1. What did Paul mean when he said he was “set apart from birth” in GAL 1:15?
2. As a son of a Pharisee, Saul was certainly reared as closely to the letter of the law as possible. The apostle described his home life in very few words in PHIL 3:5. In what ways did he specifically describe his heritage.
3. What are a few ways the ancient Hebrew home emphasized Scripture in the life of a young boy? *
4. How would you describe Saul’s training in Jerusalem? *
5. MATTHEW 23 is an entire chapter addressed to the teachers of the law and Pharisees. Read the chapter and compile a list of specific ways Jesus described the same people Saul encountered during his training in Jerusalem. Note both the verse and description.
6. After the day of Pentecost, recorded in ACTS 2, what was Jerusalem like (ACTS 3-5)?
7. How did Gamaliel respond to the apostles’ activity (ACTS 5:33-38)?
Class 1: Question 3. What are a few ways the ancient Hebrew home emphasized Scripture in the life of a young boy?
In Philippians 3:5 Paul described himself as “a Hebrew of Hebrews.” A Jew would have known exactly what he meant. Virtually nothing but Jewish influence touched him in his early childhood. Unlike the typical family today, the father assumed primary responsibility for training the child. The Code of Jewish Law states, “It is the duty of every father to train his children in the practice of all the precepts, whether Biblical or Rabbinical…It is also incumbent upon the father to guard his children against any forbidden act” (Code, IV, p. 47). As a Pharisee, Saul’s father would have assumed his responsibility with great sobriety. We may have to fight the temptation to automatically attach a negative connotation to the term Pharisee. Read F.B. Meyer’s description:“The word Pharisee is a synonym for religious pride and hypocrisy; but we must never forget that in those old Jewish days the Pharisee represented some of the noblest traditions of the Hebrew people. Amid the prevailing indifference the Pharisees stood for a strict religious life…Amid the lax morals of the time, which infected Jerusalem almost as much as Rome, the Pharisee was austere in his ideals, and holy in life.” *
Some gave the Pharisees a bad name, just as some Christians give Christianity a bad name. Saul’s father was not likely one of them, although a number of scholars wonder if he might have been excessively strict, based on the apostle’s words in Ephesians 4:6.
Jewish parents considered children the utmost blessing from God and loved them dearly. The ancient historian Josephus said of the Jew, “We lay greater stress on the training of the children than on anything else, and regard observance of the Law and a corresponding godly life as the most important of all duties.” Although young Saul grew up in a very strict home, he likely enjoyed the utmost devotion of his father to his godly upbringing.
The rabbinic laws taught father to begin teaching their children the ways of God from the earliest understanding. As little more than a toddler, Saul learned to say the Schmone-Ezre – the primary prayers of the Jews – morning, noon, and night. He learned to prayer before and after every meal. He actively participated in the traditional feasts as soon as he could talk. A child of normal intelligence read Scriptures by five years of age. At six years old Saul began his education at the school of a rabbi. These schools were ordinarily attached to the community synagogue. The Jewish population was large enough to have at least one active synagogue in Tarsus. Lessons were tedious and teachers were strict, but Jewish children were rarely caught roaming the streets.
Soon after his sixth birthday, Paul would have memorized Deuteronomy 6:4-9, the words on the tiny scroll inside the Mesusah on the doorway of his home. Far more impressively, he also memorized Psalms 113-118! Imagine all six Psalms being seared into you as a child. Being a Hebrew wasn’t just a religion. Judaism wasn’t even just a way of life. Being Hebrew defined who you were, how you thought, what you felt. By the time Saul was 10 years old. He would have known the intricacies of the oral law. Young Saul’s mind was thoroughly stretched with constant memorization. He had little choice but to “meditate on the law both day and night” just to prepare for the following days lessons.
The years between 10 and 13 are transforming for any boy, but a particular metamorphosis took place in a Jewish boy’s life. By age 13, for all practical purposes, he was considered a man. Once he reached this gateway he was considered a son of the law. He assumed all the religious responsibilities of the adult Jew. He started wearing phylacteries, called tefflin, during weekday morning prayers. Phylacteries were two black leather cubes with long leather straps. The cubes held certain passages from the Torah written on strips of parchment. Saul wore one of the cubes on the left arm facing his heart wound exactly seven times. The other cube was worn in the center of his forehead.
The Code of Jewish Law prescribed that a Jewish man (13 years or older) was to put on the tefflin at the first moment in the morning when enough daylight shone to recognize a neighbor at a distance of four cubits (Code, I, p. 27). Saul would have performed this ritual in complete silence. If interrupted for even a moment, he would have to start all over, repeating the appropriate benedictions. A Jewish man got up every morning remembering to whom he belonged; the binding tefflin a physical reminder of his binding relationship to God. The law of the Lord was Saul’s life. *
* Excerpts from To Live Is Christ and The Life of Paul
Class 1: Question 4. How would you describe Paul's training in Jerusalem?
Although Saul’s education in the home of a Pharisee was probably typical, his response was not. Saul was an exceptional student, so exceptional he was accepted to one of the most prestigious boarding schools around, and it was set in Jerusalem – the fountain of Jewish learning.
