Transcript Introduction to Paul

Introduction to Paul
Acts 9, 13-28
Early Life
 Born
in Tarsus (SE Turkey today)
 Grew up in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3)
 Studied under Gamaliel – a prominent
teacher and Pharisee
 May be an indication that his family
was wealthy
 Early prominence – while still young
he was given official authority to
direct the persecution of the
Christians (Acts 8:2ff).
Paul’s Education
 Nothing
specific known other than
under Gamaliel, a famous rabbinic
teacher.
 Knew Greek well enough to travel and
teach in Greek speaking areas, wrote in
Greek.
 Would have studied Jewish wisdom
traditions, OT and otherwise
 Strong knowledge of OT, LXX
 Philippians
3:6
– Pharisee
– Devoted to the Law and its proper
observance
– Persecutor of followers of Jesus – they
did not keep the law appropriately.
 This
new belief would endanger
Israel as a whole.
 A “watchdog” for the ancestral ways
 Viewed Christianity as a threat to
Jewish identity
 The
persecutions were viewed as
disciplinary actions to bring them
back in line with orthodoxy.
 Saul was present at Stephen’s
execution (Acts 8:1).
 He led the persecutions in Jerusalem.
– “Saul was ravaging the church by entering
house after house; dragging off both men and
women, he committed them to prison.” (Acts
8:3)
 He
was then sent to Damascus to get
the Christians who had fled there
(9:1ff.).
Saul’s Conversion Acts 9, 22, 26
 On
his way to Damascus, the Lord
confronted Saul.
 He was blinded and sent on into
Damascus.
 Ananias reluctantly went to him,
taught him, and then baptized him.
 Saul stayed there awhile, but the Jews
wanted to kill him, so he left.
 Went to Arabia (Gal. 1:17; cf. 2 Cor.
11:32f).
 Returned to Damascus then to
Jerusalem.
 Acts
omits the Arabia trip and says
he went to Jerusalem. (Acts 2:26)
 Barnabas went with him and
introduced him to the apostles.
 The Jewish leaders wanted to kill
Saul, so the church leaders
suggested that he go back to Tarsus
for a while.
 The Jewish leaders viewed him as a
traitor and wanted him dead. They
never “let it go.”
 After
a few years, Barnabas
suggested that Saul work with the
church in Antioch.
 Antioch was a multi-cultural church
with both Jewish and Gentile
Christians.
 Two years later the church sent Saul
and Barnabas on a missionary tour of
Cyprus and Asia Minor.
 For the next 16 years or so Saul
traveled preaching, teaching and
establishing churches.
 Tactics
used against Paul
– Getting Roman authorities involved by
accusing Paul of being a troublemaker
– Charges included economic, political,
religious issues.
 Paul
was sometimes stoned, beaten,
or imprisoned.
 In spite of all this, Paul never gave up.
CHRONOLOGY OF PAUL’S MINISTRY
 Fixed
date - Proconsulship of Gallio
C.E.
51-52 (52-53) – Corinth
Conversion
33
1st visit to Jerusalem
36
Famine visit to Jer.
46
1st miss. Tour
46-49
Claudius’ Edict
49-50
Jerusalem Council
2nd miss. Tour
3rd miss. Tour
Caesarean
Imprisonment
House arrest in Rome
Aegean Ministry ?
Ministry in Spain ?
Death in Rome
50
Spr. 50 – Fall 52
Spr. 53 – Fall 58
Sum. 58 – Fall 60
Spr. 61 – 63
66?
Paul’s Travels
 First
missionary tour
– Cyprus
– Asia Minor
 Perga
(Pamphilia) – Mark left the group
 Antioch (Pisidia)
 Iconioum
 Lystra
 Derbe
– Back to Antioch
http://studylight.org/se/maps/view.cgi?js=yes&number=119&size=60
Jerusalem Council – Acts 15
Jewish Christians in Antioch were telling
Gentiles who wanted to be followers of
Jesus that they had to become Jews first
 Peter was in Antioch working with the
Gentile Christians, but when Christians
from Jerusalem came, he stayed away
from the Gentiles

