The Life of Paul The story of Paul begins in the Hall of Hewn Stone in the Temple in Jerusalem. Acts 6:12 So they stirred up the people and the elders

Session 1

The Life of PaulThe story of Paul begins in the Hall of Hewn Stone in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Acts 6:12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

The Life of PaulActs 6:13-15 - They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

The Life of PaulActs 7:54-57 - When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him …

The stoning of Stephen byJuan de Juanes

The Life of Paul Acts 7:58-8:1 - dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

The stoning of Stephen byJuan de Juanes

The Life of Paul Acts 7:58-8:1 - dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

Paul – The Early YearsNo one knows for sure when Paul was born. Based on Acts 7:58 (the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul) we tend to believe that Paul was 30 years old or slightly younger. Many scholars think he was born in 1 AD or thereabout.

The Greek word used here is neani,aj which denotes an adult male between the ages of 24 and 40 (BAGD, 534). Other understandings include a young man between the ages of puberty and marriage (Louw & Nida I.108).

Paul – The Early YearsWe do know that he was born in Tarsus in the Roman province of Cilicia.

Acts 22:3a - I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city (Jerusalem).

Paul – The Roman CitizenPaul was a Roman citizen.

Acts 22:25-29 - As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?" When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "This man is a Roman citizen." The commander went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes, I am," he answered. Then the commander said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship." "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied. Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.


This was a big deal because as a Roman citizen one had the following privileges:- One could hold office- One could vote in elections- One could make contracts legally enforceable throughout the empire- One could legally marry and (for men) be the legal head of the household- One could move to various parts of the empire without losing one’s citizenship- One was immune from certain taxes and tributes- One had the right to sue in a court of law and the privilege of being sued- One had the right to a legal trial (appear in court and defend oneself)- One had the right to appeal decisions of magistrates and lower courts- One could not be tortured or whipped- One could only receive capital punishment for treason- If one were condemned to death, one had the right to be tried in Rome and was

immune from crucifixion.


Typically Roman citizenship was granted to non-Romans for exemplary military serviceor for payment of a sizeable fee.

We have no clue as to how Paul’s family gained their Roman citizenship. We do know that Paul was born into citizenship (Acts 22:28).




I tend to believe that his family’s citizenship originated in the latter.

Paul’s family probably would not have been assimilated into Greco-Roman culture.

Philippians 3:4b-5 - If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel,

of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;




I tend to believe that his family’s citizenship originated in the latter.

Paul’s family probably would not have been assimilated into Greco-Roman culture.

Regardless of how it was obtained, being a Roman citizen in first century Tarsus placed one inside the social elite.

Paul – A Hebrew of HebrewsPhilippians 3:4b-5 - If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee …


First we read that he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.

Can you think of another biblical character from the same tribe?

King Saul

This may have something to do with his own name.Saul of Tarsus


This one phrase probably has more to say about who Paul was that any other sentence in all of Scripture.

Certainly it will color everything he says and does for the next thirty plus years.


A Hebrew of Hebrews tells us that Saul and his family were NOT assimilated, Hellenized Jews. Hey followed the traditional patterns, worshiped in Hebrew and spoke Aramaic at home.

Being a “Hebrew” Jew as opposed to a “Hellenized” Jew would have made Saul’s family a minority in Tarsus.


But who were the Pharisees?

Flavius Josephus (Antiquities) tells us that they appeared sometime around the middle of the second century before Christ.

While Josephus does not trace the spiritual lineage of the Pharisees, it is quite probable that they stem from the ranks of the Hasidim or “Godly ones” (1 Macc. 2:42; 7:14; etc.)

Their passion and raison d’etre was their devotion to the law of the Lord their God.


They deplored the inroads of Helenistic ways into Jewish life made under the control of the Seleucids and Ptolemies.

When Hellenism showed it’s ugly side under the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes the majority of the Palestinian Jews rejected Greek ways and applauded the efforts of the Hasmonaean family to separate from Seleucid (Greek) control.

While not necessarily political, the Pharisees became the champions of the masses.


The Pharisees were adamant to separate themselves from anything or anyone which might convey moral or ceremonial impurity.

Of particular importance was the care they took to observe Sabbath law, dietary restrictions, and the daily regimen.

They developed a body of interpretation and application which acquired a validity equal to that of Holy Writ.

The “oral law” was developed to adapt ancient prescriptions to the changing times and guard them against being dismissed as obsolete or impractical.


In Paul’s day, the Pharisees occupied seats in the Sanhedrin, but were a minority.

Locally, they banded together in groups called haburah.

Because of their meticulous concern for ritual purity, they could not easily associate with the general population.

On the other hand, those who chose to live in the Essene community of Qumran found the Pharisees to be exceedingly liberal.

Paul – The Early YearsThe Bible has absolutely nothing to say about Paul’s formative years. However, from what we do know, we can make a few informed assumptions about his life and his upbringing.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Deuteronomy 11:19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Taught by their fathers, many Jewish boys were somewhat literate by the age of five or six.

Paul – The Early YearsSaul’s formal education probably began in the local synagogue school right at home in Tarsus.

Here Saul learned the Scriptures by heart.

At an early age children had memorized the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9) and Psalms 113-118.

By the age of thirteen a Jewish boy in the first century AD was considered a man.

Today a thirteen year-old boy is considered an alien.

Paul – The Early Years

At the age of thirteen, he was considered a Son of the Law. This meant that each morning, he put on

phylacteries (nlipite) during his morning prayers.

This was done to a precise ritual. If he were to be interrupted during the process, he would have begun all over again.

Deuteronomy 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Paul – The Early YearsOne of the phylacteries was worn on the left arm which is generally the weaker and closer to the heart.

The word of God protects us in our weakness.

As he wound the straps of the phylactery around his arm, he would have been reminded how he as a Jew was bound, heart and soul, to God and God’s law.

Phylacteries were worn from the time there was enough light to see a person from a distance of four cubits (about 6 feet).

Paul – The Early YearsApparently Saul was a gifted student. Sometime around his thirteenth year, his father sent him off to Jerusalem to study under the famous rabbi – Gamaliel.

Saul would have traveled with a companion first by boat from Tarsus to Caesarea on the Judean Coast.

From there it was a 30+ mile trip by donkey to Jerusalem.

Paul – The Early YearsAnd then they would set their eyes on the City of David – Jerusalem.

Paul – The Early YearsAnd then they would set their eyes on the City of David – Jerusalem.

And finally to the Temple.

Paul – The Early YearsSaul grew and studied under Gamaliel until he was a young man.

At some point he left Jerusalem and (probably) returned home to Tarsus to work in his father’s business and search for a place to serve.

Throughout his life, Saul sought to obey the Law and keep the commandments.

The life of a PhariseeNearly every waking moment was governed by some form of ritual.

From the time he awoke Saul’s first words were determined by the Law.

On which side of the bed he arose.The order in which he put on his clothes.How he washed his hands before breakfast.He always ate slowly and NEVER in a standing position.

At night ritual determined how he undressed.He lay down on his left side and attempted to awake on his right.He tried not to toss and turn at night – that’s sinful.

The life of a PhariseeNearly every waking moment was governed by some form of ritual.

On Friday evening he would cut his fingernails and toenails. Not sequentially but alternately. Then trimmings were then burned.

He was always careful not to violate any Sabbath restrictions:He could not spit in such a manner that the wind might

scatter the saliva and thereby be considered sowing.

Isaiah 56:2 - Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

Saul the PhariseeLiving as a Pharisee, do you think Saul was a happy man?

The life of a PhariseeLiving as a Pharisee, do you think Saul was a happy man?

All of this I mention so that we may have an appreciation for what a first century Pharisee believed and how that belief worked its way out in his life.

Now that we have this understanding, think of how much of a life change Saul/Paul experienced on the road to Damascus.

Documents

The Life of Paul The story of Paul begins in the Hall of Hewn Stone in the Temple in Jerusalem. Acts 6:12 So they stirred up the people and the elders