812 



PAUL 



convert*, who wished t reduce Christianity to tlie 

 level of a local faction In furring on (i.-ntile con- 

 vert* the crushing yoke of Jewish circiimci-ion 

 It is difficult after the lapse of ages to estimate 

 tin- daring courage and originalitv which it then 

 required to pronounce olwolete anil abrogated, ami 

 (> characterise as 'weak and Ix-ggaily element*,' 

 what all Jews regarded a- tin 1 infinitely sacred and 

 eternally inspired institution* of that Mosaic cere- 

 monialism which hail covered religion with the 



scurf of petty obligation- Indefinitely n iltiplied 



liy Inulilinn and the oral law. Hut Paul took this 

 part Uddlv .in.l decisively from the In -I and at all 

 rcinto willingly faring the obloquy heaped ii|>on 

 him an a renegade and a -i-dm-er of the people 

 he carried out to the end the indignant liattle 

 which saved Christianity fnim lieing degraded into 

 a narrow ect and nia<le it the universal religion 

 i"! spiritual freedom. It wan necewarv for Paul 

 and liarnahax to >i>it .lenisaleni to ohtain from 

 the first church synod the decision of this great 

 question, and the victory gained in that MIHK|. 

 mainly hy the geniu- of St Paul aiileil by the 

 manly conviction- of St I'eter. is the most mo- 

 mentous iu the history of early Christianity. It 

 wan indeed only a partial \ icun-y in the form of 

 a local decision ; hut it practically conceded the 

 main iMiint of issue, and enahle<l St Paul to enforce 

 on reluctant Judaists thn emancipation of their 

 Centile brethren from a host of worrying restric- 

 tions, which, if miaholi-hed. would have heen justly 

 fatal to the spread of Christianity. How strained 

 were the relations hetween the two divisions of 

 the church we see from the fact that shortly after- 

 wards at Antioch Paul had to rebuke even the 

 chief of the apostles imhlicly for something like 

 tergiversation, into which he had l>een led for 

 a moment by fear of his Jewish co-religionists. 

 This was never forgotten, and we see from the 

 1'neudo Clementine writings that perhaps a cen- 

 tury later there were Judaising heretics who be- 

 cause of it dared to indulge in malignant calumnies 

 again*! St Paul. 



It was shortly after this memorable scene that 

 St Paul'* missionary ardour led him to propose to 

 Barnabas another evangelistic journey. The wish 

 of Barnulias to take with him hU cousin Mark, 

 and Paul's disinclination to admit the cotnpanion- 

 -hip of one who in his judgment hud put his hand 

 to the plough and looked hack in the first journey, 

 led to a Had disagreement Ix-tween the two friends. 

 Thin ended in a life long separation, though much 

 later Paul defied the presence of Mark at Rome 

 because lie found him profitable for the ministry. 

 Paul, with Silas as his companion, went through 

 the Cilician Calm to Perl* and Lystra. At 

 Lystra he circmnci-ed and ordained Timothy, who 

 continued to ! liis dearest companion for many 

 years. Thence they went through Phrvgia and 

 Calatia, preaching ami founding churclies. In 

 Calatia Paul Inul a severe illnexs, in which he was 

 cheered by the bright enthusiasm of liis Cahitian 

 convert*. Thence, by providential intimatioti. they 

 were led to Troan, and there St Paul wax joined liy 

 ike, and saw the vision of the ' man of Mace- 

 donia.' which lisl to the momentous decision to 

 carry the gn|M-| into Euroiie. They sailed to 

 Nem|mlin, and were receive*! at Philippi hy the. 

 generous hospitality of Lydia. The church here 

 founded was thr iniiBt lielovwl by St Paul of all 

 bin infant eominnnitieo. The healing of the girl 

 with 'a Kpirit of divination' led to an uproar, in 

 which Paul ami Silas were unjustly and illegally 

 scourged and imprisoned. An eart)n|iiake in the 

 night alarmiil the I'hilippian iira-tom, ami the two 

 prisoner*, who ha<l c-onvert^l their gaoler, were 

 honourably di*mi-cd. They went to Thexxalonica, 

 and founde<l another church, where Paul, who wax 



generally able to support himself hy his trade of 

 tent maker, was aided by the generous I'hilipmtins. 

