a vision, does that hurt Christianity?
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Why would that hurt Christianity?
 
Didn’t all the apostles acknowledge Paul as an apostle, hence the name? If the requirement for being an apostle was seeing the risen Christ, I’m assuming that means he saw Him in the same way that Peter and John saw Him, and Peter and John definitely saw Him physically. That seems to check out with me.
 
This is an interesting question to me. What is certain is that Paul did experience Jesus physically and was inflicted with cataracts. “Seeing” Him is a very human and fleshy way of describing the indescribable to another human being. The question could be asked about everyone who saw Jesus after His resurrection from the tomb and on the road where He wasn’t immediately recognized. Jesus entered locked rooms and disappeared as He wished. Some disciples believed He was a ghost and Thomas was encouraged to validate his wounds in flesh to believe. I suspect that Jesus knew that all of humanity going forward would look to validate their faith in Him from the myopic human view and same perspective that He was expected to have when tempted.

Paul’s experience was profound both physically and spiritually. We can argue like Thomas about what “seeing” Jesus is but the discussion is akin to fish explaining what life on land is like without the experience. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. The road to Damascus event changed Paul’s humanity and faith in every possible way . The event didn’t hurt Christianity, it grew exponentially as Jesus surely knew it would when He chose Paul. Paul didn’t know what Jesus looked like and what’s more Paul had the hardest heart possible when he kicked against the goad. Paul’s experience is a milestone in our own life, Christian or not, and isn’t an existential question. Simply an understanding that we will all experience at some time.
 
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Phill said:
Did Paul see a physical resurrected Jesus
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Perhaps you can start with our understanding that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. Can his physical nature be separated from his spiritual nature? I think not. He is whole and undivided.

Therefore it must be that if Paul encountered Jesus at all, he encountered him both body and spirit.
 
DaveBj said:
He said that he did – 1 Cor. 9:1.
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He doesn’t specifically mentioned whether he met physical Jesus or spiritual Jesus from that passage. Nonetheless, thank you for pointing it out the passage.
 
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De_Maria said:
Interesting. What are those?
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Essentially it boils down to this:
  1. its a call vision
  2. it involves a bright light
  3. the person falls down
  4. a voice tells him to stand up
  5. charged with a specific mission to a group of people.
Using the verses to back up his claim

Ezekiel 1:4–5: And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself, and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire. And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man

Ezekiel 2:1–4 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak with thee. And the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet; and I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto this very day. And the children are impudent and stiffhearted: I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah

He compared that to the story told by paul in Acts.
De_Maria said:
Are you asking whether he only saw a spirit? Like a ghost?
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No i mean a spiritual vision, like something in his own head not something based in realitym
 
Phill said:
Essentially it boils down to this:…

He compared that to the story told by paul in Acts.
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Pretty cool.
No i mean a spiritual vision, like something in his own head not something based in realitym
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A vision in one’s own head does not necessarily mean that it is not based on reality. God reveals Himself anywhere He wants.

However, apparently, the men accompanying Saul also heard the voice or saw the light, so it wasn’t exclusively in his head.
 
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nfinke said:
Didn’t all the apostles acknowledge Paul as an apostle, hence the name? If the requirement for being an apostle was seeing the risen Christ, I’m assuming that means he saw Him in the same way that Peter and John saw Him, and Peter and John definitely saw Him physically. That seems to check out with me.
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See this was my whole point in the debate, but as i thought about it. If someone could prove that Paul’s experience was purly spiritual (aka a vision) and paul and the apostles equated their experiences with one another, what does that do for all the appearances.
 
Phill said:
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De_Maria:
However, apparently, the men accompanying Saul also heard the voice or saw the light, so it wasn’t exclusively in his head.
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However, Paul never claims that. Luke does.
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What do you mean?
 
De_Maria said:
What do you mean?
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And this could be my misunderstanding, but i think the only place where it’s talked about Paul’s companions experiencing the events was in Acts and Acts was written by Luke. Paul doesn’t seem to mention it in any of his epistles
 
I think the most likely answer is that it was an apparition.

Jesus appears physically in the Eucharist but otherwise he ascended bodily into Heaven.
 
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Phill said:
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De_Maria:
What do you mean?
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And this could be my misunderstanding, but i think the only place where it’s talked about Paul’s companions experiencing the events was in Acts and Acts was written by Luke. Paul doesn’t seem to mention it in any of his epistles
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So, you’re insinuating that St. Luke is not reporting what St. Paul actually said? Or, even worse, that he is making this up?

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1 Corinthians 15:3 [a]For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; 4 that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; 5 that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me.
 
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