Tag: Felix

The Apostle Paul Revisited: Paul and the Liars’ Club

"The Conversion of St. Paul" Michelangelo Buanorroti
“The Conversion of St. Paul“
Michelangelo Buanorroti

The Strange Career of Saul of Tarsus

Would it be a great surprise to learn that people started lying about the Apostle Paul almost as soon as he became a believer in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus)?  The story of his dramatic change on the road to Damascus is in Acts 9.  It is a tale that should be familiar to all Christians.  This man, Saul of Tarsus, star pupil of the sage Gamaliel, had made a name for himself by persecuting believers in Yeshua even to the point of death.  His mission in Damascus was to continue the work of hunting down these people and eliminating the threat they posed to the established religious and political order.

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The Apostle Paul Revisited: Paul’s Argument with Jesus, Part III

This is the third in a series comparing the words of Yeshua and Paul regarding the Law (Torah) of God.

"The Chief Priests Take Counsel Together" James Tissot
“The Chief Priests Take Counsel Together”
James Tissot

The Very Jewish Paul

Was Paul hopelessly confused on the question of the Law of God?  No, not at all.  The confusion comes when we attempt to view him as a man who walked away from Judaism after he met Yeshua on the road to Damascus.  That is not true.  Paul remained an observant Jew until the end of his life, as we know from his own words:

But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”  (Acts 21:39 NKJV, emphasis added)

But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”  (Acts 23:6 NKJV, emphasis added)

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