Like any 13-year-old boy (or “man”) moving so far from home, he was probably scared to death and at the same time excited. All his life Saul heard about Jerusalem. His father had probably been there often, making the annual pilgrimage for the three feasts. A proper Pharisee traveled to Jerusalem to attend the Passover feast. Saul most likely stayed home to tend to the family affairs. I can only imagine the anticipation he must have felt just before his life-changing journey.
Then once there he was able to actually see with his own eyes the walls, palaces, busy streets, and magnificent buildings including the temple. Saul later wore in Ephesians 2:14 of a “middle wall of separation”. Here Paul was not simply referring to a figurative wall of partition. He was referring to the imposing wall on the temple grounds, a literal wall of partition, which forbade access of the defining heathen from entering the inner sanctuaries of the house of God. Consider the contrasting picture of Saul now and Paul later.
Within days, Saul took a seat in one of the most impressive classrooms in the entire Jewish world. His esteemed teacher was the rabbi Gamaliel, grandson of the great Hillel. Gamaliel continues to be so highly respected in Judaism that he is referred to as “the beauty of the law.” At the feet of this fragile, gentle teacher Paul learned to dissect a text until scores of possible meanings were disclosed according to the considered opinion of generations of rabbis. Paul learned to debate in question-and-answer style known in the ancient world as the "diatribe," and to expound. A rabbi was not only part preacher but part lawyer, who prosecuted or defended those who broke the sacred Law. About 1,000 students populated the rabbinical school, also called the House of Interpretation, during Saul’s studies in Jerusalem.
Gamaliel was almost liberal in comparison to many of his contemporaries. Large-hearted, wise and open-minded, he had been raised on the teachings of his grandfather, Hillel, whose words often had remarkable similarities to The Rabbi, Jesus. An excerpt from Hillel’s teachings: “Judge not thy neighbour until thou are in his place; … my abasement is my exaltation; he who wishes to make a name for himself loses his name; … what is unpleasant to thyself that do not to thy neighbour; this is the whole Law, all else is but its exposition.”
Saul spent five of the most critical years of his life in Jerusalem. He experienced the Holy City during some of its most prosperous and thriving years. Here his childhood dreams came true. He became a rabbi. The son of a Pharisee became a Pharisee. Decades later, when he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he may have looked back over all those years of learning, the hundreds of debates, the trivial arguments and reflected on the unimportance of it all (1 Corinthians 8:1-3).
Notice, that nothing in Saul’s life would be a waste unless he refused to let God use it. All Saul’s religious training, his countless hours spent in Scripture and study, his brilliance in spiritual matters would all be a part of God’s plan.
References: To Live Is Christ and The Apostle: A Life of Paul
Like any 13-year-old boy (or “man”) moving so far from home, he was probably scared to death and at the same time excited. All his life Saul heard about Jerusalem. His father had probably been there often, making the annual pilgrimage for the three feasts. A proper Pharisee traveled to Jerusalem to attend the Passover feast. Saul most likely stayed home to tend to the family affairs. I can only imagine the anticipation he must have felt just before his life-changing journey.
Then once there he was able to actually see with his own eyes the walls, palaces, busy streets, and magnificent buildings including the temple. Saul later wore in Ephesians 2:14 of a “middle wall of separation”. Here Paul was not simply referring to a figurative wall of partition. He was referring to the imposing wall on the temple grounds, a literal wall of partition, which forbade access of the defining heathen from entering the inner sanctuaries of the house of God. Consider the contrasting picture of Saul now and Paul later.
Within days, Saul took a seat in one of the most impressive classrooms in the entire Jewish world. His esteemed teacher was the rabbi Gamaliel, grandson of the great Hillel. Gamaliel continues to be so highly respected in Judaism that he is referred to as “the beauty of the law.” At the feet of this fragile, gentle teacher Paul learned to dissect a text until scores of possible meanings were disclosed according to the considered opinion of generations of rabbis. Paul learned to debate in question-and-answer style known in the ancient world as the "diatribe," and to expound. A rabbi was not only part preacher but part lawyer, who prosecuted or defended those who broke the sacred Law. About 1,000 students populated the rabbinical school, also called the House of Interpretation, during Saul’s studies in Jerusalem.
Gamaliel was almost liberal in comparison to many of his contemporaries. Large-hearted, wise and open-minded, he had been raised on the teachings of his grandfather, Hillel, whose words often had remarkable similarities to The Rabbi, Jesus. An excerpt from Hillel’s teachings: “Judge not thy neighbour until thou are in his place; … my abasement is my exaltation; he who wishes to make a name for himself loses his name; … what is unpleasant to thyself that do not to thy neighbour; this is the whole Law, all else is but its exposition.”
Saul spent five of the most critical years of his life in Jerusalem. He experienced the Holy City during some of its most prosperous and thriving years. Here his childhood dreams came true. He became a rabbi. The son of a Pharisee became a Pharisee. Decades later, when he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he may have looked back over all those years of learning, the hundreds of debates, the trivial arguments and reflected on the unimportance of it all (1 Corinthians 8:1-3).
Notice, that nothing in Saul’s life would be a waste unless he refused to let God use it. All Saul’s religious training, his countless hours spent in Scripture and study, his brilliance in spiritual matters would all be a part of God’s plan.
References: To Live Is Christ and The Apostle: A Life of Paul
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