0:00:13 > 0:00:14'I'm David Suchet
0:00:14 > 0:00:17'and I'm on a journey around the Mediterranean
0:00:17 > 0:00:21'following in the footsteps of a man who, 2,000 years ago,
0:00:21 > 0:00:25'travelled more than 10,000 miles around the Roman world
0:00:25 > 0:00:28'on foot, and many, many more by sea.'
0:00:31 > 0:00:35This is extraordinary. We must appear that size from up there.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41'For the last 25 years, I've been fascinated by Saint Paul.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45'He was a hugely controversial figure in his own time.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47'He still is today.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'To some, he's the man who did more than anyone else to transform
0:00:50 > 0:00:53'Christianity from a small Jewish sect
0:00:53 > 0:00:55'into the most powerful religion on earth.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00'To others, he's a preacher of prejudices that have
0:01:00 > 0:01:03'echoed down throughout history.'
0:01:03 > 0:01:05And they must have thought, the arrogance...
0:01:05 > 0:01:09- Absolutely.- ..of the man, here he is on the basis of one vision,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12so he says. He's telling everybody what to do.
0:01:12 > 0:01:13Changing all the rules.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17'A man of contrasts and confusions.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21'But if ever there was an historical character I've longed to play
0:01:21 > 0:01:22'it is Paul.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25'So for me, this is a very personal quest.'
0:01:25 > 0:01:27I could look like that.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29- What do you think? - A little bit.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31A little bit.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34'I'll be seeking out clues in the places he visited,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37'deciphering new evidence from the latest archaeological research
0:01:37 > 0:01:42'and meeting expert witnesses from around the region to help me uncover
0:01:42 > 0:01:47'this remarkable man hidden within the pages of the New Testament.'
0:02:13 > 0:02:17'Every year, millions of visitors, from all over the world,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19'make pilgrimages here,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23'to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, to what they believe
0:02:23 > 0:02:26'is the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35'But the reason they remember this crucified carpenter
0:02:35 > 0:02:39is down to just one extraordinary man.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41'We know him as Saint Paul.'
0:02:43 > 0:02:45More than any other individual,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Paul was responsible for transforming
0:02:48 > 0:02:52a fledgling Jesus Movement from a minor sect of Judaism
0:02:52 > 0:02:55into a new religion that would one day become known as Christianity.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03'Without him, the new faith could have died out 2,000 years ago.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10'Paul was Christianity's first international ambassador
0:03:10 > 0:03:13'taking the story of Jesus out to the pagan world.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19'Sowing the seeds of a new idea that would sweep through
0:03:19 > 0:03:23'the Roman Empire and change the course of Western civilisation.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29'Paul's story is told in the New Testament Book of Acts
0:03:29 > 0:03:32'and preserved in a remarkable series of his own letters,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35'written to small communities of believers
0:03:35 > 0:03:37'scattered around the Roman world.'
0:03:40 > 0:03:42It was one of these letters that I read
0:03:42 > 0:03:45when I was filming in America about 25 years ago now,
0:03:45 > 0:03:50I read it in a hotel room. It was addressed simply "To the Romans."
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Even after 2,000 years,
0:03:52 > 0:03:57the extraordinary passion of Paul's words leap from the page.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15'Paul's letter, to the small Christian community in Rome,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17'inspired and fashioned my own faith.'
0:04:17 > 0:04:19I became fascinated by him.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24As an actor, I actually felt I would like to play him.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27What sort of man was he? What gave him this power?
0:04:27 > 0:04:30How did he actually change Western thought?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37'To understand this man, I need to get a sense of his world.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43'My journey of discovery starts here in Jerusalem,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45'the spiritual home of the Jewish people.'
0:04:51 > 0:04:52It's so good to be up here
0:04:52 > 0:04:55and to look down on this extraordinary city.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02'Today, Jerusalem is home to three of the world's major religions.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07'For Jews, Christians and Muslims
0:05:07 > 0:05:10'it's one of the most holy places on earth.'
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I don't think you can ever forget when you're up here that this
0:05:16 > 0:05:17is possibly...
0:05:19 > 0:05:21..the most religious city in the world.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28'But two millennia ago, Judaism and the strict requirements of
0:05:28 > 0:05:33'Jewish law dominated this city and every aspect of Paul's early life.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45'Today, Jewish boys enter the world of adulthood at age 13.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46'From this point,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49'they're considered responsible for their own actions
0:05:49 > 0:05:51'under Jewish law.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54'The dream of every boy and his parents is to have the Bar Mitzvah -
0:05:54 > 0:05:58'his coming of age ceremony - here at the Western Wall,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01'a remnant of the massive Jewish Temple
0:06:01 > 0:06:03'which stood here in Paul's time.'
0:06:08 > 0:06:10To all intents and purposes, it could be a wedding.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14SINGING
0:06:14 > 0:06:17This is Paul's early life.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20This is what he longed for as a young boy.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24The rights of passage into the Jewish faith -
0:06:24 > 0:06:26very important moment.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31And here comes their...their law. With all the sweets being thrown.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34You touch it.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38You see, they don't mind who touches it, I touched it.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40I'm being pushed out of the way now.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49'The Western - or Wailing - Wall is a reminder that in Paul's day
0:06:49 > 0:06:53'the temple was the very heart and soul of the Jewish religion.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57'To reach back to his time,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01'I need to look beneath the surface of the modern city.'
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Now we are going down underground to a tunnel.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15And that tunnel was built under the main street of Jerusalem.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17You see how deep you go down.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22'Jerusalem is one of the world's richest archaeological sites
0:07:22 > 0:07:25'and recent excavations offer tantalising glimpses
0:07:25 > 0:07:28'of the city Paul would have known.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32'Archaeologist Eli Shukron took me beneath the streets
0:07:32 > 0:07:34'to a recently discovered drainage channel,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37'filled with historical clues.'
0:07:37 > 0:07:39This is really narrow.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40You are in a tunnel.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42I'm in a tunnel, all right.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46- This is the experience.- I'm in a 2,000-year-old tunnel.- Yeah.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48- You saw that stone?- Yeah.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52This is the foundation of the Wailing Wall. Let's see it closely.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55This is the original?
