how did Paul's and Jesus teachings differ?

Question

and why did Jesus supposedly stop talking to the deciples and only to Paul later?

sounds VERY suspicious to have a murderer and worker for the High Priest jump ship, form a new religion, then claim to be a Roman and offend both Jews and his own followers in the end

found with Felix and lots of money in the end, only 2 ways to become a Roman Citizen back then, bribe or outright buy it, or free yourself in wars and be a Free Man

paul claims jewish roots but yet born in Tarsus, claims being in a 30 year Rabinical School under Gamaliel yet slanders Pharisees

the contradictions of Jesus teachings and Pauls are myriad

Paul's letters had many contradictions

Jesus' teachings were closer to Buddhism or Confusious than Paul's hate and damnation, or putting women down etc

Answer 1

Well, we only know the teachings of Jesus from the four gospels, and we have no idea who wrote them.

But we do know they were written AFTER Paul's epistles. I think this underscores the differences between them.

The basic difference I see is the saved by faith article and original sin. This vastly differs from the Sermon on the Mount and the philosophy of Jesus and justification.

Paul appears to know almost nothing about Jesus (Except for a small poem he has in one letter). No sayings, no miracles, no deeds and no stories.

For their part, the Gospels do not presume Paul's theology at all (though perhaps part of John's Gospel do, written very late and after Pauline theology was widely known).

What I find amusing is that it makes Jesus look like an idiot. He picks 12 apostles, his best friends that spend from 1-3 years with him, witnessing and being hand-picked to spread his message. Then one of betrays him, and is replaced by a close vote of the remaining 11. Then a few years later, Jesus apparently needs ANOTHER apostle so he comes to Paul in a dream to recruit him (so says Paul).

Why all these different apostles? It certainly makes Jesus look like he can't figure out which 12 he needs.

Answer 2

Paul and Jesus don't have any "contradictions" they have "differences". There is a difference between "contradiction" and "difference". A contradiction means that one statement goes against another. i.e. to say Jesus was a carpenter and Paul was a tentmaker is not a contradiction, it is merely different.

Jesus did nto "stop talking to the disciples". After the ascension into heaven the Holy Spirit came upon the early Christians, and they ministered through the Spirit. Paul was a devout Jew, a Pharisee, and thought that the Christians were following rubbish - how could they worship a Messiah that was dead? Paul did not "form" a new religion, when he found out that Jesus was who he said he was, Paul accepted Jesus as a Messiah which set him apart from the other Pharisees. What exactly is wrong with Paul being a Roman citizen? His parents likely attained that for him although we do not know much if at all about them. But seeing as how Paul received the best education possible at that time, as Gamaliel was a very prestigious instructor, Paul's family must have been well-off. YET despite all that, when he was a Pharisee Paul had money, social status, power, etc, but he left it to propagate the gospel that he once persecuted. What is wrong with having Jewish roots and being born in Tarsus? Tarsus was a Gentile city, true, but that doesn't mean Paul did not have Jewish parents, or a Jewish education.

Read Matthew 23, maybe you will see more similarities between Paul and Jesus concerning how they thought of the pharisees.

Answer 3

NOTHING Paul says contradicts Jesus's teachings, and NOWHERE is it even implied that Jesus stopped talking to the other disciples EVER... you really do need to go back and read the Book again from the beginning, slowly and without any outside influences. Paul had dual citizenship which came in handy a time or two; he was both a Jw and a roman citizen. He practiced the Hebrew law perfectly, he was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, yes but he had a supernatural encounter with the risen Lord of lords and King of kings, and then began to understand the true essence of the things he had learned for years: Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of God; hidden in the passages of the old testament and revealed in the new testament.

The secret to reading the Book, and getting out of it what is truly there, is to ask Jesus to come into your heart and illuminate it. He's not dead, He's alive, so He can do exactly that! I hope you will try reading it again, this time WITH the Lord. For it is a spiritual book and therefore spiritually discerned; you need the Spirit of God to rightly understand it.

