PAULINE YEAR
TALK # 5
St. Paul, Co-workers, Life and Legacy
Adult Education, St. Joseph’s, February 11, 2009
Charles P. Poole, Jr.
1.
Introduction
2. St.
Paul
3.
Barnabas
4.
Characters in Acts
5. Places in Acts
6. The Legacy of Paul.
1. INTRODUCTION
In this session we will identify some of the main
characters and cities that are discussed in the Acts of the Apostles and in
Paul’s letters.
2. ST. PAUL
St. Paul was born in c. 10 AD in the town of Tarsus in
Cilicia, a Roman province in present day southeastern Turkey. He was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and
also a Roman citizen, both characteristics inherited from his parents. His Jewish name was Saul and his Roman name
was Paul. He was the product of a
three-fold background, namely: a Jewish faith, Greek culture, and Roman
citizenship. Paul was a Pharisee, the
son of a Pharisee, most likely with an early education in a synagogue school
that stressed the Old Testament scriptures.
His later theological education was in Jerusalem under the famed doctor
of the Law Gamaliel, who himself was a pupil and grandson of Hillel. Paul’s letters cite the Old Testament over
200 times. He was martyred in Rome,
probably by beheading, in 67 AD.
3. BARNABAS
Barnabas was a Jewish Cypriot of the priestly tribe of
Levi. He was perhaps the main leader
after Peter of the early Church, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. His first appearance in Acts [4:36. 37] was when he sold some property and donated
the proceeds to the newly formed community of believers. A later appearance
[11:22 -26] was when the Christian community in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to
Syrian Antioch to investigate the report
that many Gentiles had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He rejoiced
when he arrived there and found many people filled with the the Holy Spirit and
faith. He then went to Tarsus to look
for Saul, found him there and brought him back to Antioch. When a famine broke out in Judea the community in Antioch gathered together a
relief package and sent Barnabas and Saul to bring it to the presbyters and
the community in Jerusalem
Barnabas vouched for the recently converted Paul to the
Christian communities of Jerusalem and Antioch, and accompanied Paul on his
first missionary journey. When he
insisted on bringing his cousin John Mark along on the second journey Paul
objected, so Barnabas and John Mark departed for Cyprus instead where the
former eventually founded the Church.
This dispute did not end their friendship, and Paul mentions Barnabas as
a fellow apostle in his first letter to the Corinthians [9:6].
4. CHARACTERS IN THE ACTS
In this session we will identify some of the main
additional characters that are discussed in the Acts of the Apostles and in
Paul’s letters. Some of them were associates of Paul.
APOLLOS
Apollos, a learned Jew from Alexandria, worked with Paul at
Ephesus, and then later
became the first Bishop of
Corinth.
AQUILA AND
PRISCILLA
Friends of Paul;
see Claudius
CLAUDIUS
Claudius, Emperor of Rome 41-54 AD, is referred to twice in
Acts. He is mentioned as having expelled
the Jews from Rome (49 AD), which is why Aquila and his wife Priscilla met Paul at Corinth [18:2, 26].
CORNELIUS
A Roman centurion, leader of about 100 soldiers, a
righteous man, had dealings with Peter [Chap. 10].
FELIX AND
FESTUS
Felix was procurator of Judea 53 to 60 AD, then was
succeeded by Festus. Paul appeared
before both of them in turn, and then later before King Agrippa II, before
departing for Rome [23:26 to
28:32].
HEROD
Several members of the Herod dynasty are mentioned in the
New Testament. Herod the Great, King of
the Jews, (37-4 BC) enlarged and rebuilt
the Temple of Jerusalem in time for Jesus to preach in it. He was king when Jesus was born, met the
Magi, and slaughtered the Holy Innocents.
His son Archelaus (94 BC - 6 AD) was ruler of Judea when Jesus, Mary and
Joseph returned from Egypt. Another son
Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee (4 BC - 38
AD), imprisoned and then beheaded John the Baptist, Grandson Agrippa I, King of the Jews (37-44) persecuted the
Christians, had the apostle James put to death,
and then he himself died [Chap. 12].
Paul appeared before the great grandson Agrippa II, king of Chalcis
(50-92 AD), after being interrogated by Proconsuls Felix and Festus [Chap. 25,
26]. The numbers in parentheses are
dates of ruling.
JAMES
There are three individuals named James who appear in
Acts. One is the apostle. James the
Greater or elder, the son of Zebedee, the brother of the apostle John.
