Saint Paul: From Pharisee and Christianity’s Oppressor to Apostle to the Gentiles

by Digoy Fernandez

After the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the number of Christians began to grow steadily. The rulers of the Jewish Sanhedrin viewed this development with alarm, and determined to put an end to all this nonsense, having convinced themselves and their followers that the so-called Messiah’s resurrection was a sham designed to fool potential followers of the sect of Christians. Among those mobilized to persecute the Christians wherever they were was Saul of Tarsus of the tribe of Benjamin, who belonged to the rabbinical school of Gamaliel, the most revered rabbi of his time. Gamaliel, in turn, had been a student of the venerable rabbi Hillel, known as one of the greatest of the pharisees.