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Young Saul Comes to Jerusalem • Dec 01st 2012

The Life of Paul Part 4 – The Making of Saul of Tarsus and the Turmoil of A.D. 27–34

Acts First Century Paul the Apostle The Gospels

Sometimes, the greatest pursuit of God is tainted by the deepest hatred for His own people. Gene Edwards tracks the pivotal years 27 to 34 AD, where spiritual zeal and political darkness violently collided. This message examines a world defined by the volatile rule of Emperor Tiberius and marked by the sudden, violent downfall of powerful figures, such as Sejanus. We see the prophet John the Baptist pay with his life for speaking eternal truth against Herod Antipas and the sin of incest. This turbulent history is the backdrop for the young Saul, who leaves Tarsus to dedicate himself to becoming the chief rabbi under Gamaliel. Gene Edwards invites us to understand why this intensely zealous scholar, while seeking the highest spiritual truth, simultaneously harbored deep disdain for the followers of the Way who were “shouting and crying and praising God” right nearby. This is the necessary, sobering context to grasp the weight of Paul’s spiritual blindness and the coming revolution of Christ.

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So, Paul sat down at the feet of Gamaliel, taking notes, repeating every word that Gamaliel uttered, asking questions, hearing answers that he was not prepared for. There was one thing that really bothered him later on, and that was that he was quoted as having said a good word toward a particular cult or sect of the Jewish religion. How Paul hated those people. There were two kinds of people he hated especially. One was the Gentiles, and the other were these followers of the way. He met them on the streets. He watched them parading together, arm in arm, throughout the city early in the morning and throughout the day. One day, he decided to go over and see what was happening in a particular place behind the temple. Behind the temple was a courtyard. There was an intersection there. Colonnades were placed there out from the two sides, and they were made into a roof by these large, long, high stone columns. These columns were known as Solomon’s porch, and so it was Paul of Tarsus one day…and we’ll take up from there.

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