tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post7958872748722976636..comments2024-03-27T17:15:37.606-04:00Comments on Triablogue: When did Paul first see Jesus?Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17809283662428917799noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-9343604493601067382015-09-13T17:57:31.510-04:002015-09-13T17:57:31.510-04:00I've always wondered whether 2 Cor. 5:16 hints...I've always wondered whether 2 Cor. 5:16 hints at Paul having encountered Jesus before his crucifixion. <br /><br />From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.- 2 Cor. 5:16<br /><br />The second use of the phrase "according to the flesh" could have a double meaning. In context, the primary meaning seems to be that of an unenlightened understanding. But at the same time there could be a secondary meaning by which Paul alludes to his having encountered the pre-crucifixion Jesus. As Steve says, it's certainly possible Paul heard Jesus preach a sermon. <br /><br />Jewish officials, leaders and rabbis went to hear Jesus and John the Baptist preach according to the Gospels. Messianic Jews tells us that what we see in the Gospels where they interrogate John and Jesus was part of the process of evaluating Messianic claims. They asked John plainly whether he was the messiah and he explicitly denied it. For most of Jesus' ministry He never publicly claimed to be the messiah. Choosing rather to let His miracles do the talking. <br /><br />It isn't difficult to imagine that on one or more occasions Saul (Paul's original name) went to hear (who he imagined to be) "that popular uneducated 'hick' " preach. Jesus may have had a regional accent that disgusted the more sophisticated and cosmopolitan Saul. He may have originally thought of Jesus as an embarrassment to Jewish national and religious pride. Jesus wasn't a great military Jewish leader bent on the eviction of Roman presence in Israel. Nor did Jesus have a prestigious rabbinical education and heritage. Saul may have considered Jesus as a self appointed rabbi far inferior to himself with his superior credentials.<br /><br /><i>Considering all these connections, it seems quite likely that Paul saw Jesus preach. He certainly had occasion to see Jesus preach. And Jesus drew big crowds. Surely Paul would be curious.<br /><br />That would explain why Paul took such an early and avid–albeit hostile–interest in the Christian movement. It didn't happen overnight, right after the apostles began preaching the Resurrection. </i><br /><br />That makes a lot of sense.ANNOYED PINOYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00714774340084597206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-26137216818876777522015-09-13T14:56:54.942-04:002015-09-13T14:56:54.942-04:00In any case even if they had not crossed paths bef...In any case even if they had not crossed paths before, Paul asked who the blinding Damascus road personage was, and the first person reply was "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting", hence Paul could rightly claim to have encountered the risen Lord as a mark of his apostleship.CRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03231394164372721485noreply@blogger.com