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The apostle Paul, or Saul, which was his Hebrew name, was born in Tarsus in or after the year 5 AD, into a family loyal to the Jewish law. His father was a Pharisee, and Saul was raised diligently observing the Jewish law. We know nothing about his mother, but we do know he had a sister. In his youth, Saul studied under Gamaliel, a famous doctor of the law and member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council.
As a young man, Saul became a great persecutor of Christians. He witnessed the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and from that moment on, he began to persecute and mistreat all those who believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But one day, everything changed.
In the book of Acts, we read the story of Saul's conversion. He had persecuted the church with great cruelty and dedication. However, his encounter with Jesus transformed him so deeply that Saul became a great missionary for Christ and a church planter.
Paul is known as the apostle to the Gentiles, for God called him to make His name known among all nations. He carried the gospel of Christ to everyone with more dedication than he had ever shown when persecuting others. On his journeys, he encouraged Jewish believers and reached people from different nations with the message of salvation in Jesus.
Today, we mainly know Paul through the 13 books of the New Testament that he wrote. He is considered a great hero of the faith, who preached Jesus and suffered greatly for love of Him, even unto martyrdom. Paul is probably one of the most admired and well-known biblical figures, a great example of a life dedicated to the work of the Lord.
The Life of Saul of Tarsus
His Childhood and Youth
Saul was a Jew born in Tarsus, a city in the country we now know as Turkey. He spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and possibly Latin. His father and family were Pharisees, and Saul received strict instruction in the law from his childhood. He was under the tutelage of Gamaliel, a well-known teacher of the law, and grew up as a very zealous Jew for keeping God’s law.
This zeal led him to persecute Christians with determination. Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. From that point on, Saul dedicated himself to wreaking havoc in the church: he would enter homes and drag men and women to jail.
Saul considered Christians a sect opposed to the law and sought to eliminate them. One day, he went to the high priest and asked for letters to the synagogues of Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them to Jerusalem.
His Conversion
But on the way to Damascus, something amazing happened. A light from heaven flashed around Saul with such power that he fell to the ground. At the same time, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
Saul asked who the voice was, and the answer he received was, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
Saul's life would never be the same again. In that encounter with Jesus, he became blind, but God sent Ananias, a Christian living in Damascus, to pray for him. Ananias knew of Saul's reputation as a persecutor and had some reservations. But God convinced him, telling him that He had chosen Saul as a special instrument.
Ananias obeyed God and went to pray for Saul, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, regained his sight, and was baptized immediately. Saul stayed in Damascus for several days and, from the very beginning, began preaching in the synagogues, declaring that Jesus is the Son of God.
From Persecutor to Missionary of Christ
Everyone was amazed to see that the one who had previously persecuted them was now preaching Jesus as the Messiah. From the beginning, Saul knew that he was not only called to speak to everyone about Jesus, but that he would also suffer greatly for the sake of the gospel. Saul did not just speak about Jesus to the Jews. He mainly spoke to the Greeks and non-Jews, who knew him by his Roman name, Paul.
The church was scattered due to persecution, and Paul began to travel to different places. Wherever he went, he encouraged the brothers and sisters living in the diaspora, and he also preached the gospel in synagogues and public squares.
He worked by making tents to support himself financially and carried the message of salvation wherever God sent him. His journeys took him from Damascus, Jerusalem, and Tarsus to Cyprus, Arabia, Antioch, and many other places in the known world at that time.
For the love of Christ, Paul endured many beatings, was struck with rods, thrown into prison, shipwrecked three times, suffered hunger and thirst, and was even bitten by a snake on one occasion. Yet, he never turned back in his faith. He remained steadfast and preached about God’s love until his death.
His Last Years and Death
From the time of his conversion, Paul dedicated his life to proclaiming the gospel of Christ throughout the Roman Empire. This brought him many troubles and he was heavily persecuted. He was imprisoned several times, with his last imprisonment in Rome. There, he was under house arrest with quite a bit of freedom, within what was possible.
At the end of the book of Acts, we read that Paul welcomed his brothers and sisters in the faith into the room he rented, where he was fulfilling his house arrest. He preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with freedom, even while he remained imprisoned. Certainly, the soldiers who guarded him heard the message of salvation.
However, these were the times of Nero, and the persecution against Christians was becoming increasingly harsh. The Bible does not explicitly say, but it seems that Paul died there in Rome, beheaded, sometime between the years 65-67 AD.
Biblical References:
The story of Saul (who later became Paul) is primarily found in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. His conversion and early ministry are detailed in Acts chapters 7 through 28. Key events include:
- Acts 7: The stoning of Stephen, where Saul is introduced as a persecutor of Christians.
- Acts 9: The dramatic conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, where he encounters Jesus.
- Acts 13-28: Paul's missionary journeys, including his preaching, church planting, and the challenges he faced.
Learn about other apostles and disciples of Jesus: