Paul and his journeys
His Journeys to “tell all the Nations.”
Who is Paul?
• Paul is one of the most famous
apostles
• He never witnessed any of
Jesus’ miracles or listened to
any of his sermons.
• He never met Jesus when Jesus
was physically alive.
• Paul is one of the major
pioneers of Christianity.
• His original name was Saul
– a Hebrew name
• after the King Saul.
– The date of Paul’s birth is
unknown.
• According to Acts, we are told that he
was called Saul prior to his conversion.
– Paul never uses this name in his
letters.
• His family tree goes all the way back to
Benjamin,
– the tribe from which the first king
emerged.
– Being from the tribe of Benjamin,
was significant for Paul.
– He believed that “just as Benjamin
was the youngest son of Jacob, so
Paul received his revelation from
the Lord as the last and ‘least
among the apostles.’”
Paul the Jew
• In Phil. 3:5-6, Paul describes his
origins,
– “circumcised on the eighth day,
a member of the people of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as
to the law, a Pharisee”
– he is devoted to his traditions
– zealot of the Torah, which led
him to persecute the church.
• The Pharisees were the strictest
sect
– they were the most educated
among the Jews and unrivalled
interpreters of the Torah.
– The mark of the Pharisees was
that they possessed exact
knowledge and observed their
tradition.
– They were also loyal to their
tradition.
Paul’s education
• Paul went to school in
Jerusalem
– Had a roman citizenship
•
•
•
•
•
– where he received Greek
and Jewish education.
Paul was about thirteen years
old when he went to Jerusalem
to study.
His first language was Aramaic
and learned Greek.
Paul’s profession was to
become a scribe
The scribe was, either at the
same time or by turns,
advocate and attorney,
magistrate and jurist, counselor
and preacher, lawyer and
churchman, man of letter,
rhetorician, and grammarian.”
Studied under Gamaliel
• Paul was not married because he
chose not to.
• He probably believed that a family
could impede him to serve God as he
wanted to because a family requires
time and dedication.
• Theologians argue that Paul probably
had a wife and children but there is
not evidence to prove this theory.
• Theologians say that Paul never
mentions his family because they
probably “perished in an accident so
traumatic that he sealed off their
memory for ever.
– It was too painful to be revisited,
and too sacred to be disclosed to
others.”
– “In any case, Paul never
remarried.”
• Evidence is ambiguous as to whether
he ever married
Married?
Paul the City Dweller
• Unlike Jesus, whose
ministry was in the
agricultural centers of
Palestine, Paul’s ministry
took place in the urban
centers of the Roman
Empire.
• Paul preached in cities
where he competed with
the temples of Zeus,
Athena, Apollo and the
Emperor (imperial cult)
Paul – Apostle to the Gentiles
• After his conversion,
– Paul spent 3 years in the Syrian
desert, southeast of Damascus
– It is not known exactly what Paul
did, but it is likely that he prayed,
studied Torah, reflected on the
ministry of Jesus and the Christian
community
– Returned to Damascus
– Preached to Jews there
• Message overwhelmed audience
• Wanted Paul arrested
– Paul’s friends
• put him in a basket and
• lowered him over the wall to
escape
Paul – Apostle to the Gentiles
• Went to Jerusalem
• Hung out with Peter
and James for 2 weeks
• Again, incited anger
against himself
• Had to flee
• Ended up in Antioch
Antioch
• Followers of the Way fled Jerusalem to Antioch to
avoid persecution
– Jews were not looked at favorably by Jerusalem
– 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire
• The church of Antioch
– Two important churches: Jerusalem and Antioch
– The church of Antioch is a mixed community – Jewish and
Gentiles
– 1st church to be called “Christian”
– More “liberal” about converts- that is Gentiles allowing
them into the church without requiring them to become
Jews first
Three Missionary Journeys
• Paul made 3 missionary journeys
over a ten year period.
• The details of his first journey are
covered in chapters 13-14
• The second journey is reported in
chapter 16-18.
• The third journey is described in
chapter 19-21
– He visited and established
communities to give them guidance
and support.
– The last journey landed him
back in Jerusalem, where
some Jews had him arrested.
Paul’s First Missionary Journey
• Paul and Barnabas are a
team
• They are in Antioch
• They learned of trouble
stirring in Jerusalem:
– It was 50 CE
– The trouble was: should
Gentiles become Jewish?
The Jerusalem Church
• Certain Followers of the Way
insisted that all Gentiles
– be circumcised and
– keep the 613 Laws of Moses
• James is leader
• relative of Jesus
• named head of the
Jerusalem community in
the absence of Peter (not
the James whom Herod
killed)
•
•
•
To find a solution to the problem a
council was called: the Council of
Jerusalem: Does a convert to The
Way need to be circumcised,
baptized and follow the 613 Laws of
Moses?
See Acts 15:1-21
COUNCIL ACT.
– First major church council
– Peter answered
•
•
•
•
God gave the gentiles the Holy Spirit
Their faith cleansed their hearts
God made no distinction
Neither our ancestors nor we could
uphold all the laws
• Salvation is through the grace of the
Lord Jesus
– Paul and Barnabas agreed
– James said
• Gentiles OK but
• They must abstain from 3 things
– Food sacrificed to idols
– Meat not killed in a kosher way “strangled” and w/any blood left
– Fornication (sex outside of
marriage)