0:07:55 > 0:08:01Original stone, original foundation of the Western Wall,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04- the Wailing Wall.- The Wailing Wall, so we are right underground.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06We are right underground on the bedrock.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08You see, this is the bedrock
0:08:08 > 0:08:12and this is the first stone of the Western Wall.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13How old?
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- 2,000.- 2,000 years?- Yes.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22That is mind-boggling, actually, absolutely.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Look at the size of them.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26What am I going to do now? I'm going to... Am I going to dig?
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Yes, of course, you're going to dig.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Going to dig in our excavation.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32I'm going to uncover
0:08:32 > 0:08:38a bit of the Western Wall for the first time in 2,000 years.
0:08:38 > 0:08:39Wow.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44And then what you need to do, just to take the dirt here
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and clean the stone of the Western Wall, OK?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- And here we have a piece of pottery.- Oh!
0:08:49 > 0:08:52A piece of jar, the rim of the jar.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- 2,000 years old. - There is dirt on it.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And this is the rim you can see, the rim of the jar.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06There it is, look. And I'm uncovering the Western Wall now,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09now I've got the Western wall for the first time.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15You never know, with every move I make of this what will be uncovered.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17I'd like to spend a longer time here.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Change of career, perhaps?
0:09:23 > 0:09:24You love your job now, David?
0:09:24 > 0:09:26I love my job.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31'Scraping away at the foundations of the Western Wall
0:09:31 > 0:09:34'had literally put me in touch with Paul's time.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38'But darker clues to Paul's world had survived in these tunnels.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40'Jerusalem may have been Jewish,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43'but it was also occupied by a brutal foreign invader.'
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Eli's just told me, this stone is the main street.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- Above us.- Above us. - This is the main street.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54So that's the main street and we are in the main drain.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00'The tunnel had been built to drain rainwater from Temple Mount,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02'the site of the Jewish Temple,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06'but it was to become a secret escape route for rebel Jews.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'In the year 6AD, around the time of Paul's birth,
0:10:09 > 0:10:13'Jerusalem fell under direct rule of the Roman Empire.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'The Jews never accepted Roman occupation.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21'Their very presence defiled the Holy City,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24'but any protest was mercilessly put down.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29'The Roman army maintained its iron grip on Jerusalem
0:10:29 > 0:10:31'throughout Paul's life.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34'In 70AD, a few years after his death,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38'they would lay waste to the city, destroy the Jewish Temple
0:10:38 > 0:10:43'and, on discovering these tunnels, they massacred everyone they found.'
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Did you find any Roman artefacts in here?
0:10:45 > 0:10:47- Yeah, we found a sword. - A Roman sword?
0:10:47 > 0:10:49A Roman sword, yes.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53God, I wouldn't have liked to have escaped in this tunnel.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55It's very... And with no light.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Yeah, there's no light. You know, it's very, very, very, very...
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- People frightened. - Yeah, people frightened
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and the Romans above you on the street walking.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07Gosh.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21'Paul spent his whole life under the dark shadow of Roman rule.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26'I was keen to discover how that influenced the man and his beliefs.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31'Since antiquity, Jews have sought to be buried here
0:11:31 > 0:11:32'on the Mount of Olives
0:11:32 > 0:11:35'where they believe their long-awaited Messiah,
0:11:35 > 0:11:40'God's chosen leader, will first appear to usher in the End of Days.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44'A new era free of war and strife.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47'By being buried here, they hope to be among the first to be
0:11:47 > 0:11:49'resurrected from the dead.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53'It was a good place to meet Jewish historian Danny Schwartz.'
0:11:55 > 0:11:58But on the side, members of the family added
0:11:58 > 0:12:02the names of the members of the family who were killed in Auschwitz.
0:12:02 > 0:12:03Oh, my goodness.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Including the son of the person who was buried here,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09and the grandson, and the wife of the grandson.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15'Jews like Paul believed themselves to be a chosen people,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19'their history and destiny controlled by God.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23'But now Rome, not God, appeared to be in charge.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26'For many, the End of Days,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29'when God would send his Messiah to liberate them,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31'could not come soon enough.'
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Did they ever think it might be the beginning of the end times?
0:12:36 > 0:12:37They probably did.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39The Roman occupation pushed people into something
0:12:39 > 0:12:43of an apocalyptic mood that the time is going to have come very soon ...
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- Very soon. - ..when this will be worked out.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48God can't sit back idly and let everything like this be trampled.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54'Jerusalem was in political and religious turmoil.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57'How should Jews respond to the Roman occupation?
0:12:58 > 0:13:02'Competing groups fought for control of Jewish hearts and minds.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'Some preached armed resistance,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08'others that only God could decide when Roman rule should end.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14'Paul, at that time still known by his Jewish name, Saul,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17'chose to join the Pharisees,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20'a strictly Jewish sect who believed that the End of Days could be
0:13:20 > 0:13:24'brought forward in time by rigid observance of the Jewish law.
0:13:28 > 0:13:34'Paul was Jewish, but we're told also that he held Roman citizenship,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38'and that he'd spent his childhood not in Jerusalem but in Tarsus.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40'That's in modern-day Turkey.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44'Could a confused sense of belonging help explain Paul's personality?'
0:13:44 > 0:13:47DOOR BUZZER
0:13:47 > 0:13:50'One of the world's leading authorities on Paul is
0:13:50 > 0:13:52'Father Jerome Murphy O'Connor.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54'He had a surprising theory
0:13:54 > 0:13:58'about how Paul came by his Roman citizenship
0:13:58 > 0:13:59'and how it had affected him.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:03He was, I believe, the son of slaves.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08I think he became a Roman citizen when his parents were set free.
0:14:08 > 0:14:14No-one kept a slave into his 40s. It was non-productive, economically.
0:14:14 > 0:14:21And the children of slaves of a Roman citizen automatically
0:14:21 > 0:14:24became a Roman citizen on being set free.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28'The Book of Acts claims Paul left Tarsus for Jerusalem.'
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Paul came to Jerusalem, I believe, about the age of 20.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37He was a Jew looking for his roots.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41When he came to Jerusalem and became a Pharisee,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44the law became the focal point of his life.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47'Perhaps becoming a Pharisee
0:14:47 > 0:14:50'answered some need in Paul to belong.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54'And he threw himself into a zealous defence of the Jewish law.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01'But then, around 32AD, a radical new Jewish sect appeared
0:15:01 > 0:15:04'on the scene, inspired by the recent execution
0:15:04 > 0:15:06'of a rabbi from Galilee.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10'The Jesus Movement threatened everything Paul held most dear.'
