The Only Known First Century Image of the Apostle Paul

Paul was born in 1 AD in Tarsus (“tar‘-suss”), a seaport town in southern Turkey.  Turkey was a Roman province at the time, and so Paul was a Roman citizen from birth, and that fact saved his life several times over the years.  Paul’s Roman citizenship is also the reason why he’s best known by his Roman name:  “Paul.”  (Paul is the Latin version of the Jewish name Saul, and it means “little” in Latin.  That was appropriate, since Paul was a short, stocky man.)

Paul’s father was a Pharisee (“fair‘-uh-see”), a highly legalistic Jewish sect.  So at an early age, Paul was shipped off to the Rabbinical School in Jerusalem to become a Pharisee like his father.  After completing his studies, Paul held the equivalent of what would today be a doctorate in theology, and was fluent in Greek and Aramaic (the Hebrew dialect that Jews spoke in daily life), could read Hebrew, and spoke good Latin.  He was also a stern Pharisee like his father now.

After graduation, Paul returned to his hometown, Tarsus, and worked there as a rabbi (a teacher and leader) in the Jewish synagogues until 31 AD.  Then he heard about a new group of people back in Jerusalem who were called “Followers of The Way,” and who were rumored to be blasphemers – people who talked irreverently about God.  (They would later become known as “Christians”).

So, being the legalistic Pharisee that he was, Paul set sail for Jerusalem to help persecute these mysterious Followers of The Way.  And after helping arrest, imprison, execute, or exile as many of the Followers in Jerusalem as he could, in 33 AD, Paul headed for the city of Damascus in Syria to persecute the Followers of The Way who were living there.

However, God had other plans.  And while Paul was on the road near Damascus, Jesus appeared to him in a brilliant supernatural light that knocked him off his horse and temporarily blinded him.  The men in his escort led Paul into the city and, three days later, after being prayed for by a local Christian and recovering his sight, Paul became a Follower of The Way himself.

After becoming a Christian, Paul led a full and productive life of incredible hardships and adventures as a Christian apostle, prophet, and teacher.  He introduced Christianity to many different nations and cities and wrote most of today’s New Testament.

During his travels, Paul was guided by angels, had visions, was shipwrecked, was jailed, was severely beaten, was bitten by deadly snakes, and even had a near-death experience during which he visited heaven and then returned to his body on earth again.

He was also interviewed by two Roman governors of Israel, one Jewish king of Israel, and the Roman emperor in Rome.  In summary, few Christians in any century have had the impact on the world that Paul had during his lifetime in the First Century.

But finally, at age 67, Paul was arrested during the first big persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.  This persecution lasted four years, from October, 64 AD to June, 68 AD, and Paul was arrested in Rome during June, 67 AD.  He was put in a dungeon in Rome and sentenced to death.

But since Paul was a Roman citizen from the province of Turkey, he couldn’t be tortured, and he couldn’t be executed in an extreme way (such as being crucified, burned at the stake, or fed to wild animals).

So, on the warm and sunny morning of June 29th in 67 AD, Paul was marched by a squad of soldiers out to the Third Milestone on the Ostian (“oh‘-stee-un”) Highway outside Rome, and a soldier beheaded him there with a sword.  Today, a monastery stands on the site of Paul’s beheading.

After the beheading, Paul’s body was buried in a nearby private cemetery belonging to a wealthy local family, and his remains still lie there today.  However, during the Fourth Century, the Emperor Constantine of Rome built a basilica (“buh-sill‘-uh-cuh”) – a large church building – over Paul’s grave to identify it and protect it.  Over the centuries, this basilica was rebuilt and expanded several times, until today a large modern church building stands over Paul’s remains.  His grave is under the altar of this large basilica, and an ancient marble slab lies over his remains.  This slab has an inscription in Latin.  Its Latin words read, “Paul, Apostle, Martyr.”

Following is a gallery of photos of some of the places where Paul lived, taught, and worked.  They also include pictures of some of the physical objects mentioned in the written record of Paul’s life.  Click the photos to enlarge them and to see the captions.

[envira-gallery id=”3782″]