125. Beginner Bible Course: The story of Paul, the Apostle

EPISODE 125:  THE STORY OF PAUL THE APOSTLE

I think it's pretty safe.

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Say nearly all of us are suckers for Cinderella stories. I especially love true Cinderella stories. And what I love most is reading the, before the backstory, the early failures of men like Lincoln and Edison in church Hill, the hymn amazing grace takes on new meaning. When you read the backstory on John Newton, the slave trader to read the nine Stein's teachers considered him a devil child or Walt Disney devoid of creativity, but not all Cinderella stories. Turn out during the lifetime of the person. One such person was the painter van Gogh in his lifetime. He painted 900 paintings.

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He sold just one. It was only after his death. His genius was on pact. Then goes a bit like the person we focus on in this episode, Saul of Tarsus or Paul Saul was his Jewish name, Paul his Roman name. Since he's almost always referred to as Paul let's just go with Paul going forward. We heard first about him in the previous episode. Here's what we know about him so far. He was a part of the Sanhedrin, the 71 men who ruled Israel's religious machine and they ruled it with an iron fist. This is the group that had badgered Jesus for three plus years and condemned him. This is also the group that hauled in Peter and the rest of the apostles in acts chapter five, after Peter's defense, they were ready to kill all the apostles until one highly respected rabbi in their group.

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Chameleon suggests an alternative. It's quite likely. Paul was sitting there that day. We'll discover he was one of chameleon's longtime apprentices, and perhaps his star student. We also learned in the last episode, Steven was dragged in front of this same tribunal. Saul is definitely here for this one. And he's a part of the killing party. Luke tells us those stoning. Stephen laid their coats down at the feet of this guy. Paul, some think him holding the coats mean he was the Lieutenant in charge of carrying out the execution. At the beginning of chapter eight, Paul was in complete agreement with stoning, Stephen and that day a great persecution broke out in Jerusalem.

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We're told Paul acts like an uncaged beast, a wild man. He's going everywhere to devastate the believers in Jesus house to house hauling off both men and women. God alone knows what happened to them from there. Now a little bit more of Paul's backstory. He was born in Tarsus. Tarsus was a prominent city in Asia, minor, modern day Turkey. It was the most influential city in the area all the way back to the time of Alexander. The great Paul was born right around one a D. So he's just over 30 years old at the time of acts. Chapter nine. Paul tells us in acts was a student of <inaudible> Camille yells, recognized, and even Jewish secular literature as perhaps the greatest rabbi of the time and likely at age 12 or 13, Paul joined him for at least six years.

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Over those six years and beyond Paul became a master of the old Testament law, a lawyer. That's what lawyers were law experts in Philippians chapter three. Paul gives us a bit more of his backstory. Paul compares himself to highly religious Pharisaical Jews. He says, simply this compared to those guys, I was a curved wrecker. Then he gives his resume. I was circumcised on the eighth day check. I'm an Israelite check. I'm from the tribe of Benjamin that one little tribe embedded in Judah. The more faithful tribe check I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee of Pharisees.

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That's essentially saying, if you look up Hebrew and Pharisee in the dictionary, you might see my picture as to my zeal. I was a persecutor of this Jesus group, the church. And as to the law, I was, how shall I put this found blameless? I kept it all. And I kept it well from this statement. We learned that he was from a devout Jewish Pharisaical family. That's fair ESY in all caps, he was born a Roman citizen. He's going to bring that up several times in his own defense. After his training with chameleon, his career path, as a lawyer was set, he was an expert in the law.

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He'd be the guy you called. If you wanted an interpretation on one of the nuances of mosaic law or their tradition and rules that had been built up around it from early church documents, we also get an idea of what he looked like at least four separate writers claim. He was extremely short, citing three cubits as his height. That's about four feet, six inches tall. You doubt that except that four separate writers state that they also state, he was bald, crooked legged and crooked nose. Other writers claim. He had pomegranate red complexion and a Yuna brow, a thick bushy grown together.

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Eyebrow. We get more clues about Paul in his own letters. In second Corinthians, he claims his critics claim. His letters are weighty profound, but his appearance is unimpressive and his speech is contemptible. This leads some to believe Paul had a speech impediment. We get another clue in the letter. He wrote to the Galatians. Paul May have had trouble with his eyes. Paul writes to the Galatians. You would have plucked out your own eyes. And given them to me, this may have been an idiom about their exceptional love, except for what he writes at the end of his letter. See with what large letters I'm signing this letter. I should explain quick.

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Paul never scribbled down his letters. He used the secretary that was common practice for teachers and lawyers, but at the end of his letters, he would pick up the pen and scribble his name or signature, or maybe a short blessing. The fact that he admitted he was writing his name with large letters, indicates the sum. He couldn't see much at all. When we meet him in acts eight, Paul is a brilliant young religious zealot and he's violent. Some think Napoleon complex compensating for his small stature. The only problem with that is Napoleon was a foot taller. Luke describes him as a zealous religious killing machine, but something happens that changes all that something sudden and utterly transforming a change.

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So great. It perplexes historians and theologians to this very day for the next 30 years until he's beheaded by Nero. Paul becomes the greatest apologist and theologian for the gospel of Jesus Christ. In church history, he likely writes at least 13 of the 21 new Testament letters we will examine. He is largely responsible for the spread of Christianity into Asia, minor, Macedonia, Greece, Italy, and even Spain. He's a tireless church planter and a mentor of the men who will pass through these churches after his death. What happened to Saul of Tarsus to change him from a Christian killing machine to apart from Jesus being the second most influential person in Christianity acts chapter nine tells us Paul was breathing out threats and violence.

