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Lesson #20 - The Apostle Paul - Pt B
Series: The Fourteen ApostlesLESSON #20 – THE APOSTLE PAUL / Pt B
THE EARLY DAYS: PAUL BEFORE HIS CONVERSION TO CHRIST
QUESTIONS FOR DEEPER DISCUSSION
(1) Would it be fair to label Saul as a first-century terrorist?
~ Would he have been a first-century equivalent of a 21st century "radical jihadist"?
Philp.3:6 / as to zeal, a persecutor of the church...
Gal.1:13 / I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it.
Acts 22:4 / I persecuted this Way to the death...
Acts 26:9 / So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus.
~ Saul's fervor burned against all things related to Jesus and His church.
Thus, we find Saul in Acts 7:58 & 8:1, serving as the ringleader in orchestrating the stoning of Stephen.
Acts 8:3 adds: (He) began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women to prison..
Acts 9:1-2 records: Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priests and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if
he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Acts 26:11 states, I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme;
and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursing them even to foreign cities.
In 1Tim..1:13, Paul acknowledges being the foremost of sinners and describes his former life as a blasphemer,
a persecutor and a violent aggressor. He adds, that at that time he acted ignorantly in unbelief.
~ If Saul was not a terrorist of sorts, what more would he have needed to do to qualify as such?
(2) Was Saul a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin?
~ The Sanhedrin was comprised of 71 leading men among the Jews in Jerusalem.
Saul was “a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philp.3:5);
In Gal.2:14, he says of himself, I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries
among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.
As to executions Saul gave his approval saying, I cast my vote against them(Acts 7:58 & 8:1 with Acts 22:20 & 26:10).
~ Some contend that one had to be married to be a member of the Sanhedrin, but this claim is disputable.
It is possible that Saul had been married but was either widowed (1Cor.7:8) or his wife had left him.
1Cor.9:5 sounds as if the apostle Paul was not married at that particular point in time.
(3) Did Saul know Jesus of Nazareth?
~ Is seems likely that he would have seen or heard Jesus? Surely he must have “known of” Jesus.
Saul and Jesus were about the same age, with Saul being perhaps five or so years younger.
At some point (probably during his teen years) Saul was sent by his parents to be schooled in Jerusalem (Acts 26:4).
In Jerusalem, Saul was educated under Gamaliel, a grandson of the famous rabbi, Hillel (Acts 22:3).
Acts 9:1f indicates that he maintained a “working relationship” with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
~ One writer postulates (it is a guess at best) that Saul may have been among the scribes mentioned in Mk.12-27-34.
It's hard to imagine that Saul would neither have heard Jesus speak nor have witnessed His crucifixion. cf. 2Cor.5:16
(4) In what ways was Saul kicking against the goads?
~ In Acts 26:14, Paul recounts his conversion before King Agrippa noting that the heavenly voice (Jesus), said to him,
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.
~ In what way was Saul kicking against the goads? i.e., rejecting the leading (prodding) of God?
Did he hear Jesus and refuse to accept His message and miracles?
Did he observe and hear the preaching of the apostles and witness their signs only to turn away in unbelief?
Did he disregard the wise counsel of his former rabbi Gamaliel? cf. Acts 5:38-39
Did he ignore (repress) the manner in which Stephen died and the words he spoke while dying? cf. Acts 7:54-60
