Did Paul see Jesus before he died?

Answer 1

Probably NOT.

A:

While they were contemporaries, the first recorded encounter between Jesus & Paul was on the road to Damascus when Paul (then known as Saul) was converted to Christianity, after Jesus had been crucified. You can read about Paul's encounter with Jesus in Acts 9:1-9. Given the influence and writings of Paul that helped develop and grow the Christian church, it makes no sense for there not to be another mention of the two of them meeting before Jesus died if such an event occurred. Therefore, the two never physically met, but Paul was most likely aware of Jesus' teaching and the waves it was creating.

Answer 2

A: Acts of the Apostles says that Paul was taught in Jerusalem by Gamaliel, one of the great Jewish rabbis of the first century, and that the young Saul, or Paul, was still in Jerusalem to see the stoning of Stephen. On that account, he ought to have seen Jesus prior to the crucifixion, but Paul makes it clear in his own epistles that he did not.

At 1Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul said that Jesus died and was buried, rose again according to the scriptures, then was seen by Cephas (Peter), then the twelve, then by more than 500, most of whom were still alive, then by James and all the apostles, and finally by himself. This account differ in several important ways from the accounts that would later form part of the gospels, but Paul implied that the appearances were all of the same nature. Either Paul saw Jesus in the flesh after his resurrection, for which there is no evidence, or he experienced the risen Jesus spiritually and therefore believed that the appearances to the disciples and other were also only spiritual. With this detailed account and by the omission of any mention of meeting Jesus before the crucifixion, we know he did not meet Jesus alive.

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There is no direct evidence that Paul had seen Jesus prior to the crucifixion. However it is quite likely that he had, Paul had been a resident of Jerusalem as a child (Acts 22:3) and was also there years later to approve of Stephen's stoning (Acts 8:1). The presence of Paul's nephew in Jerusalem after Paul's conversion (Acts 23:16) suggests that Paul and his family had resided there for some time. It is recorded in the Scriptures that Jesus visited Jerusalem (Mark 11:11; John 2:13; 5:1). It is quite possible that Paul could have seen Jesus or heard Him speak during one of Jesus' several trips there.

Also Paul's devotion to the Law would have motivated him to go to Jerusalem during Passover-a time where both he and Jesus would have been in close proximity. As a Pharisee, Paul would have been keenly interested in the teaching of a popular, if unconventional, rabbi. As Paul told Herod Agrippa, the things Jesus did were "not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26).

Answer 3

Yes!