Where Did Jesus Die? — Page 91
Chapter Eight—Did Jesus Die on the Cross and Ascend to Heaven? 91 However, this reply could not satisfy the Jews. They had not seen him ascend to heaven. So they believed him to have died an ‘accursed’ death. Moreover, their preaching, in accordance with the teach- ings of their Master, was confined to the Jews only. It is quite evident that it was not easy for the Jews to believe in Jesus on account of the lowly origin of his disciples, while Jesus himself could not convince them. On the other hand, they were debarred from spreading their faith amongst other nations, firstly because they knew the latter would not accept the Mosaic Law, and sec- ondly because Jesus had prohibited them from preaching to the Gentiles. In these unpromising circumstances, there arose a man named Saul, well known afterwards as Paul, who, not being one of the Apostles, declared his right to apostlehood on account of a vision, knowing that otherwise his claim had little chance of being recognised. The Vision of St. Paul The vision he beheld is mentioned in the Acts, Chapters 9, 22 and 26. If we read the separate accounts carefully we find them full of contradictions. 1. As an example, we read in Chapter 9, verses 3–6: ‘That a light from heaven shone round about him and he fell to earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul … and meanwhile those who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man’; but in Chapter 22, verse 9, he says: ‘And they