Saul of Tarsus, who later became known as the apostle Paul, led an eventful life prior to his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. Though the Bible does not provide a complete biography of Saul’s early years, it does reveal some key details about his background, family, education, religious training, and early opposition to the church.
Saul’s Background and Family
Saul was born around the same time as Jesus, likely between 5 and 10 AD (Acts 7:58; Php 3:5). His birthplace was Tarsus, a significant city in the Roman province of Cilicia located on the southeast coast of modern-day Turkey (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3). Tarsus was known as a center of Greek philosophy and education, and Saul’s family were Roman citizens (Acts 22:25-28). This gave Saul status and privileges in the Roman Empire from birth.
Saul came from a devout Jewish family of the tribe of Benjamin (Php 3:5; Rom 11:1). His father was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6) who taught Saul to observe the Law of Moses strictly according to the tradition of the Pharisees (Gal 1:14). Saul also had a sister living in Jerusalem whose son rescued him from a death plot (Acts 23:16). Beyond this, little is known about Saul’s family and upbringing.
Based on his impressive education and zeal for Judaism, it appears Saul grew up in a relatively wealthy Jewish family devoted to their faith. As Roman citizens in a prosperous commercial hub, they likely would have had the means to provide Saul with the best education available.
Saul’s Education and Training
Saul received training in Jewish religious law under Gamaliel I, the most honored rabbi of the time (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was the grandson of Hillel the Elder and a leading Pharisee in Jerusalem (Acts 5:34). Rabbinic tradition held him in the highest regard as a brilliant sage and expert on the Torah, or Jewish law.
As Gamaliel’s student, the young Saul would have received meticulous instruction in the Mosaic Law and its oral interpretations. Saul himself claimed he advanced in Judaism beyond many of his contemporaries, displaying incredible zeal for the traditions of his ancestors (Gal 1:14). His intimate knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures evident in his later writings reflects his extensive Jewish education under Gamaliel.
In addition to his religious training, Saul’s home city of Tarsus afforded him access to a thriving Greek educational system. Tarsus was a seat of Stoic, Cynic, Epicurean, and Peripatetic philosophy, and Saul would have been exposed to these schools of thought. His later ability to quote Greek poets and philosophers suggests he received a classical Greek education to complement his Jewish upbringing (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12).
Between his Jewish and Hellenistic schooling, Saul was well-equipped to operate in both Hebrew and Greek cultural settings. His dual fluency in Aramaic and Greek and familiarity with Jewish and Gentile thought shaped him for his future missionary travels throughout the Greco-Roman world.
Saul the Pharisee
As a disciple of the celebrated Rabbi Gamaliel, Saul embraced the Pharisaic approach to Jewish religion. The Pharisees zealously obeyed both the written laws of Moses and the intricate oral traditions formulated over centuries to govern nearly every aspect of life. They believed this strict obedience earned God’s favor.
The Pharisees also upheld beliefs like the immortality of the soul and resurrection from the dead that were not shared by their rivals the Sadducees (Acts 23:6-8). They cherished the hope of Israel that God would send a Messiah to deliver them from foreign oppression and restore an independent Jewish kingdom.
Saul proved himself a devoted Pharisee, surpassing his peers in zeal for the traditions of the elders (Gal 1:14). His flawless outward adherence to the Law led him to boast that, according to righteousness under the Law, he was blameless (Php 3:4-6). This does not mean Saul was sinless, but from all external appearances he lived a model Pharisaic lifestyle.
As a Pharisee, Saul also would have shared their eagerness for the Messiah’s coming. And initially he likely would have seen the risen Jesus as just another failed messianic pretender. His messianic expectations shaped Saul’s violent reaction to the fledgling Christian church.
Saul the Persecutor
Saul’s first appearance in the Bible comes as a witness to the martyrdom of Stephen, a leader in the early Jerusalem church. When Stephen is seized and brought before the Sanhedrin for preaching about Jesus, Saul is introduced as one who gave approval of his execution by stoning (Acts 7:58; 8:1; 22:20). This bloody scene launched Saul’s relentless crusade against the followers of Jesus.
Saul believed it was his duty before God to crush what he saw as a dangerous heretical sect infiltrating Judaism. In his mind, the Christians threatened the Law of Moses and the hope of Israel by proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. Consumed by rage and self-righteousness, Saul became the chief persecutor of the fledgling church in Jerusalem.
Empowered by the Jewish authorities, Saul began invading homes and arresting men and women who belonged to “the Way” for imprisonment or worse (Acts 8:3; 9:1-2; 22:4, 19; 26:10-11). He used torture to try to force them to blaspheme the name of Jesus. When they refused, Saul gave his vote to have them condemned and executed for their “heresy” (Acts 26:10-11).
The relentless persecution spearheaded by Saul scattered Christians from Jerusalem into Judaea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). But Saul pursued them, determined to exterminate Jesus’ followers wherever they fled (Acts 26:11). He “ravaged the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). Saul left devastation in his wake, believing he was serving God by wiping out the despised sect of the Nazarenes.
Saul’s Conversion
Saul’s journey of brutal persecution eventually led him to Damascus, where a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ transformed him from christianity’s fiercest foe into its greatest champion. As Saul neared Damascus, pursuing Christians to arrest them, the Lord Jesus dramatically appeared to him in a blinding light, confronting Saul with the reality of His deity and lordship (Acts 9:1-7; 22:6-11; 26:12-18).
Overwhelmed by Christ’s majestic glory and authority, Saul fell face down on the road. Jesus rebuked him for persecuting Him by attacking His church. He then commissioned the trembling and astonished Saul to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Struck physically blind by the experience, Saul obeyed the voice of Jesus and went on to Damascus.
There his sight was restored after three days by a Christian named Ananias, whom the Lord had directed to go lay hands on Saul (Acts 9:8-19). Saul emerged from those fateful days on the Damascus road as a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). He was baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit, and immediately began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God – stunning all who knew of his former zeal to destroy this very message (Acts 9:20-22).
News of Saul’s radical transformation confounded the Jews in Damascus who knew his reputation as christianity’s number one adversary. When his life was threatened by their plots to kill him, Saul escaped the city by being lowered down the wall in a basket under cover of night (Acts 9:23-25). So began his new life of proclaiming the gospel with as much fervor as he once sought to extinguish it.
Conclusion
In summary, Saul of Tarsus lived an eventful and consequential life even before becoming the apostle Paul. His birth into a Jewish family in Tarsus provided him both Jewish religious training and Greek philosophical education. As a zealous Pharisee, Saul sought to protect Judaism by violently persecuting the early Christian church. But Jesus sovereignly apprehended His own enemy on the Damascus road and transformed Saul into His greatest missionary. The persecutor of the faith became its preeminent proclaimer and propagator.
Through his dramatic conversion, God equipped Saul with the background, knowledge, and zeal required for bringing the gospel across the Roman Empire. Jesus took His fearsome foe and made him a friend, proving that He can turn anyone into an ambassador for Christ. The story of Saul before Paul stands as testimony to the boundless grace and patience of God in redeeming even the most unlikely candidates for His kingdom.