#255: Paul's Thorn in the Flesh

Webster’s definition of the word “thorn”: 3) anything that keeps troubling, vexing, irritating one, like a constantly pricking thorn: usually in the phrase “thorn in one’s side” (or flesh). As to what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was—as described in 2nd Corinthians 12:7—other than a gnawing discomfort, it has been a puzzle for most who desire to have a clear-cut answer. And yet, there seemed to be no concise answer. Nevertheless, there are many pieces to that puzzle, and when those pieces are all coalesced, an answer seems to emerge. This subject may not interest many, but others would like a creditable answer to this intriguing question that has been no more than a poor case of mere speculation.

In this post, I will let the New Testament speak for itself. I will use over a dozen New Testament verses that are interconnected.

Paul was an extremely zealous Pharisee, a strict observer of the Mosaic Law, as were other Pharisees. His name was changed from Saul to Paul after he became a believer in Jesus Christ—a new life, a new name.

Before Paul’s conversion, as he was on the road to Damascus—Acts, 9th Chapter—he was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. In fact, he was going to Damascus to get permission from the high priest to imprison all who belonged to the Way (an early group of Jewish Christians). When Paul was nearing Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. The light was so brilliant that it blinded him, and he had to be led by the hand. Jesus spoke to him about what he must do to promote the cause of Jesus Christ. In short, that was the beginning of his conversion to Christianity. While in Damascus, a man named Ananias was commanded by a holy vision to place his hands on Paul’s eyes to restore his sight. Ananias replied, “This is the man that has done much harm to your saints.” Nevertheless, he placed his hands on Paul; then Paul could see again, but apparently his vision was still impaired to some degree.

Some believe it was Paul’s poor eyesight that was his thorn. There are three verses that imply that Paul’s eyesight was not the best.

Galatians 6:10. “You see what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand.”

Romans 16:22. “I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.” (He wrote the letter of Romans for Paul). Most likely, it was difficult for Paul to write.

Galatians 4:15. “I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.” Again, this implies that Paul’s eyes were impaired. Therefore, it is understandable why some believe it was Paul’s eyesight that was his thorn.

Another wild guess was that it was Paul’s wife that was his thorn, since he was away from home much of the time. Only thing, nowhere in Scripture does it give even a hint of Paul being married. This guess doesn’t pass “the smell test,” to say the least.

There is another train of thought that has been floating around—mostly by men—t, that turns my stomach. It is that Paul had a weakness when it came to sensual desires. This belief is farther from the truth than heaven is from hell. I am certain those who believe this way are the very ones who need an excuse to somehow justify their weakness when it comes to moral conduct. I will unequivocally refute that belief by bringing up two sections of Scripture.

First: 1st Corinthians, Chapter 7. In this chapter, he is giving instructions on how men and women must conduct themselves in marriage and its implications. Then he talks about how it would be better if they stay single, but if they can’t control themselves, to marry. Then, in verse 6, this is what he says: “I wish that all men were as I am.” The implication here is that he is single and has no need or desire for women or marriage. Never once in any of his letters to the churches is it even implied that he is a womanizer or that he is married.

Second: In Romans, 7th Chapter, are several of the most misunderstood verses in the complete New Testament; and that heresy has done more damage to Christianity than any other false teaching. I have been so upset about how this section of Scripture has been so perverted, that I wrote a complete post on this very section: # 130: “The Knack of Making Sin Acceptable.”

If one is not familiar with the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament, much of post #130 will sound like Greek. Not to confuse anyone, it might be best for some to skip this complex and extremely long post until better and more complete knowledge of what the Bible is about has been acquired.

I will summarize that complete post in a few concise sentences. In the Old Testament, some of the great prophets of God often use the personal pronouns “I,” “me,” or “my” to denote the nation of Israel, especially when Israel went astray from God’s commands. In that post, I quoted many of those Old Testament verses. That is exactly what Paul did; he spoke the same as Old Testament prophets, using the singular pronouns “I,” “me,” or “my” to refer to Israel. When people (Gentiles) who were/are not familiar/aware of that type of writing, they think Paul is writing about himself. Repeating: When Paul says “I,” “me,” or “my,” he, without a doubt, meant the nation of Israel. He starts in Romans, Chapter 7, verse 18 and ends in verse 20. Please read it for yourself. I will only quote verses 18-19. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, but the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.”