He is reported slain by Herod Agrippa I during a persecution
[12:1-5]. He was the second Christian
martyr.
James Alpheus, or James the Less (i.e. younger) was also
one of the twelve apostles.
James, who is referred to in Scripture as the so-called
brother of the Lord, was the leader (first bishop) of the Church in Jerusalem.
He formulated the decision statement of the Council of Jerusalem [15:12-21].
He may also have written the NT Letter of James.
Another otherwise unknown
James may have written the New Testament epistle that bears his
name.
JOHN
In Chapters 3, 4 and 8 we have Peter with, probably, John
the Apostle, Chapter 13 and elsewhere clearly identifies John the Baptist, and
several verses such as 15:37 refer to John Mark, the writer of the Gospel that
bears his name Roman name Mark..
LUKE
Luke was a
physician, a Syrian from Antioch. He
accompanied Paul on his final journey from Caesarea to Rome, which gave him the
opportunity to learn a great deal about Paul’s activities. He wrote the third Gospel and the Acts of the
Apostles. He is acknowledged three times
by Paul in the conclusions to his Letters to the Colossians, Second
Timothy and Philemon. Luke is clearly the author of the four we-sections of Acts [16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; and 27:1-28].
MARK
Mark the evangelist, whose gospel follows Matthew’s, is
also called John Mark in the Acts, John being his Jewish name and Mark his
Roman name. He was initially a co-worker with Paul, and then after their
separation [15:36-49], a co-worker with Barnabas.
MATTHIAS
Matthias was chosen by lot to replace the apostle Judas
Iscariot [1:15-26], and is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture.
PETER
Peter appears several times in the Acts giving speeches,
healing people, and exerting leadership.
It is interesting to note that when Paul refers to Peter four times in
First Corinthians [1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5] he always calls him by his Hebrew
name Cephas. In Galatians [Chap. 1 &
2] he uses the name Peter twice and Cephas four times. The term Cephas does not
appear elsewhere in the scriptures except in the phrase “You are Simon, the son
of John; you will be called Cephas, which is translated Peter” [John
1:42].
PHILIP
Philip the
apostle as well as Philip the deacon are mentioned in Acts. The deacon evangelized and baptized the
Ethiopean eunuch in Acts [8:26-40].
4. SILAS (SILVANUS)
Silas (sometimes called Silvanus) accompanied Paul as far
as Corinth on the Second Missionary Journey, where he remained for a
while. He was in prison with Paul in
Philippi. His name is mentioned eight
times in the Acts of the Apostles. He
was a Roman citizen.
STEPHEN
Stephen was selected as one of the seven deacons to serve
the young Christian community [Acts 6:1-7].
He gave a very inspiring speech, and was then stoned to death, becoming
the first martyr, “and Saul was
consenting to his death” [Acts 8:1].
THEOPHILIS
Theophilus is the otherwise unknown person to whom Luke
addresses his gospel as well as the Acts. The word means loving God or lover of
God in Greek, and it may not refer to a real person.
TIMOTHY
Timothy was born of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father in
the town of Lystra in Lyconia which was visited by Paul on his first and second
missionary journeys. Timothy was a
frequent companion of Paul beginning with the second missionary journey and
lasting until Paul’s death. Paul sent
him on missions to the Corinthians and to the Thessalonians, and he was the
first bishop of Ephesus. He is listed as coauthor of the epistles 2 Cor, Phil,
Col, 1,2 Thess, and Philemon, and his
name is also mentioned in Acts and in the epistles Rom and 1 Cor. He was martyred in 97 AD for opposing the
celebration of the feast of Diana.
TITUS
The name of Titus does not appear in the Acts of the
Apostles, but he is mentioned eight times in 2-Corinthians and twice in
Galatians. Titus organized the Church on
the island of Crete, where he served as the first bishop. Paul wrote an epistle to him.
5. PLACES IN ACTS
In this section we mention some of the characteristic
features of the places to which St. Paul addressed letters.
COLOSSAE
Colossae, an ancient city of Phrygia (West-central
Turkey), situated about 12 miles above Laodicea, and near the main road from
Ephesus to the Euphrates.
CORINTH
A city-state, 48 mi
(78 km) southwest of Athens, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the
large Peloponnesus peninsula to the mainland of Greece. Corinth was a flourishing commercial center. It was served by seaports on both sides of
the isthmus.
