Similarities between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul

100 Similarities between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul

Introduction

Muslims believe that Jesus was an Islamic prophet and have developed a number of arguments in an attempt to support this belief. One broad argument is that the apostle Paul is the real founder of Christianity. Under this broad argument falls the claim that the Bible shows the teaching of St Paul to be quite different to the teaching of Jesus. This article intends to respond to this claim by listing 100 similarities between the Lord Jesus Christ and St Paul.

The similarities listed are taken from the Biblical accounts of Jesus and Paul. The Gospels are the main source for Jesus' life, words and actions. There are also some words and action of Jesus in the Acts of the Apostles and the book of Revelation. The life, words and actions of Paul are found in the Acts of the Apostles and his letters (Romans through to Philemon). The similarities presented include similarities in words, actions, life, and person.

All quotations are from an English translation of the Bible known as the New Revised Standard Version.

1. Jesus is the Messiah or Christ

JESUS: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God". And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven". (Matthew 16:15-17)

PAUL: Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. (Acts 18:5)

2. Jesus is the Son of God

JESUS: All of them asked, "Are you, then, the Son of God?" He said to them, "You say that I am". Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!" (Luke 22:70-71)

PAUL: Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God". (Acts 9:20)

3. Jesus is Lord

JESUS: You call me Teacher and Lord - and you are right, for that is what I am. (John 13:13)

PAUL: There is... one Lord, Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 8:6)

4. Jesus is God

JESUS: Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe". (John 20:28-29)

PAUL: From them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. (Romans 9:5)

5. Jesus is Human

JESUS: Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God". (John 8:39-40)

PAUL: There is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human. (1 Timothy 2:5)

6. Jesus was born of a woman

JESUS: The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:30-32)

PAUL: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman. (Galatians 4:4)

7. God sent Jesus

JESUS: I cam from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. (John 8:42)

PAUL: For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son. (Romans 8:3)

8. Jesus is the way to the Father

JESUS: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

PAUL: Through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:18)

9. Jesus is Light

JESUS: Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world". (John 8:12)

PAUL: What fellowship is there between light and darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Beliar? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)

10. Jesus is life

JESUS: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

PAUL: When Christ who is your life is revealed. (Colossians 3:4)

11. Jesus is the beginning

JESUS: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 22:13)

PAUL: He is the beginning. (Colossians 1:18)

12. Jesus is first

JESUS: I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever. (Revelation 1:17-18)

PAUL: He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. (Colossians 1:18)

13. Jesus is a descendent of David

PAUL: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David. (2 Timothy 2:8)

14. Jesus is the Bridegroom

JESUS: Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus said to them, "The wedding-guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast". (Mark 2:18-19)

PAUL: I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2)

15. Jesus is King

JESUS: Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here". Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king". (John 18:36-37)

PAUL: No fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. (Ephesians 5:5)

16. Jesus descended from heaven

JESUS: No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. (John 3:13)

PAUL: When it says, "He ascended", what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? (Ephesians 4:9)

17. Jesus is Saviour

JESUS: God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:17)

PAUL: The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)

18. Jesus is the truth

JESUS: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

PAUL: Surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. (Ephesians 4:21)

19. Jesus was poor

JESUS: Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head". (Matthew 8:20)

PAUL: You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

20. The glory of God shines in the face of Jesus

JESUS: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. (Matthew 17:1-2)

PAUL: It is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness", who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

21. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper

JESUS: While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body". Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many". (Mark 14:22-24)

PAUL: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me". (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)

22. Jesus was betrayed

JESUS: Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me; one who is eating with me... The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!" (Mark 14:18, 21)

PAUL: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed. (1 Corinthians 11:23)

23. Jesus testified before Pontius Pilate

JESUS: Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here". Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice". (John 18:33-37)

PAUL: In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession. (1 Timothy 6:13)

24. Jesus suffered

JESUS: Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering. (Matthew 16:21)

PAUL: Just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us. (2 Corinthians 1:5)

25. Jesus died

JESUS: Then Jesus cried out and breathed his last. (Mark 15:37)

PAUL: We believe that Jesus died. (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

26. Jesus was buried

JESUS: Joseph brought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. (Mark 15:46)

PAUL: We have been buried with him by baptism. (Romans 6:4)

27. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day

JESUS: Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"... He was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. (John 2:19, 22)

PAUL: Christ did for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

28. Jesus ascended

JESUS: While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:51)

PAUL: He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens. (Ephesians 4:10)

29. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father

JESUS: The high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus said, "I am; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power'". (Mark 14:61-62)

PAUL: God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand. (Ephesians 1:20)

30. Jesus will come again

JESUS: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven" with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30)

PAUL: The Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

31. Jesus died for the sheep

JESUS: I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:15)

PAUL: Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. (Acts 20:28)

32. Jesus died for love of us

JESUS: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. (John 15:12-13)

PAUL: The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

33. Jesus' death demonstrates God's love

JESUS: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. (John 3:16)

PAUL: God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

34. Jesus gave himself as a ransom

JESUS: The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

PAUL: There is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all. (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

35. Those who crucified Jesus were ignorant and acted in ignorance

JESUS: Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing". (Luke 23:34)