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I'm walking up the Via Dolorosa, which is the way
0:15:14 > 0:15:19they say Jesus walked to his crucifixion, carrying his cross.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24It's an extraordinary feeling to be part of a group like this.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27You're almost caught up in it, you can't help it.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38'Today, Christianity is the world's largest religion.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43'It's easy to forget that 2,000 years ago it was just a minor sect of Judaism.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47'The Jesus Movement could easily have withered
0:15:47 > 0:15:49'and died with the death of its leader.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53'But soon after the crucifixion, Jesus' followers became
0:15:53 > 0:15:56'convinced that God had raised him from the dead,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58'that he WAS the Jewish Messiah.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02'And that claim sparked a violent response from Paul
0:16:02 > 0:16:04'and his fellow Pharisees.'
0:16:05 > 0:16:08What was the trouble? What was going on with this sect
0:16:08 > 0:16:11that would have made Paul so angry?
0:16:11 > 0:16:16So, Paul is, at that stage, showing his zeal for the law,
0:16:16 > 0:16:21that these misguided Christians believe Jesus is the messiah.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24But if Jesus was the messiah,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27then the law no longer had any place,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32and the law was what made Paul's life at that stage as a Pharisee.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35And I think that's why he persecuted Christians -
0:16:35 > 0:16:37they wanted to have it both ways.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41To be Christians AND practising Jews. Paul says, "No.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42"It's either or."
0:16:43 > 0:16:47'Observance of the law was everything to Paul.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52'How dare these Jewish heretics claim that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah?
0:16:52 > 0:16:57'If so, then a new age had begun and the law was no longer important.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01'In Paul's eyes they should be wiped from the face of the Earth.'
0:17:17 > 0:17:20'According to the Book of Acts, Paul focused his anger on one
0:17:20 > 0:17:23'of the leading lights of the Jesus Movement.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27'A young man called Stephen who had been successfully convincing
0:17:27 > 0:17:28'Jews like Paul to convert.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'Stephen was dragged outside the city gates
0:17:33 > 0:17:35'and viciously stoned to death.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39'We're told Paul stood watching,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42'apparently minding the coats of the executioners.'
0:17:44 > 0:17:48In those cases where you hear of people being stoned in Jewish
0:17:48 > 0:17:51antiquity, I think, generally, it's a mob action.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53- Why stoning?- Stoning is a kind of popular thing to do.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Anybody can do it, you don't need special equipment.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- You mean it's all around you, you just pick it up? - You just pick them up and do that.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01It's the type of things mobs can do.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05It must have been a pretty ugly thing, then,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07to be stoned by mob rule - terrible.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10I'm sure that being stoned, was a very ugly thing.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12It doesn't leave much of the body
0:18:12 > 0:18:13when so many stones have been thrown.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19So, being a Pharisee, that would be a sort of normal reaction to that?
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Certainly to oppose people who are preaching
0:18:24 > 0:18:26the abrogation of Jewish law would be normal.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27How far you go with that,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29does it take you to stoning, is another issue.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35'Paul seemed consumed with hatred for the Jesus movement.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39'Yet there was something about this man I just didn't understand.'
0:18:43 > 0:18:47"Love is patient, love is kind.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51"It does not envy, it does not boast.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55"It is not proud, it is not rude.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00"It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,"
0:19:00 > 0:19:03"it keeps no record of wrongs.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06"Love does not delight in evil."
0:19:08 > 0:19:13It seems strange to me that someone who can stand by, witness
0:19:13 > 0:19:17and even condone such an atrocity of
0:19:17 > 0:19:21stoning another human being to death is also capable of writing
0:19:21 > 0:19:24some of the most beautiful words ever written, and they're used
0:19:24 > 0:19:28in wedding ceremonies around the world even to this very day.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31'What transformed this zealous
0:19:31 > 0:19:36'persecutor of the Jesus Movement into its greatest ambassador?
0:19:37 > 0:19:41'According to the Bible, the answer lies on the road to Damascus,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44'in one of the most fantastic and dramatic stories ever told.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55'Paul is on his way to root out more followers of Jesus
0:19:55 > 0:19:59'when suddenly his whole world is turned around.'
0:20:03 > 0:20:05According to Acts,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08on his way to Damascus, he had a conversion experience.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14He saw a blinding light that literally blinded him physically.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17He heard the voice of Jesus saying "Saul",
0:20:17 > 0:20:21using his Jewish name, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
0:20:21 > 0:20:25And he was given his commission to evangelise the Gentiles.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28It was a changing moment in Paul's life and we often refer to it now
0:20:28 > 0:20:31as the blinding light experience of conversion.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36But I would like to find out what really happened.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48'In the Bible, deserts lend themselves to life-changing moments.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51'Both Jesus and Moses had spent time in the wilderness.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56'To help me make sense of Paul's conversion,
0:20:56 > 0:20:58I met psychologist Shmuel Erlich.'
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I'm searching for Paul the character.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05I can't ignore that central conversion experience.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07How do I make that change?
0:21:07 > 0:21:13I would suggest that you look very carefully and deeply into his past.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17You look into what happened before, into his persecution,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19into his aggression,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22into his need to kill Christians,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25which I think speaks of some...
0:21:25 > 0:21:30some kind I think of, I think, an inner turmoil.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31What you see...
0:21:32 > 0:21:37..especially in people who are struggling with their identity
0:21:37 > 0:21:42and if the struggle is very deep, you...you see that, um...
0:21:42 > 0:21:47they can sometimes turn round, almost, if you will, 180 degrees
0:21:47 > 0:21:52and from one, what you would consider to be one identity,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56- suddenly become the opposite of it.- Right.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I think this is what happened to St Paul.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03He persecuted the Christians before and then, suddenly,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06he shifted completely and became their spokesman
0:22:06 > 0:22:08and their guardian, in a way,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11their promoter and their leader, really.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16'Whatever really happened on the road to Damascus, it's clear
0:22:16 > 0:22:20'that from that moment on, Paul's beliefs changed for ever.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25'He was now convinced he had met Jesus face-to-face
0:22:25 > 0:22:28'that God had brought him back from the dead
0:22:28 > 0:22:30'and that, therefore, he must be the Messiah.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34'And that the End of Days was coming very, very soon.'
0:22:43 > 0:22:46'Paul is said to have returned to Jerusalem to try
0:22:46 > 0:22:49'and convince the leadership of the Jesus Movement that,
0:22:49 > 0:22:54'whatever his crimes against them in the past, he was now on their side.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57'That God had chosen him to be an apostle,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01'on a par with the disciples who had actually known Jesus.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03'It must have been a difficult sell.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08'Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership suggested
0:23:08 > 0:23:11'that their former persecutor would be of most use to them
0:23:11 > 0:23:15'away from Jerusalem, back in his home city of Tarsus,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17'in modern-day Turkey.'
0:23:19 > 0:23:21- Now, Tarsus.- Yes, here we are.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24- Where Paul was born.- Yes.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29'How had Paul's childhood home influenced his life?
0:23:30 > 0:23:34'My guide, Menir, grew up in Tarsus and agreed to show me around.'
0:23:38 > 0:23:44Are there many sites that one can go to that we'll see where Paul
0:23:44 > 0:23:46went in the city, is he very famous here?
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Very famous. We have St Paul's Well,
0:23:49 > 0:23:54St Paul's House, St Paul's Church, many St Paul Cafes.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01And is he a popular character? Do people like him?
0:24:02 > 0:24:05They love him, it's their famous son.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10'Tarsus is a Muslim city and has been for centuries.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14'So I was intrigued by how today's population regarded Paul.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18'After Friday prayers, Menir took me to the Grand Mosque
0:24:18 > 0:24:20'to meet some of the locals.'
0:24:21 > 0:24:26Could you ask our friend what he might know about St Paul?
0:24:26 > 0:24:29SPEAKS TURKISH
0:24:32 > 0:24:38We know him as a Christian saint who...
0:24:38 > 0:24:41had this incredible energy.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43- Yes.- He walked for miles.- Yes.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47He got, probably... had a donkey and he went...
0:24:48 > 0:24:51..he went from one village to another
0:24:51 > 0:24:56and explained all about Jesus, what Jesus was saying.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00How has much has Tarsus changed since you were a child?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02The essence of Tarsus is the same.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09In other words, it's retained its values. It's about...
0:25:09 > 0:25:13I think, the most important value Tarsus has is
0:25:13 > 0:25:16tolerance for each other.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19This area is liberal, Tarsus is liberal.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Probably this is the influence of St Paul.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Yeah. Do you think it's liberal because of St Paul?- It has to be. What else?
0:25:25 > 0:25:27- Because of St Paul?- Yes, what else?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31'It was fascinating that here in Muslim Tarsus,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35'Paul was remembered as a liberal influence.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50'Menir had given me a great introduction to the modern city
0:25:50 > 0:25:51'but I was keen to find out
0:25:51 > 0:25:54'what Tarsus would have been like in Paul's day.'
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- Thank you very much. - Which way do I go?
0:25:57 > 0:25:59- You go this way.- All right. - I go this way.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03'How had it shaped him as a boy and what had he learnt here that
0:26:03 > 0:26:06'would help him on his new mission to win converts to Jesus?'
0:26:09 > 0:26:12'At one of the city's few remaining Roman sites,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15'I met archaeologist Serra Durogonul.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:19This is the only known archaeological remain
0:26:19 > 0:26:24we have from the time period Paul has lived here in this city.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26This is a Roman road?
0:26:26 > 0:26:27This is a Roman road.
0:26:27 > 0:26:33It is dated to the first century BC, or AD, we are not yet sure.
0:26:33 > 0:26:39But there is a very similar example for this road, in Pompeii...
0:26:39 > 0:26:44- Aha!- ..which is dated to the first century BC.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Would Paul have actually walked along this road, do you think?
0:26:47 > 0:26:50We think so. We can imagine that he walked through,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53because it's just a time period he has lived here.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55So he must have walked here.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Was this is a busy, busy city?
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Yes, it was a very important city
0:27:00 > 0:27:03because it was a philosophical city.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Many philosophers passed by from this city...- Did they?
0:27:06 > 0:27:10..and we know that there was a school for philosophy in this town,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14so along this shows that it was an important city.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18And is that possibly why Paul would have said, "I'm a citizen
0:27:18 > 0:27:19"of no ordinary city"?
0:27:19 > 0:27:24Yes, that can be a good explanation for this sentence.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26- So he was very proud of this city. - Yes.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30And he's also very proud of his dual, if you like,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33dual citizenship and nationality. He says, "I'm a Jew,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35"and I'm a Roman."
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Yes, both characters, and he knows perfect Greek.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42He's educated in that language.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46He has the Roman citizenship and he's a Jew.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54'Paul's early life had been very different from that of Jesus
0:27:54 > 0:27:56'and the disciples.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59'Paul had grown up in a city, was highly educated
0:27:59 > 0:28:01'and well versed in Greek philosophy.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05'But in one respect he was similar.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09'We're told he had a craft and earned his living as a tentmaker.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12'The countryside around Tarsus was famous for its flax,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15'the plant used to make linen.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17'Perhaps Paul wove his tents.'
0:28:30 > 0:28:31Oh, wow.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34'My guide, Ali, took me to a traditional weaver's shop
0:28:34 > 0:28:38'for a lesson with the irrepressible Hassain,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42'who, even though he's now in his 70s, clearly still loves his work.'
0:28:45 > 0:28:46I can have a go?
0:28:49 > 0:28:50HASSAIN SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Well, I've done certain things in my life.
0:28:53 > 0:28:54This is a first.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Oh, my goodness me. What am I doing?
0:28:59 > 0:29:00HASSAIN SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:29:00 > 0:29:02Push it back.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Right feet.
0:29:05 > 0:29:06Left feet.
0:29:15 > 0:29:16I'm working my feet.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19'Paul was certainly proud of the fact he worked for a living
0:29:19 > 0:29:22'and didn't rely on anyone for hand-outs.'
0:29:47 > 0:29:50We were doing well. We WERE doing well.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52It, um...
