Significance - JSS3 Christian Religious Studies Lesson Note

1. Paul was a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel, a great rabbi and scholar of the Jewish religious laws.

2. He received strict instructions in the laws of the Jews and was dedicated to God.

3. His father was a Jew and of the Pharisee sect, who had become a Roman citizen by acquisition.

4. Paul was of the natural unmixed blood of the tribe of Benjamin whose parentage and upbringing made him call himself a Hebrew of Hebrews.

5. Paul had a large and influential family connection, and had everything going for him.

6. In Paul’s time it was mandatory for all Jewish boys to learn a trade, and so he was sent to learn the trade of tent/cloth making.

7. He was brought up strictly in the Jewish religion and lived all his life pursuing the cause which his ancestors stood for.

8. His father was a Pharisee, and so he must have brought up his son in the strictest observance of the Jewish religion and traditions.

9. His father sent him to Jerusalem and to his roots to be thoroughly trained in the language, culture and traditions of the Hebrew nation.

10. Paul’s religious education and zealousness as a Pharisee made him early in life to develop hostility and intolerance towards the early christians.

11. He was deeply involved in the persecution of the christians and played a key role in the arrest, stoning and killing of Stephen the first martyr.