Persecution Over Blasphemy!

I have read many commentaries of Stephen’s death and of Paul’s persecuting believers of the Way, that conclude first the witnesses lied saying Stephen cursed the Temple and the Law, and secondly that Paul tried to cause believers to curse Jesus. These things are not true, at least not in the sense that we understand cursing today. Jesus was crucified under the charge of blasphemy. I have two blogs on this: (1) Jesus Before the Sanhedrin and (2) Jesus Before Pilate, and they show beyond doubt that the Scriptures conclude Jesus was crucified under the charge of blasphemy, despite the plaque that Pilate had nailed above Jesus’ head.

 

The End of Apostolic Authority in Jerusalem

Most folks think of the Apostolic Age as a period between Pentecost, cir. 31 CE, and the death of the last of the original twelve Apostles. To some degree this is true, but as far as the New Testament is concerned, the centrality of apostolic authority is a dwindling one and ended much earlier—at least as far as the Jerusalem church was concerned.

 

Who Were the Men From James?

At first when Paul tells us that men from James arrived in Antioch and drew Peter and Barnabas away from the table fellowship of Jewish and Gentile believers (Galatians 2:11-13), one thinks that James actually sent these men, but it is something he specifically denied in Acts 15. I think we should probably understand the phrase as being equal to “…men from the Jerusalem church.” James seems to have been the acknowledged leader of the Jerusalem community of believers by this time, which was after the expulsion of the Apostles under the Agrippa persecution of the early 40s CE (Acts 12).

 

When Did Paul Confront Peter in Antioch?

Often, when reading about the events that Paul mentions in his letter to the Galatians I am told that Paul’s confrontation in Antioch with Peter occurred after the Jerusalem council. The reasoning behind this is that Paul addresses Peter’s own words that salvation rests not in works but in faith alone. Notice:

 

Paul Moves to Antioch!

In an earlier blog I had suggested that Paul’s move to Tarsus had a prophetic implication. It is suggested in a book I have read: “Paul: Between Damascus and Antioch” by Martin Hengle and Anna Maria Schwemer, that Paul deliberately placed himself in the position to fulfill prophecy which he saw in Genesis in Noah’s prayer: “God enlarge Japhet, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem” (Genesis 9:27).

 

The Gospel Goes to the Gentiles

Jesus told the apostles that they would be his witnesses to all nations (Matthew 28:19-20), but he never told them how this would be done—only that they would be witnesses to all. Yet, years after his crucifixion and resurrection the apostles are still in Jerusalem. Why? Oh, tradition has it that they were each assigned regions of the world and went out to evangelize the world, but the Scriptures imply, at least for a large part of the first fifteen or so years of church history, the apostles remained at Jerusalem. Didn’t they take the Lord’s word seriously?

 

A Chronology of Acts 8 through 12

The eighth chapter of Acts begins with the persecution of the Church immediately following the death of Stephen in the fall of 34 CE. At this point in time, however, it would be wrong to assume the Church is an entity in itself in the same manner that it had become in the 2^nd century CE. Rather all Messianic Jews were considered a part of Judaism, a faith made up of all Jews, whether or not one believed in Jesus as the Messiah. It is precisely because Stephen and the group of Messianic believers who settled in Jerusalem from the Diaspora were Jews that the leaders in Jerusalem had the authority to pursue them and bring them to Jerusalem for trial.

 

The Eight Silent Years of Paul

Paul tells us that between the time of his life-changing vision of Jesus in chapter nine of Acts (36 CE) and the council at Jerusalem was fourteen years (50 CE). In Galatians he says he did not immediately go to Jerusalem after he saw Jesus, but did go three years later. However, he did not go to Jerusalem again to discuss theology until fourteen years after his vision of Jesus (Galatians 2:1). So, by the time Paul met with Peter and James the first time, it was three years after his vision (39 CE), and between this time and when he and Barnabas left for Galatia on Paul’s supposed first missionary journey in 47 CE, there are about eight silent years. Technically, since not much is known of Paul’s first three years as a Messianic Jew, we could include his first three years and say there are virtually eleven silent years. However, for the purpose of this blog, I am concerned with the eight.

 

Why Did Paul Go to Tarsus?

