He was, after all, one of the half dozen most intellectually sophisticated first-century persons for whom we have evidence, up there with Seneca, Plutarch, and a select band of others. He was, after all, heir to the Psalms and prophets, which spoke of a coming king to whom the world’s rulers would have to owe allegiance. He and his communities were treading a dangerous line.
Wright consistently makes the point that Paul was one if the great minds of the ancient world, on a level with Seneca and Epictetus.
