Paul

Life and work

Paul was born Saul in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia (modern-day Turkey), to a Jewish family that held Roman citizenship — a valuable legal status he would later invoke to protect himself (Acts 22:25-28). He trained as a Pharisee under the respected rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3) and became a zealous defender of Jewish law, first appearing in the New Testament approvingly watching over the stoning of Stephen, the church's first martyr (Acts 7:58-8:1). He went on to actively hunt down and imprison members of the new Christian movement, obtaining letters of authority to pursue believers as far as Damascus (Acts 9:1-2).

On the road to Damascus, Saul was reportedly confronted by a blinding light and the voice of the risen Jesus asking, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He was struck blind for three days until a disciple named Ananias, initially wary given Saul's reputation, restored his sight and baptized him (Acts 9:1-19). This conversion transformed Paul, as he became known, from Christianity's most dangerous opponent into one of its central architects.

Paul undertook three major missionary journeys across Asia Minor, Greece, and the wider eastern Mediterranean, planting and strengthening churches in cities including Antioch, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Ephesus (Acts 13-21). He played a key role at the Council of Jerusalem, where church leaders debated whether Gentile converts needed to follow Jewish law, ultimately affirming Paul's position that faith in Christ, not circumcision, was what mattered (Acts 15). His missionary strategy of centering on major cities and their synagogues, then moving to Gentile audiences, helped Christianity spread rapidly beyond its Jewish origins.

Thirteen New Testament letters are traditionally attributed to Paul, including Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon — making him by far the most prolific New Testament author. These letters address theology, church conflicts, and practical Christian living, and became foundational texts for Christian doctrine. Paul was not without conflict even among fellow leaders: he publicly confronted Peter in Antioch for withdrawing from eating with Gentile believers under pressure from Jewish Christians, calling it hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-14).

Paul's ministry brought him frequent hardship — he catalogs beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments, and constant danger in his own letters (2 Corinthians 11:24-27). He was eventually arrested in Jerusalem after a riot triggered by accusations that he had brought Gentiles into the temple (Acts 21:27-36), and spent years in Roman custody, appearing before the governors Felix and Festus and King Agrippa, before exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal directly to Caesar (Acts 25:11). The journey to Rome for trial included a dramatic shipwreck off Malta (Acts 27).

The book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome, still preaching and teaching "with all boldness and without hindrance" (Acts 28:30-31). The New Testament does not record his death, but early church tradition holds that he was executed in Rome under Nero, likely by beheading — a method reserved for Roman citizens — sometime in the mid-to-late 60s AD.

Dating

Present at Stephen's stoning as 'a young man' (Acts 7:58), suggesting a birth in the early first century AD, and later calling himself 'Paul, the aged' in a letter written around AD 60 (Philemon 9). Tradition holds he was beheaded in Rome under Nero (as a Roman citizen, exempt from crucifixion) — an account already assumed as common knowledge in 1 Clement, written barely a generation later around AD 96, making this one of the earliest-attested apostolic deaths outside Scripture.

Questions and debates

Modern scholars broadly agree Paul personally wrote seven of the thirteen letters attributed to him (Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon), while debating whether he wrote the remaining six himself, dictated them with significant input from co-writers, or whether some were written later by followers in his name and tradition — a common ancient practice.

Paul's confrontation with Peter at Antioch over table fellowship with Gentiles (Galatians 2:11-14) is a rare, undisguised account of conflict between two major apostolic leaders, and scholars continue to debate exactly how the dispute was resolved and how it relates to the account of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.

Extra-biblical evidence

Scripture references

• Acts 7:58-8:3 — Saul persecutes the early church
• Acts 9:1-19 — Conversion on the road to Damascus
• Acts 15 — Council of Jerusalem
• Galatians 2:11-14 — Confronts Peter at Antioch
• Acts 21:27-36 — Arrested in Jerusalem
• Acts 25:11 — Appeals to Caesar
• Acts 27 — Shipwreck on the voyage to Rome
• Acts 28:16-31 — Under house arrest in Rome

Further reading

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Saint Paul the Apostle

Reflect

Paul called himself the least likely candidate for the work he was given — where might your past be preparation rather than disqualification?