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When Paul attempted to reconnect with old friends in the Grecian synagogues at Jerusalem, it ended with his having to flee for his life. The brethren in Jerusalem took him as far as Caesarea, where Paul sailed to Tarsus. As one reads the account, it all seems to just naturally flow into the idea that Paul went home to reconnect with family and childhood friends, and thereby more or less nurse his wounded self-esteem. Up to this point Paul had probably preached in Arabia, Damascus and Jerusalem. The result was Aretas’ ethnarch sought to arrest him, the Jews in Damascus sought to kill him, and his old friends at Jerusalem turned against him and also sought his life. What was he doing wrong?

 

What did Peter and Paul Discuss?

Paul told the Galatians that he had stayed with Peter at Jerusalem for fifteen days (Galatians 1:18), immediately following his escape from Damascus, and the three years since his dramatic life-changing experience with Jesus. Someone in Galatia was claiming Paul’s Gospel was learned from the original 12 Apostles and therefore should be subservient to what they taught the Jews. On the other hand, Paul’s point was he was specifically called by Christ and, seeing that he spent three years in Arabia and Damascus before he sought a meeting with Peter, how could the two weeks he spent with him be construed to mean he was dependent upon him or any of the original Twelve for his Gospel? If we can agree with this conclusion, we may then ask, what was discussed between these two men? I think we can be assured it wasn’t the weather.

 

Paul’s Visit to Jerusalem

Paul’s activity after his heavenly vision in Acts 9 seems to suggest an independence from the Apostles as far as authority is concerned. That is, he didn’t need their approval or authorization to preach the Gospel where and when he thought the Lord led. It was about three years after his transformation that he even attempted to see the Apostles (Acts 9:26-28), and even then his visit arose out of the circumstances at hand. That is, he was no longer able to stay in Damascus, so he was then ready to meet with the Twelve.

 

Jerusalem knew nothing of Paul!

Most commentaries I’ve read about Paul’s dramatic spiritual transformation on the way to Damascus have him preaching immediately after his spiritual awakening, discussing with the Jews in the synagogues there, showing Jesus was the Messiah. However, this makes no sense whatsoever, because Jerusalem knows absolutely nothing of Paul and his work there. Surely after a period of three years something would have trickled down from Damascus to Jerusalem showing what Paul was doing. Nevertheless, the Scriptures are silent as it pertains to Jerusalem’s knowledge of Paul’s activities.

 

Paul’s Flight from Damascus

After Paul returned to Damascus from Arabia, he began to preach in the synagogues there. At that time there were thousands of Jews and Jewish proselytes among the Damascenes for Josephus tells us that 10, 000 Jews were slain there during the Jewish revolt [Wars 2.20.2], and this appears to be men only, for in another place he says there were 18,000 slain and there included women and children [Wars 7.8.7], but this does not include Jewish sympathizers or God-fearers who worshiped among the Jews every Sabbath. So, evidently Paul had a great mission field here, near where he first came to know Jesus.

 

Paul and the Doctrine of Circumcision

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Did you ever wonder how Paul first began to understand the circumcision doctrine that so identified Pauline theology? Well, immediately following his heavenly vision, Paul went into Arabia. More than likely he spent some time in the synagogues in various cities he visited there. Paul already knew the Nabataeans were near relatives to the Jews, descending from Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s slave. He would have found, if he didn’t know already, Nabataeans were more easily won over as proselytes to Judaism there than in other Gentile countries in the empire. Why was this so? No doubt it was because of the Nabataean’s disposition toward the Jewish practice of circumcision. Being descended from Abraham, circumcision was not rejected, as it was in other Gentile countries. It was already practiced, but not under compulsory conditions as in Judea and Galilee. Nabataeans were more or less indifferent toward the practice.

 

Paul’s Theology and the Children of Abraham

“Who are the children of Abraham?” It seems this was a question under discussion in the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8), as well as that of Jesus (John 8:39), but although there are implications in the Gospel narratives, Paul defines the doctrine more vividly than what is found in the Gospel accounts. For Paul, Abraham’s children are those who “believe God” just as Abraham believed God. They are not necessarily, in the spiritual sense, those who are physically descended from Abraham, although his physical descendants must ultimately be dealt with. The question is, however, where did Paul get this idea, since he was never one of John’s or Jesus’ disciples?