When Stephen was falsely accused of speaking against the Torah and the Beit haMikdash, he concluded his testimony by saying:
Divrei Sh'liachim 7:50-8:3 (Acts of the Israelite Apostles) "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Ruach haKodesh: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the nevi'im have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Tzaddik; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the Torah by the disposition of malakim, and have not kept it." When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Ruach haKodesh, looked up stedfastly into shamayim, and saw haKevod haElohim, and Yahshua standing on the right hand of Elohim, And said, "Behold, I see hashamayim opened, and haBen Adam standing on the right hand of Elohim." Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Sha'ul. And they stoned TzephanYahu (while he was) calling upon Elohim, and saying, "Adonai (righteous Judge) Yahshua, receive my ruach." And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, "YHWH, lay not this sin to their charge." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Sha'ul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the ekklesia (the called out of Israel: the elect) which was at Yerushalim; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the Sh'liachim. And devout men carried TzephanYahu to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Sha'ul, he made havoc of the Kehilah (Gr. ekklesia, a.k.a. church), entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
We know from Luke that Sha'ul (Paul) was a talmid (student/disciple) of the famous Rabbi, Gamaliel I. Gamaliel was one of the seven Mishnaic Sages from the Late Second Temple-Post Temple Period who were honored with the title Rabban (Our Master). In the Mishnah Avot, Gamaliel is listed in the Chain of Transmission, linking Rabbinic Tradition (of the Pharisees) to the Revelation at Mt. Sinai. Known as The Beauty of the Torah, it is written in Talmud that "since Rabban Gamaliel died the glory of the Torah (haKevod haTorah) has ceased." That is quite a statement. In the book of Acts, it is written that Gamaliel was had in reputation (Gr. timios; valuable, honored, esteemed) by all the people. Certainly this was a great man, whom the Orthodox and Traditionalist Jews to this day honor as a Patriarch of early Rabbinic Judaism. We also know from the Ketuvim Sh'liachim (Apostolic Writings; New Testament scriptures) that Sha'ul excelled as a talmid of
Gamaliel:
Divrei Sh'liachim (Acts) 22:3 "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 Torah of the fathers (Oral Torah), and was zealous toward Elohim, as ye all are this day."
Galatians 1:14 "And (I) profited in Judaism above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions (kabbalat) of my fathers (Oral Torah)."
Philippians 3:5 "(I was) Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Binyamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the Torah, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the Kehilah; touching the righteousness which is in the Torah, blameless."
The implications of these facts have gone by unnoticed. But the alert and observant will pick up on a very important piece of information: Rav Sha'ul was THE successor to the mantle of Gamaliel! haKevod haTorah (The Glory of the Torah) did not die with Gamaliel, as Talmud would have you believe; haKevod haTorah lives on; in the writings of Paul of Tarsus! Oh, how the Rabbi's missed the right-hand turn that YHWH made in haDerek (the Way) when He separated (Paul) from his mother's womb (i.e. rabbinic Judaism), and revealed Yahshua haMashiach in (see Galatians 1:16) him! This is where YHWH added to His team one of the greatest Torah (Written and Oral) scholars of all time!
This revelation of Yahshua to Paul didn't come without a painful lesson, however.
Divrei Sh'liachim 26:4-5 "My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Yerushalim, know all the Yehudim; Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee... "
(vss. 26:9-12) " ... I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Yahshua of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Yerushalim: and many of the saints (kadoshim) did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the head kohanim (priests); and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue (believers? in the synagogue? Hmmm...), and compelled them to
blaspheme (speak the Divine Name, YHWH*); and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the head kohanim,..."
*see Yochanan 17: 6, 12, 26. Even the early Jewish publication, Toldoth Yeshu testifies that Yahshua of Nazereth performed miracles by speaking haShem, YHWH.
I find it quite interesting that Sha'ul was so vicious, delivering Spirit-filled people over, to be put to death! This is certainly not the Torah scholar David had in mind when he wrote:
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the Torah of YHWH.
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
Where, then, did such viciousness come from? One thing is for sure, it wasn't from his teacher Gamaliel! Gamaliel, in the wisdom that he recieved as a talmid of Torah, defended the believers in Yahshua and convinced the Sanhedrin to leave this new sect of Judaism alone. He demonstrated his faith in the righteousness and sovereignity of Elohim in his statement to the Sanhedrin,
Divrei Sh'liachim 5:38b-39 "...if this counsel (the Sanhedrin) or this work (the Way) be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of Elohim, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against Elohim. (see Acts 5:34-41)"
What beautifully simple wisdom this teacher of Sha'ul posessed! Certainly, had Sha'ul been operating with the wisdom conveyed to him by Gamaliel, his actions would have been in complete harmony with that of his teacher. This, however, is not what happened. Sha'ul started to covet. How many deaths of Ruach-filled believers do you suppose
Sha'ul was involved in? Surely he saw the Ruach haKodesh everywhere he went within the community of believers. I can almost hear the thoughts of his heart as he destroyed their lives: "These people are nobodies! How can the Holy Spirit be with them!? They haven't dedicated their lives to Judaism, as I have! They haven't studied at the feet of a Master, as I have! They haven't made the personal sacrifices, AS I HAVE!" His hatred built up and up on top of a secret covetousness
for the Spirit that he knew deep down inside these people posessed; the Spirit that he so desparately wanted himself. This covetousness totally consumed him.
