The Arrest and Death of Apostle Paul

Introduction

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was the early Christian leader who is often considered to be the person responsible for making Christianity a world religion rather than a small sect of Judaism. Paul was born between 2 and 10 CE in Tarsus, a city located near the Mediterranean coast in what is today the country of Turkey. His Hebrew name was Saul, but on his conversion to Christianity, he took on the Roman name Paul. During his day, Tarsus served as the capital of Asia Minor, and its territory was considered free; thus, Saul was born a free man. Paul had a Pharisaic family origin. The Pharisees' school of thought was characterized by rigid obedience to Mosaic Law (the law given to Moses by God and, more generally, the laws of the Old Testament). Saul took rabbinical studies in Jerusalem with the renowned teacher, Gamaliel, who personally tutored him. In this paper, we are focusing on the last arrest and death of Apostle Paul.

Description and Analysis

In his second missionary journey, Paul and Silas traveled to Tarsus and then to Derbe and Lystra. This time, Paul met Timothy, who later became his frequent companion. The three of them traveled through Pisidian, Antioch, to Troas, a city in Asia Minor. It is there that Paul had a vision of a holy man in Macedonia, across the Aegean Sea, calling to him for help (16:9-10). Paul treated the vision as a sign from God and set sail to Neapolis, from where they traveled to Philippi. There they baptized a woman named Lydia, along with her entire family. In Philippi, Paul also performed an exorcism on a slave girl, which agitated her masters, who filed a complaint and started an uprising in the city against Paul and Silas. They were both arrested and imprisoned, but an earthquake made their escape possible.

From there they went to Thessalonica, and Paul preached the Gospel for three Sabbaths in a row, showing why Jesus is the savior mentioned in the Old Testament. There Jason, who was later accused and arrested by an angry Jewish mob that came looking for Paul and Silas but never found them, gave them refuge. Jason was later released, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy left for Beroea. Even there, he was hunted by the Jews from Thessalonica, which is why Paul left for Athens, leaving Silas and Timothy in Thessalonica. In Beroea (17:10-15), however, the Jewish group showed a far more open-minded approach to the study of the scriptures.

Well into 58 CE, Paul traveled to Jerusalem, after visiting Coos, Rhodes, Patara, and Caesarea. He stayed in Caesarea for several days in the house of Phillip the Evangelist and then entered Jerusalem, even though he had been warned not to come. Taking with him four Jewish converts into the Temple area, he caused a riot. Roman troops rushed to his help, saving him from the crowds. They then sentenced him to scourging to find out what he had done to ...