Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)

 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³ The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹ and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.’ ”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. 

In Matthew 4:1-11 (Year A, First Sunday in Lent) and Luke 4:1-13 (Year C, First Sunday in Lent) is the story of the test of Jesus in the wilderness. I present the wilderness testing of Jesus not as a simple temptation narrative, but as a profound theological and Christological reflection. The story foreshadows Jesus’ life and destiny, focusing on his obedience to God and rejection of political messiahship—a concept prevalent in first-century Judaism but rejected by the early church. I compare the temptation of Eve in Genesis with Jesus’ testing. Both protagonists are alone and challenged by the tempter, but while Eve succumbs and adds to God’s word, Jesus responds with scripture, maintaining intimacy with God and refusing separation.

Here are a few directions I am going to suggest for understanding the story.

·      Scripture as a Shield: Jesus' use of scripture isn't just quoting verses; it's a demonstration of his deep intimacy with God and his refusal to separate from God's word, unlike Eve's additions.

·      The narrative is not about moralizing temptation but about revealing Jesus’ identity as the obedient Son of God.

·      Jesus’ responses are rooted in scripture, demonstrating fidelity and intimacy with God.

·      The story serves as a model for resisting threats to faith and underscores the importance of steadfastness in fulfilling one’s divine mission. 

I suggest the theological significance of the text lays in two themes.

·      Obedience and Mission: The narrative centers on whether Jesus will turn from the task God has given him, with the temptations serving as repeated affirmations of his obedience. Jesus’ steadfastness is contrasted with Israel’s disobedience during their wilderness wanderings and Adam/Eve’s failure in Genesis. 

·      Role of the Devil: The devil acts as a tester, like the role in Job 1-2, challenging Jesus’ loyalty and identity. The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, confident in his ability to withstand the test, echoing the ancient belief that loyalty must be proven through adversity.

Introduction

The story foreshadows the life and destiny of Jesus. It has its basis in theological and Christological reflection. Thus, we need to resist calling this a temptation narrative, for it can lead to a form of moralizing that lead us away from the purpose of this account. Like Abraham and Job, after his calling in the spirit of the suffering Servant, he is tested with political messiahship, a test that led to his embrace of his mission. This order underscores the significance of the narrative. The test is whether Jesus turns from the task God has laid upon him in his baptism, thereby rendering his mission impossible by deflecting Jesus from obedience to God. The story presupposes the obedience of Jesus, for he is aware of his Messianic task, and the individual temptations are a threefold repetition of the fact that he was obedient.[1] The early church is clear that political messiahship has no home in its thinking and life, but it did have a home in the Judaism of the first century, especially in the presence of the zealot movement. The temptation to embrace political messiahship would accompany the ministry of Jesus like a shadow. This possibility would reject the way of suffering. It was part of his struggle with Satan, which could show itself in Peter as well as in his opponents. This narrative shows that Jesus emerged from his test faithful to his calling and accepting of his mission. He emerged from his ordeal. He would need to obediently treat the hard path marked by the suffering Servant.[2] The test of Jesus alone in the wilderness mirrors the test of the human representative, Adam/Eve. It also mirrors the wandering of Israel in the wilderness as they also succumbed to the temptation to turn from the covenant established through Moses. In contrast to both Old Testament stories, Jesus confirms who he is as the Son and the path of obedience to the Father that will characterize his life. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to experience testing (πειρασθῆναι) by the devil (διαβόλου). Mark simply refers to this experience of testing (1:12-13). It is 40 days, mirroring the 40 years Israel spent in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:15 also testifies to Jesus' temptation episode. The author of Hebrews used the temptation narrative to show that Jesus, like us, faced threats to his own fragile humanity. The background for this role of the devil is Job 1-2, whereby the one testing Job is part of the heavenly court. He is the prosecuting attorney. His job is to read the charges and to hold humanity accountable for them.^[3] We see here a similar relationship between the Spirit and the devil. The Spirit, in a sense, sends Jesus to Satan, confident (as God is of Job), that he will resist the temptations offered him and be proved worthy of his calling. It is as if the ancients felt that without the test, loyalty was cheap and not to be trusted. What was required was steadfastness of purpose, which can only be demonstrated in the face of testing. Thus, while Israel proved to be a disobedient son in the wilderness, Jesus will prove to be a loyal and obedient Son. He represents the people of God in a way that Israel failed to do. His long fast had the design of bringing him close to the Father. The Spirit led him to the wilderness for that reason. 

Verse-by-verse study

I summarize this study.

