SAUL OF
THE UNLIKELY MISSIONARY
TO THE GENTILES
Introduction
He was the scourge of the newly formed early Christian church. By his own account, he was one of the most religious Jews ever. He was a real Pharisee. He hated Christians and had purposed in his heart to rid the world of these disgusting, anti-Jew Christ followers. He regularly persecuted Christians; dragging them into the street. He had them beaten, thrown in jail, and even killed. There would be no chance that Saul of Tarsus would ever bow the knee to the so-called Messiah and follow Him. But Jesus Christ had plans for Saul, and on the
The Early Years
Saul was born in
Because his father was a Pharisee, Saul grew up in a household that adhered to strict observance of Jewish laws and customs. Accordingly, Saul received detailed instruction in Jewish law from an early age, and he studied under the most respected rabbis in
As a young man, Saul scorned the pagan religions of the region, but was attracted to the Greek culture, which was the prevailing culture in the
As every young Jewish boy at the time had to learn a particular trade, Saul was taught to fashion tent material from goat’s hair or tanned goat skins. When he was 13, he left home for
As anyone could see, Saul was being groomed from an early age to strictly adhere to Jewish law, and would certainly reject any belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, but no one could predict the fervor with which Saul of Tarsus would go after this new found religion and its participants.
The Persecution
According to Saul’s later testimony, he grew up and assumed the position of a Pharisee with a “zeal” for the law in “Judaism”. The pre-conversion Saul was a zealot who in the model of the Macabees and Phinehas devoted himself to maintaining the integrity of the Jewish religion against the corruption of Hellenism. His goal would be to protect
As stated above, Saul stresses only his own initiative, (and thus his guilt), and mentions his basic reason for this, “as regards zeal, a persecutor of the church”. He persecuted the community as a Pharisee, in the firm conviction he was doing the right thing for God. He states in Galatians that he, “persecuted the
The Apostle Luke’s evidence is ambiguous at best, but gives Saul only a subordinate hand in the stoning of Stephen, however, the charge Saul levies against Stephen is that he is bringing blasphemous attacks against
In the persecutions that follow, he is known as the driving force. He arrests Christians in their homes, and as a judge gives a yes vote when it comes to their subsequent execution. He has them whipped and dragged out of their homes. He has them sentenced to prison on a routine basis. The Apostle actually says twice in his own story later recorded that he, “sought to destroy the community or the new faith”.[3]
With all this hatred for the new church, it would take a miracle for Saul of Tarsus to not only stop persecuting Christians, but actually take the gospel of Christ to the nation of Israel, much less the Gentiles. That’s where Jesus Christ comes in the picture.
The Road to
The reputation of Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of the Christian church was known far and wide. Saul had established himself as a man who would stop at nothing to destroy this rabble. But Jesus Christ had different plans for Saul, as given by his own testimony in Acts 22:
1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." 2When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: 3"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in
6"About noon as I came near
8" 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.
" 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 9My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
10"'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked.
"'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into
12"A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'[4]
Suddenly, the persecutor of the church became an apostle of Jesus Christ. As a zealot for the law, he was mid-course in checking a plague against the nation of
Saul of Tarsus, who is now referred to as Paul, is converted by a vision of the risen Christ Himself. He is then instructed, again by Christ Himself, to continue on to
In the words of the eighteenth century author, “the conversion and apostleship of
Paul’s Mission Field: The Gentiles
According to Acts chapter 22, Paul goes on to Damascus, and just as Christ said to him, Ananias meets him and says to him, “Brother Saul, receive your sight!” By Paul’s own testimony, it was like scales fell off of his eyes and he immediately gained his sight back. As he was praying in the temple, he fell into a great trance. The Lord told him at that time that he must leave
21"Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' "[7]
Following the orders of the Lord, Paul left the area and went to
Paul was taken before the Sanhedrin to answer for his story of what had happened to him. As Paul was giving his testimony, the high priest ordered him to be struck on the mouth. “3Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!"[10] After a huge argument breaks out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, they order the guard to take Paul by force to the barracks. It is here that Paul receives his orders to take the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. “11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in
“Paul’s call then is unique: he’s not only the “least of the apostles”, the “stillborn” child; he’s also the “last” of the apostles. Although every Christian is called, Paul is a “called apostle”, and thus the direct mediator of the gospel, and its authoritative interpreter. His call is unique in that he is not “sent out”, to the “circumcised”—like Peter—but to the “uncircumcised”. He is indeed the apostle to the Gentiles, commissioned to proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ to all nations—Jew and Gentile alike—which means that the gospel is “apart from the law.”[12]
“Some verbal communication, beyond the heavenly vision itself, is implied in Paul’s statement, “he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal His son in me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.” (Galatians 1:15)”[13]
The Court System
There was a rising tension in
Paul is then ordered to be scourged, until he makes it clear to a Roman Centurion that he is a Roman citizen. Once it is determined that Paul is indeed a Roman citizen, it starts the process of working him through the court system, which would lead all the way to Rome, just as the Lord had told him.
The Jews had formed a conspiracy amongst more that 40 men, that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. According to Acts 23, the plot was recognized, and the Roman Centurion ordered Paul to be taken to
“23Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, "Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen[b] to go to
25He wrote a letter as follows: 26Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings. 27This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. 30When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.
