I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 9-11 has puzzled me from the first time I read it in my mid-teens. Over the years, I have grown in my appreciation for what Paul is doing. Paul explains the result of the saving act of God in communal life as it redefines the people of God. He has written regularly that the message of the gospel went “to the Jew first, and then to the Greek.” He has said that God has acted now in Christ to bring salvation to humanity as a fulfillment of the promise contained in the Old Testament, especially to Abraham. Yet, the people to whom God made these promises, the Jewish people, have largely rejected this message. Interestingly, the puzzle for Paul is not so much where Israel fits into the plan of God, but how the church fits to the plan of God for the newly envisioned people of God. He does this by showing the relationship between God and Israel, explaining that the church is a subset of Israel in the plan of God for saving humanity. Pannenberg understands this passage as an explanation of the plan of God that Paul offers from the standpoint of his eschatology. He can have a central place for Christ in the plan of God because of his eschatological vision. Paul feels the need to explain in more detail the question of the relationship between Jew and Gentile. He has hit the issue at various points, but now wants to make himself clear. He has expounded upon the eschatological tension in the life of the individual believer in Chapters 6-8, and now, he devotes himself to the eschatological tension between Israel and Church.[1]
Given the presence, again, of the state of Israel, this argument likely means more today in terms of Jewish and Christian relationships than it did prior to that event. Christians in America and Europe continue to struggle with the place of Judaism in the on-going plan of salvation. Anti-Semitism, hidden or overt, is obvious. In addition, another religion, Islam, has arisen that is quite explicit in its rejection of the covenant God established with Israel and the church, making it clear that the only hope for Jews or Christians is to convert to Islam.
Romans 9-11 is not a denunciation of the Israelites, whom Paul describes as his own people (9:3). Indeed, it is important to remember that throughout the entirety of the Pauline letters, it is not Jews or Israelites who receive any of Paul’s condemnation, but rather Jewish-Christians whenever they try to make Gentile-Christians follow Jewish religious practices as a condition for becoming Christian (cf. Galatians 2:1-16). Second, while Paul does not shy away from offering criticism of his people (10:2-3), he still contends that God has not rejected the Israelites — they remain God’s people (11:1, 28-29). Third, no matter how things appear now, eventually “all Israel will be saved” (11:26) because of the mercy of God (11:31-32).
Paul quotes so much from the Old Testament that one can call this section a Midrash Old Testament texts. Each claim regards the saving purpose of God as revealed in the word of God as having a two-sided character. The theme of the Midrash is around the question of 9:6a: Has the word of God failed? The point seems to be that God has chosen the above means of salvation through faith in Christ, and that Jews have no right to argue with God about that. Yet, he maintains that Israel continues to have a special place in God’s plans. This statement means that the older assumption that these chapters deal with the doctrine of predestination does not hold, a common conclusion among interpreters today. Part of his point is that the church is a subset of Israel, a branch from that Jewish root.
In 9:1-5, has the theme of the appreciation Paul has for Israel. 1I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying. Some may indeed be ready to say that what he is about to say is a lie, despite what appears to be the case, or what others believe. The following discussion seems to have little connection with what has gone on until now. My conscience (συνειδήσεώς, a co-perception as in moral consciousness available to all human beings)confirms it by the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. This is the agony expressed in 9:1-3. Paul has a deep concern for his people, the Jewish people. The sorrow is even more startling, given what Paul has expressed in 8:31-39. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. He is emphasizing his willingness for personal sacrifice, although he has just said that nothing could separate him from Christ’s love. Moses had a similar prayer in Exodus 32:32. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption (υἱοθεσία as children of God in 8:15, 23), the glory (δόξα), the covenants (διαθῆκαι, such as established with the Hebrews at Sinai or through Jesus in the Last Supper), the giving of the law (νομοθεσία, only occurrence in New Testament), the temple worship (λατρεία), and the promises (ἐπαγγελίαι of the Father who especially promised the Holy Spirit); 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah (Χριστὸς, the coming of whom verifies the history of God with the Jewish people, for the Messiah of all humanity is Jewish flesh), who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. As he concludes this list of the gifts Israel has brought to humanity, he builds to a climax. These chapters are apologetic, seeking to explain how the Jewish people fit into the new plan of God. Paul’s mission to the Gentiles was largely responsible for this situation arising in the early church. He has hit the issue at various points, but now wants to make himself clear.
