Thorn in Paul's side

[AlanFromWichita]

I wonder if the thorn helped distract Paul from his “real” work, so he was not so focused on his real work that he turned people off by such a direct approach he might otherwise have taken had nothing been holding him back.

He couldn’t be without pain; he became “like” those he was around.

Alan

 

[po18guy]

Since Saul was a learned Pharisee, a citizen of Rome, and Jewish by birth, perhaps the thorn was given him to calm his pride. His conversion came about through the humbling of being thrown to the dust and blinded for three days. His eyes were opened only by the laying on of hands by a man (Ananias) whom Saul would gladly have dragged back to Jerusalem in chains - a man whom Saul had the written authority to arrest. In essence, Saul/Paul’s sight was restored by what he considered to be a criminal. Very humbling.

Paul never did get around to disclosing, in writing, what the thorn actually was. It might have been prideful boasting, as he later wrote of boasting in the Lord, as well as in his own sufferings for the Name.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

Since Saul was a learned Pharisee, a citizen of Rome, and Jewish by birth, perhaps the thorn was given him to calm his pride. His conversion came about through the humbling of being thrown to the dust and blinded for three days. His eyes were opened only by the laying on of hands by a man (Ananias) whom Saul would gladly have dragged back to Jerusalem in chains - a man whom Saul had the written authority to arrest. In essence, Saul/Paul’s sight was restored by what he considered to be a criminal. Very humbling.

Paul never did get around to disclosing, in writing, what the thorn actually was. It might have been prideful boasting, as he later wrote of boasting in the Lord, as well as in his own sufferings for the Name.

Wow, that’s some great information! I didn’t realize all that! Thank you.

Alan

 

[po18guy]

Wow, that’s some great information! I didn’t realize all that! Thank you.

Alan

Read Acts 9 for Saul’s (Paul’s) conversion. Saul/Paul wrote of boasting in 2 Corinthians, chapters 10-12, and mentioned it in** Galatians 6**. His training as a Pharisee is in Acts 23, and his citizenship as a Roman is also in Acts 16 and 22.

 

[BerhaneSelassie]

One of the few NAB footnotes that I like on this verse explains that “thorn in the flesh” resembles an OT expression for an enemy, a literal enemy. Also, St Paul calls the same thorn an “angel of Satan” perhaps it was really an angel of Satan, a demon.

 

[bauerice]

I have heard that his thorn in the flesh was related to; the removing of the scales from his eyes. That later in his life he was losing his sight. In one of his letters he says something like, I have written this by my own hand, see by large letters I have used.

 

[ryanoneil]

I wonder if the thorn helped distract Paul from his “real” work, so he was not so focused on his real work that he turned people off by such a direct approach he might otherwise have taken had nothing been holding him back.

He couldn’t be without pain; he became “like” those he was around.

Alan

If I understand you correctly, I think it is just the opposite. The thorn was given to Paul so he would NOT be distracted. The thorn helped him maintain perspective so he wasn’t just being all prideful about the heavenly visions and revelations he was experiencing. Paul needed the thorn because he needed to rely on the Lord and His grace. Paul got what he needed (grace to rely on the Lord) and not what he wanted (relief from afflictions).

 

[Oldtimer_7]

This idea of some affliction has a long history and a lot of speculation attached to it. It is agreed that this was something chronic. Some have suggested things like a seizure disorder. Eye problems have also been thought to have caused his discomfort. Some even suggest a regret at the continued resistance of the Jewish community.

Another aspect is that Paul liked athletic and military metaphors. The term translated as thorn is scolops. As a military term, it described sharpened stakes placed in a pit, so that a soldier who stepped in them would get a serious and disabling injury.

While we do not know how Paul meant that comment, it is certainly within human experience to identify with such a complaint, hence the continued relevance of the term.