Answer 4

YOu've obviously done quite a bit of research and that's good. It looks like u skipped some parts though. Paul was never in charge, he was just the apostle to the nations and thus all his letters were to congregations that he helped form. In Acts chap 15, he was present as well as Barnabus and the apostle Peter to give evidence for a decision over circumcision.

Paul never gave money to Felix, that's why he was held in custody for such a long time. Being born in Tarsus and to probably rich parents who sent him to study under Gamiliel was probably the reason he was a Roman citizen.

U never gave a scripture or a point where Paul differed from Jesus.

Answer 5

On the surface, Paul's message of grace may seem to contradict Jesus(and the rest of the authors of the NT)in what seems a message of salvation by works,but if you see that works are a result and a sign of faith (e.g. Noah's "work" of building an Ark was because he had faith), it all fits together.

As to it sounding suspicious about Paul's resume'..well, HE believed what he preached to the point of lengthy imprisonments and death by beheading on the Ostian Way. No one would die for a lie they didn't believe. Even the most powerful government in the world collapsed under the scrutiny of Watergate, how much moreso would a few poor fishermen crumble under pressure if they truly didn't believe their message. It sounds suspicious maybe because you haven't seen the transformational power of Jesus Christ work in someone's life.

As to "why did Jesus stop talking to the apostles and only to Paul later? Well, your facts are mistaken. John was the last apostle spoken too. The Book of Revelation was written, according to many scholars around 90 AD, after the rest were deceased.

Answer 6

The Apostles who were in place at, and emediatly after Christ's Ascention wer personaly instructed by Jesus and given their individual assignments.... As was Paul. Jesus chose Paul for a apecific purpose. Paul was instructed by Jesus as to what He was to pass on. The teaching of Paul was in direct obediance to the instructins from Jesus......Paul was a Roman Citizen because his father was a Roman citizen.......Paul could not have held the autorioty he did as a Pharasee if his Blood line was not pure Jew......The Pharisees were not doing things as God wanted... Paul saw the light... literaly... and came to know The Truth directly from Jesus...There are no contradictions between Paul and Jesus...... Paul DID NOT start a new "religion". Paul Paul brought The Teaching Of The Church of which Jesus The Christ is The Head to the Gentiles.......... You have no understanding of the True Christian Faith if you can not understand those simple facts........ besides...those of The True Christian Faioth do not "follow" Paul.... the Faith of The True Christian is with God and God alone.... The Word who is Jesus The Christ , through His direct instruction and through the Apostles, Gives us The Word and Will of God. It is The personal relationship of The True Christian with God that alows The Holy Spirit to lead each believer to what God has for them in His Word..... it is not Paul or any other man who leads...it is God through The Holy Spirit.

Answer 7

There are no contradictions between Jesus and Paul's teachings. If you're going to make such an accusation & you're truly seeking honest answers...you need to give a list of the so-called "problems" that exist between these two men and make your case for why these are problems. Until that happens, there isn't much anyone can do but just give a general disagreement.

Answer 8

The only difference that I know of between Paul's and Jesus' teaching is that Paul said that a believer who was married to an unbeliever didn't have to stay married if the unbeliever deserted the marriage while Jesus said that the only grounds for divorce were for sexual immorality, ie adultery.

Of course Paul wrote to believers after the Holy Spirit had been given and Jesus was talking to Jews about the law and God's perfect will as opposed to his permissive will that through Moses allowed divorce for other reasons. Basically Jesus is revealed in the gospel accounts and explained in the epistles. It's not like Paul taught anything contrary to what Jesus taught.

As to your doubts about Paul's sincerity consider this passage from a widely circulated letter.

2 Corinthians 11:23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one--I am talking like a madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. (24) Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. (25) Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; (26) on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; (27) in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. (28) And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

It's not like Paul was putting on an act. Also consider what Peter had to say about his letters in his second epistle near the end of his life.

2 Peter 3:15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, (16) as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Peter respected Paul and classified his writings as Scriptures.

Answer 9

I'd say you've read "The Mythmaker, Paul and the Invention of Christianity" by Hyam Maccoby
.

Answer 10

Since Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, and talks about doctrine that he "received from the Lord", I'd say there is no difference at all.