In due time Paul probably accompanied by his father, left the seaport city of Tarsus, and started for the place that was the ambition of every Jewish boy to see — Jerusalem. It was determined that he should be educated at the best school of the day, and with that purpose in view his training would fit him to follow in the Rabbinical steps of his father. It requires but little stretch of the imagination to follow the little band as they approach the great city, and like all the other pilgrims the songs of Zion must have been on their lips as they came within sight of the city that was so close to the heart of every Jew, and particularly those of the “dispersion”. Such words as from the Psalms were thrones that expressed the joy and longing in their hearts, and how the emotions must have been stirred in the words of Psalm 48, 1-3 and 8-14.
“There is a river the streams thereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most High”.
These words would mean so much more to them as they sighted the towers and bulwarks of the city of God, and some of the spirit of their thoughts is conveyed to us when we remember with what pride the disciples of Jesus pointed out to him the magnificent structure of the temple. If only the warning of the words of the greater son of David would have been heeded, how different it might have been. As yet the little tirely ignorant of the ominous prophecy and warning that would reverberate through the hills of Zion in words of doom,
“O Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets,and stones them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold your house is left unto you desolate”.
As yet the speaker of these words was unknown to the boy whose heart thrilled within him as he entered the city to become a pupil in the school of the great teacher of the day, Gamaliel. How strange are the ways of God, and how small do His mills grind, in furthering His purpose, and the boy who was to become first a persecutor of Jesus, would finally be faithful unto death in the faith he once persecuted. As yet it was known but to God, and the early training that was so valuable both in Paul’s life and indeed in the lives of all of us, commenced.
It will prove of interest and instruction to see who some of his fellow students were. Acts 13:1. At least two of Gamaliel’s pupils came to know Christ and follow in the footsteps of the Galilean. Manaen, the foster brother of Herod, a man of high standing in the court circles of that day. No doubt his conversion was due to the good work of Joanna the wife of Chusa, Herod’s steward, and unlike the rule that God has called the poor of this world rich in faith to become heirs of His kingdom, in this case the exception was in the calling of a rich and influential man, as Manaen was.
However, we must remember at this point, that as Brother Roberts has rightly said,
“to be poor alone is no recommendation for a place in God’s Kingdom,”
one thing that must be possessed by all who have been called, both rich and poor, and that is, a richness of faith. We can expect that Manaen counted all things as loss that he might win Christ, and as the early Church had all things common, we can expect that if he had riches they would be put to good use in the Master’s service.
There were two Rabbinical Schools of the day, one was the school of Hillel, Gamaleil’s grandfather, and the other the school of Shammai. They held widely divergent views, a little knowledge of their views may enlighten us as we read of the differences of opinion that caused strife among them in the days of Jesus preaching, and why he condemned them for their views which He did in quite a bit of detail as we shall see later. Also it will allow us to understand how it was that in the case of Paul before the Council he was able to see them at odds against each other in matters of doctrine, in particular concerning the resurrection.
Gamaliel’s school which Paul attended ; taught that tradition was superior to the law, and the law was secondary to the tradition of the elders. It is understandable how that for this teaching they came under the condemnation of Jesus when He told them that they had made of no effect the scriptures by their vain tradition, teaching in vain for commandments the doctrines of men.
It was quite true, and not an isolated instance but an integral part of their schooling, and when we consider the bitterness of Paul against Stephen and the sect of the Nazarene, as they were then called in derision, we can understand why, realising his training in such a school as this. The rival school of Shammai rejected tradition if it clashed with the law, and taught that tradition was subordinate to the law and the prophets. The latter seemed on the surface to have more scriptural virtue ; but we must remember that they both were united in condemning Christ as an imposer, and with the Herodians and the Sadducee conspired successfully to put Him to death.
The teaching of Shammai can be recognised in that the Protestant churches accept the scriptures as being the source of inspiration over that of tradition. However, we must confess that they too have lapsed into a vain following of tradition from their fathers, and how true it is that both will be compelled to say in the day of enlightenment by Christ and His saints,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanities and things wherein there is no profit”.
It is understandable that with this realisation it would logically follow that,
“ten men out of all nations shall take hold of the skirts of him that is a Jew and say, we will go with you for we have heard that God is with you”.
Read it in Zechariah 8:20-23. It is an illuminating passage, and particularly so when we realise that it is the result of blind leaders of the blind, bringing not only Israel to their sad condition of blindness under the Scribes and Pharisees, but also it finds its fullest expression in the blindness of modern day Christendom.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One