The Life of Paul Part 1: The Childhood of Saul of Tarsus

It was here that he had learned Latin. It was here he expanded his understanding of the world around him, for he found men coming there from what seemed to be endless nations of the world. It was also from his father that he learned exactly what the Roman Empire was. There were Persians to the east who had been defeated by a gentleman named Alexander the Great, and he established the Greek Empire that stretched from India to the east and all the way to the British Isles to the west. He also learned that the empire had fallen to the Romans. There were 104 provinces that made up the Roman Empire. The main language was Greek, but Latin was spoken almost exclusively by the soldiers who were stationed all over the Roman Empire.

He learned that the ships, by the thousands, plowed their way across the Mediterranean Sea, adhering to tight schedules, moving from east to west, north to south, and from right to left, constantly on schedule, buying, selling, loading, unloading, and engaging in a great commerce that covered the entire Mediterranean Sea.

But there were other things that he learned. He learned that there was a city, the most beautiful city in the world, and that one day he would be able to go there, and from time to time, he would go to that city with his father every year, and there would be a great gathering of all the Hebrew people for one great celebration in the springtime and he looked forward to the that day.

But there was another day that stood out in his mind. He was 8 years old. Everything in the synagogue had turned somber and to whispers. Finally, his father sat down with him and said, “Son, let me explain to you what is happening. The emperor of the entire Roman world is dying. In a few days, the entire empire will be in mourning over this great and good man, but nobody more than those of us who are Jews, for this man has been good to us and kind to us and protected us. He has given us freedoms that we could not have expected and that were given to no one else in the world except us. We’re the only people in the empire who do not pay taxes to Rome. We’re allowed to send all of our taxes to Jerusalem and to the great temple there. The man is passing away. The man who will take his place is named Tiberius. We know little of him except that he’s morose, sullen, and we have no idea of his attitude toward the Jewish people. The Emperor Augustus has been good to us, has favored us in every way. We do not know, but we always know this: in times like these, we think of Alexander, who came out of nowhere and conquered kingdoms, and we remember the great men of the Hebrew faith who came and established kingdoms and took over kingdoms, and we begin speaking and thinking and whispering of a coming Messiah.”

It was at that moment that Saul began to understand who he really was in the great world scheme.