31So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. 32The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. 33When the cavalry arrived in
Paul is brought before Felix and his Jewish wife Drusilla. It’s made clear to Felix that the charges against Paul were spurious at best, but because he didn’t want to antagonize his Jewish subjects, Felix postpones a decision on Paul. Given the opportunity to speak before Felix, Paul seizes the moment and preaches in his presence about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. Upon hearing this message, Felix is terrified and dismisses Paul, but later gave him opportunity to bring a bribe for his release, which Paul does not do. After two years, Felix is summoned to
When Festus, the new governor of Caesarea arrived, he listened to the case against Paul and wanted him taken back to
In all of this, the will of Jesus Christ was being accomplished through the apostle Paul. Not only were the most famous and powerful Gentiles in the known world hearing the gospel of Christ, but the fame and message of Paul was going throughout the land as well.
When Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice came to the region for a visit, Festus presented them with Paul’s case as well, as Agrippa was an acknowledged expert in Jewish affairs. When Paul was permitted to speak before his royal audience, he gave a masterly exposition of the gospel and used the occasion to attempt to win Agrippa to Christ. Agrippa, being uncomfortable with Paul’s efforts, cut the meeting short; but said to Paul, “you almost persuade me.” Nonetheless, he declared Paul’s innocence to the governor, and Paul was sent to
Before Caesar
The apostle Paul actually appeared before Nero twice in his life. He was acquitted the first time and released. As he was allowed to roam as a free man, he used the opportunity to preach the gospel. He was eventually arrested and tried by Nero again, but this time was martyred. According to Doud, this time period played out as follows: “In Rome Paul dwelled in his own hired house under the supervision of a Prefect of the Praetorian Guard. He was permitted t o hold meetings, and he met with Jewish elders, winning some of them to Christ. This period lasted two years, during which he wrote Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians.
He was acquitted by Nero, so he was free to travel and did so. His visits were to Crete and to Asia Minor; and it is widely thought that he traveled in
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day."[19]
Summary of Paul’s Life
Saul of Tarsus was a zealot for God’s law. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees; a Jew among Jews. He hated the Christian church and with every fiber of his body wanted to stamp it out before it could get a foothold and tarnish the nation of
Through the will of Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit, Saul of Tarsus, now Paul was hand picked and trained by Christ to preach the gospel; and not to Paul’s beloved nation of
This one time zealous Pharisee had now seen the risen Christ and was a full fledged follower. After his conversion, Paul would be attributed with writing thirteen of the twenty seven New Testament books of the Bible. Through the power of Christ’s Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul single handedly did more to take the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles than any other person in history. Although he started out his life as an unlikely candidate, there’s no doubt that Saul of Tarsus was the most significant missionary of the gospel to the Gentiles.
Bibliography
Great People of the Bible and How They Lived, 1974 The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. pg. 404
Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of
Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, Frederick Bruce, 1977, Paternoster Press,
Paul and the New Perspective: Second Thoughts on the Origin of Paul’s Gospel, Seyoon Kim, 2002, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 255 Jefferson Ave, SE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 pg. 2
Paul the Apostle: the Triumph of God in Life and Thought, Johan Christiaan Beker, 1980, Fortress Press
The Apostle Paul: an introduction to his writings and teachings, Marion L. Soards, 1987, Paulist Press, 997 Macarthur Blvd.,
The Jews Against Pagans and Christians In the Roman Empire, Judith Lieu/John North/Tessa Rajak 1992 Routledge Publishing 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX144RN p. 44-46
The
The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1963, Zondervan Publishing House, 1415 Lake Drive, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Warren Doud, Grace Notes,
[1] Great People of the Bible and How They Lived, 1974 The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. pg. 404
[2] Paul and the New Perspective: Second Thoughts on the Origin of Paul’s Gospel, Seyoon Kim, 2002, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 255 Jefferson Ave, SE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 pg. 2
[3] The Jews Against Pagans and Christians In the Roman Empire, Judith Lieu/John North/Tessa Rajak 1992 Routledge Publishing 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX144RN p. 44-46
[4] The Book of Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 22 vv. 1-16 NIV
[5] Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, Frederick Bruce, 1977, Paternoster Press,
[6] Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of
[7] The Book of Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 22 vv. 19-21 NIV
[8] The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1963, Zondervan Publishing House, 1415 Lake Drive, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49506
[9] The Apostle Paul: an introduction to his writings and teachings, Marion L. Soards, 1987, Paulist Press,
[10] The Book of Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 23 vs. 3 NIV
[11] The Book of Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 23 vs. 11 NIV
[12] Paul the Apostle: the Triumph of God in Life and Thought, Johan Christiaan Beker, 1980, Fortress Press
[13] Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, Frederick Bruce, 1977, Paternoster Press,
[14] The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1963, Zondervan Publishing House, 1415 Lake Drive, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49506
[15] The Book of Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 23 vv.23-35 NIV
[16] The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1963, Zondervan Publishing House, 1415 Lake Drive, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49506
[17] The
[18] The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1963, Zondervan Publishing House, 1415 Lake Drive, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49506
[19] Warren Doud, Grace Notes,
