Paul of Tarsus is a giant figure.
He was born about 10 A.D. in the capital of Cilicia, near the Mediterranean in southern Asia Minor.
Tarsus was one of the large cities of the times, a great commercial center with a population of probably 500,000.
After Alexander’s conquest, it became a largely Greek city with a thriving university. It also had a sizeable Jewish community.
Paul’s parents traced their lineage back to Benjamin, youngest son of Jacob.
He was first named Saul, after King Saul, but since the parents were Roman citizens they were also required to give him a Roman name, which was shortened to Paul.
We know he had at least one brother and perhaps other siblings.
He probably spoke Aramaic at home. He learned Greek in the city and Hebrew at the synagogue school.
In his youth he was wen trained as a Pharisee and thoroughly
versed in the interpretation of scripture; indeed he became a devotee of Pharisaic Judaism.
He had further training in Jerusalem, where he studied under Gamaliel, the leading rabbi of the day.
Because an rabbis were required to learn a trade so that they could support themselves, Paul became a tentmaker.
He first appears in the New Testament in Acts 7 as a witness at the stoning of Steven which, according to the account, “he consented to.” Most likely he was an active participant.
He became involved in the persecution of Christians, making every effort to apprehend them and to bring them to trial.
It was on a trip to Damascus to apprehend Christians there that he had his famous conversion experience.
Fonowing this he disappeared from sight for three years, probably into Arabia. He next appeared in Jerusalem as a devoted Christian, and then,
fonowing some dealings with the Christian authorities, began traveling as a missionary to the Gentiles.
There were three major recorded journeys.
Finany he was sent to Rome on a charge from Jerusalem and was eventuany martyred in Rome about 67 A.D.
During his missionary journeys he wrote numerous letters to the fledgling churches he had founded.
These letters make up a good portion of today’s New Testament.
Paul’s significance cannot be overestimated in the evolution and survival of
the Christian church.
Everything he accomplished and an the fruits of his historic work are rooted in one central event: Paul’s encounter with the numinosum on the road to Damascus.
Of this he wrote:
Paul of Tarsus 1
As for me, I once thought it was my duty to use every means to oppose the name of Jesus the Nazarene.
This I did in Jerusalem; I myself threw many of the saints into prison, acting on authority from the chief priests, and when they were sentenced
to death I cast my vote against them.
I often went round the synagogues inflicting penalties, trying in this way to force them to renounce their faith; my fury against them was so extreme that I even pursued them into foreign cities.
On one such expedition I was going to Damascus, armed with full powers and a commission from the chief priests, and at midday as I was on my way . . . I saw a light brighter than the sun come down from heaven.
It shone brilliantly round me and my fellow travelers.
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, kicking like this against the goad. ”
Then I said: Who are you, Lord? And the Lord answered, “I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me.
But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason: to appoint you as my servant and as witness of this vision in which you have seen me, and of others in which I shall appear to you.
I shall deliver you from the people and from the pagans, to whom I
am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may tum from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God, and receive, through faith in me, forgiveness of their sins and a share in the inheritance of the sanctified.”
“Get up now and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do. ”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but even with his eyes wide open he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus b the hand. For three days he was without his sight, and took neither food nor drink.
The fact is, brothers, and I want you to realize this, the Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learned only through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
You must have heard of my career as a practicing Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews of my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors.
Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s
womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans.
I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus.
Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [Peter ] and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the other apostles; I only saw James, the brother of the Lord, and I swear before God
that what I have just written is the literal truth.
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