In conclusion to the three dubious theories of Paul’s thorn in the side, I now will display what, most certainly, is his thorn. First, I want everyone to imagine they did something that was very bad, and possibly, out of character; it was a very shameful and horrid act in your past life, something that adversely affected the lives of others in a very harmful way. You might have acted in innocence or you might have actually been malicious. Either way, you were completely forgiven. And even though you were forgiven, the memory and realistic images of the people you hurt or killed—like in an auto accident—are still constantly on your mind. You just can’t forgive yourself. This thought pattern torments you night and day. You just can’t get free of it.

Now, attempt to put yourself in the place of the Apostle Paul as a zealous Pharisee, before he was converted to Christianity. At this time, without his knowledge, Paul was doing Satan’s work in the name of Jehovah. This goes to show that religious people can unintentionally be on the evil one’s side. He sanctioned the execution of Stephen, one of God’s great holy men. He persecuted and put many who believed in Jesus Christ in jail, and had others put to death (Acts 22:4).

Let me quote a dozen or so verses, showing that after he became a Christian himself, the images of those He persecuted just wouldn’t go away; he just couldn’t get the hatred he had and all the harm he had done to the people he now loved out of his sight or off his mind. The reason this is evident is by the many times he brought up these painful incidents in his many letters to the churches. Those persecuted people are the very ones he lovingly dealt with after Jesus Christ made him the lead apostle in the difficult task of converting the Gentiles to Christianity.

Here are the verses that imply his past sins against Christ’s church continually haunted him, and this remorse is his thorn in the flesh. See if you don’t agree. The following is paraphrased from 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10. The reason Christ gave Paul this thorn—although Paul called it “a messenger of Satan”—is so he would not become conceited because of all the great work Christ was doing through him, and his surpassing great revelations from God. When Paul asked the Lord three times to take it away, the Lord said to him, “My GRACE is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” There is the clue: the word “grace.” Grace has to do mainly, if not exclusively, with forgiveness of past sins (being made acceptable and perfect in God’s sight). That tormenting guilt is exactly what he needed to keep him humble. That phrase “My grace is sufficient for you” implies that Paul’s feeling of remorse will/can never separate him from the love and need—yes, need—God has for him.

1 Timothy 1:15. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” Meaning: No one persecuted the early Christians more than him. He is still the chief of sinners; nevertheless, a forgiven chief of sinners.

Philippians 3:6. “. . . as for zeal, persecuted the church.”

Acts 22:4. “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their DEATH, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.”

1st Corinthians 15:9. “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

Acts 22:19-20. “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarded the clothes of those who were killing him.’”

Acts 8:3. “But Paul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.”

Galatians 1:13. “For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.”

1 Timothy 1:13. “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.”

Acts 9:1. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogue in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

That murderer, devoted to God’s law, who persecuted the Jews that he felt were violating what the old Testament Scripture commanded, was turned by Christ into a man, who in Romans 13:9-10, said this: “. . . Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” And He also said this in Romans 12:20: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink . . .”

You decide for yourself if the above verses are a legitimate reason for Paul’s thorn in the flesh (the vivid memories of past crimes against Jesus Christ). Leave me a comment.

I end with this conclusion: The crux of Paul’s thorn is twofold, showing us that no matter how bad or violent one’s past is/was, God’s grace and mercy can erase it all, although the memory may still haunt the individual. God’s grace and mercy are like getting a cheap piece of metal (lead) and turning it—“clash, bam, allacazam”—into a beautiful, shiny piece of valuable gold.

Also, when God blesses a person to do great work for Him, a thorn of some sort may be the best remedy to keep a person humble and void of conceit.