PAUL: We speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:7-8)

36. Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection in accordance with the Scriptures

JESUS: Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you - that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled". Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day". (Luke 24:44-46)

PAUL: Christ did for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

37. Jesus appeared to Simon Peter (also known as Cephas) and the other apostles after his resurrection

JESUS: That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you". (Luke 24:33-36)

PAUL: He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. (1 Corinthians 15:4-5)

38. The day of the Lord will be like a thief in the night

JESUS: Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Matthew 24:42-44)

PAUL: You yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night... But you, beloved, are not in the darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief. (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4)

39. Believers must remain awake and not let drunkenness distract them from the coming of Jesus

JESUS: Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming... Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour... But if that wicked slave says to himself, "My master is delayed", and he begins to beat his fellow-slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. (Matthew 24:42, 44, 48-50)

PAUL: But you, beloved, are not in the darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief... Let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:4, 6)

40. Labour pains mentioned when talking about the day of the Lord

JESUS: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. (Matthew 24:7-8)

PAUL: You yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, "There is peace and security", then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)

41. Jesus will come with the angels

JESUS: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him. (Matthew 25:31)

PAUL: When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

42. A trumpet will sound when the Lord comes again

JESUS: They will see "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven" with power and great glory. And he will sent out his angels with a loud trumpet call. (Matthew 24:30-31)

PAUL: The Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

43. Deny Jesus and he will deny us

JESUS: Whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)

PAUL: If we deny him, he will also deny us. (2 Timothy 2:12)

44. Eternal life comes through believing in Jesus

JESUS: Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die". (John 11:25-26)

PAUL: I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:16)

45. Jesus lives in believers

JESUS: I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)

PAUL: It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20)

46. The angels belong to Jesus

JESUS: The Son of Man will send his angels. (Matthew 13:41)

PAUL: When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. (2 Thessalonians 1:7)

47. Jesus is judge

JESUS: The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son. (John 5:22)

PAUL: He has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)

48. Jesus gathers all people together

JESUS: "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd"... "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. (John 10:36, 12:32-33)

PAUL: In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross. (Ephesians 2:13-16)

49. Jesus will always be with believers in the world

JESUS: Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

PAUL: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35)

50. Heaven consists in being with Jesus always

JESUS: In my Father's house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2-3)

PAUL: The Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

51. Jesus is the cornerstone

JESUS: "Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to them, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'?" (Matthew 21:37-42)

PAUL: You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)

52. Believers must share in the cross of Jesus

JESUS: If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

PAUL: May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

53. Give up life for Jesus and we will gain life

JESUS: Those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

PAUL: If we have died with him, we will also live with him. (2 Timothy 2:11)

54. There is only one God

JESUS: Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Mark 12:29)

PAUL: God is one. (Romans 3:30)

55. God is all-powerful

JESUS: For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)

PAUL: So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know... what is the immeasurable greatness of his power. (Ephesians 1:18, 19)

56. God is Father

JESUS: It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, "He is our God". (John 8:54)

PAUL: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

57. The Holy Spirit

JESUS: When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit". (John 20:22)

PAUL: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

58. The Holy Spirit was promised

JESUS: While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This", he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now". (Acts 1:4-5)

PAUL: In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)

59. The Father sends the Holy Spirit

JESUS: The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. (John 14:26)

PAUL: God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:6)

60. The Holy Spirit lives in believers

JESUS: The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. (John 14:17)

PAUL: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)

61. The Holy Spirit helps us understand the message of God

JESUS: I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:12-13)

PAUL: These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit... We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:10, 12)

62. The Holy Spirit testifies to Jesus

JESUS: When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf... He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 15:26, 16:14)

PAUL: I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)

63. The Holy Spirit advocates for us

JESUS: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17)

PAUL: The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

64. The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets

JESUS: David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared. (Mark 12:36)

PAUL: The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah. (Acts 28:25)

65. Forgive others as God has forgiven us

JESUS: His lord summoned him and said to him, "You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?" And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from you heart. (Matthew 18:32-35)

PAUL: If anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:13)

66. Importance of loving God

JESUS: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the greatest and first commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38)

PAUL: We know that all things work together for good for those who love God. (Romans 8:28)

67. God has chosen the people of no importance according to mere human standards

JESUS: At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants". (Matthew 11:25)

PAUL: God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

68. "Love your neighbour as yourself" summarises the law

JESUS: A second is like it: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:39-40)

PAUL: The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbour as yourself". (Romans 13:9)

69. Wipe dust off feet when leaving people who refuse the message

JESUS: Whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, "Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you". (Luke 10:10-11)

PAUL: The Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them. (Acts 13:50-51)

70. The labourer deserves to be paid

JESUS: The labourer deserves to be paid. (Luke 10:7)

PAUL: The labourer deserves to be paid. (1 Timothy 5:18)

71. Eat what is set before you

JESUS: Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you. (Luke 10:8)

PAUL: If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. (1 Corinthians 10:27)

72. Leaders are shepherds and believers are the flock

JESUS: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you". Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs... Tend my sheep... Feed my sheep". (John 21:15, 16, 17)

