Is it safe to assume St. Paul was present at the trial of Jesus?

[RollTide1987]

I know Paul nor the Gospels ever talk about Paul’s comings and goings before his conversion on the road to Damascus (other than he was a persecutor of Christians in those earliest of days), but it seems safe to assume that he could have been a player in the events of Christ’s passion. Paul was a devout Pharisee who studied the faith in the Temple and who was raised and educated by a powerful member of the Sanhedrin. Unless he was out of town on that Thursday night/Friday morning, it seems more likely than not that Paul would have been present at Jesus’s trial.

 

[Dan_Defender]

In Acts 5:34 Gamaliel, St Paul’s Jewish teacher, speaks against condemning the Apostles of Jesus. His tolerance would have been shared with Paul. At the same time he was not interested in learning about Jesus so to me it is safe to assume at the time of Christ’s passion Gamaliel’s followers were not interested either.
Also keep in mind St Paul spoke candidly about his conversion on the road to Damascus. If somehow he had interacted with Jesus while he was walking this earth, he would have told us so.

 

[Hodos]

I do not think it would be safe to assume Paul was present at Christ’s trial. First, Paul’s conversion did not occur until after the martyrdom of Stephen. The Book of Acts does not offer a timeline for when this would have occurred, and it is not unreasonable to believe that this may have occurred up to several years after Pentecost. Second, I would not assume that Paul lived in Jerusalem. They called him Saul of Tarsus, so I would expect that he lived in Turkey as part of the diaspora and had probably traveled to Jerusalem for a feast day when he witnessed the stoning of Stephen.

 

[Dan_Defender]

Second, I would not assume that Paul lived in Jerusalem.

But St Paul says this as a Christian in Jerusalem:
’ I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.’ - Acts 22:3
Otherwise I agree with you.

 

[Hodos]

Ah, I did not catch that before. Thank you.

 

[BartholomewB]

it seems more likely than not that Paul would have been present at Jesus’s trial.

If it had really happened, I think Paul would have mentioned it to someone. He might even have written about it. What reason would he have for keeping it a secret?

 

[Brendan_64]

Unless he was out of town on that Thursday night/Friday morning, it seems more likely than not that Paul would have been present at Jesus’s trial.

I would doubt it because at the stoning of Stephen, Saul seemed to be simply a young man who looked after the coats. My understanding would be that it was after this that Saul rose in prominence/notoriety.

And as BartholemewB mentioned, I think Paul would have mentioned it in his writings.

 

[RollTide1987]

If it had really happened, I think Paul would have mentioned it to someone. He might even have written about it. What reason would he have for keeping it a secret?

This is very true, but keep in mind many of Paul’s writings have been lost to history. I think in his second letter to the Corinthians he talks about previous letters he had sent to them, which leads one to conclude that of all the letters Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, only two survived. Most scholars don’t even believe his First Letter to the Corinthians was even the first letter he ever wrote them, most believe it was either his second or third letter to them.

I just think it possible that a man who was raised and studied in the Temple might have been present for the events of the Passion if he were in Jerusalem on those two particular days.

 

[dochawk]

First, Paul’s conversion did not occur until after the martyrdom of Stephen. T

Yet there wouldn’t have been Christians (in the same sense) about to persecute before the Resurrection, either . . .

And as a Greek speaking Roman citizen, it doesn’t seem likely that he was “usually” in Jerusalem.