0:29:52 > 0:29:56That's... I'm afraid that's all that's left of the shuttle.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01I don't think I'm going to pass this particular exam.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07Paul had earned his living as a tentmaker,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11was highly educated and held dual citizenship,
0:30:11 > 0:30:15but first-century Tarsus had influenced his life in another way.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20Most of Paul's fellow citizens would have been non-Jews or Gentiles -
0:30:20 > 0:30:22believers in pagan Gods.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32Serra asked me to meet her again, in the mountains above the city,
0:30:32 > 0:30:36where she had recently made an incredible discovery.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Gosh, she's so clear.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Wow, look at that!
0:30:42 > 0:30:44This is the goddess Athena.
0:30:44 > 0:30:45Athena?
0:30:45 > 0:30:50Athena. Can you see what sort of a symbol
0:30:50 > 0:30:54we have outside the pillar?
0:30:54 > 0:30:56- Just here?- Exactly.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59That looks like the candlestick, the Jewish symbol, the Menorah.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Exactly, it's the Menorah.
0:31:02 > 0:31:07I can't believe that the Jewish symbol, really,
0:31:07 > 0:31:11is so close to Athena, the pagan goddess.
0:31:11 > 0:31:12Yes.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16What does that say about the society here?
0:31:17 > 0:31:21It says to us that the people here lived peacefully
0:31:21 > 0:31:26together, even though they were other beliefs.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30This is a shrine, it's not only a relief, it's a cultic place,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34it's a shrine, so we can imagine that Jewish people came
0:31:34 > 0:31:38together with the pagans and came to pray here...
0:31:38 > 0:31:39At the same time?
0:31:39 > 0:31:41..at the same time.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44When was this carved into the rock?
0:31:44 > 0:31:47It was carved at the end of the second century or
0:31:47 > 0:31:52the beginning of the third century AD, the Roman period.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55So Paul would never have seen this, he wouldn't have seen this.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59But the same thing may have been going on at the time that he
0:31:59 > 0:32:00was around?
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Yes. Why not?
0:32:04 > 0:32:08The Jewish Menorah carved alongside the pagan goddess Athena
0:32:08 > 0:32:11spoke of a culture of religious tolerance.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15Tarsus appeared to be the sort of place where different peoples
0:32:15 > 0:32:19and religions could learn from and influence each other.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Perhaps this sowed a seed in Paul -
0:32:22 > 0:32:25because, he more than any other, would be the person who would
0:32:25 > 0:32:28bridge the gap between the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34A process he probably began on his return to his home city.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46I'm sure Paul must have had some success in Tarsus,
0:32:46 > 0:32:48because he was then called to the huge cosmopolitan
0:32:48 > 0:32:52city of Antioch to help build a new community of believers.
0:32:54 > 0:32:55Wow!
0:32:55 > 0:32:58What a breath-taking view of the city.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15Today, the biblical city of Antioch is known as Antakya.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18On the outskirts of the city, I passed the magnificent iron gate,
0:33:18 > 0:33:23one of the few survivors from ancient times, and a little
0:33:23 > 0:33:27further down the valley, carved into the mountainside, was a site that
0:33:27 > 0:33:32tradition says played an important role in early Christianity.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35It's here that I met New Testament scholar Helen Bond.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40It is quite pretty, actually.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42It is, isn't it?
0:33:42 > 0:33:46This is St Peter's Church, where, according to church tradition,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48the church at Antioch met.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Saint Paul is even supposed to have preached here on occasion.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53- Really?- Yes.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55Who was he preaching to then?
0:33:55 > 0:33:56Well, it's really interesting,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59because this is a mixed community of people.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02And people from Antioch, some of them are Jews,
0:34:02 > 0:34:03some of them are non-Jews,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06all kinds of people that have heard
0:34:06 > 0:34:09about the new faith and have been anxious to join.
0:34:09 > 0:34:10A lot of people in the ancient world
0:34:10 > 0:34:13were quite interested in Jewish ideas.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16The idea of monotheism, one god.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20The Jewish ethics, and so Christianity was a little
0:34:20 > 0:34:21bit like that.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24- Clearly it was coming from a Jewish background.- Yes.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28I think also at this time, there was an interest in people towards
0:34:28 > 0:34:30a sort of more personal kind of religion.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Perhaps something more than the gods of Rome were offering.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38He's also talking about something he believes, you know,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40the end of the world is going to come soon.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42You've got to prepare yourself - get ready.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46I think, you know, in this kind of place, a big thriving
0:34:46 > 0:34:50city like this, that might have been quite attractive to a lot of people.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53And Paul was an urban man, wasn't he?
0:34:53 > 0:34:56He was a city man and he would have worked here,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58and would he have been comfortable?
0:34:58 > 0:35:01I think he would have been entirely at home in a place like Antioch.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05It was very similar in many ways to Tarsus, where he was from,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09and very different, I think, to the kind of places that Jesus
0:35:09 > 0:35:13and the disciples were used to, you know, they were much more rural men.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16For Paul, you know, he is part of this establishment.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19You know, he can talk to anybody in this city,
0:35:19 > 0:35:20He's perfectly at home here,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23whereas I think it would have been much more difficult
0:35:23 > 0:35:25for the first followers of Jesus.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30In Antioch, the Jesus movement was building a bridge
0:35:30 > 0:35:34between the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds and Paul's skills in talking
0:35:34 > 0:35:38and preaching to non-Jews made him the ultimate bridge builder.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Coming into a cafe like this, into a social situation,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Paul would have been used to this sort of thing, sitting
0:35:58 > 0:36:00amongst men while they were playing games.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05I don't think much would have changed in 2,000 years,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07and he might have taken advantage of the situation
0:36:07 > 0:36:09and started chatting about his beliefs.
0:36:11 > 0:36:16Something about Paul's message clearly rang true in Antioch.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20I wondered if Helen was right, that maybe he was offering a more
0:36:20 > 0:36:24caring alternative to the brutal norms of Roman society.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Christians, but their numbers were small,
0:36:50 > 0:36:52too small for a dedicated church.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Paul is said to have preached, instead, in private homes.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01It was a tactic that was to serve him well.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05Holding meetings in a house not only afforded a venue,
0:37:05 > 0:37:08but also gave him access to a wider network of family
0:37:08 > 0:37:12and friends who could help spread the word.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16When the Roman Catholics came here, they took their lead from Paul.
