The Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul was born around the year of 3 A.D. in the Jewish community of Tarsus. When he was born, his strict Pharisee parents dedicated him to the service of God and did all they could to bring him up as good Jew. From age five to ten he studied under his father, a Jewish Pharisee. His father taught him the scriptures and traditional writing. Paul was sent to Jerusalem at about ten years old to attend the rabbinical school of Gamaliel. Gamaliel was the most famous rabbi who is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 5:34). Gamaliel soon discovered Saul was an enthusiastic student and expected great things from him. He felt that he would be a great leader. Saul was dedicated in all his learning that he
…show more content…
All true Jews accused Him as enemy of Israel. Saul believed that anyone who followed Jesus should be put to death. With this thought in mind he returned to Jerusalem and offered his service to the high priest to persecute anyone who is opposed to the way of the synagogue. Saul took his job so fiercely that every worshipping assembly feared his name. He had a temper and was merciless. He was quick to punish. Saul literally dragged believers, cast them into prison, and sentenced them to death. Angered by his futile efforts to stop the spread of Christianity, Saul prepared a trip to Damascus, where he had heard many Christians were hiding. Not only were they hiding, they were also preaching Christ in the synagogues there. So, accompanied by a troop of armed temple guards, Saul rode out of Jerusalem to the city of Damascus. As they neared the outer edge of the city, a shaft of light much brighter than the noonday sun suddenly fell upon the little company. The group fell to the ground trying to protect their eyes from the blinding light. A voice from heaven spoke to Saul.
"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"(Acts 9:4). Then Saul asked, "Who are you Lord?"(Acts 9:5) The voice replied, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute"(Acts 9:5). Then Saul asked what he should do. Jesus answered "But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do (Acts 9:6). Saul was blinded for
According to a study by Brown, the apostle Paul was likely born in approximately 5 to 10 AD which was during the reign of the emperor Augustus . Paul was a melting pot of several different cultures. At the time, the Hellenistic movement was sweeping the Roman empire; thus the Greek and Roman cultures both had their influences on citizens. So, too, Paul’s parents were of Jewish descent; while he was young, they sent him to Jerusalem to study under a Pharisaic instructor . The intermingling of a multiplicity of cultures renders Paul a very diverse teacher.
Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus) is widely considered to be central to the early development and adoption of Christianity. Many Christians view him as an important interpreter of the teachings of Jesus. Little is known of the birth and early childhood of Paul, then known as Saul. It is known in the scriptures that he was born in the city of Tarsus (Acts 22:3) located in the Roman province of Cilicia around the year 5 A.D. Saul left his home during his early adolescence and was taken to Jerusalem for his formal education in the most prominent rabbinical schools of that day. Young Saul had the privilege to be trained by Gamaliel, the most outstanding
Paul was born with the name of Saul, in Tarsus of Cilicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He was born both a
He has fought, wrestled long and hard to get to this place as his last few days of his life are now coming to an end. Tired of wrestling with in his self as sleepless nights take their toll on him, on the run he has to end of this madness. General’s today, one can look at various battles and from a battle plan. They know what it takes to end them, who to send where men, targets to bomb, etc. So it was with Saul he finally came to the point that he has to talk to God. He knows the battle plan for this pending battle this quickly approaching. The armies were all ready there waiting to go and destroy Saul and his armies. When all else falls go back to square one and Saul square on like so many today is to go here from God.
He shows he is weak and not ready to lead. (1 Samuel 9:21). Saul even hides when he is supposed to show himself to the Israelites as the chosen King (1 Samuel 11: 22). Although Saul knows that he cannot lead, he has no choice, he has to follow the Lord’s order. At last, God realizes that Saul was indeed not a leader-type person and chooses another person. God must have known that people are not forced to be leaders, but they themselves should be aware of the ability to be leaders.
