Paul, from persecutor to preacher of the gospel

Paul traveled to share the gospel and wrote letters to churches. He first appears in Acts as Saul. He described himself as a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia and a Roman citizen by birth. He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, was circumcised on the eighth day, and studied under the law teacher Gamaliel in Jerusalem.

Saul initially persecuted people who followed Jesus. When Stephen was stoned, the witnesses left their outer clothes at Saul's feet, and Saul approved of his death. He then went from house to house, taking men and women to prison. In Galatians, Paul also recalls violently persecuting the church and trying to destroy it.

Saul obtained letters from the high priest to arrest believers in Damascus and take them to Jerusalem. Near Damascus a light from heaven surrounded him, and he fell to the ground. He heard a voice calling him. Jesus identified himself as the one Saul was persecuting and told him to enter the city.

Unable to see, Saul was led into Damascus. For three days he neither ate nor drank. When Jesus told a disciple named Ananias to visit him, Ananias spoke of the harm Saul had done to believers. The Lord said Saul was chosen to carry his name to other nations, kings and Israel. Ananias laid his hands on Saul, who regained his sight and was baptized.

Saul began proclaiming in Damascus synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. People were astonished that the man who had come to arrest believers now preached about Jesus. In Galatians, Paul says he did not immediately go to the apostles in Jerusalem, but traveled to Arabia and returned to Damascus. He writes that after three years he went to Jerusalem to meet Peter.

Acts describes a plot to kill Saul in Damascus. Disciples lowered him in a basket at night so he could escape. In Jerusalem the disciples were initially afraid and did not believe he had become a follower of Jesus. Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described his encounter with Jesus and his bold preaching. Saul spoke in Jerusalem, but another threat to his life led the believers to send him to Tarsus.

Barnabas later found Saul and brought him to Antioch. They spent a year teaching there, and the disciples were first called Christians in that city. When a famine was predicted, the Antioch believers decided to help believers in Judea. Barnabas and Saul delivered the relief to the elders.

As the Antioch church worshiped and fasted, the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for a mission. They preached on Cyprus, where the governor Sergius Paulus heard the message and believed. Around this point Acts introduces Saul as also being called Paul. The subsequent account of his travels uses the name Paul.

In Pisidian Antioch, Paul explained Israel's history and Jesus' death and resurrection in a synagogue. When a large crowd returned the following Sabbath, opposition arose. Paul and Barnabas told those rejecting the message that they would also turn to non-Jewish hearers. Those hearers welcomed the message, and it spread through the region.

In Lystra, Paul healed a man who had never walked. The crowd treated Barnabas as the god Jupiter and Paul as Mercury and tried to sacrifice to them. They stopped the crowd, saying they were human. Later, people from other towns turned the crowd against Paul. He was stoned and left outside the city as if dead, but got up and returned. Paul and Barnabas revisited churches, encouraged the believers and appointed elders before returning to Antioch.

A dispute arose over whether non-Jewish believers needed circumcision and obedience to Moses' law. At a meeting of apostles and elders in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas described God's work among other nations. The meeting decided not to require the whole law and sent a letter with several instructions. Paul's letters also explain how Jewish and non-Jewish believers are received together through faith in Christ.

Before another journey, Paul and Barnabas disagreed over taking Mark, who had left their earlier mission. Barnabas took Mark to Cyprus, while Paul left with Silas. Timothy joined Paul in Lystra. In Philippi, Lydia received their teaching, was baptized with her household and welcomed them into her home.

In Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned. At midnight, while they prayed and sang, an earthquake opened the doors and released the prisoners' restraints. The jailer thought everyone had escaped and was about to kill himself, but Paul stopped him. Paul and Silas taught his household, and they were baptized. The next day Paul objected to the beating and imprisonment of Roman citizens without a trial. The officials came to release them, and they visited Lydia's home to encourage the believers before leaving.

Paul also preached in Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus and other places. He taught in synagogues, marketplaces, homes and gatherings. Some people believed, while others opposed him or caused disturbances. He returned to care for churches and also taught and encouraged believers through letters.

Paul returned to Jerusalem bringing help for his people. When a disturbance broke out at the temple, Roman soldiers arrested him and separated him from the crowd. He explained his faith before the crowd, the Jewish council, governors Felix and Festus, and King Agrippa. After appealing to the emperor, he was sent to Rome as a prisoner. A storm wrecked the ship, but everyone on board reached land alive.

In Rome, Paul stayed separately with a soldier guarding him. For two years he welcomed visitors to his rented home and taught about God's kingdom and Jesus Christ. Several New Testament letters begin in Paul's name, but Acts ends with this scene in Rome. That book does not record his subsequent travels or his death.