THE LEGACY OF PAUL

1 of 10 Study Sessions

Introduction to Paul

WHO WAS PAUL?

Agenda

1. Jew

2. Pharisee

3. Greek

4. Roman Citizen?

5. Christian?

6. Where did Paul live?

7. Map of Paul’s time

8. Discussion Questions

9. Resources

JEW

• Born 1st Century CE, most scholars think it was 8 CE

• Father: Pharisee

• Tribe: Benjamin (Acts 23:6; Philippians 3:5)

• Period: Second Temple (515 BCE – 70 CE built by Cyrus the Great of Persia)

• Birthplace: Tarsus (part of Diaspora created by Babylonian exile 597 BCE)

• Rule: Roman

• Emperor: at Paul’s birth Caesar Augustus; at Paul’s death Nero

PHARISEE

• Jewish Sect

• Beliefs:

• Written Law

• Oral Law (became present-day Talmud)

• After-life

• Members of Sanhedrin

GREEK

• Education: University in Tarsus

• Considered superior to universities in Athens and Alexandria

• Languages: spoken and written

• Aramaic

• Greek

• Hebrew

• Bible (Christians present-day Old Testament): LXX (Septuagint)

• Translation from Hebrew to Greek

• Commissioned by: Ptolemy II

ROMAN CITIZEN?

• Acts of the Apostles: Written by Luke refers to Paul as a Roman Citizen

• Acts 22:25-29; 23::27 Has Paul calling himself a Roman Citizen when he is about to be flogged

• Acts 16:22 Paul was beaten with rods indicates he was not a Roman Citizen

• Paul never claims Roman Citizenship in his undisputed letters

• 2 Corinthians 11:25 says he was beaten with rods 3 times

• If he was a Roman Citizen Paul never uses that to avoid Roman torture

CHRISTIAN?

• What happened on the way to Damascus?

• Call, not Conversion

• Born a Jew, Died a Jew

• Never intended to create a new religion

• They were Jewish Christ Followers

WHERE DID PAUL LIVE?

• Tarsus

• Bustling city in Asia Minor (Modern day Turkey)

• Between Mediterranean Sea and Taurus Mountains

• Fertile land: wet from sea and melting snow, fed by 3 rivers

• 3 M’s: Marshes, Mosquitoes and Malaria

• Jerusalem

• Before first missionary journey

• Between journies

• On the Road

MAP FROM PAUL’S TIME

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• How is the life of Paul similar to yours today?

• What trait of Paul do you find most interesting and why?

• What have you learned about yourself by looking at Paul’s life?

RESOURCES

• The First Paul by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan

• The Life of the Apostle Paul by Rose Publishing free PDF www.rosepublishing.com/lifeofpaul

• In the Footsteps of Paul: Experience the Journey that Changed the World by Ken Duncan

• Paul the Man and the Myth by Calvin J. Roetzel

• The Apostle: The Life of Paul by John Pollock

WORKS OF FICTION

Novels

• Great Lion of God by Taylor Caldwell

• Paul, a Novel by Walter Wangerin Jr.

• Apostle Paul: A Novel by James Cannon

Movies

• “Peter and Paul” Anthony Hopkins and Robert Foxworth 1981

• “Apostle Paul: Polite Bribe” Peter Reznikoff, Bart Ehrmann 2013