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Moseley Chimes
January 2008
St Paul was born around 5 AD in Tarsus. His Jewish name was Saul. Tarsus was well known as a centre of trade with a heritage drawn from both the Greek and Roman worlds. It was famous as a centre of the manufacture of goat’s-hair cloth. Eventually Saul became a tent maker, a trade which used that cloth. The son of a Pharisee, he was educated as a Jew but he must have also picked up Roman and Greek philosophy from those among whom he lived. Saul’s basic education was at home and in the synagogue. About the age of 13, he was sent to Jerusalem to study under the great Jewish teacher, Gamaliel. So Saul had a good knowledge of the Jewish Faith while also coming into contact with the best of Greco-Roman thought. He also had a great advantage in being born a Roman citizen. He was to use this to great advantage in later life.
Saul was just a few years younger than Jesus but as far as we know they never met. His first mention in the book of the Acts of the Apostles was at the stoning of Stephen. After Pentecost, the preaching of the apostles caused the number of Christians to increase greatly. Tension arose between Jewish and Greek believers over the fairness of the charitable distribution to widows and poor believers. To solve this problem the Apostles ordained seven deacons to look after the everyday business of the church. One of them was Stephen. He preached the good news of Jesus in great power, but fell foul of certain Jewish leaders. He was dragged into court and sentenced to death by stoning. Saul was there; he played no part in the execution except that those carrying out the execution laid their outer clothes at his feet. Saul was at least 30 years old, and already an acknowledged leader in Judaism. His active opposition to Christianity marked him as the natural leader of the persecution that arose after the death of Stephen. He was a fanatic convinced that Christians were heretics and that the honour of the Lord demanded their extermination.
Convinced that the Christian heresy was spreading beyond Jerusalem, he sought letters of authority from the high priest. As he approached Damascus, the transforming crisis in his life occurred. Writing later, he claimed he saw a vision of the risen Lord Jesus. He heard a voice asking, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul answered, “Who are you Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus.” So Saul’s whole life changed. He was struck blind for a while and needed friends to lead him into the city. Eventually Saul changed his name to Paul and became not a destroyer of the new faith but its strongest advocate. So Saul became Paul, the great Apostle to the non-Jewish world. He travelled widely and took the message of the Good News of Jesus to most of the then known world. When did Saul’s conversion begin? I believe it was when he consented to the death of Stephen. So Stephen did not die in vain. He was faithful in life and in death and Paul was part of the result. So, on 25 January remember Saul, who became Paul, and thank God for his conversion and ministry.