Paul recounts the story of how he joined Jesus' disciples. He talks about how he initially persecuted the church and had the approval of every Jewish high council to tie up and imprison any believer until their persecution. He tells them that he had orders from a high priest to tie up the believers in Damascus and bring them to Jerusalem. On the way, Paul was blinded by a bright light, and he heard a man ask why Paul persecuted him. When Paul asked who the man was, he said it was Jesus. The men around Paul had seen the light, but they did not understand what the voice said. On the other hand, Paul heard the voice tell him to wait in town for further instructions. While he was in town, Ananias came to him and restored his sight. Paul instantly believed and was baptized. Not long after the whole encounter, he fell into a trance and heard the Lord speak to him. God told him that he had to leave Jerusalem because the Jews heard about what had happened and plotted to kill him. Paul also heard that he was to be a great missionary who would spread the Good News to distant lands. At first, Paul says he had trouble believing what he heard because many people knew that he had arrested many believers and approved of the stoning of Stephen; however, the Lord told him that he would teach to the non-Jewish people. Up until that moment, the crowd had been silent, but that notion set them off and they went crazy: yelling for Paul's execution, throwing dirt, and taking off their coats. The guard took him inside and told the other guards to tie him up and question him while they beat him, but Paul asks how they can do this to a Roman citizen. The head guard has a bad feeling about it, so he asks his superior, who tells him that if the man is a Roman citizen, it would be illegal to tie him up and beat him. The head guard immediately has him untied.
Curiosity still got the better of the officer, so after he released Paul, he ordered the Jewish council to meet so that the guard could hear the charges the Jews brought against Paul.
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