PAUL THE APOSTLE
Now there enters into our story one whose life by any standard of measurement, in its boldness and audacity of plan, in its brilliancy of achievement, in its personal courage and daring, compares favorably with that of any of the heroes of history,--Paul the Apostle. In many respects he resembled the modern successful man of business, the captain of industry, except that his work was done with a purely unselfish motive, loyalty to Jesus Christ and love for his fellowmen.
Paul was born in the Roman city of Tarsus, which is beautifully situated at the mouth of the river Cydnus. It was a city full of delight for an adventurous boy. There was the river sweeping down cold and clear from its mountain snows, the harbor with its great basins and stone quays and the shipping from every land. How Paul must have loved to linger on those wharves, watching the ships and the merchandise and hearing the songs of the sailors. In later days he always loved the city and the sea. He was never far away from them; never far distant from the smell of the sea breeze and the blue waters of the Mediterranean; very often he sailed on those waters, and more than once suffered shipwreck. He was a freeborn Roman, that is, he was so [{368}] fortunate as to have been born in a free city. A free Roman city had all the political rights and privileges of the city of Rome itself. This distinction was eagerly sought after, and was often bought with a large price by men who did not possess it by birth. When Paul was a lad he was sent away to Jerusalem to school, where he was taught by one of the most famous teachers. But Paul was always more Roman than Jewish in the actual experiences of his life. When the first persecutions of the Christians began, Saul, for that was his name then, was chosen by the high priest for this work. Everything he did, he did with his might. He gave the Christians no rest, he hunted them from village to village, from house to house, because he thought this was his duty. He was on one of these expeditions, riding hard to Damascus, when he had a vision of Jesus, who called to him and demanded the reason for the persecutions. Blinded by the vision he fell from his horse, and when he came to himself he was a changed man. Some time he spent in solitude, thinking the matter out and preparing for the new life. Then he came out ready to do anything and go anywhere for the Master. The time was ripe for a man of his ability, his boldnesss, and his knowledge of the world. A man was needed with those qualities which make a great general, to plan and execute the work. All the apostles were Jews, born in Palestine, men who had never traveled outside the narrow boundaries of their native land. They were naturally timid, and failed to realize at first the importance of the new faith as a [{369}] world power. Paul was the man for the crisis,--the hero who was destined to carry the new faith to the farther bounds of the empire. His great missionary journeys by land and sea are really campaigns. He had adventures without number, he was beaten and stoned, sometimes he was left on the ground for dead by those who thought they had at last put him out of the way. Often he went on his journey scarred and sore and bruised. The country over which he traveled is the most interesting and romantic in the world, the scene of the stories of mythology, the battle ground of armies. He sailed the seas which were furrowed by the keel of Homer's hero Ulysses. He visited the famous capitals of antiquity. He spoke in cultured Athens, the city of Socrates and Plato. He founded churches in Philippi, where Caesar won his great battle, and in Corinth, one of the richest and wickedest cities of all the Roman empire. He went to Rome, and there, even while in prison, he won for the new faith members of the royal household and officers of the imperial guard. We do not know certainly, but there are traditions to the effect that he visited Spain, and even found his way far beyond the "Pillars of Hercules" out upon the stormy Atlantic to Great Britain. It must not be supposed that he met with no opposition. Even among the members of the Christian church at Jerusalem he was bitterly opposed. There were many Jewish Christians who did not wish the new faith to spread beyond their own race, or if any so-called Gentiles became Christians they thought they should also become Jews. Paul believed that Jesus and his message [{370}] were for all alike, that it was a gospel of freedom, a new faith in truth, and his way prevailed. Paul at last, an old man, was beheaded, so it is believed, by the wicked Roman emperor Nero. Thus lived and died one of the greatest and most important characters in all history.
HOW PAUL THE PERSECUTOR LAID ASIDE THE OLD LIFE AND TOOK UP THE NEW.
The Vision on the Road to Damascus. The Beginnings of Faith. Service for the New Master.
But Saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and asked of him letters to Damascus unto the synagogues, that if he found any that were of "the Way," whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus: and suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven: and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"
And he said, "Who art thou, Lord?"
And he said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but beholding no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing; and they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.