Paul discusses Israel and the church. Israel is the human fellowship that provisionally forms the natural and historical environment of the man, Jesus of Nazareth. The church is the environment out of which witness to Christ emerges. It summons the whole world to faith in Christ. The church has this office and commission, pointing beyond itself to the fellowship of all people, to which it is witness and herald. Israel forms the inner circle of the election of the man, Jesus of Nazareth, while the election of the church becomes a mediating witness between Israel and the world. [2]
Who and what is Jesus Christ in His relation to the community of God? Jesus Christ is the crucified Messiah of Israel. As such, He is the authentic witness of the judgment of humanity that God takes within the divine life by choosing fellowship with humanity. We can see this judgment in the continuing rejection by Jews of their election by God. Jesus Christ is also the risen Lord of the church. As such, He is the authentic witness of the mercy of God toward humanity in which God chooses humanity for fellowship with divinity. The church is the gathering of Jew and Gentile called on the ground of its election as the community of God. It has the responsibility of setting forth to sinful humanity the goodwill, readiness, and honor of God. Thus, the object of election is not Israel or the church, but both together, in their unity. The church is not the church when it resists the joining of Israel and church into one community of God. Where the church apprehends in the crucified Messiah of Israel its own election, knowing itself to be one with Israel, there we find revealed the unity of the whole elected community. The church is, then, the second form of this one community of God. The church will comfort Israel with its message. The church will reveal to Israel the evil it intended in the crucifixion of Jesus. The church will make clear that the promises delivered to Israel it will proclaim to the world. The church will save Israel from annihilation. The church understands that the Son of God is incarnate in this Jewish people. The distinction of Israel is the gift of the Word and promise of God. Judaism also had to pass into a new covenant in order to fulfill the promises of God to Israel. We have the answer for this in a proper exegesis of Romans 9-11.
Given that Paul is applying the basic themes of Israel to Gentiles, one might justly wonder what Paul feels toward Israel or toward the Jewish people. This section of Romans begins with sorrow. We can understand that. After all, most of Paul’s fellow Jews rejected the gospel. The recipients of the divine promises in the Old Testament have remained outside the stream of salvation. If what Paul teaches is consistent with the Law and the Prophets, then why have the Jews rejected it? That is what Paul deals with in Chapters 9-11. The failure of the mission to the Jews raised the question of the faithfulness of God to the promises we find in the Old Testament; Paul then sees the need to justify the activity of God in Christ Jesus. Surprisingly, the problem most Jews would have with the preaching of Paul is that his message was so similar to their message. The message of free grace and election, of the faithfulness of God to that election, would be in common to both. However, Paul has had the insight or revelation that the basic Jewish message has an application to Gentiles through faith in Christ. Paul offers an apologetic for his message in the sense that he will defend both his application of the promises God made to Israel to Gentiles and the continuing role Israel has in the plan of God. Paul maintains that Israel continues to have a special place in God’s plans. The church is a subset of Israel, a branch from that root. Clearly, Paul feels the need to explain in more detail the question of the relationship between Jew and Gentile. He has expounded upon the eschatological tension in the life of the individual believer in Chapters 6-8, and now, he devotes himself to the eschatological tension between Israel and Church. This section of Paul's letter to the Romans concerns the relation of his central theological tenet - justification by faith - to the historical fact of Israel's self-perception as God's chosen people. Paul seems to suggest that the form the people of God take is provisional, in the sense that it points the world beyond itself to the God who is active on behalf of the world. The community is a witness and herald. Israel formed the original and special environment of the man, Jesus of Nazareth. This community mediates its missional purpose in the plan of God. The man Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel and therefore the Messiah of humanity. Christ is witness to the mercy of God toward humanity. The people of God, the elect of God, are Jew and Gentile. When the church resists joining itself to Israel, the church is not truly church. The church can reveal to Israel its participation in sin as it collaborated with Rome to crucify Jesus. Yet, the church will also take the promises of God to Israel and apply them to humanity because of what God has done in Christ. If the church is the church, it will save Israel from annihilation. The Son is incarnate Jewish flesh, and thus, the church will not forget its special bond with the Jewish people. The church lives by the covenant made between God and Israel. The church lives by the existence of Christ according to the flesh, and thus a descendant of Abraham and David, and called Jesus of Nazareth. This reality is significant. He is this man, within this community, as well as the Son of God. He was not a Greek, Roman, or German, but Israelite. As we find in John 4:22, “Salvation is of the Jews.” The church recognizes itself in the prophets of Israel that reminded Israel of its disobedience. Yet, in defiance of all Gentile arrogance, the church asserts and teaches the eternal election of Israel.[3]
We learn in these verses that Paul can exercise the apostolic office committed to him by Christ only in the name of and on behalf of the church and Israel. His work as an apostle, and necessary to him personally for his salvation, is to approach his mission as to the Jews first. They are his brothers and sisters according to the flesh. The community of the church has its basis in the unbelieving Israel. The church is Israel reaching its divinely appointed goal. The church lives on what Israel has received as a wrestler with God. The church lives by the glory of God that goes before Israel and dwells in its midst, by God’s own manifestation of the divine presence graciously occurring, but also graciously concealed, in the providences of its history. Israel experiences the concealing of this gracious presence, while the church lives by that divine presence. Yet, it is one divine presence.
No comments:
Post a Comment