167. In all this story of Paul's labors and sufferings there are great gaps. This is seen as soon as we compare his life, as given in the Acts, with one statement of his to the Corinthians, as given in 2 Corinthians 11:25-28. Put in parallel columns, so as to bring them out, the record is as follows:
| Paul's Story | Luke's Story |
| Five times whipped by Jews. | Not one mentioned. |
| Thrice scourged by Romans. | Only one mentioned. |
| Thrice shipwrecked. | Not mentioned, for the shipwreck given in Acts was subsequent to those named. |
| A night and a day in the deep. | Not mentioned. |
168. A Triumphant Life.—Therefore, Paul was bound to the whipping-post eight times, and suffered shipwreck four times, while once he clung to wreckage for twenty-four hours before he could get to land. Yet in spite of all this he could exclaim, "Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Cor. 12:10). And in spite of all that he suffered he could also cry out: "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content" (Phil. 4:11). It seems to us that if the Apostle had been asked, "Where did you learn this truly wonderful lesson?" he might have replied, "The whipping-post was my academy, and mobs with clenched fists and paving-stones were my professors. Fastings and perils in the deep were my college, and my midnight vigils were kept in the inner prison. Weariness and pain were my text-books, and kings and rulers my lecturers. Chained soldiers were my room-mates, a thorn in the flesh was my monitor, and Christ the crucified was Head-master."
169. All agree that at last Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome, by being beheaded. So ended the life of the most useful man of that day, and the great leader in work among the Gentiles.
Test Questions
Where was Saul born?
What distinguished Tarsus at that day?
What trade did Saul learn, and how was it useful to him in after-life?
When does he first come before us as a historical character?
What kind of a life did he live after the martyrdom of Stephen?