0:37:18 > 0:37:19Father Dominic.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Oh, you're welcome.
0:37:22 > 0:37:23Hello.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28You can see where is today there is a Catholic church, it is
0:37:28 > 0:37:31not a church at that time, it was a private house,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34but we know that the first Christians
0:37:34 > 0:37:39had their meetings in private houses they called house church.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43So after 2,000 years we are in the same situation.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45- So, you have a house church? - We have a house church.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Is that why there's not an official, big Catholic church?
0:37:48 > 0:37:53No, no, it was a private house that we have managed to use as a church.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Living and working closely with these non-Jewish communities,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Paul came to understand that some requirements of the new
0:38:03 > 0:38:06faith could be a barrier to conversion.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08He adapted his message...
0:38:11 > 0:38:13..but back in Jerusalem, that was seen
0:38:13 > 0:38:16as a threat to the purity of Judaism.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21High above the city, in the sixth- century ruins of Saint Simeon's
0:38:21 > 0:38:23monastery, I met Helen again.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26So what was Paul teaching that was so new?
0:38:26 > 0:38:29Paul was saying to the gentiles that you can become
0:38:29 > 0:38:33part of the Jesus Movement without first becoming a Jew,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36so you didn't have to be circumcised, you didn't have to keep
0:38:36 > 0:38:41the Jewish law, all you need to be part of the Jesus Movement is to
0:38:41 > 0:38:46believe in what God has done through Jesus, the cross and resurrection -
0:38:46 > 0:38:50that's the central thing, and faith in that is going to save you.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54Nothing else really matters and that was really radical,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58because this is the first time, really, that Gentiles had been
0:38:58 > 0:39:01coming into the movement without first becoming Jews.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07In Jerusalem, converts to the new religion were already Jewish.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11They kept Jewish Law and the males had been circumcised.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14In Antioch, Paul was converting Gentiles who liked
0:39:14 > 0:39:17the idea of worshipping the Jewish god
0:39:17 > 0:39:21but weren't willing to undergo a rigorous conversion to Judaism.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24For Paul, though, he gradually sees that
0:39:24 > 0:39:28if it doesn't matter any more, for your salvation, that you have
0:39:28 > 0:39:31to keep the law, then why do you have to become a Jew?
0:39:31 > 0:39:35You know, you can become a follower of Christ and stay a Gentile.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Being very radical, then?
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Extremely radical, and also in the face of people who'd known
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Jesus, I mean, I think that's the amazing thing about him,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47- and they must have thought, "The arrogance of the man!"- Absolutely.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52Here he is, on the basis of "One vision," so he says on the road
0:39:52 > 0:39:54to Damascus, and he's telling everybody what to do.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Changing all the rules!
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Paul had come to realise that the only way
0:40:01 > 0:40:05he was going to convert large numbers of Gentiles to Jesus
0:40:05 > 0:40:08was by dropping the need to become a Jew first.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11He was typically bullish about that mission and was prepared to
0:40:11 > 0:40:16use any means necessary to bring non-Jews to his new faith.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20Even if that meant they no longer needed to observe the Jewish law.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Paul had now set himself on a collision course with
0:40:42 > 0:40:45the leadership of the Jesus Movement in Jerusalem.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50They summoned Paul back to Jerusalem to
0:40:50 > 0:40:54account for his methods in converting the Gentiles.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56Paul was certainly heading for trouble,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59but it wouldn't be for the first time - or indeed the last.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12I'm off to meet the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16The Patriarchate traces its line of succession all the way back
0:41:16 > 0:41:18to James, the brother of Jesus,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and the leader of the movement after Jesus' death.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27It was to James and his Jerusalem Council that Paul came to
0:41:27 > 0:41:32argue his case that Gentile converts to Christianity did not first
0:41:32 > 0:41:34have to convert to Judaism.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40- Good morning, your Beatitude, very nice to meet you.- Me too.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Thank you very much for letting me...
0:41:42 > 0:41:46If he lost the argument, Paul risked both his mission to
0:41:46 > 0:41:50the Gentiles coming to a grinding halt and personal humiliation.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Yes, please.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01Could you tell me what the outcome was from the Jerusalem Council?
0:42:01 > 0:42:04We must understand...
0:42:04 > 0:42:08if we put ourselves in his position, right?
0:42:08 > 0:42:09He was lonely.
0:42:09 > 0:42:16He was the only one that took, undertook, this mission to go
0:42:16 > 0:42:19and preach to Gentiles.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23So again he broke the closed circle.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25It was difficult.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Paul, of course, defended his case.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31Paul was a wise man, don't forget that,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35he was well versed in Greek
0:42:35 > 0:42:38philosophy and literature, right,
0:42:38 > 0:42:42so he had developed a very open mind.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Saint James was a very wise elder and...
0:42:49 > 0:42:54..he did not reject Paul's argument,
0:42:54 > 0:42:56right?
0:42:56 > 0:42:59- This has been really kind of you. - Thank you.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02- Thank you very much indeed. - You're welcome.- Thank you.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07The conflict was resolved in Paul's favour.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Paul had won the day.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29He was now free to convert Gentiles directly to the Jesus Movement,
0:43:29 > 0:43:33without first taking them into Judaism.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38It was to be a key moment in the evolution of Christianity, which was
0:43:38 > 0:43:43now well on the way to becoming a new religion, separate from Judaism.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47The whole Gentile world now lay before Paul.
0:43:47 > 0:43:48It was time to hit the road.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55By the middle of the first century AD, a grid of good paved roads
0:43:55 > 0:43:59and clear shipping lanes criss-crossed the Roman Empire.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03Travellers like Paul could now cover enormous distances swiftly
0:44:03 > 0:44:06and in greater safety than ever before.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08It's been calculated, that during his journeys,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12Paul covered more than 10,000 miles on foot.
