The Political World of Paul’s Day

The Political World of Paul’s Day

Manifestly; since the Apostle Paul was only slightly younger than Jesus the Christ, though some are adamant in maintaining that they were of equal age, it is self-evident that the world in which he lived, and moved and had his being, was substantially the same as the world in which Christ performed His numberless works of grace.

The world of Paul’s day was under the iron rule of the Roman Empire which had established peace and order to an extent never before known or seen in the history of man to that date. Though this government was achieved through the brutalities of many wars and much bloodshed, it was a government that was reasonably liberal as regards the religions of the provinces. In consequence of this liberality the Romans merely regarded Christianity as a Jewish sect of which there were many existing in those days. For that matter, the Jews themselves, of the orthodox school of beliefs, also considered Christianity as a sect of Judaism, albeit a very dangerous sect and one calculated, if not suppressed, to bring about considerable damage to the Jewish Commonwealth.

Rome, unlike the Jewish Sanhedrin and its many offspring; (Priests, Levites, Scribes, Lawyers, etc.) permitted a considerable degree of freedom of thought in the various provinces concerning religious matters. It will be immediately recognized that this permission was vitally necessary if the Gospel was to make much headway. Without this Roman freedom of speech the Disciples and Apostles would have been very quickly incarcerated in some Roman prison, there to languish out their remaining days in misery or else die speedily at the hand of some executioner. This freedom of religious expression did exist in Paul’s day, but it was, in a few short years, to give way to the most terrible persecution and devilment that the world has ever witnessed. It is also to the credit of the Romans that they were great road builders. It cannot be denied that Rome built these roads primarily for military and governmental purposes, but neither can it be denied that these same roads became a thousand-fold blessing to the people in the provinces where they were constructed. One example of the blessing these roads brought is seen in the fact that it was over these Roman roads that Paul and the other missionaries traveled, being thereby greatly aided in their work. Without these excellent roads it is unlikely that the Gospel could have made the speedy progress it realized in the early years of the Apostolic Age.

Another factor of tremendous import was that of language. The Greek language was understood and used freely throughout the then civilized world. This language, so expressive that even emotional shadings are given in the written word, being the universal tongue of the day, made it possible for Paul and the others to carry the Gospel throughout the length and breadth of the Roman Empire, carrying it by means of a language that the majority of the people understood. This fact was of supreme importance to Paul’s work and ultimate success. Indeed, the early missionaries could go almost anywhere and speak in a tongue which the people freely understood.

Then, again, the wide use of the Greek language made it possible for Paul to write his Epistles in this language and be understood by almost everyone. Thus, whether teaching, preaching, or writing, Paul was in possession of a medium of expression that broke down all racial barriers and overcame national boundaries. With a language, expressive and universally known and used, and well constructed roads, running to all areas of the Empire; the early missionaries were in possession of an advantage unknown to any preceding or succeeding age.

Morally Rome, when she eventually became the mistress of the then known world, became corrupt. With each increasing day of power she became less religious. That is, she almost entirely gave up the moral teachings of even her pagan religion. Thus, when Paul appears on the scene, the morals of Rome, and consequently the Empire in general, had reached a very low and character-destroying level. Augustus Caesar, concerned somewhat over the decline in Roman morality, had thought to improve or restore religion to morally corrupt Rome by introducing Caesar Worship. Whatever the intentions of Augustus Caesar, evil men, including the very emperors themselves, used this medium of worship to advance themselves and their interests to the end that the whole program only added to the general religious confusion.

In the midst of this confusion two schools of thought took pre-eminence at this time. Therefore, the religious beliefs of Paul’s day may be gathered under one or the other of the following two schools of thought

(1) POLYTHEISM The belief in and worship of a great host of Gods. This religious belief was held mostly among the common and less-educated people. For this group the easy path was to accept all declared gods as true and seek to, one way or another, worship them all. Knowing of the many different gods of that day, and their various doctrines and teachings attached to tem, the resultant confusion can well be appreciated.

(2) SKEPTICISM This group, mainly among the educated classed, chose to deny the existence of any God or gods. The philosophy of that day, expressed in a sort of practical wisdom, had tended to overthrow a considerable amount of the superstitions connected with the worship of the many gods with the result that the educated classes thought the obvious conclusion to be that religious practice was all founded upon a false structure. Consequently, they shied away from all religions with extreme care.

