When Paul made his final visit to Jerusalem, why did the disciples not protect him to avoid his arrest by the Romans? Were there so few “Christians” in Jerusalem that their support was ineffective or did they not support Paul’s attitude? Were there no “Christians” elsewhere in Judea who could have sheltered him? After all, he supposedly brought funds to help them.
If the disciples and their followers in Jerusalem had been determined to preach to the masses like Paul, they could have hidden him as a fellow activist.
They had lived among orthodox Jews for over 20 years so surely they did not appreciate Paul’s confrontational attitude.
Other reasons for their lack of support could be:
1. Territorial conflict: It had been accepted that Paul would minister to gentiles whereas the disciples would work within Israel. Paul’s preaching in Jerusalem upset this arrangement.
2. Paul’s teaching that Christians did not need to follow Jewish customs was opposed by the disciples.
3. There may have been other significant differences between Paul and the disciples such as whether Jesus was a universal Savior or a Jewish Messiah, and whether he was divine rather than a resurrected human.
For whatever reason, it is clear that there was ongoing conflict between Paul and those in Jerusalem.
For whatever reason, it is clear that there was ongoing conflict between Paul and those in Jerusalem.
I don’t think we can have any confidence in the historical accuracy of the accounts in the Book of Acts. However based on Paul’s letters I think we can surmise that there must have been a rather decisive breach between the Jerusalem community and the Pauline churches. So much so that the Book of Acts exists to repair that breach.
I have this fantasy that Paul went off to Spain and was never heard from again. The Jerusalem Community was a casualty of the First Revolt. (Even if all they did was relocate they drop off the edge of the world.) The vacuum was left to be filled by the gentile church eager to find (or create) a lost connection back to Jesus and the disciples.
There is no need to refer to Acts for this argument.
Of his visit to Jerusalem, Paul says “Pray to God for me that I may be saved from unbelievers in Judea” (Romans 15:31). He was obviously expecting conflict. Subsequently, after his arrest, he says “My imprisonment in Christ’s name has become common knowledge to all at headquarters here” (Philippians 13). This is consistent with the details in Acts. Also, from Colossians 4:10-12 Paul mentions Aristarchus, Mark and Jesus Justus and says “Of the Jewish Christians, these are the only ones who work with me”. So much for the disciples!
I can’t quite figure out the offense for which Paul was arrested. His presence in Jerusalem caused some trouble and various officials handed him around like a hot potato, then arrested him and sent him to Rome, where he was put under house arrest. The Bible says nothing about him being put on trial (for what?) or being executed. Is there any good reason to suppose that accounts of his execution have any historical basis? And again, for what offense was he being held in the first place?
karlpov said
I can’t quite figure out the offense for which Paul was arrested. His presence in Jerusalem caused some trouble and various officials handed him around like a hot potato, then arrested him and sent him to Rome, where he was put under house arrest. The Bible says nothing about him being put on trial (for what?) or being executed. Is there any good reason to suppose that accounts of his execution have any historical basis? And again, for what offense was he being held in the first place?
I haven’t seen any historical evidence about how Paul died, or even that he was imprisoned anywhere besides Ephesus*.
*Because according to Paul’s letter Philemon, the slave Onesimus escaped from Philemon in Colossae and came to be with Paul in prison. It would have been much easier for Onesimus to go from Colossae to Ephesus (about 120 miles apart) than to Rome. Paul also planned to visit Philemon in Colossae after getting out of prison.
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