Meet the Apostle Paul—Part One
I have been compiling my notes to preach on the life and letters of the Apostle Paul at CCC. I will be uploading some of them in preparation.
God had warned the 12 Tribes of Israel that if they were unfaithful then they would call down covenant curses upon themselves (see Deut 27:11-26 and 28:15-68). The most dreaded of these curses was exile—the 12 Tribes led away to a foreign land into slavery once again. God had called Israel to be a “nation of priests” that would shine as a light to all people (Exod 19:4-6).[1] They were, to paraphrase N.T. Wright, to be “God’s rescue ship” for a world lost to a sea of sin.[2] Thus, God took His covenant with the 12 Tribes of Israel with utter seriousness.
Yet, the Tribes were unfaithful. After splitting into two countries following the death of Solomon, the northern nation was sacked and led off into slavery by the kingdom of Assyria between 732 and 722 BC. The southern nation of Judah suffered a similar fate at the hands of Babylon between 597 and 586 BC.[3]
The northern Tribes were assimilated into the gentile world while, eventually, some of the members of the southern nation were allowed to return to Judea between 538 and 444 BC.[4] The remnant of Judah (where we get the term “Jews) would remain under foreign domination until 160 BC.
While technically free from 160 BC until the Roman conquest of 63 BC, the Jewish people engaged in such bloody infighting that most of those living in Judea still felt as they were in exile. After all, the prophets had promised a beautiful future including the restoration of all 12 Tribes (e.g., Ezek 36-37).
Three groups, or denominations if you will, arose from among the Jewish people during this time. They each had their own take on how the people of God should respond to their situation and God’s promise delivered through the prophets. These three Jewish sects/denominations were the Sadducees, the Essenes and the Pharisees.
It was the third group that would become the most beloved and influential among the Jewish people. They would include among their membership two men who they would later curse—a soldier turned Roman traitor named Josephus and a teacher from a seemingly prominent Jewish family named Saul/Paul.
Who were the Pharisees and what did they believe? For that, be sure to tune in tomorrow.
[1] See John Goldingay, Old Testament Theology Vol. 1: Israel’s Gospel (Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2003), 374
[2] N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (San Francisco: Harper, 2006), 75.
[3] See Iain Provan, V. Philips Long and Tremper Longman, III., A Biblical History of Israel 2nd ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015).
[4] See John H. Walton, Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 35.