While David was a king of God so to say, Saul was a king of man. Both had different desires in what they wanted. David was after God's own heart while Saul was after the praise of his people. Saul was cruel and unforgiving and therefore was separated from God. 1 Samuel 20: 30-32 is a good example of Saul's harsh behavior. "
He was first named Saul, but God had greater plans for him to be a leader to his people so a conversion took place. The conversion of Saul begins while he is on the road to Damascus, "suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him [and] he fell to the ground" (Acts 9:3–4), [the light was] "brighter than the sun" (Acts 26:13) and he was then blinded for three days (Acts 9:9). While he was blinded, he heard a voice in Hebrew which translates to "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads" (Acts 26:14–15). After this encounter, Saul’s blindness was cured by one of Jesus’ disciples, Ananias. His blindness was referred to as “something like scales” upon his eyes until he was then baptized. After Saul’s conversion to Christianity, he changed his identity to Paul because he was no longer a persecutor of Christianity named Saul. Saul was now was a believer and follower of Christ named Paul. He became a powerful leader in Acts. One that Christians should consider a role model because he led his people so powerfully and accomplished the future God wanted for him.
Acts 22:4-16; 26:9-18). This revelation converted Paul to Christianity. According to our text, God blinded Paul during his revelation, and he did not regain his vision until he arrived at Damascus. Once he reached his destination, a man named Ananias baptized Paul to make his new faith official. According to Paul, God also summoned Paul to become an apostle during his revelation to Paul. As Brittany Wilson points out in her journal article “The Blinding of Paul and the Power of God: Masculinity, Sight, and Self-Control in Acts 9”, the reason for God’s blinding Paul is to make him unmanly. Brittany Wilson also exploits the idea that not being in control was unmanly, and Paul was under the control of God. He was blind for three days on his journey and this blindness made Paul become dependent on others for
Saul perused David looking to kill him but God continued to protect David. When given the chance, David refused to kill Saul in the cave of En Gedi. Even after Saul’s death David treated Saul with the respect deserving of one of the Lord’s anointed.
Saul had previously wiped out all of the mediums and wizards from the land because they were evil in the eyes of Yahweh. Because of his realized hypocrisy, he disguised himself and visited the medium his servants had sought out in Endor. He told the medium to call upon Samuel and so she immediately suspected that he is Saul. She knew that her work was extremely illegal by Saul's court, so she became afraid until he reassured her that he was permitting the act in that occasion. She then called upon Samuel. Samuel apparently took over the medium's body or appears in some other way to Saul. So Saul did what he came there for and asked for advise on his latest predicament. The irritated and disturbed Samuel explained that Yahweh is taking away his kingdom and giving it to David because of his disobedience of not carrying out the Lord's punishment against the Amalekites (according to Mc Carter the dead had some way of knowing God's plans and had access to them). So, Saul fell to the ground in anguish from the news and lack of energy caused by fasting. The medium quickly attended to him and forced him to eat. Saul and his servants then left. And there the chapter ends.
When Saul and his servant came across Prophet Samuel’s path they caught each other’s attention. The
The Apostle Paul (formerly Saul) is responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the areas of Asia Minor and Greece. Through his 3 mission trips to the region Paul created a base of support for the Christian faith and implemented a support strategy for future growth. The time period for his journeys was 45 AD – 58 AD. The story of Paul is interesting from the perspective that the man best known as the author of most of the New Testament started out as a devout Jew and despised the Christian faith. After his conversion he made it his life’s work to spread the Christian message throughout the world. To this end, Paul made several mission trips to the area of Asia Minor and Greece.
Apostle Paul was not always a preacher of Christianity, Paul’s parents were Jewish as well as Roman citizens. Paul was to be a Rabbi though his future plans changed, on Paul’s journey of scorning Jesus, he had a vision in which Jesus asked why Paul scorns him, then commissions Paul to preach his message to the Gentiles who received mercy through Jewish unbelief. Around A.D. 56-58; Apostle Paul wrote the Romans, verses 8:26-30 states, “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Paul whose name was Saul was an early Christian missionary and theologian, known as the Apostle to the Gentiles was born a Jew in Tarsus, Rome. As a minor, he was trained as a rabbi but earned his living as a tentmaker. A zealous Pharisee, he persecuted the first Christians until a vision of Jesus, experienced while on the road to Damascus, converted him to Christianity. Three years later he met St. Peter and Jesus ' brother James and was henceforth recognized as the 13th Apostle. From his base in Antioch, he traveled widely, preaching to the Gentiles. By asserting that non-Jewish disciples of Christ did not have to observe Jewish law, he helped to establish
In The Bible there are multiple ideal societies which are presented, each denoted by the God's approval of that society and its leader. One of these societies is that portrayed in the story of Saul. In this story Samuel, a prophet of God, is given the task of revealing Saul, the ruler who is specified