Romans 7:7b-8 " ... for I had not known lust, except the Torah had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the mitzvah, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence."
YHWH had special plans for this zealous Rabbi, though. So when the time was right, Yahshua himself appeard unto him.
Divrei Sh'liachim 9:1-5 And Sha'ul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the talmidim of haAdon, went unto the Kohen haGadol, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of haDerek (the Way), whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Yerushalim. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from hashamayim: And he fell to the earth, and heard a bat kol (daughter of a voice) saying unto him, "Sha'ul, Sha'ul, why persecutest thou me?" And he said, "Who art thou, Adonai?" And haAdon said, " I am Yahshua whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
Kick against the pricks? What kind of introduction is that? Well; I'll tell you. These words are spoken by someone who loved Sha'ul very much and knew him very well. This profound statement spoke volumes to Sha'ul because they communicated what no other words could. Sha'ul's heart instantly melted because he knew that those words were the very truth that he had been denying. He was whirling out of control in dreadful sin, and someone called him on it.
What did it mean to him? The word 'pricks' is translated from the Greek word kentron, which is a goad. According to Webster's New World Dictionary, a goad is "a sharp-pointed stick used in driving oxen"
As Melekh Shlomo taught in Kohelet:
Ekklesiastes 12:11 "The words of the wise (Heb. devarim khakhamim) are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies (wise master-builders), which are given from One Shepherd."
The goads that Sha'ul was kicking against were the devarim khakhamim that he had recieved at the feet of his Rabban, Gamaliel. Remember that in those days, a talmid would spend years with their Rabbi, serving him in shammashim (apprenticeship), watching every move, remembering every word that was spoken, so that they might actually become a copy of the living book that their Rabbi was to them. This is the nature of Sha'ul's relationship with Gamaliel. But now he had forsaken his teacher and his own conscience, getting caught up in hayetzer ha-ra, the evil impulse. YHWH's mercy prevails, however, and Sha'ul is brought to his knees. (PRAISE YHWH!!)
So if the goads are the words of his Rabbi which fashioned his mind and understanding, and kept him within the fence of Torah, what does that make Sha'ul?
Simple. An ox.
1st Corinthians 9:9 "For it is written in the Torah of Moshe, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth Elohim take care for oxen?"
Here, Sha'ul likens an Apostle (Heb. sheliach, meaning one who is sent) to an ox treading out corn (one who labors in the Word). So in essence, Yahshua said, "You are my Apostle, but you're hurting yourself by going against everything you've been taught." I can't help but think that Sha'ul saw the Ruach in TzephanYahu (Stephen), as evidenced through his speech and death. At that moment Sha'ul knew he was going against the words of Gamaliel, who had commanded this sect be left alone. His heart had been hardened against his own teacher. Never-the-less, Sha'ul was being drawn towards Yahshua. Had he made a stand that day, and stuck up for Stephen, he would have met Yahshua all the sooner, and would probably have been spared some of the sufferings that he experienced later on.
But Sha'ul met Yahshua on the road to Damascus, license to kill in hand. This is where he realized his sin; where he woke up and said, "Oh, I was out of my mind!". This is where he learned the difference between walking in the Spirit and walking in the flesh. That is why walking in the Spirit is the foremost message of Sha'ul's letters. He can honestly say to people who are in the flesh, "I know where you are, I've been there! There's a better way! Imitate me!" He eluded to this sin in his letter to the
Galatians, who were being tempted away from the Spirit that Sha'ul manifested unto them and urged them to abide in:
Galatians 2:18 "For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor."
He who had persecuted the faith in times past was now preaching the faith which once he destroyed. All he could say is, "I was wrong."
1st Timothy 1:15 "Messiah Yahshua came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
Let me ask you, did haKevod haTorah die with Rabban Gamaliel?
No! haKevod haTorah lives on in the writings of Rav Sha'ul of Tarsus. The Rabbi in whom was revealed Messiah Yahshua, the Living Torah, at whose feet Sha'ul would spend the rest of his life.
Sha'ul's writings are legitimate 1st Century Jewish Rabbinical texts. How much would Orthodox and Traditional Jewish Rabbi's benefit from studying the writings of Gamaliel's greatest talmid!