Saul of Tarsus, better known by history as the apostle Paul, changed from being a skeptic who believed that it was God's will to persecute the church to becoming one of its most influential preachers!
[Gal 1:22-24 LSB] And I [Paul] was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which are in Christ; [23] but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith which he once tried to destroy.” [24] And they were glorifying God because of me.
Who was this "persecutor"?
Saul was born in Tarsus (in Cilicia, modern-day Turkey) as a Roman citizen by birth.
He was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5).
Trained in Jerusalem under the rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).
Originally a fierce persecutor of the early followers of Yeshua; he was present at the stoning of Stephen and actively hunted believers (Acts 7–8).
Paul says that he persecuted the church to the death, arresting men and women, throwing them into prison, and finally bringing them to Jerusalem in order to be punished ("to death" from the Greek achri thanatou. This phrase is not found in the LXX. In the New Testament it appears only in Revelation 2:10 and 12:11.
Paul's testimony in Acts 26:10 indicates that these persecutions included seeing Christians put to death. Thus, the phrase achri thanatou, like heōs thanatou (e.g., Matt. 26:38; Mark. 14:34), most likely includes death.
In Acts 26:4–5, Paul says that "all the Jews" knew of his prior life in Judaism as a strict Jew and is very similar to what he writes in Galatians 1:22–23. In Acts 26:9–11, he confesses to imprisoning many Christians, voting that they be put to death resulting in their execution, punishing them often (perhaps through torturous beatings), trying to make them blaspheme Christ, and persecuting them even outside of Jerusalem to foreign cities.
In Acts 26:4–5, Paul says that "all the Jews" knew of his prior life in Judaism as a strict Jew and is very similar to what he writes in Galatians 1:22–23. In Acts 26:9–11, he confesses to imprisoning many Christians, voting that they be put to death resulting in their execution, punishing them often (perhaps through torturous beatings), trying to make them blaspheme Christ, and persecuting them even outside of Jerusalem to foreign cities.
In other words... Saul was vicious. He had purpose in his life and that was to rid the earth of as many Christians as he could.
So... what changed in him? What happened to Saul?!
Yeshua happened.
Yeshua happened.
Saul went from killing Christians to becoming a Christian... arguably, THE GOAT of all Christians!
Paul had an experience with the risen Messiah!
Paul's conversion is so interesting because he was an enemy of the church when he claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. Thus, Jesus' resurrection is testified to by friends and now, also by a foe.
His belief that he had witnessed the risen Christ was so strong that he, like the original disciples, was willing to suffer continuously for the sake of the gospel, even to the point of martyrdom. This point is well documented, reported by Paul himself, as well as Luke, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Tertullian, Dionysius of Corinth, and Origen.
Therefore, we have early, multiple, and firsthand testimony that Paul converted from being a staunch opponent of Christianity to one of its greatest proponents.
Paul had an experience with the risen Messiah!
Paul's conversion is so interesting because he was an enemy of the church when he claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. Thus, Jesus' resurrection is testified to by friends and now, also by a foe.
His belief that he had witnessed the risen Christ was so strong that he, like the original disciples, was willing to suffer continuously for the sake of the gospel, even to the point of martyrdom. This point is well documented, reported by Paul himself, as well as Luke, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Tertullian, Dionysius of Corinth, and Origen.
Therefore, we have early, multiple, and firsthand testimony that Paul converted from being a staunch opponent of Christianity to one of its greatest proponents.
Paul didn't convert because his heart softened to a message he heard from a pulpit... he didn't believe because someone convinced him through fabulous preaching of the Gospel. Yeshua hand picked Saul, an enemy and persecutor of His followers, and came to Saul personally to convert him. Saul met the risen Yeshua firsthand.
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