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1994-11-27
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CHAPTER 1
SAUL OF TARSUS
Saul was born in Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia. [Frank
Charles Thompson, CHAIN REFERENCE BIBLE (Indianapolis: B. B.
Kirkbride Bible Company, Inc., 1934), Topic #3551, "Tarsus."]
[J. Gresham Machen, THE ORIGIN OF PAUL'S RELIGION (New York:
The Macmillan Company, 1921), p. 44]. He was a freeborn
Roman citizen, the son of a Roman citizen:
The commander went to Paul and
asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman
citizen?"
"Yes, I am," he answered.
Then the commander said, "I had to
pay a big price for my citizenship."
"But I was born a citizen," Paul
replied." (Acts 22:27-28, NIV).
Paul was
circumcised on the eighth day, of the
people of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to
the law a Pharisee.... (Philippians 3:5).
Ramsey sees Paul's being born in Tarsus the purpose of
God being fulfilled. [W. M. Ramsey, THE CITIES OF ST. PAUL
(New York: George H. Doran Company, 1907), p. 85]. Ramsey
quotes Paul:
When it was the good pleasure of God, who
separated me, even from my mother's womb,
and called me through his grace to reveal
His Son in me, that I might preach Him
among the Gentiles. (Galatians 1:15-16).
[Compare James Moffatt, PAUL AND PAULINISM (New York: The
Pilgrim Press, 1910), p. 12, for a similar view].
Saul was raised under three cultures: (1) Greek; (2)
Jewish and (3) Roman. He was a member of the "conquering
aristocracy of Romans." All these factors figure in Paul's
being formed by God for his mission in life. Tarsus was
chosen because it "best...united the oriental and western
character." (Ramsey, THE CITIES OF ST. PAUL, pp. 87-88).
Thus, in accordance with his foreknowledge, God chose to form
and acculturize Paul to be the Apostle to the Gentiles "from
his mother's womb."
Andrews says that
There is little evidence that Saul was trained in
Greek culture or had firsthand knowledge of the
mystery cults. (ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA,1969,
s.v. "Paul, Saint," by Elias Andrews).
Paul would have to have some knowledge of Greek culture since
Greek culture permeated Roman culture and Paul both wrote and
spoke Koine Greek. Hopwever, he may have not been trained
by Greek scholars of his day.
On the other hand, Paul was trained under the greatest
Rabbi of his day, Gamaliel, grandson of Hillel. [Edgar J.
Goodspeed, PAUL (Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Company,
1947), p. 10].
Behold the wisdom of God in choosing a man who
epitomized Judaism! As a Pharisee, he was a conservative
Bible-believer of his time. There could be no greater
representation of the Old Covenant. And out of this thesis
was to develop an antithesis, yielding a synthesis, that
would, in the person of Paul, cause social repercussions both
in his time and throughout human history.
END