Paul of Tarsus (II)
The Pauline year which began on June 29 (the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul) commemorates the 2000th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth in the Roman city of Tarsus, in what is now the country of Turkey. The city had become Roman in 64 BC and was the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia. A small river (the Cydnos) flowed through the center of the city in those days (it is now a mere stream), and it was there that Cleopatra landed from Egypt to meet Marc Antony. The inhabitants of the city were all citizens of Rome (an honor given to few cities of the Roman empire) and later, in time of trouble, Paul invoked that citizenship to save him. With its face to the Mediterranean and its back to the Tarsus mountains, this city saw the birth of Saul in the year 8 of the Christian era.
“I was circumcised on the eighth day; a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee as far as the Law is concerned” (Phil. 3:5). So wrote St. Paul himself, and, apart from those words, we know nothing whatsoever of his youth. He grew up a Jew in a pagan, seaport city, freely practicing his Jewish faith. His native language was Greek, his schooling was in Greek; he read the Bible in Greek, the famous Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures produced in the second century B.C.
At some time between 20 and 30 AD, young Saul went to the center of Judaism to further his studies. In Jerusalem, under the famous teacher Gamaliel whom St. Luke would later describe as a
man “respected by all”, Saul studied Jewish history, law and the Scriptures. Under Gamaliel, Saul “advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so very zealous was I for the traditions of my ancestors” as he later described himself in his letter to the Galatians (Gal. 1:14).
On at least two occasions between the years 27 and 30, Jesus of Nazareth visited Jerusalem and taught there. As is obvious from his later experiences, Saul never ran across the God-man and claimed no first-hand knowledge of His death.
Saul first encountered Jesus indirectly — through His disciples who, after the Lord’s resurrection, began to proclaim in Jerusalem that He is, in fact, the long-awaited Messiah of Israel — and more: He is Israel”s God who has become a human! This was too much for the zealous Paul. It was a blasphemy that must be eradicated.