0:44:13 > 0:44:18See, I had to find a walk for Poirot and once that was found it helped me
0:44:18 > 0:44:24with the character so much and now this is helping me understand Paul.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27How he walked, where he walked, the sort of road
0:44:27 > 0:44:30he would have travelled on and the speed he would have walked.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33It tells me a lot about that man.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36I think he was a speedy man, very speedy.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47The road would carry Paul to Ephesus, the greatest
0:44:47 > 0:44:51city in the whole of Roman Asia, a pagan stronghold.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01The city was absolutely devoted to the fertility goddess, Artemis.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04Her cult drew worshippers from across the ancient world
0:45:04 > 0:45:08and Ephesus had grown rich on the tourist trade.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Paul's message - that there was only one true god -
0:45:11 > 0:45:14and it wasn't Artemis - was bound to cause trouble.
0:45:17 > 0:45:22At the ancient entrance to the city, I met archaeologist Julian Bennett.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25At the time St Paul was here this would have been
0:45:25 > 0:45:27full of ships.
0:45:27 > 0:45:28Probably a hundred or so ships.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30- Right up to here?- Yes.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32We're more or less on the harbour edge, we're
0:45:32 > 0:45:34standing on the harbour gateway here.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37When you look up into the distance you can see the hills going
0:45:37 > 0:45:38round there.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42The river came up to here and the sea came up to here as well.
0:45:43 > 0:45:49What would Paul have found when he first arrived here as far
0:45:49 > 0:45:52as religion was concerned, what would he have been faced with?
0:45:52 > 0:45:54- Artemis, the goddess!- The goddess?
0:45:54 > 0:45:56The main goddess of the city.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00This is her birth place, this is where she belongs,
0:46:00 > 0:46:03she has a wonderful temple just outside the city,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05one of the seven wonders of the world.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09It would have been standing, built of beautiful white marble,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12I mean Paul would have seen this when he sailed into the harbour, he
0:46:12 > 0:46:16would have known he was coming into a nest of paganism, if you like.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23I've always read that Paul first of all went to synagogues to
0:46:23 > 0:46:25preach, whenever he visited somewhere.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27Was there a Jewish population here?
0:46:27 > 0:46:28Yes, there was a very large one.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32Certainly from 300 years before the time of Paul.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35We don't know exactly how large, but possibly between five
0:46:35 > 0:46:36and ten thousand.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39The population stayed here even after Paul,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41carried on being Jewish, as well.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43We can see that quite clearly from the Menorah
0:46:43 > 0:46:45carved into the library here.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48Somebody sitting down one day, carving this away.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50Carving on the steps of a library?
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Yes.
0:46:52 > 0:46:57Ephesus had no problem tolerating other gods.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00Even the Jewish god was being worshipped here.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02But Paul threatened the status quo.
0:47:02 > 0:47:07His new way was exclusive and his message to Ephesus was blunt.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10"The end of the world is coming.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12"You waste your time with idols.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16"Artemis is no god at all and cannot save you.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18"You must follow Jesus" -
0:47:19 > 0:47:22an obscure, crucified carpenter from Galilee.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25One thing you have to say about Paul -
0:47:25 > 0:47:27he certainly wasn't bothered by conflict.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32This is a first-century statue of the goddess Artemis.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36I wonder if this could have been the very one
0:47:36 > 0:47:38that Paul may have looked at.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45I'm trying to imagine what he would have felt
0:47:45 > 0:47:50when he saw this image for the very first time.
0:47:51 > 0:47:56He probably thought the very same things as actually came
0:47:56 > 0:47:57out of his mouth.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00"You're just made of stone.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04"Push you over and you'll break into hundreds of pieces."
0:48:04 > 0:48:07We know the cult of Artemis goes back a thousand years
0:48:07 > 0:48:09before Paul even arrived.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13And what sort of man must he have been to come to a city
0:48:13 > 0:48:16like this, that had been worshipping the goddess Artemis for a
0:48:16 > 0:48:19thousand years...
0:48:19 > 0:48:23and believe that he could change their system of belief?
0:48:29 > 0:48:34But Paul was not only taking on a long-established religion,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37he was also threatening the very economy of Ephesus.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43His message put people's livelihoods at risk.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49Those who came to worship Artemis were unlikely to leave
0:48:49 > 0:48:52without first buying a small copy of the goddess as a souvenir.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01I'm going to be taught how to make an icon here.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03I've never made an icon before.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07Oh, this is going to, this is going to be fun, oh, thank you,
0:49:07 > 0:49:08I'm glad I wore black.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12For the city's idol-makers,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15anyone converting pagans was bad for business.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19I don't think St Paul would be too happy with me
0:49:19 > 0:49:23doing this, considering I have now become an idol-maker.
0:49:23 > 0:49:24Ephesus Theatre.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26- Ephesus Theatre.- Yes.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28- And here?- Yes.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31I think he's got me working on the whole thing here.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33I'm now building a theatre.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Oh, here she is - just out of the oven.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44As I said, I'm glad I wore black.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Oh, my goodness me.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50I have never, ever done this.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55This is the back of her dress coming through...
0:49:55 > 0:49:58and her head and her face.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02There she is, that's what all the fuss was about.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05And that's what he came to change.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10Artemis was perhaps Paul's greatest challenge.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14He spent longer in Ephesus than anywhere on his travels.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16But opposition to Paul's preaching was growing.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21Eventually, we're told, craftsmen worried about both
0:50:21 > 0:50:25their religion and their trade, led a riot against Paul.
0:50:25 > 0:50:30They all gathered here in this theatre and Demetrius, who was
0:50:30 > 0:50:33a silversmith who was making idols of Artemis, addressed the crowd.
0:50:34 > 0:50:39"Men - you know we receive a good income from this business
0:50:39 > 0:50:42"and you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced
0:50:42 > 0:50:46"and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus
0:50:46 > 0:50:49"and in practically the whole province of Asia.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52"He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57"There is a danger that not only our trade will lose its good name but
0:50:57 > 0:51:01"also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04"and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout
0:51:04 > 0:51:07"the province of Asia and the world,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10"will be robbed of her divine majesty".
0:51:10 > 0:51:14And he really did, he whipped up the crowd to a frenzy,
0:51:14 > 0:51:15and they started shouting,
0:51:15 > 0:51:18"Great is Artemis of the Ephesians,
0:51:18 > 0:51:20"Great is Artemis of the Ephesians,
0:51:20 > 0:51:21"Great is Artemis of the Ephesians".