PAUL: Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. (Acts 20:28)

73. Believers will handle snakes without harm

JESUS: They will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. (Mark 16:18)

PAUL: Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live". He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm". (Acts 28:3-5)

74. Lay hands on the sick and they will recover

JESUS: They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover. (Mark 16:18)

PAUL: It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him. (Acts 28:8)

75. Cast out demons

JESUS: These signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons. (Mark 16:17)

PAUL: God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims". Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit said to them in reply, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" (Acts 19:11-15)

76. Not Yes and No, but Yes or No

JESUS: Let you word be "Yes, Yes" or "No, No". (Matthew 5:37)

PAUL: Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards, ready to say "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been "Yes and No". For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not "Yes and No"; but in him it is always "Yes". For in him every one of God's promises is a "Yes". (2 Corinthians 1:17-20)

77. Divorce and remarriage is adultery

JESUS: Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. (Mark 10:11-12)

PAUL: A married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning her husband. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress is she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress. (Romans 7:2-3)

78. Celibacy/virginity for the Lord

JESUS: His disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry". But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can". (Matthew 19:10-12)

PAUL: The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:32-35)

79. Death and rebirth of what is sown

JESUS: Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)

PAUL: What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. (1 Corinthians 15:36)

80. Serious problems are associated with riches

JESUS: Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me". When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:21-24)

PAUL: Those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

81. Baptism

JESUS: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)

PAUL: The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household". They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptised without delay. (Acts 16:29-33)

82. The devil

JESUS: You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. (John 8:44)

PAUL: Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

83. Glorification of believers

JESUS: The glory that you have given me I have given them. (John 17:22)

PAUL: If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ - if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:17)

84. The importance of preaching the good news

JESUS: Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15)

PAUL: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim unless sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:13-15)

85. Speaking in tongues

JESUS: These signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues. (Mark 16:17)

PAUL: To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom... to another various kinds of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:7-8, 10)

86. Preach to Jews first

JESUS: Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47)

PAUL: When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles". (Acts 13:45-46)

87. Raising the dead

JESUS: While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." And Jesus got up and followed him with his disciples... When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district. (Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26)

PAUL: On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted. (Acts 20:7-12)

88. The results of good and evil living

JESUS: The hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28-29)

PAUL: He will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honour and immortality he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. (Romans 2:6-8)

89. Do good to those who persecute you

JESUS: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:44-45)

PAUL: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. (Romans 12:14)

90. Jesus and Paul were both Jews

JESUS: A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink". (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (John 4:7-9)

PAUL: If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews. (Philippians 3:4-5)

91. Jesus and Paul were both circumcised on the eighth day

JESUS: After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus. (Luke 2:21)

PAUL: If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day. (Philippians 3:4-5)

92. Jesus and Paul both prayed three times about suffering

JESUS: Going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want"... He went away for the second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done"... He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44)

PAUL: To keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness". (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

93. Jesus and Paul were both determined to go to Jerusalem (as part of their mission)

JESUS: When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51-53)

PAUL: Now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God's grace. (Acts 20:22-24)

94. Jesus and Paul both knew traveling to Jerusalem would lead to suffering and death

JESUS: They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again". (Mark 10:32-34)

95. Jesus and Paul were both brought before the Jewish council

JESUS: When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. (Luke 22:66)

PAUL: Since he wanted to find out what Paul was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them. (Acts 22:30)

96. Jesus and Paul were both (wrongly) struck because of their words before the Jewish authorities

JESUS: Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said". When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" (John 18:19-23)

PAUL: While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, "Brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God". Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth. At this Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?" (Acts 23:1-3)

97. Jesus and Paul were both brought before Roman governors

JESUS: When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. (Matthew 27:1-2)

PAUL: When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he belonged to, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, "I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive." Then he ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod's headquarters. Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, and they reported their case against Paul to the governor. When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him. (Acts 23:33-24:2)

98. Jesus and Paul quoted the same prophecy of Isaiah about unbelieving Jews

JESUS: With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: "You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their hearts and turn - and I would heal them." (Matthew 13:14-15)

PAUL: Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: "The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, 'Go to this people, and say, You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their hearts and turn - and I would heal them'." (Acts 28:25-27)

99. Paul suffered for Jesus

JESUS: I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. (Acts 9:16)

PAUL: Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman - I am a better one: with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)

100. Paul to proclaim Jesus before Jews, Gentiles, and Kings

JESUS: The Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel." (Acts 9:15)

PAUL: The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles... Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying: "Brothers and fathers, listen to the defence that I now make before you... While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' The he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth'"... Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself: "I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defence today... I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles." (Acts 15:12, 21:40-22:1, 6-8, 26:1-2, 22-23)

Observing so many similarities in the teachings of Jesus and Paul should not be surprising since it is Jesus who commissioned Paul as his Apostle:

But the Lord [Jesus] said to Ananias, "Go! This man [Paul] is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. (Acts 9:15)

"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard." (Acts 22:14-15)

These above presented one hundred similarities do, however, not exhaust this topic. There are many more.
Part 2: More Similarities between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul.

Who is Jesus?
The Apostle Paul
Articles by Anthony Wales
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