– Paul challenged him with being a hypocrite
 The
leaders of the church in Antioch
sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem
to talk with the apostles about this
 Jerusalem Council
– Apostles, elders in Jerusalem, Paul,
Barnabas discuss this
 Gentiles
are to be accepted by the Church
without their becoming Jews first
 Gentiles should observe basic Jewish customs
when eating with Jewish Christians
Paul’s Second Tour

Asia Minor
– Mostly same places as before
– Troas

Macedonia
– Philippi
– Thessalonica

Achaia
–
–
–
–
Athens
Corinth (18 mths)
Ephesus
Jerusalem - Antioch
http://studylight.org/se/maps/view.cgi?js=yes&number=118a&size=60
Paul’s Third Tour
 Asia
Minor
– Ephesus (3 yrs)
 Macedonia
 Ephesus
 Jerusalem
– Achaia
http://studylight.org/se/maps/view.cgi?js=yes&number=118a&size=60
Paul’s Arrest and Trip to Rome
 The
Jewish leaders threatened Paul
in Jerusalem
 Roman officials took him into
protective custody
 They sent him to Caesarea to await
trial
 He was there two years
– Exercised his right to see Caesar
 Shipwreck
on the way to Rome
 In Rome, he was under house arrest,
at his own expense
– Luke was with him all the way
– Paul taught any who came to see him
 Luke
concludes Acts with these words:
– “proclaiming the kingdom of God and
teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with
all boldness and without hindrance.”
http://studylight.org/se/maps/view.cgi?js=yes&number=118a&size=60
Things to Consider When Studying
Paul’s Letters
1.
Paul’s letters were occasional.
– Particular situations in mind.
– Much of what he said was influenced by
the situation.
– We need to understand as much as we
can about the situation addressed.
– Most of what we can know must be
inferred from the letters themselves.
– Similar to listening to one end of a
telephone conversation. Much can be
reconstructed, but realize this involves
some circular reasoning.
2. Though addressed to specific
situations, they contain truths and
principles useful today.
– Look for the principles within the specific
occasion addressed, then apply them
today.
– A difficulty, then as now, is to apply these
principles across cultures.
3. Paul’s letters provide only with part of his
thinking. We don’t have a complete
theology of Paul’s thinking – only on
issues that were urgently needed at that
time.
 He mostly wrote people he had worked
with and they knew much of his teaching.
He was writing to clarify or reinforce. So
he didn’t repeat all of his theology.
 We know some of his thinking, but not all.
 His teaching on the Lord’s Supper is in
Corinthians only because they were
having problems with it.
4.



Paul’s letters were organized with
great care:
Saluation
Thanksgiving/blessing – often a
summary of the letter
Body
– Theological developments
– Paranesis
– Travel notes, etc.

Closing
Studying Paul’s Letters
 Who
is he writing?
 What can we know about his
audience?
 Why is he writing?
 Read statements within the context
of the paragraph, chapter, book.
 Does he say similar things in other
books/letters?
Importance of Paul
 Wrote
approximately ¼ of the NT.
 ½ of Acts is about Paul & his ministry.
 A pioneer in taking Christianity to new
cultures.
 Laid the groundwork for Christianity to
become an international movement.
 Helped shape the Church in dealing
with difficult issues (Jew-Gentile;
Church-State; conflict of cultures ethics, etc.).
 He
worked out a way to present
a Jewish Messiah to a Gentile
world as Lord. Gentiles were not
interested in a Messiah, but a
savior, Lord (Caesar was their
Lord).
 He was a master at moving from
one culture to another and
sharing the message of Christ on
a level that rose above the
culture yet spoke to the concerns
of the culture.
 Obviously,
Paul is a significant figure
in the New Testament.
 Luke worked with him so Acts has
more about Paul than any other
individual.
 By the time the NT canon was
developing the Church had already
become primarily Gentile, so Paul’s
influence is reflected in the amount
of his writings included.
Order of the New Testament Books
 Gospels
– life and teachings of Jesus
 Acts – a bridge from Jesus’ ministry
to the life of the Church; also a
history of the Church.
 Paul’s letters – arrangement
– Letters to Churches first then individuals
– Order by length of letter