The "unholy" apostle: why did Paul from a Pharisee become the best preacher of Christianity?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

This man never communicated with Jesus Christ during his earthly life and was not in the circle of the Savior's disciples. His biography contains many dark spots and very strange episodes. Why is it that it was the apostle Paul who eventually became one of the most revered authors of the New Testament?

In the past, it happened more than once that an ardent opponent of any doctrine subsequently turned into its zealous apologist. But the story of Saul of the city of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul, certainly stands apart. First, because the texts he wrote, which became part of the New Testament, became the foundation for all Christian theological thought. And secondly, because he went not just from an adversary to a supporter, but from a persecutor and executioner of Christians to a defender of the faith who was martyred for his convictions.

Pharisee from Cilicia

The future apostle was born into a noble family of Pharisees from Tarsus, the main city of Cilicia. From his very birth, he belonged to the elite, because he possessed the status of a Roman citizen - an honor that not all residents of the imperial provinces could boast of. He was raised in abundance, but at the same time in compliance with the strict traditions of Pharisaic piety. He received an excellent religious education, knew the Torah well and knew how to interpret it. It seemed that there was nothing ahead of him but a successful career.

According to some reports, Saul was even a member of the local Sanhedrin - the highest religious institution, which simultaneously served as a court. It was there that he first had to face the main ideological enemies of the Pharisees at that time - Christians. As befits a faithful follower of the Pharisee doctrine, he was actively involved in the persecution.

“This is what I did in Jerusalem: having received power from the high priests, I imprisoned many saints, and when they were killed, I gave a voice to it; and in all the synagogues I tortured them many times and forced them to blaspheme Jesus and, in an excessive rage against them, persecuted them even in foreign cities,”- such words of the future apostle are quoted in the Acts of the Holy Apostles. One of the most notable episodes was the participation of Saul in the fate of St. Stephen, who was stoned to death. He himself did not take part in the massacre, but did not try to stop the murderers and fully approved what was happening.

Saul's life changed dramatically on the way to Damascus, where he led a group of Christians to be punished. According to legend, he suddenly heard a voice saying: “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? After that, for three days he was struck by blindness, which only the Damascus Christian Ananias could heal. This was the end of the story of the Pharisee Saul and the beginning of the thorny path of the Apostle Paul.

Conflict of the pillars of faith

Immediately after his conversion, Paul began to actively preach Christianity. For 14 years he traveled around the world and talked about Christ in Arabia, Syria, Cilicia … Some time later, the Apostle Peter also arrived in Antioch (the capital of Syria at that time) - the "stone" on which Christ founded his church. And a serious conflict broke out between the two earnest preachers. An amazing thing - the former Pharisee, who has such grave sins behind him, was not afraid to accuse Peter of hypocrisy!

"… he said to Peter in front of everyone: if you, being a Jew, live in a pagan way, and not in a Jewish way, why do you force the Gentiles to live in a Jewish way?" - Paul himself tells about this in the Epistle to the Galatians. It was about the fact that Peter, preaching, did not always behave sincerely, trying at the same time to arouse the sympathy of the pagans, and not to incur condemnation from his co-religionists.

It is worth recalling here that Christians at first did not want to accept Paul, remembering his Pharisaic past. Actually, only the intercession of the apostles Barnabas and Peter helped him to become "one of our own" among those whom he had subjected to severe persecution yesterday. And now "in gratitude" he accused the eldest of the twelve apostles of hypocrisy! It is surprising that Paul dared to do this, and that it did not cause any criticism from Peter.

Paul's behavior is not difficult to explain. As you know, there is no fanatic more ardent than a neophyte. The enthusiasm of the newly converted Christian had not yet cooled down, and the obstacles that had to be constantly overcome on the path of this ministry only kindled the flame of faith in his soul more hotly. In addition, Paul clearly felt superior to most of the other apostles. Against the background of sincere but inept speeches of fishermen, tax collectors and pilgrims, the sermons of a professional theologian, who was fluent in the most complex issues of Torah interpretation, probably sounded more convincing and bright. It is possible that this gave Paul reason to consider himself better versed in matters of faith than his older, but less educated brethren. That is why he was not afraid to teach, sincerely believing that he knew "how it should be."

As for Peter, he had the wisdom not to argue with Paul, but to admit that he was right. After all, he, willingly or unwillingly, touched on the most painful topic - hypocrisy. Who else but Peter, who denied his Teacher three times in one night, knew the full power of this sin! Therefore, Peter humbled himself and did not object to Paul's accusations.

Missionary or traitor?

An interesting question is why the cruel Pharisee Saul suddenly turned into a fiery Christian Paul. The answer to this is again given in the text of the Acts of the Apostles. When God tells Ananias to go and heal Saul from blindness, he is so surprised that he even dares to contradict: “Lord! I heard from many about this man how much evil he did to your saints in Jerusalem. " But the Lord insists: "He is my chosen vessel to proclaim my name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel." And Ananias obeys.

For Saul, brought up on the Old Testament principles of "eye for an eye", the manifestation of mercy is something strange and unusual. It is not known what impressed him more: the manifest power of God or the behavior of Ananias, who, albeit in doubt, nevertheless came and healed the worst enemy of his brothers in faith.

Before the young Pharisee, who thought that he knew in every detail how the world works, a new reality suddenly opened up, built on different, already Christian values. This sudden change in the coordinate system made him convert to a new faith.

It was not in vain that God chose as a "vessel" such a person as Paul. Let us again recall his education and training. Now all these abilities have been used for the benefit of Christianity. That is why the words of the apostle Paul penetrated into every heart. And that is why he was heard in all parts of the earth, for which he was nicknamed "the apostle of the Gentiles."

He could preach twice as effectively as any Christian, because he knew in advance that the Pharisees might object to him. And therefore he emerged victorious from all disputes, thereby further angering his yesterday's comrades-in-arms.

That is why Paul suffered a tragic fate, like the other apostles. They could not forgive him for moving to another camp. The Jews wanted to kill him back in Damascus, right after the start of his sermon. But this plan failed.

In the end, the decisive word, as in the case of Jesus, came from Roman justice. Paul was executed in Rome under the emperor Nero. Moreover, as a Roman citizen, he was beheaded, not crucified. But the words spoken by him still live on.