What Did Peter and Paul Discuss at Jerusalem?

Paul told the Galatians that he had stayed with Peter at Jerusalem for fifteen days (Galatians 1:18), immediately following his escape from Damascus and the three years since his dramatic life-changing experience with Jesus. His point was, seeing that he spent three years in Arabia and Damascus before he sought out a meeting with Peter, how could the two weeks he spent with him be construed to mean he was dependent upon him or any of the original Twelve for his Gospel? If we can agree with this conclusion, we may then ask, what was discussed between these two men? I think we can be assured it wasn’t the weather.

Paul’s Visit with Peter

Paul’s activity after his heavenly vision seems to suggest an independence from the Apostles as far as authority is concerned. That is, he didn’t need their approval or authorization to preach the Gospel where and when he thought good. It was about three years after his transformation that he even attempted to see the Apostles, and even then his visit arose out of the circumstances at hand. That is, he was no longer able to stay in Damascus, so he was then ready to meet with the Twelve.

Paul’s Flight from Damascus

After Paul returned to Damascus from Arabia, he began to preach in the synagogues there. There were thousands of Jews and Jewish proselytes among the Damascenes for Josephus tells us that 10, 000 Jews were slain there during the Jewish revolt [Wars 2.20.2], and this appears to be men only, for in another place he says there were 18,000 slain and there included women and children [Wars 7.8.7], but this does not include Jewish sympathizers or God-fearers who worshiped among the Jews every Sabbath. So, evidently Paul had a great mission field here, near where he first came to know Jesus.

My Favorite Joke

I've been tagged by Bill Heroman to tell my favorite joke. Okay, here goes.
There were these two friends, a boy and a girl, about 9 or 10 years old. They were walking in a wooded area and came by a stream. The young boy suggested that they go swimming, because it was hot after all. The girl said she didn't bring her swimming suite, and the boy replied neither did he. Anyway they agreed and went into the bushes to remove their clothing. As chance would have it, they were both ready for the swim at the same time and jumped from the bushes together. The boy looked at his friend and she looked at him and there was a long pause as they continued to stare. The boy finally broke the silence and said...

Paul and the Doctrine of Circumcision

Did you ever wonder how Paul first began to understand the circumcision doctrine that so identified him and his ministry? Well, immediately following his heavenly vision, Paul went into Arabia. More than likely he spent some time in the synagogues in various cities he visited there. Paul already knew the Nabataeans were near relatives to the Jews, descending from Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar the slave. He would have found, if he didn’t know already, Nabataeans were more easily won over as proselytes to Judaism there than in other Gentile countries in the empire. Why was this so? No doubt it was because of the Nabataeans disposition toward the Jewish practice of circumcision. Being descended from Abraham, circumcision was not rejected, as it was in other Gentile countries. It was already practiced, but not under compulsory conditions as in Judea and Galilee. They were more or less indifferent toward the practice.

Stephen’s Death and Chronology in Acts

I recently commented on Bill Heroman’s blog New Testament/History. It was a rather lengthy comment, so I decided to place it here as well, because it adds information to a short series of blogs I did earlier involving Stephen’s death and the first few chapters of Acts. Below is my comment. Changes to the comment for clarity sake appear in brackets.

Who are the Children of Abraham?

“Who are the children of Abraham?” seems to have been a question under discussion in the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8), as well as that of Jesus (John 8:39), but although there are implications in the Gospels, Paul defines the doctrine more vividly than what is found in the Gospel accounts. For Paul, Abraham’s children are those who “believe God” just as Abraham believed God. They are not necessarily, in the spiritual sense, those who are physically descended from Abraham, although his physical descendants must ultimately be dealt with. The question is, however, where did Paul get this idea, since he was never one of John’s or Jesus’ disciples?

Paul in Arabia

In Acts 9:19-20 we get the impression that Paul immediately began preaching the Gospel after his conversion. But, where did he get his insight? How could he have been persecuting Messianic believers one moment and preaching the Gospel they preached in the next moment? This doesn’t make sense. We might say that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and was immediately able to draw on the Scriptures he already knew, and with the Holy Spirit inspiring him, he was now able to understand those Scriptures correctly. Well, we might say that, but is this the manner in which God normally works? I, for one, have to study the Scriptures and pray for insight. Just because I read Genesis to Revelation doesn’t mean I know all there is to know about the Bible, simply because the Holy Spirit dwells within me. How about you?

Jerusalem Knew Nothing of Paul!

Most commentaries I’ve read about Paul’s dramatic spiritual transformation on the way to Damascus have him preaching immediately after his spiritual awakening, discussing with the Jews in the synagogues there, showing Jesus was the Messiah. However, this makes no sense whatsoever, because Jerusalem knows absolutely nothing of Paul and his work there. Surely after a period of three years something would have trickled down from Damascus to Jerusalem showing what Paul was doing. Nevertheless, the Scriptures are silent as it pertains to Jerusalem’s knowledge of Paul’s activities.