Paul the Apostle (5 to 64)

The story of Paul's conversion is written in the books of Acts 9: 1-19a. It reads so:

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

9 For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

How horrified Saul was to realize the fact that the Messiah who now declared His glorious blindness was in fact Jesus crucified, and that He loved His people so much that their persecution was His own. How terrible it is to imagine what punishment he would receive if Christ intended to avenge all the persecution His disciples suffered at the hands of Saul. But Christ did not come to punish Saul. Christ came to call His apostles. An apostle who with all his tenacity will be a great influence on the nations.

Paul began preaching Christ and proclaimed that Christ was the son of God. The apostles of God were amazed at the extraordinary change in Paul. The Jews who heard him also did not believe that Saul was the one who made this claim. Paul grew in strength and power as he preached the Word of God.

Paul went to Arabia and stayed there for three years. This is the time to study and deepen the Word of God in order to prepare him for an important ministry, which is waiting before him.

After living in Arabia, he returned to Damascus. There are many people who listened to his preaching with great enthusiasm. However, it didn't take long before the Jews tried to find him and kill him. Therefore, the disciples planned to let him go. One night Paul was hidden in a basket and lowered outside the city walls.

Now Paul understands what he has done to Christians. From then on many Jews were looking for him and wanted to destroy him. Paul was an apostle of God who was very good at preaching the gospel, both to Jews and to non-Jews. People who are not Jews are people of other nationalities. He had grown up in the city of Tarsus, a non-Jewish city, and lived and studied there as a Jew.

Jesus said, "and I, when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to Me." (John 12:32) Jesus taught His disciples about this worldwide mission. "Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do all that I have commanded you. And know, I am with you always to the end of the age." (Matthew 28: 19-20).

We call this commandment the "Great Commission". Great Commission for "all nations". It was difficult for His followers to begin this work, even after His resurrection and ascension to heaven. It is likely that the disciples of the Lord Jesus originally settled in Jerusalem, but because of the persecution, they eventually scattered and scattered to other countries. So they spread the gospel, but they really don't have a plan to do that. However, these Christians needed a leader who could organize, plan programs, and lead them on a mission to other nations. This leader is Paul. About ten years after his conversion, he had prepared himself and prepared to lead the real mission of this church.

The new church that was growing in Antioch sent Barnabas and Paul as missionaries. Their first stop was Salamis on the island of Cyprus, Barnabas' birthplace. The success of preaching the gospel on the island fueled the enthusiasm of Paul and his companions to continue their efforts in more difficult areas. They headed for Perga and Antioch. In Antioch, Paul was the speaker. There, some people believed Paul's preaching and some rejected it. This sparked resistance. Initially, this only happened in Antioch, but later spread to Iconium and Lystra. At Lystra, he was stoned and left outside the city. The people who stoned him thought he was dead, so they just left him. However, it turned out that Paul was still alive. After that, he went to Derbe. Paul and Barnabas' visit to Derbe concludes their first trip. Before long, however, Paul decided to retrace the arduous route to strengthen, encourage, and organize the Christian groups he had succeeded in establishing with Barnabas. Paul plans to establish Christian congregations in the main cities of the Roman Empire. He did not want to leave those whom he had brought to repentance without adequate spiritual leaders.

In this preaching tour of the gospel, Paul also thought about the relationship between Gentile converts and Christian Jews. Despite their conversion, these Gentile believers were still considered "second" class, thus preventing them from becoming "full members" of the Jewish congregation. Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to discuss this matter with the church leaders there. Paul managed to captivate the hearts of many by describing his views on the matter. After the trials in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas spent some time in Antioch (Acts 15:35).

Unfortunately, there were two events that broke Paul's working relationship with Barnabas and Peter. Initially, Peter supported Paul's view of liberating Gentiles from the Jewish diet, even setting an example of eating with non-Jews. However, Peter then resigned and stayed away from them (Galatians 2:12). Barnabas was also dragged along with Peter. This is the first event that broke their relationship. The second incident was Paul opposing Barnabas to take John Mark along on their missionary journey. This caused a sharp dispute (Acts 15:39). As a result, they then took a different route on their missionary journey. This in fact made the gospel more widely spread.

Paul then visited many churches in other cities such as Rome, Galatia, Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus, and other cities in Asia Minor at that time. And also in the ministry that Paul was in, he wrote letters to the churches he visited and heard about, even while imprisoned.

Thus, as written in Paul's letter to Timothy, to be precise in 2 Timothy 3: 16-17, it is said that "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."

The Roman Empire had several wicked and cruel rulers, but Emperor Nero was the most violent of all. He reigned for 14 years. Nero has been involved in all the crimes that have been there. He even killed his own mother. He also killed several of his wives and friends. History tells us that Emperor Nero burned down Rome. Nero felt that he was a great musician. He thought if he could see a really big fire, maybe he could play the violin better. He lit a fire, sat on the high porch, and watched the city burn while playing his violin. The city of Rome burned for six days. The residents of the city of Rome were very angry about the fire. But Nero said it was the Christians who started the fire. Then they started persecuting Christians. Thousands of Christians were brutally burned on burning poles. At that time Paul was known as the leader of the Christians so that his life must have been in grave danger.

The New Testament does not tell us how Paul died. Some modern scholars claim that after the emperor freed Paul, he was again involved in the evangelizing work. Therefore, Paul was arrested a second time and put to death. The books First Epistle of Clement and Acts of Paul written before 200 confirm that this happened. In the book, it is stated that Paul was beheaded in Rome not long before the fall of the reign of Emperor Nero (circa 67).