Paul was one of the most remarkable men in human history. His Jewish name was Saul and he was born in Tarsus, in the region of (modern southeast Turkey). Though born outside of Israel and well acquainted with Greek ways, Paul was trained in Jerusalem under the tutelage of Gamaliel, one of the leading Jewish rabbis of his day. (Walton, Strauss & Cooper, Jr., 2006)
As a young man, Paul was so zealous for his faith that he began persecuting the new Christian church, viewing it as a distortion of Judaism and promoting a false messiah. But while headed for Damascus to persecute Christians, the resurrected Jesus appeared to Paul and called him into his service. Paul "the persecutor" was suddenly transformed into Paul "the apostle" (apostle means "one sent out with a commission). As a missionary, evangelist, church planter, and creative theologian, Paul became one of the leading proponents of Christianity. (Walton, Strauss & Cooper, Jr., 2006)
It was Paul more than any other who set out the theological implications of the coming of Jesus. For Paul, Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross paid for the sins of the world and reversed the results of Adam's fall. Jesus' resurrection meant that the new age to salvation-the kingdom of God- had dawned. Salvation was now to be proclaimed by his church to the whole world. (Walton, Strauss & Cooper, Jr., 2006, pg.91)
But Roman citizenship gave legal privileges and protection that served Saul well in his later endeavors as a Christian missionary. He, his father, and at least his grandfather too were Pharisees (not the plural “fathers” in Acts 26:5-6) and, resisting Hellenism as much as possible, lived Hebraistically (Philippians 3:5-6). Most of his young manhood Saul spent in Jerusalem where he studied under the famous rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). (Gundry, pg. 312-13)
