Going back to Tarsus must have felt like a demotion to Saul. He had left years earlier to study under Gamaliel in Jerusalem. His fanaticism for Judaism led him to persecute the followers of Jesus. But meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus turned Saul’s life upside down. He realized that Jesus was the Messiah. His zeal to preach this truth incited death threats, and he returned to the safety of Tarsus.
Life in Back Home
We have no written record of what Saul did in Tarsus for the next ten years, but we can make some educated guesses by examining other facts in Scripture and analyzing Saul’s personality.
First, Saul would have had to support himself and earn a living. We know Saul was trained as a tentmaker because he did this on his mission trips. Acts 18:3Paul lived and worked with them (Pricilla and Aquila), for they were tentmakers just as he was. [1] More than likely, this was a family occupation, and he would have joined other family members at work. The manual labor of tentmaking would have also allowed conversation with other workers.
Second, we can be sure that Saul prayed and studied. He had been doing this all his life, and nothing would change. He had time to reread the Law and Prophets through the lens of Jesus. Saul’s mature thoughts in his later epistles show deep ponderings.
Third, Saul would have continued to listen to psychological ideas around him. He had grown up in Tarsus and knew of the pagan ways as Tarsus was a multi-cultural place. But now, he viewed life through the lens of Jesus. How would his newfound Messiah speak to these pagan ideas? These musings would be helpful as Saul reached out to the Gentiles.
God Wastes Nothing
What may have looked like a step backward to Saul was actually preparation for what was to come. God wastes nothing in our lives and can redeem our past and use it for good. Do you feel like a failure? Ask God how that experience can be used for the good. Our God is a God of the impossible. He can restore the broken and then use them to build His kingdom.
We think Saul was in Tarsus for about ten years. That sounds like a long time to be put on pause. God’s timing is His, and He knows what is best. Let God restore you and prepare you on His timetable. He had a fantastic plan for Saul and has an amazing plan for each of us. To learn about Saul going back to Tarsus, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/from-persecutor-to-preacher
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ac 18:3). Tyndale House Publishers.