Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 9:8

"And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing; and they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus." — Acts 9:8 (ASV)

He saw no man.—The blindness was that of one who has been dazzled with excess of light , the natural result of the vision of the supernatural glory, a witness to the man himself that the vision was not a mere play of imagination.

Traces of its permanent effect on his powers of sight have been found in his habit of dictating rather than writing letters (see Note on 2 Thessalonians 3:17), in the large characters traced by him when he did write (see Note on Galatians 6:11), and in his not recognizing the high priest who commanded him to be struck (See Notes on Acts 23:2-5).

Of the many theories about the mysterious “thorn in the flesh” (see Note on 2 Corinthians 12:7), there seems most reason for accepting the one that connects it with some affection of the eyes, perhaps involving attacks of agonizing pain.

On this assumption, the eager wish of the Galatians, if it had been possible to have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him, receives a special and interesting significance (See Note on Galatians 4:15).

For Saul himself, the blindness may well have had a spiritual significance. He had looked on himself as “a guide of the blind,” boasting that he saw clearly (Romans 2:19). Now, for a time, until inward and outward light should shine in on him, he had to accept his blindness. The new-born soul had to be as

“An infant crying for the light,
And with no language but a cry.”

They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.—The mission on which Saul had come was already known at Damascus, and his arrival expected with alarm. Now he came, and the mission fell to the ground. The letters to the synagogues were not delivered.