Saul of Tarsus and his Ignominious (yet necessary) Beginning

The initial persecution of the early Christian church was notably driven by a single, determined Pharisee: Saul of Tarsus. Interestingly, his aim did not appear to be the complete eradication of the church. This is evident as he did not target the apostles in Jerusalem. 

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. (Acts 8:1, NIV)

Instead of adopting a "cut off the head of the snake" strategy, Saul focused his efforts elsewhere. He primarily targeted the Hellenists, perhaps to curb the spread of "The Way" which was rapidly gaining traction. It was, as we would say today, going viral. There was only an indeterminant but assuredly brief interval between Deacon Phillip bringing the gospel to Samaria—approximately 55 km from Jerusalem—and Saul setting off for Damascus, some 220 km away, to confront an already established community of believers. Remarkably, it was during this journey that Saul experienced what might be termed the most dramatic Calvinistic conversion in history, marked not by Saul's searching for God or Saul's response God's wooing, but rather by a sudden, divine intervention. God elected Saul right off his horse and down to the ground.

Both Saul and his most famous victim Stephen arguably were the first to recognize that “The Way” represented not merely an errant Jewish sect but something profoundly different. This realization spurred Saul to persecute and Stephen to defend. However, after Saul's conversion, the Christian movement returned to being viewed as what might be seen as a benign anomaly (from the perspective of Saul's "Ph.D" advisor, Gamaliel).

Following Saul's conversion, the church experienced a period of relative tranquility. However, this peace lasted only about a decade before significant challenges reemerged. The next bloody persecution was quite different, viz,

• Peter was the catalyst.
• The Romans once again played a role.
• Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, was the instigator and architect.
• The apostles lost what semblance of diplomatic immunity they had, with James of Zebedee facing martyrdom.

More to follow.