8. excursus, a portrait of st. paul

The Bible with Dr. Bill Creasy

Acts

Lesson #8Excursus: A Portrait of St. Paul

Excursus, A Portrait of St. Paul1 Review

We first met Saul at the stoning of Stephen, where he supervised Stevens murder. On that same day, Saul began trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment (8: 3). As we entered Lesson #7 we learned that Saul, still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains (9: 1-2).

Sauls dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus transformed him from Saul, the greatest of sinners (1 Timothy 1: 15), to Paul, the greatest of saints. But the transformation didnt take place overnight. After his conversion, Saul still had a long way to go.

Excursus, A Portrait of St. Paul2 Preview

Lesson #8 offers an excursus, an exploration of Saul of Tarsus, later known as St. Paul. Who was he? Where did he come from? What was his background? Why was he in Jerusalem? What were his motives for hating Christ?

Excursus, A Portrait of St. Paul3

Rembrandt. The Apostle Paul (oil on canvas), 1657.National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

4Excursus, A Portrait of St. Paul

When St. Paul is arrested in Jerusalem in A.D. 57, charged with inciting a riot and mistakenly identified as an Egyptian terrorist, he replies indignantly: I am Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city (Acts 21: 39). Later, when he is about to be flogged, Paul asserts his Roman citizenship again in no uncertain terms, prompting an exchange with the Roman commander:

Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? Yes, I am, [Paul] answered. Then the commander said, I had to pay a big price for my citizenship.

But I was born a citizen, Paul replied.

(Acts 22: 27-28)


These two scenes speak volumes about St. Paul, and they tempt us to explore Pauls background in more depth. What do we really know about Paul, and what informed assumptions might we make about Pauls early, formative years?


Not me.

Excursus, A Portrait of St. Paul Im a little afraid of him!7Ive always liked St. Paul, but I know that many people have difficulty with him. He could certainly be a curmudgeon . . . and he didnt suffer fools gladly. He is surely one of the most complex personalities in Scripture.


In St. Pauls day Tarsus was the leading city on the fertile plain of East Cilicia, located about ten miles from the mouth of the Cyndus River and about thirty miles south of the Cilician Gates.


10Excursus, A Portrait of St. Paul Tarsus

11Excursus, A Portrait of St. PaulPhotography by Ana Maria VargasA Roman street from the Tarsus of St. Pauls day.

12Excursus, A Portrait of St. PaulPhotography by Ana Maria Vargas

Strolling down a modern street in Tarsus.

13Excursus, A Portrait of St. PaulPhotography by Ana Maria VargasLocal school girls stop for a photo and to say hello!


Tarsus came under Roman rule as a result of Pompeys victories, becoming the capital of Cilicia and retaining its autonomy as a free city (67 B.C.). Cicero resided in Tarsus while serving as procounsul of Cilicia (51-50 B.C.), and Julius Caesar visited the city in 47 B.C.

After Caesars assassination in 44 B.C., Tarsus enjoyed the favor of Antony, and it was in Tarsus in 41 B.C. that the celebrated meeting between Antony and Cleopatra took place. Shakespeare describes the meeting best, as Cleopatras barge glides up the Cyndus River:


The barge she sat in, like a burnishd throne,Burnt on the water. The poop was beaten gold,Purple the sails, and so perfumed thatThe winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver,Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and madeThe water which they beat to follow faster,As amorous of their strokes. For her own person,It beggard all description: she did lieIn her pavilioncloth of gold, of tissueOer-picturing that Venus where we seeThe fancy outwork nature. On each side herStood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids,With divers-colord fans, whose wind did seem to [glow] the delicate cheeks which they did cool,And what they undid did.(Antony and Cleopatra, II, ii, 191-204)

16Excursus, A Portrait of St. PaulPhotography by Ana Maria VargasThe Cyndus River, just outside of town.


During the reign of Caesar Augustus (27 B.C. A.D. 14) Tarsus enjoyed enormous privileges, including exemption from imperial taxation. An extremely prosperous city, Tarsus derived its wealth from the fertile plain on which it was located.

Strabo, the Greek historian, geographer and philosopher writes in his Geography (xiv, 5. 12ff.) that Tarsus was a leading cultural and educational center, surpassing even Athens and Alexandria. Its people, he says, were avid in their pursuit of culture, applying themselves to the study of philosophy, literature, music and the whole round of liberal arts.


When Paul claims to be a citizen of no ordinary city, he certainly has justification for doing so.

And as one born a citizen Paul necessarily came from a well-to-do family. Roman citizenship was originally confined to freeborn natives of Rome, but as the Empire expanded citizenship was extended to other people in the provinces. Presumably, Pauls father, grandfather or even great-grandfather had acquired Roman citizenship, either by making a significant contribution to the Roman Empire (militarily, or more likely, economically), or by purchasing Roman citizenship through political connections and cash.


In addition, Dio Chrysostom, in his Oration (34, 23) tells us that enrolling as a Roman citizen in Tarsus required owning property in excess of 500 drachmaenot an easy threshold to meet.

Pauls family clearly had both money and status.

Not me.

Excursus, A Portrait of St. Paul

I always thought the early Christians were poor!I didnt know that Tarsus was such an important city and cultural Mecca, and I sure didnt know that St. Paul came from a wealthy, prominent family. I wonder what his education was like?20


Although nothing suggests that Pauls family were assimilated Jews (quite the contrary, Paul claims to be a Hebrew [born] of Hebrews; in regard to the Law, a PhariseePhilippians 3: 5), Paul was deeply exposed to Greco-Roman culture and Roman education. Pauls letters evidence considerable training in classical rhetoric, and when he speaks at the Areopagus in Athens he supports his argument by deftly quoting from the 6th-century B.C. Cretan poet Epimenides (Acts 17: 28), a favorite of the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers to whom he is speaking.

Paul most certainly knew his classical literature.


In St. Pauls day, children of well-to-do families were taught by private tutors or at private schools. Primary education focused on the basics of reading and writing, using Roman literary works, especially poetry, as models. Between nine and twelve years old, students from affluent families would leave their primary education and continue the advanced study of Greek and hone their speaking and writing skills. At 14 or 15 years old the most promising students then focused on the study of deliberative or judicial rhetoric. Such boys were from exclusive, wealthy families and were being groomed for the highest levels of public office and commerce.


One can only speculate on what level St. Paul reached, although clearly he is highly skilled in Greek rhetoric, easily adapting his speech and writing to his audience, suggesting he had reached a very high educational level.

Not me.


Im glad he made a better career choice!It seems to me that St. Paul had a superb classical education, one that groomed him for a brilliant career in law or politics.24


At some point in Pauls education his family sent him to Jerusalem (accompanied perhaps by his sistersee Acts 23: 16) for advanced religious study. Like all Jewish boys, Paul had been well schooled in Scripture and Oral Law at the local synagogue, but once in Jerusalem Paul became a student of the greatest Rabbi of his century, Gamaliel (Acts 22: 3).

The grandson of the great Hillel, Gamaliel was a leader of the Sanhedrin and possibly its President. Only the brightest and most promising student could possibly secure a position under such a man.

Not me.


I wonder what St. Pauls IQ was?Paul traveling from Tarsus to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel is like Beethoven traveling from Bonn to Vienna to study under Joseph Haydn, or like a newly minted Cal Tech Ph.D. in physics traveling from Pasadena to Cambridge for a post-doctorial fellowship under Stephen Hawking. 26


Paul had an extraordinary education, available only to the brilliant son of a wealthy and influential family. Born into privilege as a Jew and a Roman citizen, Paul was steeped in both secular and religious education; he was fluent in at least four languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin; he was being groomed for leadership in the Sanhedrin; and he was absolutely committed to his beliefs.

F.F. Bruce writes that even if the events on the road to Damascus had never happened, history would still know of Saul of Tarsus: he was destined for greatness.

Not me.


What Moses was to the Old Testament, St. Paul is to the New!In that way, St. Paul was similar to Moses. Moses was also brought up in a privileged family as the adopted grandson of Pharaoh, and as St. Stephen said, he was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in words and deeds (Acts 7: 22).28

How did you know that? Youre a dog!

So, Saul of Tarsus was an extraordinarily well-educated young man, living in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. He was an adult student of the great Gamaliel and he had access to the leaders of the Sanhedrin and to the high priest himself.

He was the rising star in Judaism.

So, what caused his intense hatred of Jesus and the Church? As he himself says to king Agrippa: I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities (Acts 26: 11). The Greek word is ejmmaivnomai, a compound of ejn (in) and maivnonai (behave as manic); that is, locked in a frenzy of rage.


Not me.


