By Bart D. Ehrman, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
The conversion of the apostle Paul marked a major turning point in the history of earliest Christianity. Paul was almost immediately convinced that faith in Jesus alone brought salvation, and that this did not require adherence to the Jewish law. That opened the door for Gentiles to enter the faith. That is, it made it possible for faith in Jesus to be a religion for all people, not just a sect of Judaism.
Jesus and Judaism
Some scholars have questioned whether the term conversion is appropriate for what happened to Paul when he became a follower of Jesus. The terms convert and conversion are usually used to describe how a person turns from one religion to another, or from being non-religious to religious. Scholars who object to using this term for Paul emphasized that Paul did not think that following Jesus meant abandoning Judaism for some other religion, a brand-new thing called Christianity that contrasted with Judaism.
And that’s absolutely right, Paul does not use the term Christian. And he did not see his faith in Jesus as messiah as distinct from Judaism. He saw his new faith as the fulfillment of Judaism, as what Judaism was always meant to be according to the eternal plan of God.
Paul came to believe that Christ was predicted in the scripture, and now the entire world, not just Jews, could obtain salvation that would bring eternal life. For Paul, this was what we might call true Judaism; Judaism as it was meant to be.
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‘Conversion’ of Paul
Still, the term convert can be used for Paul as he did have a genuine conversion. The term conversion literally means ‘turning around’. Historians of religion use it in a variety of ways, but in simple terms, it refers to a decided shift from one set of religious practices and beliefs to another.
Paul did have a complete shift—not away from being a Jew, not away from Judaism to some other religion—he had a complete shift from being a Jew who rejected Jesus as the messiah to accepting that he was. And more than that, to believing that Christ’s death and resurrection was the only way of salvation as provided by the Jewish God.
This conversion not only involved a radical transformation of Paul’s understanding of God and salvation, but it also led to one other radical transformation. It played a key role in Paul’s own self-understanding in how he understood his own role in the history of salvation.
Commitment to Scriptures
Prior to becoming a follower of Jesus, Paul was completely committed to the Jewish scriptures. He was a devout Jew, trained in the teachings of the fathers and completely committed to scripture.
One particularly influential scripture for Paul was the book of the prophet Isaiah. Some of the most important passages of Isaiah describe a time in the future when the message of salvation that had come to the Jews would go forth to the entire world; when Gentiles, too, would flock to worship the God of Israel and accept the salvation that he brings.
Isaiah also indicated that God would raise up a messenger in the future to bring the future news of this salvation far and wide throughout the world. This messenger that God would send in the future would enlighten the Gentiles leading to worldwide salvation.
One finds passages such as Isaiah 42:6–7 and Isaiah 49:6, where the prophet talks of a person to whom God will reach out his hand and send forth. This person will be a light to the nations, or a light to the Gentiles. And through this person, who will bring light to the Gentiles, He will extend his salvation to the ends of the earth.
The Chosen One
Paul himself said, when speaking of his conversion, that God had revealed his son to him so that he could preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul believed that’s why he got converted. God had chosen him to bring about salvation to the Gentiles; in other words, to the world.
One of the stunning aspects of Paul’s mission is that he appears to have thought that he was the one to whom Isaiah was referring. In other words, Paul thought he himself was the one God had chosen to fulfill the prophecies of scripture. He was the one to usher in the end of time when Gentiles would come to the faith before history came to a crashing halt. Paul cannot be accused of having a low opinion of himself or of his mission. He believed he was a fulfillment of divine prophecy.
Common Questions about the Conversion of Apostle Paul
The terms convert and conversion are usually used to describe how a person turns from one religion to another, or from being non-religious to religious. Scholars who object to using this term for Paul emphasized that Paul did not think that following Jesus meant abandoning Judaism for some other religion, a brand-new thing called Christianity that contrasted with Judaism.
Prior to becoming a follower of Jesus, Paul was completely committed to the Jewish scriptures. He was a devout Jew, trained in the teachings of the fathers and completely committed to scripture.
One particularly influential scripture for Paul was the book of the prophet Isaiah.
In passages such as Isaiah 42:6–7 and Isaiah 49:6, the prophet talks of a person to whom God will reach out his hand. This person would be a light to the nations, or a light to the Gentiles. And through this person, God would extend his salvation to the ends of the earth. One of the stunning aspects of Paul’s mission was that he appeared to have thought that he was the one to whom Isaiah was referring. In other words, Paul thought he himself was the one God had chosen to fulfill the prophecies of scripture.
