Saint Paul is one of the most central figures in the religious history of the western world. Following his conversion from Judaism to Christianity, he travelled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean Sea. During four, long missionary journeys, he spread the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It was Saint Paul who planted the seeds and turned Christianity from a small Palestinian sect into a worldwide faith, open to all people.
His written works are some of the earliest Christian documents, 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament. What we know about Saint Paul comes mainly from two Biblical sources, the Acts of the Apostles, written after Paul’s death, likely by the same author as Luke’s gospel. The second source is Saint Paul’s own letters (Epistles) to his followers. But who was this man who first persecuted Christians, then would become one its greatest disciples?
Paul was born Saul somewhere between 5 BC and 5 AD in Tarsus, on the coast of modern-day southern Turkey. Though a Jew, Saul was also born a Roman citizen, which came with certain privileges in the vast empire. Like his father, he became a successful tent maker by trade. Saul was born to a staunchly Jewish family well known in their community. His family was well off as they could send him off to be educated in Jerusalem. There he became an avid student. Saul later described himself before his conversion as “of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor.” (Philippians 3).
As a Roman citizen, he knew both Greek and Latin. Like many Jews of that time, he had a second Greco-Latin name, Paul. Stubborn and bold, Saul became a skilled debater. As a Pharisee, he was among the first Jews to widely persecute Christians. He considered them a dangerous, subversive sect needing to be overthrown. Saul “sought to destroy the Church: he went into the houses, took men and women, and put them in prison” (Acts 8).
In the Acts of the Apostles, he is mentioned for the first time during the stoning of the disciple Stephen in Jerusalem – the first Christian martyr. As a persecutor of the church, Saul had authority over and approval of the stoning. His intense zeal for this work was widely known, so he was reviled by the early Christians. The disciples of Jesus also feared and ran from him.
The early followers of Jesus were still devout Jews who continued to observe Jewish Law. But they were still a small sect within Judaism. So Paul attempted to snuff out this fledgling movement before it could spread and do much damage. After the stoning of Stephen, Saul was authorized by the high priest to execute the fugitives in Jerusalem. He would travel wherever he could to stomp out the young Christian religion.
It took divine intervention for Saul to convert to Christianity.
He had never listened to or met Jesus while was alive. Around 37 AD, Saul was on his way to Damascus on an assignment to persecute Christians there. Suddenly, a heavenly light shone on him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice from above saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ Saul responded, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute. Now get up and go into the city.’ (Acts 9). Saul looked up and saw a vision of the risen Jesus in the light.
Saul was temporarily blinded and the event would change his life completely. He was escorted by his fellow travelers to Damascus blind, where for three days, he neither ate nor drank. A disciple in Damascus named Arnanias baptized Saul as Paul, and his vision was immediately restored.
Paul then met with the small Christian community in the city and testified to what happened to him on the road. He stayed with the disciples in Damascus and began to preach with enthusiasm in the synagogues. Instead of flushing out Christians, he had now become one! Pharisees now sought out to kill Paul for preaching Christianity instead of persecuting it. He had to flee Damascus and went to Jerusalem.
There, he met Simon Peter and the other Apostles, who looked upon him with great skepticism and mistrust. In the end though, Peter accepted this new zeal as bestowed by Christ and welcomed him. Paul listened to the Apostles and learned the teachings of Jesus. He left Jerusalem a fervent disciple and returned to Tarsus. There he devoted himself to evangelizing both Jews and pagans, referred to in the Bible as ‘Gentiles.’
Saul’s earlier passion for persecuting Christians turned into an even greater fervence to spread the gospel across the Mediterranean. Paul earned his own living wherever he went. Luke says that he was a tentmaker and Paul often talks about how he combined his preaching with working with his hands.
Paul would make four great missionary journeys.
Around 46 AD, the Christian church in Syrian Antioch chose Paul and another disciple, Barnabas, to proclaim the gospel throughout Galatia (modern Turkey). This would become Paul 1st great missionary Journey.
The pair sailed to the island of Cyprus, where the Bible notes that he confronted a sorcerer preaching the devil’s work, one of many confrontations to follow. They then sailed to the mainland and travelled to Pisidian Antioch, in present day central Turkey, preaching the gospel of Jesus. The pair travelled to Iconium and Lystra, where Paul performed a miracle, healing a man crippled since birth. They then returned to Syrian Antioch via Perga. The journey would last two years.
When they stopped in each city, Paul went to the synagogues to preach the teachings of Jesus to Jews, proclaiming him the Messiah and the fulfillment of the Old Testament. In each location he also converted Gentiles to followers of Christianity and founded small churches in each community. The people there were typically Greco-Romans or pagan-druids who worshiped multiple gods. He returned to Jerusalem excited to discuss their journey with Peter and the Apostles.
