Did Paul the pharisee Teach Gentiles The Truth About Adonai YAHUSHA?
The Twelve Apostles were so important because they were first-hand witnesses of YAHUSHA’s ministry from the time of His baptism, through to His Resurrection & Ascension. They were His close friends & students for the duration of His Ministry. Paul the pharisee acknowledged never having followed YAHUSHA while He lived here on earth, but Paul does claim to have encountered Him after His Ascension.
First, it should be noted that rarely did Paul quote YAHUSHA. Of his 13 letters included in the New Testament, the following verses are pretty much the only times Paul attempted to quote Adonai YAHUSHA in his letters.
1 Co 11:23-25
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.” After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1Co 9:14
Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
1 Ti 5:18
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, “The labourer is worthy of his reward.”
1 Co 7:10-11
And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
2 Co 12:7-9
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Romans 14:14-15
I know & am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
So of the 13 books of the New Testament that were written by pharisee Paul, he saw fit to include only these 6 “sayings” of Master YAHUSHA. Of these 6 sayings, three of them were apparently “private messages” to Paul( 1 Co 7:10-11, 2 Co 12:7-9, & Romans 14:14-15), as there is no record of Master YAHUSHA saying any of those things in the Gospel record. In regards to what Paul claims Master YAHUSHA told him personally, a later section will examine the veracity of Paul’s claim of Romans 14:14-15 in greater detail. Of all YAHUSHA’s teachings from the Gospels, instead of discussing some of Master YAHUSHA’s parables or teachings on Salvation, he chose to refer to Luke 10:7 twice, in 1 Co 9:14, & 1 Ti 5:18! Of course, 1 Co 9:14 is not really a quote but Paul simply paraphrased or made reference to what YAHUSHA had previously said.
Of Paul’s attempted quotes of Master YAHUSHA from the Gospels(1 Co 11:23-25, 1 Co 9:14, & 1 Ti 5:18), Paul even managed to get one wrong! First, Paul did get the “labourer is worthy of his hire/reward” quote correctly, as that is found in Luke 10:7. Paul the pharisee apparently found this to be an extremely important verse since this verse alone is quoted or referenced about two of the three times that Paul attempted to quote Master YAHUSHA from the Gospels! However, when looking at Paul’s quote of what YAHUSHA said at his last Passover meal with His disciples, there is a problem...
Luke 22:7-20
Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto Him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And He said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
What is the problem with Paul’s version(1 Co 11:23-25) of what Yahusha said at His Last Passover with His disciples? YAHUSHA actually said, "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." In contrast, Paul claims that YAHUSHA said His body was broken for us. The problem with Paul’s account is that the Gospel of John reminds us & specifies in John 19:36 that, “For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.”
So of the few times that Paul attempts to quote YAHUSHA directly from the Gospels(Luke 10:7 & Luke 22:7-20), Paul was only able to correctly convey what YAHUSHA said regarding Luke 10:7! That’s not really very impressive reliability for a self proclaimed “apostle to the gentiles”. This is despite the fact that Paul may have had access to Luke’s Gospel, as they were companions.
What is also surprising is that Paul apparently had such little interest in conveying the teachings of Master YAHUSHA! Paul the pharisee makes no mention of the parables Master YAHUSHA taught, YAHUSHA’s teachings on the Torah or salvation, His Sermon on the Mount, how YAHUSHA answered those sent to test him & trip Him up with difficult questions, etc.
It is true that Paul was aware of YAHUSHA’s crucifixion, resurrection, & ascension into Heaven, but he seems to be aware of very little else in regards to what YAHUSHA taught & did! Paul also makes no significant mention of YAHUSHA’s birth, baptism, teaching in parables, who His actual Apostles were, the miracles & miraculous healings Master YAHUSHA performed, His transfiguration, or the prophecies He fulfilled. Of the two passages Paul did attempt to quote Master YAHUSHA from the Gospels(Luke 10:7 & Luke 22:7-20), Paul clearly misquoted Luke 22:7-20 in 1 Co 11:23-25!!
John 21: 24-25
This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which YAHUSHA did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
The Apostle John tells us that the world itself could not contain the books that should be written if all the wonderful things that YAHUSHA did were exhaustively chronicled. Isn’t it curious that Paul’s letters tell us so extremely little about Adonai YAHUSHA’s life & teachings? A review of Paul’s letters should leave one wondering why Paul seemed to focus almost exclusively & primarily on the death & resurrection of our Savior, while curiously neglecting to mention almost anything about His Life & Teachings!!
To learn about Messiah YAHUSHA & His teachings, the Gospels are without a doubt clearly the best source. Paul’s letters have almost nothing to add to the Gospels in terms of discussing YAHUSHA’s teachings, His Miracles, & all the wonderful things He said & did. According to Gregory Jenks in his excellent article, "What Did Paul Know About Jesus?", "Scholars generally concede that we can learn almost nothing about Jesus’ life or teachings from Paul."(1)
In other words, for gentiles or new believers wanting to learn more about our Saviour (what He said & did), reading Paul’s letters would pretty much be a complete waste of time!
(1) http://www.faithfutures.org/Jesus/Jesus_Paul.pdf