Humm. I think youre on to something here!Maybe it began at Passover, A.D. 32, when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday.Recall the story in Luke 19: 28-40. 30

31Confrontation

Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem(19: 28-40)

After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem. As he drew near to Bethphange and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples. He said, Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone should ask you, Why are you untying it? you will answer, The Master has need of it. So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them.

(19: 28-31)

32Confrontation

Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed:

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

(19: 35-38)

33Confrontation

Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He said to them in reply, I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out.

(19: 39-40)

The words of the crowd are positively incendiary!

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.Peace in heavenand glory in the highest.

Luke draws on Matthew and Mark for the words of the crowd, a quote from Psalm 118: 26, but only Luke adds the word king to the quote, making explicit the crowds proclamation of a new king, one representing in a new kingdom.

Jesus triumphal entry deliberately recalls Solomons entry into Jerusalem, when David elevates him to the throne in 1 Kings 1: 38-40.

Was Saul of Tarsus there?

34Confrontation


As the rising young star in Judaism, Saul had a vested interest in maintaining and defending the status quo, and Jesus actions are blatantly inflammatory.

That is only reinforced when Jesus arrives at the southern steps of the Temple with a whip, driving out the merchants and money changers, shouting: It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves (Luke 19: 46).


Unknown. Christ Driving the Traders from the Temple (oil on panel), c. 1570.National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen.



The next day the religious leaders confront Jesus and demand: By what authority are you doing these things? Or who is the one who gave you this authority? Jesus replies: I shall ask you a question. Tell me, was Johns baptism of heavenly or of human origin? After discussing it, the religious leaders say, We dont know. And Jesus says, in effect, I didnt think so!

This exchange publically humiliates the religious leaders, and we can only imagine the crowds guffawing at them as they are taken aback.



Jesus presses the attack, regaling the crowds with the parable of the tenant farmers, a scathing indictment of the religious leaders. Once more the crowds cheer him on, and the religious leaders can do nothing, for the crowds are huge, and they hang on Jesus every word, delighted at Jesus audacity and his rapier wit in skewering the corrupt authorities.



Next, the religious leaders sent agents pretending to be righteous who were to trap him in his speech, discrediting him before the crowds. It would take a very clever man to do so.

The most clever of them asks, Is it lawful for us to pay tribute to Caesar or not?knowing that answering either yes or no will discredit him before the crowds or get him arrested by the Roman authorities.

Jesus then asks the man for a coin; the man tosses it to him, and Jesus displays Caesars picture on the coina coin the people may not bring into the Temple precincts, but the religious leaders do.

Did Saul of Tarsus toss the coin?

Titian. Tribute Money (oil on panel), 1516.Old Masters Gallery, Dresden.



When Judas led a crowd to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, was Saul of Tarsus among them?

Although Saul was not yet a member of the Sanhedrin, was he present (perhaps as an assistant) at the home of the high priest, Caiaphas, during Jesus trial?

When Jesus was accused before Pilate at the Antonia Fortress, did Saul of Tarsus shout from the crowd, Crucify him!?

On the cross we read that The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God (Luke 23: 35), was Saul of Tarsus among them; did Saul of Tarsus say the words?


Finally, when Stephen stands before the Sanhedrin, speaking boldly against the Temple and the law of Moses deeming both irrelevantand then when he accuses the high priest and religious leaders of the betrayal and murder of Jesusdoes that finally push Saul over the edge, triggering his own murderous rage?

Not me.


Isnt it ironic that Jesus chose Saul to be THE Apostle!Wow! I had never thought about it that way. If any one of those statements is true, that would go a long way toward explaining Sauls over-the-top, rage and his hatred of Jesus and the Church.43

El Greco. St. Paul (oil on canvas), 1600.Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Lewis, Missouri.


This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost.(1 Timothy 1: 15-17)

45Excursus, A Portrait of St. PaulFor an in-depth study of St. Paul, listen to Dr. Creasys 24-lecture course, Paul, from Sinner to Saint, on Audible.com.50+ reviews, 4.7 stars!

Questions for discussion and thoughtWhat was St. Pauls hometown of Tarsus noted for?What evidence do you find to support the idea that St. Paul had a 1st class education in classical literature and rhetoric?Why did St. Paul move from Tarsus to Jerusalem?Had St. Paul met Jesus prior to his encounter with him on the Road to Damascus? What were Sauls motives for persecuting the Church?


Copyright 2015 by William C. CreasyAll rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video, photography, maps, timelines or other mediamay be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval devices without permission in writing or a licensing agreement from the copyright holder.


8. excursus, a portrait of st. paul

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