0:51:21 > 0:51:24You can hear it ringing around the theatre
0:51:24 > 0:51:29and it was very soon after this that Paul probably realised that his life
0:51:29 > 0:51:33was in danger, and, after two years, he decided it was time to leave.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38Paul had been forced to leave the city,
0:51:38 > 0:51:40but it appears his work here was not in vain.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44Ephesus was one of the great hubs of the Empire
0:51:44 > 0:51:47and visitors to the city eventually went home.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50Some of them took Paul's message with them -
0:51:50 > 0:51:53his words were spreading across Asia Minor.
0:51:56 > 0:52:01Ephesus is still being excavated, but so far no churches dedicated to
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Paul, or traces of his time here
0:52:04 > 0:52:07have been discovered inside the city.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10But high above Ephesus, in a mountainside cave,
0:52:10 > 0:52:12I was told there was a reminder of him.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17I'm here on a hillside above Ephesus and my guide, Sirkan, is going
0:52:17 > 0:52:20to show me a cave which is associated with Saint Paul.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23I'm looking forward to this very much indeed.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35This is quite a climb but I think it's going to be worth it.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39Nearly there.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44Discovered in 1906, the Grotto of Saint Paul
0:52:44 > 0:52:46is thought to have been
0:52:46 > 0:52:49a sacred Christian site since the first or second century.
0:52:51 > 0:52:52Got my torch.
0:53:02 > 0:53:03Ha-ha!
0:53:03 > 0:53:05Look there!
0:53:05 > 0:53:07There he is, my goodness.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10I've been hearing about him and talking about him so much.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13That's extraordinary to see it, it's a bit scary actually, isn't it,
0:53:13 > 0:53:17because if I grew a beard that wouldn't be too dissimilar to me.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19- A little bit.- A little bit.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Wouldn't take too much though, would it?
0:53:24 > 0:53:26Let's go down there.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29What's down here?
0:53:29 > 0:53:31Oh, there's some more.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Some more frescoes, oh, goodness, these look like saints...
0:53:36 > 0:53:38..and there's a lot of them -
0:53:38 > 0:53:40there's one, two, three, four, five, six.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42The grotto was decorated with frescoes
0:53:42 > 0:53:46and inscriptions over the course of many centuries.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49The portrait of Paul was added in the 6th century, along with
0:53:49 > 0:53:51that of Saint Thecla,
0:53:51 > 0:53:53famous locally as a female follower of Paul.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Hey, he does look like me, doesn't he?
0:53:55 > 0:53:57That's really weird.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59Anyway, bye-bye. Thank you.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01You're welcome.
0:54:14 > 0:54:15Seeing the image of Paul
0:54:15 > 0:54:18and Thecla in Paul's Grotto really inspired me to find out more about
0:54:18 > 0:54:22their story and I was reading a book called Acts Of Paul And Thecla.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27And there was, what I believe, to be the only physical
0:54:27 > 0:54:31description of Paul ever written and I put it down in my notebook.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35"He was a man of middling size and his hair was scanty
0:54:35 > 0:54:37"and his legs were a little crooked
0:54:37 > 0:54:39"and his knees were projecting
0:54:39 > 0:54:41"and he had large eyes.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44"His eyebrows met, his nose was somewhat long
0:54:44 > 0:54:46"and he was full of grace and mercy.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48"At one time he seemed like a man,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52"and at another he seemed like an angel."
0:54:54 > 0:54:59Now, apart from the physical description, I was...
0:54:59 > 0:55:04also very interested because I think that also describes his personality.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09At one time, he could seem very direct, very human, very earthy.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11He certainly didn't suffer fools gladly...
0:55:14 > 0:55:18..and at another time, he could be very fatherly...
0:55:18 > 0:55:21and very gentle.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Paul's journeys through Asia Minor helped lay
0:55:29 > 0:55:33the foundations of the faith that would one day become Christianity.
0:55:35 > 0:55:40Even though Turkey is now a Muslim country, his influence lasts
0:55:40 > 0:55:41to this day.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49Something I've got no doubt about at all is that he was
0:55:49 > 0:55:54a man of total extremes - there was no grey area about Paul,
0:55:54 > 0:55:58it was either black or white.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02Whatever happened to him on the road to Damascus was extreme
0:56:02 > 0:56:05and it changed his world view for ever.
0:56:18 > 0:56:19But what's really interesting for me
0:56:19 > 0:56:23is that it didn't change his personality or character.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27He was a man of total conviction and extremes of behaviour.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31He could be very angry, imperious, proud,
0:56:31 > 0:56:33he could be very boastful -
0:56:33 > 0:56:36"My way, not yours."
0:56:37 > 0:56:40He had also a fanatical drive and energy
0:56:40 > 0:56:45because he genuinely believed that Jesus was going to come back soon
0:56:45 > 0:56:48and for him the end of the world was really imminent.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53So I've learned a great deal about this man
0:56:53 > 0:56:57and I'm not sure at the moment whether I like him very much.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Would I have dinner with him?
0:56:59 > 0:57:02Well, I don't know, perhaps just one course.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06But I've only found out about him so far, there's
0:57:06 > 0:57:11so much more that I need to know to have a fully-rounded character,
0:57:11 > 0:57:16so much more that I need to discover about this extraordinary man.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33After ten years or so of travel around what is now modern-day
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Turkey, Paul managed to set up small Christian
0:57:36 > 0:57:40communities in the major cities of Rome's Eastern Empire.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44And these cities were always situated on either major
0:57:44 > 0:57:48roads or in major seaports and it was from these cities that
0:57:48 > 0:57:52the message was able to spread out to the surrounding countryside.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56But in a letter to the Romans, Paul wrote "There is no more place for me
0:57:56 > 0:57:58"to work in these regions",
0:57:58 > 0:58:01and so in a sense, I suppose, Paul's work in
0:58:01 > 0:58:06Asia Minor was done, and so he set his sights firmly towards the West.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10He wrote again, "It's always been my ambition to preach the Gospel
0:58:10 > 0:58:12"where Christ was not known".
0:58:12 > 0:58:15And so his journey into Europe was about to begin,
0:58:15 > 0:58:21and this set him on a collision course with the power of Rome.
0:58:46 > 0:58:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd