Barnabas and the Early Christians 55In the years that followed, the gulf between the Jews who re
fused to acknowledge Jesus and those who followed him began to
widen. During the siege of [erusalem in 70 AD - after which the
Temple of Solomon was utterly destroyed by the Romans - the
followers of Jesus left the city; and, by the time of the Bar Koch'eba
rebellionin 132 AD, they refused to fightwiththe Jews.These two
major confrontations which occurred between the Romans and the
Jews demonstrate the main difference between the Jews and the
true foBowers of Jesus. The former sought political power, the lat
ter to live in a manner pleasing to their Lord. Although there were
certainly Jews who fought because they wished to be able to fol
low their religion, free from foreign invaders, there were also fol
lowers of Jesus who disassociated themselves from the [ews in or
der ta avoid the persecution which was being directed specifically
at the Jews.
The questions of the origin of Jesus, his nature and his relation
ta God, which were later to become a source of much contention,
were not raised among the first followers of Jesus. That Jesus was
a man who was a Prophet and one who had been given many gifts
by God, was accepted without question. Nothing in the words of
Jesus or in the events in his life on earth had led them to modify
this certainty. According ta Aristides, one of the earliest apologists,
the worship of the early Christians was more purely monotheistic
than even that of the Jews.
It was into this circle of sincere followers that Paul of Tarsus
walked. He had never met Jesus, nor had he been well acquainted
with any of Jesus' s closest disciples. He had the reputation of be
ing one of the greatest enemies of Jesus. He had watched over the
stoning of Stephen, who had been'full of faith and the Holy Ghost,'
(Acts 6:5), and who was one of the growing number of people who
had joined the followers of Jesus after his disappearance. When
Paul's own teacher, the famous Gamaliel, had tried to protect
Stephen, he tao had been stoned ta death, without Paul attempt
ing ta intercede.
And it is recorded that Paul, who was then called Saul, was
responsiblefor'a great persecutionagainst theChurch' at that time,
and that he 'made a havoc of the Church, entering into every house
and haling men and women and cornmitted them ta prison.' (Acts
8: 1-3). Paul himselfadmitted that: