Are Christians the same as Jews?

That is an interesting question because Jesus was born a Jew, wasn’t he? So, if Jesus was Jewish and was even called “King of the Jews,” then it stands to reason that Christians are the same as Jews, right? Well, that’s not true, of course.

While many of the original Christians were probably Jewish, when Christ was crucified and then He was resurrected, they realized that he was the long-awaited Messiah and the early Christians started their own church based on the teachings of Jesus. This is all described in the first two chapters of the Book of Acts. While they still believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from the Old Testament, they knew that Jesus was the Son of God and that they didn’t need a Rabbi or any religious leader to perform religious rituals for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus offered them salvation and a personal relationship with God through his sacrifice on the cross.

Peter, one of Jesus’ original disciples, became the first Christian priest. The rest of the disciples followed suit and spread the good news of Jesus throughout the land. Many people during this time converted to this new belief but there were still many who did not convert. Many of the people in Jerusalem refused to convert and sided with the Pharisee’s and continued to practice their Jewish faith.

That’s why, even today, there are Jews in Israel and they don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

How old was Paul when he died?

That is an interesting question since nowhere in the Holy Bible does it specifically give a birth date for Saul of Tarsus or a date for the death of the Apostle Paul. In fact, no other historical book exists that says how or when he died. According to Christian tradition, though, Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero around the mid-60s A.D. at Tre Fontane Abbey. Some scholars said it was 67 A.D. and others claim it was in 68 A.D. Still others claim that it was closer to 64 A.D. when Nero burned Rome to the ground. The truth is, no one really knows the exact date and it’s not mentioned anywhere in the Bible.

So, without know when he was born, we really don’t know how old he was. Scholars have speculated that Paul was either in his mid-50’s or his mid-60’s when he died. They base this on when he was a student under Gamaliel learning to be a Pharisee (which would usually be around 13 or 14) and compare it to when he was a Pharisee and then when he converted to Christianity. But, truthfully, no one knows for sure.

Extra Info!!! Below is a suggested timeline for the life of Paul. It's pretty cool. Even though scholars don't all agree on the dates, you can get a pretty good idea of what his life was like.

A walk through the Bible & some of Paul’s experiences –


YEAR, BIBLE VERSES, WHAT HAPPENED?

1 Saul (his Jewish name) is born in Tarsus.

12 – 15 Enrolled in school in Jerusalem (Rabbi Gamaliel)

30 Jesus is crucified!
Saul is made a member of the Sanhedrin (religious board)

31 – 34 Gal 1:13 Saul persecutes the Christian Church in Jerusalem

34 Acts 7:58 – 8:3 Stephen is killed as Saul watches

35 Acts 9:1-9 Saul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus
Acts 9:17-19a Saul is baptized (and later given the Christian name ‘Paul’)

35 – 37 Gal 1:17 Paul goes to Arabia for a few years

37 Acts 9:19b-25 Paul ministers in Damascus

37 Acts 9:26-29 Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem as a Christian

48 – 57 Paul took 3 (and maybe even 4) big missionary journeys

57 – 59 Acts 21:17-31 Begins the story of his arrest and 2 years in prison

59 Acts 27:22-25 An angel visits Paul before the shipwreck

60 – 64 Phil 4:4-7 Paul is imprisoned in Rome; writes Prison Letters
(Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians)

68 Paul is beheaded