We are first introduced to Paul in the events surrounding the trial and stoning of Stephen. However, before I get to that, I want to explore a little more of Paul’s probable upbringing and training, which of course, is mainly conjecture.

We learn from scripture that Paul was a tentmaker, and he very possibly learned this trade from his father, because that’s what was done. Paul also describes himself as being a Pharisee, and as mentioned in my first post in this series, a student of Gamaliel.

There were several Jewish religious groups mentioned in the New Testament, including Pharisees, Sadducees, and Hellenists. These will all play a role in Paul’s story. Pharisees were often at odds with Jesus and so we tend to have a negative view of them. Jesus called them out mainly for their hypocrisy and not for specific beliefs. In fact, he agreed with some of their beliefs. For example, in Mark 12:28-34, Jesus commended one of the scribes for his understanding of the Word of God. For now, though, let’s just consider what it would mean for Paul to be a Pharisee.

The Jewish historian Josephus indicates that the Pharisees were well respected in the Jewish community. They were largely working-class people who served as rabbis, or teachers, of people. The term “Pharisee” means “separated”, much like the term “holy”. One of their main beliefs was that Israel (or native Jews) should remain separated or distinguishable from non-Jews. The Pharisees did not approve of or accept “mixed-race” Jews or proselyte’s who did not become fully immersed in Judaism. They taught firm adherence to the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and to the oral rabbinic teachings that developed around it. Many of these oral teachings later were written down and topically organized in the Mishnah in the early 3rd century A.D.

Gamaliel was one of the rabbi’s who’s teachings were compiled into the Mishnah. For Paul to identify himself as a student of Gamaliel means that he was a disciple of Gamaliel. As students would progress through their education, some would excel sufficiently to “attach” themselves to a specific rabbi to become as knowledgeable as him and to emulate his life. Thus, whatever Gamaliel taught and believed was likely what Paul believed, since he identified as Gamaliel’s “disciple.” So to understand Gamaliel and thus Paul, it makes sense to learn what Gamaliel taught. This is where the Mishnah comes into play.

I searched through the Mishnah and found over 250 statements or teachings attributed to Gamaliel. Part of my thinking in doing this was to discern not only what Gamaliel believed, but to see if I could find a shift in thinking from what he said in Acts 5:34-39 to Paul’s approval of the stoning of Stephen (which I’ll look at in a couple of weeks). If Paul approved of the persecution of the early church, then there is a good probability that Gamaliel did as well.

In Mishnah Makkot 1:10, Gamaliel supports at least limited capital punishment for crimes to serve as a deterrent to potential criminals. However, it is (in his thinking) to be used sparingly. The persecution of the early church (i.e. Stephen’s death) began around 3 years after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Most likely, Gamaliel was in the Sanhedrin at that time (although that’s not a certainty) and Paul may have been his disciple during Jesus’ trial. While possibly not in attendance at the proceedings, Paul nevertheless probably heard a great deal about it from Gamaliel.

When he argued against the execution of Jesus’ disciples in Acts 5 but rather supported their flogging, Gamaliel may have been thinking what he is quoted with in Mishnah Makkot 3:15 – “Once he is flogged he is as your brother, as his sin has been atoned and he is no longer excised from the Jewish people.” While it is only conjecture, his (and Paul’s) decision to support capital punishment in the case of Stephen may have come about through the thinking that flogging was proving to be an insufficient deterrent what they deemed false teaching, and therefore the severity of the punishment must increase in order to increase the deterrence.

In my next post about Paul’s life, I’ll take a look at who Stephen was, information about the Sanhedrin, the trial of Stephen, and his execution. Maybe. Now that I’ve written that sentence, that may be too much to cover in one post so I may have to break it down into two. We’ll see!