Into this confusion of polytheism and void of skepticism rushed the various cults from the East. In the search for soul satisfaction these strange isms of the East had been introduced in a vain attempt to find something to satisfy the longings of the souls of the people who lived in this day of sin’s gross darkness. The attempt, or course, failed.

Therefore, it was into such a world that Paul brought a message of life and power and liberty from sin. Materially, emotionally, and spiritually the world was, unbeknownst to itself, eagerly awaiting such a message. But, unfortunately, the evil perversity of man was even to thwart somewhat this glorious message.

The Christianity and Christian Church of Paul’s Day

Though some have thought to question the fact, it is accepted by the vast majority of Christians that the Church was born on the Day of Pentecost. In the light of this truth, at the moment of Paul’s miraculous entrance into the “Body of Christ” (his entrance into the Holy Writ), the Church was only about two or three years of age.

Now it is of vital importance to understand that, although the Church was established at Pentecost, the truth concerning the Church, its position, its doctrines, its overall purpose, was not revealed on this memorable day. By and large the Twelve Disciples were generally ignorant of the full import as to exactly what had taken place. For example they did not know at this time that the newly born Church would eventually be composed of both believing Jews and Gentiles; to mention only one fact not fully known to them. (Acts 10)

The careful student, in this connection, will notice that we are told in Acts 2:42 that the converts made on the Day of Pentecost “continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship”. What about this doctrine of the Apostles? We are given no information as to what this doctrine was, but by means of a comparison of various Scriptural statements and incidents most scholars have been led to believe it to consist of

(1) The eager hope that the Davidic kingdom would soon be set up. Luke 1:32 compared with Acts 3:19-21 evidence that most of them, if not all, still clung to this hope. It seems that because of their firm belief in the soon return of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:11) they thought the commencement of the Millennium – Christ’s reign – to be near at hand. Because of this belief these early converts brought about a kind of Christian Communism in which they sold their possessions and goods, parting them “to all as every man had need”, having, thus, all things in common. To the minds of these early converts they were fulfilling, by this “all-thing-in-common” procedure, the commands of the Sermon on the Mount.

(2) It is also quite evident that Christianity and the Christian Church in these early beginnings knew little or nothing of separation from the Law of Moses. Examples of this condition are given in Acts 3:1where Peter and John are seen going into the Temple at the ceremonial hour of prayer and in Acts 21:17-24 where it is written of these early converts; “how many thousand Jews are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law”.Moreover, converts of this period of Church history are noted as continuing to practice, the Jewish rite of circumcision and to observe Jewish dietary laws (Acts 10:10-16; Galatians 2:11-14) Notice, also, that in Jerusalem the Temple of Herod was used as the place of worship, even though the Holy Spirit did not choose to descend upon them in “tongues like unto fire” while they were gathered here from time to time.

It is therefore to be determined that the Disciples and the early converts did not possess the knowledge of the fullest meaning and extent of the blood redemption, until it was later, and fully, revealed by Paul (John 16:13-15; I Corinthians 2:9-10) It was the Apostle Paul who bore the burden of teaching, through the enablement of the Holy Spirit, the “many things” that Christ had not taught during His earthly ministry, and which were to be given after Pentecost “when He, the Spirit of Truth if come”. It was a revelation that necessitated a chosen vessel, a proper instrument, and Paul was that chosen vessel and instrument.

So it was in the plan of God that such a chosen vessel should so soon appear in the beginning of Christianity. As stated, that vessel was Paul. All of which brings to the forefront the question; who was Paul?

Paul’s Ancestry and Family Background

Galatians 1:15 explains that Paul was “separated from [his] mother’s womb, and called by His grace” to assume the responsibility of preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul’s words are “to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen [Gentiles]” (Galatians 1:16) This one, whom God separated from the womb, himself admits to being a Pharisee – more properly, as in the Revised Version, “a son of Pharisees” (Acts 23:6) This language indicates that he came from a rather long line of important forbears, he himself also assuming the position and importance accorded to the Pharisees. Were such a background to have been lacking in the experience of Paul, it would have been utterly impossible for him to have demanded that he was truly a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5-6)

However, of his mother we hear absolutely nothing. Nonetheless everything about the life and work of Paul gives the decided impression that the home in which he was reared was similar to those out of which nearly all eminent religious teachers and leaders have spring. A home of Godly piety, of high moral character, undoubtedly a home of somewhat stern principle and the presence of a strong family attachment to the peculiarities of a religious people or assembly. It is more than likely that Paul’s tender message to Timothy in Second Timothy 1:5 stemmed from a similar experience in his own home life.

This “Apostle to the Gentiles” was given both a Jewish name, Saul, and a Roman name, Paul. There is some question as to when he would have received his Roman name, but it is generally thought that he received it at birth along with his Jewish name, seeing that his father was both a Jew of high standing and a Roman citizen at one and the same time.

In his own autobiography Paul reveals that he was born a member of the Jewish tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1) and that because of his father’s position in the Roman scheme of things he was a free-born Roman citizen, an advantage which he used on more than one occasion (Acts 22:26-29) In his autobiography Paul states that his father was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6) and because he states nothing more of him we are forced to conclude that he evidently was an outstanding man in the Jewish community at Tarsus, being a Pharisee. He would have been a man of considerable means for he was able to send this son Paul to the leading Jewish school of that day and time; at Jerusalem.

As was noted in the first sentence of this chapter, from all appearances Paul was somewhere between three and five years the junior of Jesus Christ – although it must also be borne in mind that he might have been the same age as Christ. In any event, it would appear certain that Paul was thirty or above at the time of the stoning of Stephen. This information appears to be the intimation of Acts 26:10, which suggests that Paul was definitely a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin at the time of Stephen’s stoning; or, at the least, very shortly thereafter. This, therefore, is just about as close as we can come to the birth date of Paul. It is known that the age of thirty was the minimum age allowable for admittance to the Sanhedrin. If Paul were slightly over thirty at the stoning of Stephen, it would make his birth-year to be among A.D. 2 to A.D. 5.

Equally non-informative is the Scripture in regards to other members of Paul’s family. The only mention of any other member of his family is that of a sister and her son who were residing in Jerusalem when Paul was taken prisoner there.

Paul’s Boyhood

Scripture is as silent upon the subject of Paul’s boyhood as it is concerning the boyhood of Jesus the Savior. Actually, however, more is given concerning the boyhood of Christ than that of Paul. Nonetheless, in that the customs of the time in which Paul lived are well known, it is possible to allow certain deductions as follows

(1) Living in a community some distance from Jerusalem, a community in which many religious activities and commercial enterprises vied for supremacy, he would have early come to the realization that he belonged to a spiritual aristocracy which was elevated above and beyond the majority of those among whom he lived. This realization of belonging to a spiritual aristocracy would have grown more firm and bigoted within his inner self as he witnessed much of the religion, its lack of morals and power, of the surrounding population.

(2) Tarsus, of which we shall speak a little more in a while, was the center of a species of Baal worship, which, though it was of an imposing nature, was unspeakably degrading in character and practice. At certain seasons of the year Tarsus became the scene of festivals which were frequented by the greater portion of the population of neighboring regions – these festivals being accompanied with orgies of a degree of moral abominableness and stench which is, happily, even beyond the reach of most imaginations.

(3) Naturally Paul would fail to comprehend the depth and devilishness of this mystery of iniquity; as he was later to call it, but he could see and understand enough to cause him to turn, repulsed and sickened, from this idolatry and immorality, turning with scorn and biting criticism so peculiar to his people, making him regard the little synagogue where his family worshipped the Holy One of Israel as far more glorious than the gorgeous temples and high places of the Gentiles.

(4) During these formative years his education would have centered mainly from this same synagogue, consisting chiefly of the study of the Old Testament Scriptures and the burdensome “traditions of the elders”. In due course he would have graduated from the synagogue school and was likely sent shortly thereafter to Jerusalem to attend there the theological seminary of his day. Although the exact age when Paul was sent to Jerusalem to attend school there is not established, it must have been somewhere around the time that he became “Bar Mitzvah”; a child of the law.

(5) This “Bar Mitzvah” was a Jewish ceremony which corresponds to the confirmation rite in the more ritualistic denominations of the present day. This would mean, therefore, that Paul would have been twelve years of age or slightly older when he left his home in Tarsus for Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, Paul speaks, in Acts 22:3, of being “brought up in this city (Jerusalem) at the feet of Gamaliel”. Paul’s statement in Acts 26:4-5 also tends to confirm the contention that he had been a long time in the city of Jerusalem pursuing his studies and building his character as a Pharisee.

