Every so often in our research for our weekly sermons Pastor Ben and I inevitably have to leave large chunks of useful and interesting information on the cutting room floor. But thanks to this website we can post up the really interesting stuff for us to chew on!

This coming week we’ll be looking at the famous chapter 9 of the book of Acts: the conversion and commission of Saul/Paul.

One question I’ve been tossing up through the last few days has been to decide whether to refer to him as just Paul, or refer to him as Saul for this sermon only. Which lead me to do a little reading on why Saul changes his name to Paul.

There’s a few theories around as to why Saul changes his name. Probably the most common relates to Saul’s conversion itself: Saul was a zealous Pharisee and persecutor of the church whereas Paul was the humble, gentle, Apostle to the Gentiles.

That theory has some merit, but when we look at the book of Acts it doesn’t account for Saul keeping his name for quite some time. Only by Acts 13:9 is there a switch (and from recollection he is then only referred to as Paul – though when he shares his testimony again he references his former name ‘Saul’).

Some other theories relate the Apostles’ name back to the first King of Israel, but that theory doesn’t seem so strong given that names are used over and over again without hindrance in the Bible.

Another theory suggests that Saul was his Hebrew/Jewish name and Paul is Roman citizen name. While this may be true it doesn’t explain why Saul decided to switch his name.

Another theory takes into consideration some of the context historically and within the text itself: Saul translated in Greek (saulos) loosely translates to ‘the sultry walk of a prostitute’. You’ll notice in chapter 9 Saul’s conversion leads to immediate ministry – but ministry predominantly among Jews and Jewish Christians. Keeping his name as ‘Saul’ made the most sense in this context. But when Saul and Barnabas are sent off into Gentile territory in chapter 13 we see the name change.

Thanks to Alexander the Great, Greek was the lingua franca, the language of trade and commerce, of the first centuries. Heading off into Gentile territory meant preaching and teaching the gospel in Greek (which explains why the New Testament is written in Greek as well!). So imagine coming into town and saying, “Hear ye hear ye, the good news of Jesus! Let me introduce myself. My name is ‘Walks like a Prostitute.’”

Yes, a name change seems to make most sense then!

In the end though, while each theory has merit we’re never told exactly the reason for the change. Whatever the reason, the apostle Paul’s impact on Christianity not only in Acts but in the New Testament and the western world as we know it can not be understated. What we’re going to explore on Sunday is the world-changing impact the resurrected Jesus had on this former persecutor of the church.

And that is super exciting. See you Sunday!