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He'd essentially eradicated the Christians from Jerusalem other than the apostles, how they got past Paul. We're not told, but Paul isn't finished. He convinced the chief priest in Jerusalem to write letters, giving him authority to go around, arresting Christians and bringing them back for trial. His first stop is Damascus where many of the Christians have taken refuge. As he neared Damascus, a brilliant light falls from heaven and Paul falls to his face. Then a voice speaks up. Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me? Paul replies? Who are you, sir? I'm Jesus who you are persecuting. Get up, go into the city and await my instructions.

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The men with him hear the voice, but they see no one. And speaking of see, no one that's what happened when Paul gets up, he is bat blind. He's led into the city and spends the next three days without touching food or water, trying to grasp what just happened on the road with his brilliant, but twisted mind. Meanwhile, in the city of Damascus, God speaks to a man named <inaudible>. He gives an ISA the street and the house where Paul of Tarsus is staying. He tells Anna Niaz. Paul is praying right now. I've given him a vision and I've dropped your name. I told them you're coming to him to give him back his sight. I'm sure Anna, Niaz love to hear that his name being dropped by God and an nice gives God a little information.

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He says, Lord, I've heard the terrible things. This monster has done in Jerusalem. He has arrest the warrants for anyone in Damascus who calls on your name, God interrupts an Niaz go and do this. He's a chosen instrument of mine. He'll take my message to Israel, to nations. And he will stand before Kings then got ads and I will show him how much he will suffer for me. I'll come back to that and an ISA trudges down the street to where Saul is staying with butterflies in his stomach. And I'm sure a lump in his throat. He speaks brother saw the Lord sent me that you might be filled with the spirit and get your sight back. Instantly.

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Paul was filled with the helper, the spirit, and something like scales fell from his eyes. So he could see he immediately was baptized and stayed for a few days in that house. Then he shows up at the Damascus synagogue, talk about a shocker. He stands up and says, this Jesus is indeed the son of God, the Christ followers. There are dumbfounded. Isn't this the guy who is coming here to arrest us. Paul, the religious zealot turns this zeal toward Jesus. This brilliant lawyer, preaches proofs. That Jesus is the promised Christ. It's not long before the religious leaders realize he is now public enemy.

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Number one. So in the middle of the night, some of his new believer friends, lower him in a basket through an opening in the Damascus city wall, Paul heads to Jerusalem, no believer left. There will associate with him either, but Mr. Encouragement, Barnabas takes them under his wing and takes them to the apostles. Their Barnabas tells them what happened to Paul on the road. The apostles, trust him and celebrate Paul lingers with them. One can only imagine the conversations. Then Paul starts preaching in Jerusalem. Boldly. Talk about whiplash among the citizens and religious leaders immediately.

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They plot his murder. Again. Paul is sneaked out of town, sent assessory and then shipped back to Tarsus. Paul spends most of the next 15 years in obscurity in the Galatians letter, he mentions that he went away to Arabia from some clues. He gives in his letters. Some think he went to Mount Sinai where Moses received the law of God. Most think it took this brilliant mind, time to work out. His thinking Jesus himself had said everyone. When he is fully taught will be just like his teacher. I think Paul was getting his synopses reprogrammed, but after those 15 years of obscurity, Paul comes out in a big way.

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For the next 15 years. He is a church planting letter, writing theologian, pastor training machine. You'll get plenty of proof of this. As we work our way through his amazing letters. When God told Anna Niaz to go and lay hands on. Paul God said, Paul is a chosen instrument of mine to bring the gospel to nations and Kings up till now, the gospel has penetrated Jerusalem and spread to Judea and Sumeria. It will be primarily through the work of Paul that it will spread as Jesus commanded to the ends of the earth. The second part of that statement was he must suffer many things for my namesake.

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I'd like to give you a little taste of what that suffering look like in his 15 years as a church planning missionary, Paul himself writes this in his second letter to the church in Corinth. He says this I've been beaten times without number I've often been in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes three times. I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked a night and a day I've spent a drift at seas. I had been on frequent journeys in dangerous from rivers robbers, my Countryman and from the Gentiles. I've had dangerous in the city, in the wilderness at sea and among false brothers.

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I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights in hunger and thirst and often without food and in cold and exposure. And apart from these external things, I also have the daily pressure of the churches I planted also in his second letter to the Corinthians, he said that he was given quote a thorn in the flesh, unquote, something he described as a messenger of Satan to torment him something, to keep him humble. There's been much speculation about what this thorn was, something. It was his eyes, something, it was a serious speech, impediment, something. It was loneliness members of the Sanhedrin, both Sadducees and Pharisees were nearly, always married men.

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In the first letter to the Corinthians. He writes, do we not have the right to take along a believing wife as the rest of the apostles and Peter something. Paul was married, but no longer did she die? Was she perhaps murdered or did she leave him when he got Jesus religion personally? I wonder if it wasn't bone deep discouragement as we go through his letters, we'll see him dogged by a group of legalistic Jews who seem to take great joy undoing. Every single thing Paul has tried to do for Jesus Paul's conversion from a Judaist exhibit to a passionate apostle for Jesus is still a head-scratcher for people today.

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How is it this brilliant zealous man could turn on a dime acts. Chapter nine gives the explanation. The dime was the voice of on the road to Damascus and then the filling of the Holy spirit. Three days later in the first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul says, Jesus appeared last of all to one untimely born. He appeared to me also his life was turned one 80 because of a visit from Jesus Paul in his journeys to take the gospel to the ends of the earth will be the focus of acts chapters 13 through 28. But for now we returned to Peter the rock whom Jesus will use to open the door of the church, to the next group of believers, the Gentiles.

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And we'll look at how God used Peter to do that in our next wordpicture.