In conclusion, it is reasonably certain that Paul did not attend any of what would today be called “the public schools of Tarsus”, seeing that a Jew of such standing as Paul’s father would consider, as all orthodox Jews of his day, such an action to be extremely sinful.

The Effect of Paul’s Birthplace upon His Life

We have spoken briefly concerning this important consideration, but it is needful to call to our attention certain other pertinent facts. Now it is also needful to keep in mind that Paul would not have been quite the same man had he been reared entirely in Alexandria or any other large city of that day; even Jerusalem. That is to say, Tarsus was by and large the city of the entire world best adapted for the impressionable youth of one who was to become the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Historians are quick to inform us the Tarsus of Paul’s day was a city in which was accomplished the most perfect union between the East and the West that has yet been known. This perfect marriage of East to the West resulted in its becoming famous for its wonderful structures and, especially, great institutions of learning. As might be expected, it was also the outstanding seaport and commercial center of the then known world. It must be recognized that is was this cosmopolitan background that saved Paul from the extremes known to provincial areas.

As Paul became older this cosmopolitan background, though he himself was wholly unaware of it, was preparing him to encounter men of every class and race with ease and assurance. It gave him sufficient knowledge of all as to make it possible for him, though he hated their sins and mortal failings, to sympathize with human nature in all its thousand-and-one varieties, and to look with understanding upon the most diverse and different of habits and customs.

A good example of this comes out in a comparison of the ministry of Jesus and that of Paul. Jesus was reared in a small country town and, even though it was a caravan route between the East and the West, His messages bore the stamp of provincialism, being filled with word pictures of fisherman, lilies of the field, shepherd, sheep, sowing, reaping, etc. Paul, in contrast, was reared in a metropolis situated at the cross-roads of the world and his messages teem with word pictures of a soldier in full armor, an athlete of the arena, building of houses and temples, and the like.

Thus, his being reared in Tarsus during the early and impressionable years of his life prepared Paul to become one who could speak messages in language and illustration that was understandable to the world at large. Jesus Christ, reared in the provincialism of Palestine, was the prophet for “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”; but Paul, reared in the cosmopolitan of Tarsus, was Christ’s prophet for “the lost sheep of all nations of the world”. Each was prepared by God for their specific task and each accomplished their task in accordance to Divine supervision from the “womb to the tomb”.

Paul’s Education at Jerusalem

It has already been established that the teacher under whom Paul studied while in Jerusalem was the outstanding and scholarly Gamaliel (Acts 22:3; see also 5:34) Thus, because Gamaliel was one of the most noted teachers known to the history of the Jews, Paul secured the best education that his day had to offer.

It may be that a portion of the expense of his training at Jerusalem was borne by Paul himself. Sometime during his youth, as was the custom required to be fulfilled by all males, Paul had acquired the trade of tentmaking. As stated, it was a very strict rule among the Jews the every boy, whatever might be the profession he was to follow later in life, should learn and acquire a trade to serve as a resource in times of need. Why Paul chose the trade of tentmaking is not revealed, possibly because it was the commonest one is Tarsus. Tarsus was a district highly celebrated because of the goats-hair cloth from which the tents were made. That he did allow himself to become apprenticed to a tentmaker, and thereby learned the trade, stood him in good stead years later when he used the trade to pay his expenses as he boldly preached the Gospel.

Concerning Gamaliel it is revealed that even in his lifetime he was called by his contemporaries “the beauty of the Law” to designate his understanding of the Law and his practice of its tenets. Even to the present day he is catalogued by the Jews as being “the Great Rabbi”. Though it cannot be definitely proved, it is suggested by many students of Scripture that this great teacher would have been one of the “doctors” with whom the boy Jesus “disputed” in the Temple.

Here, again, in the studies at the Jerusalem school the curriculum consisted almost entirely of the research into the Old Testament Scriptures and the comments of the sages and masters upon these Scriptures. This course of study would demand careful concentration as the words of Scripture and the sayings of the wise were committed to memory. From time to time lengthy discussions were carried on in regards to disputed portions of the sages and the Scriptures. There was also a raid fire method of questioning used in which the scholars were permitted to put questions as well as the masters. By these means were the wits of the students sharpened and their views enlarged in that field which pertained to the religious beliefs and practices of Israel.

