The Apostle Paul and the Number 3
Therefore, it shouldn't come as any surprise when we find the number 3 throughout the Apostle Paul's life, for Paul was close to God and God worked mightily through him. Although Paul, by his own admission, had been "a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man" (1 Tim. 1:13) who persecuted and murdered Christ's followers, God saw something else in him. When He called Paul, God said, “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake” (Acts 9:16).
Indeed, from the time of his conversion onward, Paul strove to go above and beyond in his walk with God. In Acts 21:24, it was said of him, "You yourself also walk orderly and keep the law." Paul furthermore testified, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all” (Acts 25:8), and, "I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men" (Acts 24:16).
The first 3 that we find in the life of Paul is at the moment of his conversion. "A great light from heaven shone around" him on the way to Damascus "about noon" (Acts 22:6). Noon, of course, is the sixth hour, a multiple of three, and also one of the key hours of the Crucifixion, as discussed in the post on the number 3.
Following this, Paul spent three days without sight before being healed and baptized in the name of Christ (Acts 9:9). Three days of blindness because he had earlier been blind to the Son of God.
From this time on, Paul was afflicted with "a thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor. 12:7), which, based on Gal. 4:18 and 6:11, appears to have been poor eyesight. He pleaded with God three times to take away this affliction, but God told him no (2 Cor. 12:8-9).
After encountering persecution for his acceptance of Yeshua/Jesus, Paul spent three years in the wilderness of Arabia learning God's ways directly from God Himself (Gal. 1:11-18). Then he went up to Jerusalem and spent fifteen days (another multiple of 3) with the Apostle Peter (Gal. 1:18).
But we're just getting started.
When Paul entered the city of Thessalonica, he reasoned in the synagogue for three Sabbaths, "explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead" (Acts 17:1-3).
In Ephesus, Paul again entered the synagogue and "spoke boldly for three months" (Acts 19:1, 8).
On his final trip back to Jerusalem, Paul stopped off in Greece and "stayed three months" (Acts 20:2-3).
In the city of Troas, Paul spoke to the brethren for many hours, until midnight, so that a young man sitting in the window fell asleep and fell three stories to his death (Acts 20:7-9). However, God worked a miracle through Paul, and the young man was raised from the dead (Acts 20:10-12).
At this time, Paul "was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost" (Acts 20:16). Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks), of course, is the third holy day listed in Lev. 23.
As he departed from Asia Minor for Jerusalem, Paul recounted to the elders of the Ephesus congregation that he had spent three years among them (Acts 20:31).
Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Paul was seized by an angry mob and nearly murdered before being rescued by the Roman garrison (Acts 21:27-34). However, God reassured Paul that He was still in control: "But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome'" (Acts 23:11).
Even with him in Roman custody, Paul's enemies plotted his death, so the garrison's commander sent Paul with an armed escort to the Roman governor in Caesarea "at the third hour of the night" (Acts 23:23).
The Roman governor refused to make a decision on Paul's guilt or innocence, so he left Paul in prison for two years, at which time a new governor, Porcius Festus, was appointed (Acts 24:27).
"Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem" (Acts 25:1). Then, the Jews informed Festus about Paul. When brought before Festus several days, perhaps weeks later, Paul exercised his rights as a Roman citizen and appealed to the emperor for judgment (Acts 25:7-12).
On the way to Rome, Paul's ship encountered a severe storm and sank, as recounted in Acts 27. In fact, Paul had been shipwrecked three times, as he recounted in 2 Cor. 11:25, and also beaten with rods three times.
After this latest shipwreck, Paul and the rest of the people on board swam ashore on the island of Malta, where they were entertained by Publius, the leading citizen, for three days (Acts 28:7).
After staying on Malta for three months, Paul and the others set sail once more (Acts 28:11). Arriving then in Sicily, they stayed at Syracuse for three days (Acts 28:12).
Afterpassing through Three Inns and finally arriving in Rome, Paul waited three days and then sent for the Jewish leaders in the city (Acts 28:17).
From this point on, the Bible tells us no more of what happened to Paul, other than telling us that he remained under house arrest for two more years. His story essentially ends here, and his death is not recorded in Scripture.
Why so many threes in the life of Paul?
Perhaps it's another reminder to us that in the midst of all Paul's suffering and hardship, God was always there and never left him. His relationship with God remained strong.
As Paul had earlier written to the congregation in Rome, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38-39).
Biblical Numbers Series:
1: The Number 1 and Its Biblical Meaning
2: Why the Number 2 Means Your Life!
3: The Apostle Paul and the Number 3
4: Four Is the Door to God's House
5: God's Hand and the Number 5
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