What does Acts 9:6 mean?

On his way to Damascus to arrest Jesus-followers, Saul has been thrown to the ground. He is surrounded by a great light and hears an insistent voice claiming to be that of Jesus, demanding to know why Saul is persecuting Him (Acts 9:1–5). Saul's traveling companions see the light and hear a noise, but they cannot see the speaker or understand the words (Acts 9:7; 22:9). Saul, however, hears Jesus clearly. Jesus will rescue Saul, a devout Jew (Philippians 3:4–6), from the Jewish leaders and send him to be Jesus' witness to the Gentiles (Acts 26:16–18). First, Saul must go into the city and wait for Jesus' messenger.

By the time Jesus is finished, Saul is blind. He takes the hand of one of his companions and enters Damascus where he waits and fasts for three days. A follower of Jesus, named Ananias, comes at God's command. Saul becomes the very thing he'd hated just days before: a believer that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah (Acts 9:9–19).

It's interesting how much Saul's experience parallels Cornelius' (Acts 10). In both cases, God prepares the two men and tells them what to do (see Acts 10:1–8). Then He prepares His evangelists, Ananias (Acts 9:10–16) and Peter (Acts 10:9–23). Both Ananias and Peter are reluctant, and God reassures them of His plan. Their obedience results in two major steps in the spread of the gospel. Cornelius' conversion convinces Peter and the other apostles that Gentiles can follow Christ. Saul's conversion prepares him to be the primary evangelist to the Gentiles.