 Another riot, stirred up by Jewish jealousy. 

 comiH'il-il their Might to Bera-H, from which St 

 Paul was again driven bv Jewish machinations, 

 and made his way to Athens He preached on 

 the Aieopngus amid the jeci-ol' Stoic- and Kpi 

 cmeaiis, hut won some im|Mirtant converts, and 

 proceeded to Corinth. There, with the aid of hi- 

 fellow tent-makers, Aquilaand Piiscilla, he foundcu 

 an important church : hut another riot arose in 

 which Uith Jews anil Creeks were involved, which 

 was treated with disdainful indifference by the' 

 piocon~iil ( ialliii. the hrother of Seneca. 



After a stay of some months at Corinth, he re- 

 \i-ited .lerusulem (his fourth visit), touching at 

 KphexUB on the way. After saluting the church 

 at Jerusalem he went back to Antiocli, whence, 

 alter a period of rest, be started on his third great 

 missionary journey. He confirmed the churches of 

 (ialatia an.l Phrygia, and then went to Ephesu-. 

 where he made a full convert of the eloquent 

 A|HilloK, and stayed for two years. The immense 

 succesx of his preaching led to the riot of the silver- 

 smiths in the theatre. Compelled tolly, he made 

 his way to Troos and retraced hix uteps through 

 Macedonia as far as Illy rictim, and thence to Corinth. 

 It was during this period thai he wrote his most 

 Important group of epistles. He was greatly occu- 

 pied also in raising a contribution for the perennial 

 ilest it ut ion of the mother-church at Jerusalem, 

 which was taken thither by chosen delegates of 

 the contributing churches. A sudden plot of the 

 Jews to murder him compelled him to return 

 through Macedonia. He spent the Passover with 

 Luke at Philippi. sailed to Troas, where be raised 

 Eiityrhiis from death, and then among the isles 

 of C recce to Miletus, where he had an affecting 

 parting with the elders of the Kphesian Church. 

 A voyage past Coos, Rhodes, and Patara brought 

 him to Tyre, where he was warmly welcomed by 

 the church, and parted from them in prayer on the 

 seashore. At Ciesarea he stnyed in the house of 

 Philip the Evangelist, and thence, in spite of the 

 warnings of the prophet Agalms, went up to Jeru- 

 salem for bis fifth visit. He was the guest of 

 Mnason of Cyprus, and was received by James, the 

 Lord's brother, and the elders, to whom be handed 

 over the Gentile contributions, in accordance with 

 the old instnictions of the synod of Jerusalem, ' to 

 IH- mindful of the poor.' Afraid that his presence 

 in the Holy City might arouse tumults among the 

 Jewish fanatics, St James suggested to him that 

 he should take a share in the expenses of a Na/arite 

 vow. The suggestion turned out unfortunately. 

 He was recognised in the Court of the Women, and 

 charged with having taken Trophimus, a Centile 

 Ephcsian, into the temple. He was rescued from 

 the brutal fury of the mob by the chief captain 

 Lysias, who, taking him for an impostor, was on 

 the )K)int of having him scourged, when he dis- 

 covered that he was a Koman citizen. Under the 

 protection of the 1 tomans he was tried l>efore the 

 Sanhedrin, but threw the assembly into a tumult 

 by taking advantage of the rivalry l>etween the 

 Pharisees anil Saddncccs. Amid these perils a 

 vision assured him that he should yet preach the 

 word in Home. Discovering that forty Jews had 

 bound thcm-elves under a curse to assassinate 

 Paul, Lysias sent him to the procurator Felix at 

 Ciesarea. He was tried U-fore Felix, and made a 

 deep impression ; but, as he had no money to hrilie 

 the avaricious governor, he was left two years in 

 prison. Ili> wa- then tried afresh hy the fair and 

 energetic Feslns. who al-o gave him an opportunity 

 of pleading his cause before King Agrippa II. and 

 Berenice. Weary, however, with the long and 

 unjust detention, he had appealed to Coisor, aud 