Paul’s second journey begins around 51 AD. Barnabas and Paul had a falling out over which disciple should accompany them, and the men parted ways. Paul travels on foot across Galatia with the disciple Silas (Silvanus), revisiting the churches he founded in Lystra and Iconium. On this trip, Paul has a dream where Jesus calls to him to go even further and bring the gospel to Macedonia and Greece. So they sailed across the Aegean Sea next.
Here the pair traveled down the east coast of Greece, preaching about Jesus in Thessalonia and Phillipi, where they were briefly imprisoned in chains. Paul attempted to proclaim the gospel in Athens, but was rebuffed by the Greeks. He then went to Corinth where they stayed for a year, establishing a larger church there. He traveling back through Ephesus on the Turkish coast, before sailing back to Jerusalem, then returning to Syrian Antioch. This second, longer journey would last three years.
Paul began his third great journey around 54 AD, this time with a young apprentice Timothy.
This was a pastoral journey revisiting the small churches he had founded to strengthen them, grow their congregations, and give them further instruction. He retraced his prior land trip across Galatia, spending three years establishing a church at Ephesus. While in Ephesus, Paul heard a prophecy that should he return to Jerusalem, he would be imprisoned by the Jews. His Ephesian followers pleaded with him not to go. Peter would not be dissuaded.
From there they crossed the Aegean Sea once again, returning to Macedonia, Thessalonia and Corinth, visiting the communities that had previously welcomed him. It was during this 3rd missionary journey that Paul cemented many of the churches he would later write epistles to. He returned again to Jerusalem four years later.
While he was gone, tensions had developed between the Gentile-Christians he had founded and the Judeo-Christians of Palestine following Peter. Peter, who at first freely ate with Gentiles, later withdrew from contact with them. Paul did not shy away from taking Peter to task for it. They two men disagreed face to face over the demands that Gentiles follow certain rules of Jewish law. Paul argued with Peter about the foolishness of not accepting the Gentiles because of this.
“I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile (by following Jesus), how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatians 2).
Paul’s ministry was particularly punishing on him and marked with other conflicts and several imprisonments in the cities he traveled and preached to. He argued with Gentiles who opposed the impact his preaching their business trade. Paul also had conflicts with new Christian leaders who neglected to abide by ALL Christian principles and only cherry-picked the ones that pleased them.
Paul fell back on his Roman citizenship on several occasions to alleviate his most dire situations. The first was when Paul and Silas were beaten for preaching as Christians in Philippi. The second was in Jerusalem, where Paul was to be flogged by Roman soldiers after daring to preach in the temple. The third time was in Caesarea, when Paul was on trial before the Roman governor Festus. He was accused by the Jews of preaching against Jewish law. They had him arrested (as prophesized in Ephesus) and held in prison for 2 years in Caesarea.
Facing trial, Paul as a Roman citizen, boldly appealed directly to Emperor Claudius.
The emperor had him transferred to Rome, thus beginning his 4th great journey. Along the way, he healed the father of the governor of Malta who was suffering from fever. In Rome, he was placed under house arrest for 2 more years. It was in the Roman capitol, where church leaders say Peter found him, and Paul met the fledgling Christian community there. The charges against him were dismissed, after which Paul continued his 4th missionary journey in Rome itself.
Paul was arrested one final time by the infamous Emperor Nero. This time, for converting Romans to Christianity and daring to proclaim Christ king, not the emperor. Nero blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians and a Roman court condemned Paul to execution. The Bible does not record Paul’s death, but tradition holds that he was executed on the Aqueas Salviae sometime around 68 AD. As a Roman citizen, he was beheaded rather than crucified.
Though there is no mention in the Bible of Paul and Peter meeting in Rome, Christian tradition holds that they were imprisoned together and embraced on the Via Osteinse before being led to their respective executions. One can only imagine their last poignant words together. Legend has it that the Apostle Peter was crucified, upside down at his own request, on Vatican Hill. The Basilica of St. Peter and the Basilica of St. Paul stand over what is believed to be their respective tombs.
During his later journeys, Saint Paul wrote some of the most eloquent passages in the Bible (1 Corinthians 13). He became the first great Christian theologian, establishing some of the building blocks of the church that Christians now take for granted. Paul contributed much to how Christianity understands the relationship between the Old and New Testament.
In his letters, Saint Paul frets about who will defend the status of his converts. Paul also often berates his followers for backsliding and doubting Jesus. Theologians have come up with a picture of Paul as a zealous preacher who was quick to defend the honor of Christians, but who also demanded loyalty to the faith. “Patiently correct, rebuke and encourage your people with good teachings.” (Timothy 2)
There is little doubt that Saint Paul’s four missionary journeys changed the course of Christianity. Paul expanded the church far and wide, reinforcing it amongst Jews, opening doors to Gentiles, all the while fighting zealously for his conviction that the gospel was for ALL peoples and that NO barriers should be put in their way.
Considering that he was not one of the twelve apostles, and therefore not an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry on Earth, it is amazing that Saint Paul made the permanent mark on Christianity that he did. His life, letters, and legacy certainly suggest divine intervention that reverberates through the millennia to this day.