EPHESUS
Ephesus in western Asia Minor (present day Turkey).was a
center of commerce. Paul wrote some of
his letters there.
GALATIA
Galatia was a region in central Asia Minor (present day
Turkey) evangelized by Paul.
PHILIPPI
Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia (northern ancient
Greece) evangelized by Paul.
ROME
Rome was the capital and most populous city in the Roman
Empire.
THESSALONICA
Capital of Macedonia (northern ancient Greece) and the
second largest city in Greece, after Athens.
6. THE LEGACY
OF PAUL
The life and works of Paul are important both historically
and theologically. The Acts of the
Apostles make clear his dominant role in the growth and development of the
Church from its beginnings as a small group dedicated individuals localized in
Jerusalem to its spread throughout much of the Roman Empire. Historically,
Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians contains the oldest accounts of
the Lord’s Supper [11:23-26[ and the Resurrection [15:1-11]. His letters
provide some insight into the workings of the early Christian communities, and
the lives of the people there.
Theologically, the letters and the Acts let us know what
messages Paul was proclaiming, as well as clarifying the nature of the
controversies that arose as a result of his teachings. He taught us that Jesus Christ is the Lord
and Savior of the world; he explained
the nature of reconciliation and justification, the consequences of sin, the
virtues of faith, hope and love, and God’s free gift of salvation. He also elaborated on topics such as
election, grace, judgment, law, mercy,
righteousness, sacrifice, salvation,
sanctification, and suffering.
He introduced some novel theological ideas such as the Church as the
body of Christ, the four marks of the Church, and the Order of Melchizedek as a model for the
priesthood.
Paul did not develop a systematic formulation of
theology, but his ideas are reflected in the fundamental components of later
systematic formulations. He greatly
influenced many Fathers of the Church such as Augustine, John Chrysostom and
Jerome. His writings had a strong impact
on the Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin, and on the
theologian Karl Barth.
7. ANCIENT CITIES OF CHRISTIANITY
We conclude this chapter with a table that lists 22 of the
most important cities of the Christian world during New Testament times, and
the first few centuries thereafter. Most
of these cities have been taken from Christianity by force of arms, and are now
in the hands of Muslims. Some of the
cities on the list have new names, and
several no longer exist, or only ruins remain.
Table 1.
List of cities important during the early years of Christianity: EC
indicates the site of a an Ecumenical Council,
LP indicates received a letter or letters from St. Paul, Patr indicates one of the five patriarchates,
Rev indicates one of the seven cities mentioned in the Book of Revelation as receiving a letter, Other
indicates another reason. * indicates
cities conquered by Muslims during the first three caliphates (632-660), @
indicates conquered during the Umayyad Caliphates (661-750), and # indicates
conquered later or reconquered by OttomanTurks (1300-1481).
Alexandria
Patr * #
Muslim city in present day Egypt
Antioch
Patr #
Muslim city (now Antakya) in
present day Turkey
Chalcedon
EC # Muslim town,
now a district of Istanbul
Colossae LP
# Ruined city in present day Turkey
Constantinople
EC, Patr # Muslim city (now Istanbul) in present day Turkey
Corinth LP
Christian city in present day Greece
Damascus Other * # Muslim city, capital of Syria, associated
with
conversion of St. Paul
Ephesus
EC, LP, Rev # Ruins of city in present day Turkey
Galatia LP # Muslim region in present day Turkey
Hippo Other @ #
Muslim city (now Annaba) in north
Africa
where St. Augustine was bishop
Jerusalem Patr * # Jewish/Muslim city in present day Israel
Laodicia LP (lost), Rev # Muslim
city (now Latakia) in present day Syria
Nicaea EC # Muslim city (now Iznik) in present
day Turkey
Pergamon
Rev # Muslim
city (now Bergama) in present day Turkey
Philadelphia
Rev
* # Muslim
city (now called Amman), capital
of Jordan
Philippi LP Christian town (now Filippoi) in
present day Greece
Rome LP, Patr
Christian city in present day Italy
Sardis Rev # Ruins of city are in
present day Turkey
Smyrna Rev # Muslim city (now Izmir) in present day
Turkey where
Polycarp was bishop
Tarsus Other # Muslim city in present day Turkey,
birthplace of St. Paul
Thessalonica
LP Christian city in present day
Greece
Thyatira
Rev #
Muslim city (now Akhisar) in present day Turkey
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank Doris Christley for her critical
reading of this work, and her thoughtful comments and recommendations
concerning it.