Filed under: Bible | Tags: Christians, Claudius, eschatological vision, Gentile, Israel's destiny, Jerusalem, Jewish, Letter to the Romans, light to the nations, Mission, Paul
Paul’s letter to the Romans may possibly his last letter. To ascertain the historical background, we must understand the purpose of the letter, the audience, and the apparent historical placement or time the letter was written.
Paul’s apparent purpose for writing the letter was to promote unity between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. In the letter, we read that Paul is praying and asking for prayer that Christians in Jerusalem would “accept” the collection, the gift from the churches in Asia. Those churches included, though not exclusively, Gentile Christians. Why was this collection so important? Perhaps in Paul’s mind it would legitimate his “mission” to the Gentiles? Perhaps he believed it would unite the church, if only the church in Jerusalem would acknowledge the Gentile church? Certainly this was part of Paul’s eschatological vision, the role of the Jews in history, fulfilling Israel’s destiny to be a “light to the nations” and be a “blessing” to every nation and people.
In addition, Paul’s purpose was to introduce himself, in anticipation of his pending visit. He also hopes they will support him on his journey to Spain. Mostly, however, he desires to bring reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles. Paul is not necessarily addressing Jews. His audience is primarily the Gentile Christians who had become leaders in the Roman church. He writes them in order to share his apologia on behalf of the Jews.
The Letter is written after Claudius, the Roman emperor, had expelled Jews from Rome. (Acts 18:2) Jews then returned to Rome after Claudius died in 54AD. During that time Gentiles became the leaders of the Church. Some acted superior. This raised questions in the minds of Jewish Christians of the legitimacy of the Gentile church.
Paul states his thesis in ch. 1:2-4, which is his theme throughout his ministry. Paul defends the universality of the gospel’s significance. He later restates this theme in ch. 11:32: “God has enclosed all people in disobedience, in order to have mercy on all.” The primary purpose and message of Romans is to state that the gospel of mercy is available to Gentiles as well as Jews. Paul apparently never visited that Roman church.
Filed under: Bible | Tags: antichrist, beast, Christ's mission, cosmic struggle, cross, destruction, distorting the truth, dualism, earth, ethical, first century, generations, Gnostic, God, humanity, idolatry, immorality, incarnation, Jerusalem, materialist, miraculous, Nero, responsibility, Resurrection, Revelation, reward, Roman, Rome, satirical, Secular, seven churches, symbols, teach, wrath
JESUS’ INCARNATION
Revelation is cast with vivid imagery, influenced by the backdrop of “volatile times” in Jerusalem and Rome. By illustrating a cosmic struggle with satirical exaggeration, Revelation employs symbols intended for his first century audience, not clearly understood by subsequent generations. To illustrate, the Roman instrument of execution would not be found in the “seven churches;” the symbol of the cross is not found anywhere in the text. The “beast” (Rev. 17:7) and the “antichrist” (1 John 4:3) were understood to be Rome and Nero and Peter had already designated Rome as “Babylon” (1 Pet. 5:13). Demystifying the symbols allows the reader to again focus on the central figure, the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), the One “who was and is and is to come” (Rev. 4:8).
This powerful portrayal of the incarnation is coupled to John’s warning to the churches of the dangers of false “Gnostic” teachings, which inevitably lead to a lack of concern for Christ’s mission to all humanity. John reveals that the One who “emptied himself…being born in human likeness” (Phil. 2:7) is eternally incarnate, “every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7). However, he is not merely physical; he does not only “seem” to have suffered physically. Likewise, he is not only spiritual. He is personal, a living soul who “became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). The revelation of Jesus’ incarnation confounds false teachings of dualism; he is God and human enthroned.
Today congregations are caught in a similar conflict between two extremes: One is the “secular” materialist view, which denies the miraculous, including the resurrection; and the other is the “super-spiritual” view, which tends to minimize Jesus’ incarnation and an ethical commitment to the surrounding world. The book of Revelation is about the “time” of “wrath” and “reward” for “all who fear [his] name, both small and great,” and included in that time of wrath is the destruction of “those who destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:18). The severe warning to John’s audience and churches today is this: distorting the truth of the incarnation will separate followers from Christ, from the reality of this life, and from responsibility for all of life. Failing to teach the incarnation leads to idolatry and immorality.
See more at http://johnthenry.wordpress.com
Filed under: Bible, Church, Mission Leadership | Tags: alien, all nations, Biblical interpretation, Christ, crucified, cultural paradigms, cultures, disciples, exile, Glory, gospel, identity, Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth, Luke, marginality, Messiah, mestizaje, Mission, mulatez, New Testament, Paul, principalities, resurrected, Santa Biblia: The Bible through Hispanic Eyes, solidarity, suffer
Two forlorn Jewish disciples met a stranger as they were leaving Jerusalem, the center of their world. After hearing them explain that their teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, had been crucified, the “uninformed” stranger responded, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26 NIV) The resurrected Jesus explained what was plainly written in the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke’s gospel concludes with Jesus’ statement that, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47 NIV)
How can this message of Jesus be pronounced “to all nations” if the Jewish people, centered within the context of a national expectation of the coming Messiah, failed to recognize him? If his disciples who walked with him and heard his teaching had failed to understand, what were the implications for the apostles who began to preach the gospel to different cultures? How do different contexts, and different centers of cultural understanding, effect the interpretation of the message? What must we therefore understand about the role of culture in the understanding of the New Testament? After feigning a continued journey, Jesus sat to break bread with his fellow travelers. In an instant his identity was revealed and he left those two disciples with hearts ablaze and compelled to go tell somebody.
In his book, Santa Biblia: The Bible through Hispanic Eyes, Justo González offers helpful insights for Biblical interpretation through cultural paradigms of marginality, poverty, mestizaje and mulatez, exile and aliens, and solidarity. Making use of these paradigms, I will argue that the reinterpretation of the apostle Paul’s identity, the misinterpretation of the gospel message across cultures over the centuries, and the challenge Paul presents to the Church to disarm principalities and powers over cultures are all necessary to overcome the temptation to confuse the message of the gospel. Understanding the role of culture is essential to understanding the New Testament and therefore the mission of the Church.
(This is the first of five posts on this topic. Look for the next in a few days.)