As seems evidenced by His subsequent life, Paul must have been an outstanding, if not the outstanding, pupil to have attended the school of the sagacious Gamaliel. Four elements appear to have aided Paul in securing this prominence

(1) His marvelous retentive powers; he possessed an amazing memory.

(2) The sharp edged keenness of his logic; his arguments continually left his opponents without any means of rebuttal.

(3) The super-abundance of his ideas; which evidence themselves over and over again in the conducting of his missionary tours.

(4) His clear and original manner of discussing every subject; which caused the language of his writing to be extremely scholarly and yet easily understood by the simple and unlearned.

From Acts 17:28 it is indicated that, somewhere in the years of his academic training, Paul became more or less familiar with secular Greek writings. It is conceivable that this knowledge could have come to him as a result of an accumulation of facts he acquired while listening, as a boy, to the endless discussions of street teachers, and the like, who passed through Tarsus.

Of this we are certain; Paul gained a thoroughly trained mind as the result of his years of studying; so much so that, apart from Jesus, he became the most gifted man of his tribe. Had not conversion on the road toDamascus changed the whole course of his life, he would undoubtedly have become one of the outstanding Pharisees of his day; comparable, possibly, to Gamaliel himself.

Though Paul was to write years later, “what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ…yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus”, he did take a fierce pride and joy in his achievement of the office of a Pharisee; that is, before his conversion (Philippians 3:1-8) And even after his conversion he does not seem to evidence particular shame over his position in that office.

Because the word “Pharisee” has no good meaning in our day, we may wonder somewhat at Paul’s pride in his attainment. Research will quickly prove that the term “Pharisee” had a far different meaning two thousand years ago then modern usage gives it today. In Paul’s day the office was an honorable and highly distinguished position. It was a distinction of no little consideration for a man of Paul’s day to be classified as a “Pharisee”.

No one can truly question that they were extremely zealous for the Law. These zealots willingly devoted their lives to the exposition of the Jewish religion. It must be said that they were more in error over-extending the intention of the Law than in curtailing of any of the revealed doctrines. These zealots, although the national independence of the Jews was something that did not exist, also endeavored to keep alive the national spirit and devotion to self-government within Israel.

So successfully were they in their activities religiously and nationally that their influence and power with the great majority of the Jews was immense. From the fact that they endeavored to get others to embrace their cause, pressing upon them their own severe practices, the many forms of their outward religion; the giving of many alms, the fasting often with pained countenance, the making of long and wordy prayers in public places. But, although most of this was done just to be seen and heard of man, and although the traditions of the elders to which they gave strict adherence were mostly of their own invention, their general sincerity cannot be questioned (Matthew 23:4-7)

Such a Pharisee the young Saul of Tarsus became. After having completed his years of schooling at Jerusalem, Paul, with his fellow students, would have scattered abroad on the face of the earth in much the same manner divinity students do in our day, beginning in the various provinces and cities the practical work of being a Pharisee; a practicing, teaching graduate from the college at Jerusalem. Where Paul went when his classmates were scattered to all different parts of the Jewish world we do not have the slightest idea. It seems sufficient to say, however, that he would not have been in the vicinity of Jerusalem during the ministry of John the Baptist without his being involved in both the ministry of John and the subsequent ministry of Christ. Being possessed of that peculiar zeal which was his, he would have been forced, as in the time of Stephen, to become an outstanding friend or foe.

Therefore, whether he returned to the synagogue in Tarsus, or journeyed to some other distant port from Jerusalem must be left for eternity to reveal. It is chiefly known that, by means of his education, he gained the foundational conviction that the one prize to be sought in life, and which make life worth living, was the love and favor of God. This conviction was to grow into a passionate longing as he advanced in years; it is probable the desire was evidenced in his school years when many times he may have inquired of his teachers concerning methods of achieving this blessed prize. But their answer would always be; by keeping the Law.

Hence the zealous Paul set about to meticulously keep the Law. But the answer of his teachers was, indeed, a terrible answer. For the keeping of the Law meant not only what we, today, understand by the term, but also the ceremonial law of Moses and the addition of the thousand-and-one rules and regulations which the Jewish teachers had evolved. The answer of his teachers was, in effect, the condemning to a purgatorial life one with such a tender conscience as that possessed by Paul. Therefore, instead of producing a saint, it led him to become the “chief of sinners”; his own admission.