First Temptation: The devil urges Jesus to turn stones into bread, echoing Moses providing manna. Jesus resists, citing Deuteronomy 8:3, affirming that true life comes from God’s word, not physical sustenance. This parallels Adam and Eve’s temptation to “take and eat,” which they failed, while Jesus succeeds. 

Second Temptation: Jesus is placed on the Temple and challenged to throw himself down, with the devil quoting Psalm 91. Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:16, refusing to test God and affirming his obedience. This highlights the danger of twisting scripture and the importance of trusting God. 

Third Temptation: Offered political power in exchange for worshiping the devil, Jesus rejects the offer, citing Deuteronomy 6:13. He affirms that only God is worthy of worship, resisting the lure of political messiahship and worldly power.

Here is the detailed study. 

After the 40 days Jesus is hungry, the tempter (πειράζων) begins a series of three temptations. 

With the first temptation, the tempter begins with the Christological affirmation that refers to him as the Son of God. significantly, Job 1:6 refers to the heavenly beings or “sons of God” gathering before God, with Satan appearing in that assembly. It is also significant that Israel could be referred to as son (Ex 4:22, Ws 18:13, Hos 11:1). The complaint of the wicked is that the righteous professes to have knowledge of God calls him a son of God (Ws 2:13). Since Jesus is hungry, and if he is the Son of God, he should command the stones to become bread. Thus, as Moses provided the Israelites manna in the wilderness, Jesus could provide himself bread in his hunger. He refuses by referring to Deut 8:3, part of the wilderness wanderings, that one does not live by physical bread by the word of God. Jesus showed the path to passing the test. The temptation Adam and Eve faced was to “take and eat” of the fruit of a divinely forbidden tree, thereby becoming like God. They were not even hungry. Jesus will resist the one tempting him where Adam and Eve failed. Jesus will later teach his disciples to pray for their daily bread, trusting that their heavenly Father will provide such needs (Matthew 6:11). He will teach them not to be anxious for their daily needs, for their heavenly Father knows they have such needs, so they should seek first the rule of God, for each day has enough troubles of its own (Matthew 6:25-34). The point is the temptation Jesus faces here has nothing to do with filling his stomach and everything to do with fulfilling his call to obedience and fidelity before God. If he would override God's will by creating bread in this wilderness, Jesus would participate in an act of willful disobedience against God. Such behavior, even about such a small act, would undercut Jesus' identity as the obedient, loyal Son of God.

A second temptation led Jesus to the holy city and placed him on a part of the Temple columns that flared out and begins with the Christological affirmation of Jesus being the Son of God. This time, the devil urges him to throw himself down, using Ps 91:11-12 to remind Jesus of the promise that the angels will bear him up and protect him. A twisting of scription can become a vehicle for a test of who we are. Such an act would have denied the Incarnation and his full participation in human life. The response of Jesus is to refer to another part of the wilderness wandering in Deut 6:16 that one ought not to put the Lord to the test. The point of this story is to show that Jesus passes the test by being obedient to the Father. Jesus teaches us to pray that God would not lead us into such temptation (Matt 6:13). He also taught them that properly hearing and doing what he teaches will lead to a life that can withstand the trials of life (Matt 7:24-27). It was not fitting for him to test God.

A third temptation involves the devil taking Jesus to a high mountain and showing him the kingdoms of the world in their glory and claiming to give it all to Jesus if he will fall at his feet and worship him. He wants only what God deserves. The promise is that the God will give the kingdoms to the Messiah (Ps 2:8) and to the Son of Man (Dan 7:14). The devil claims such pre-eminence in this world. Here is a seductive gift, but only if he will give up his identity and acknowledge the pre-eminence of the devil. Political power is always tempting. The response of Jesus is to send Satan (Σατανᾶ) away, referring to Deut 6:13 that one ought to worship and serve the Lord only. Jesus would later teach the disciples to pray that their heavenly Father would hallow the name of God and would accomplish the will of God on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10). He will teach them to realize that their true treasure is in heaven (Matt 6:19-21). He will teach them that they cannot serve two masters, and thus, cannot serve God and wealth (Matt 6:24).

Application 

Jesus would experience other tests, such as from Peter (Matt 16:23). Temptation would face Jesus on the night he was betrayed and deserted. The story concerns who Christ is and explains why Jesus was not the Messiah zealots desired and expected. This temptation narrative foreshadows the whole of Jesus' ministry by indicating that to remain obedient, this Messiah must claim the way of humility, service, and suffering. An interesting parallel to the story of the temptation is the parable of the sower (Matt 13:1-23). In both stories, a believer is faced with three threats to faithfulness. In the parable, the three threats are Satan (the bird that comes to snatch the Word away); trouble and persecution, like Jesus' hunger (the rocks that cause the Word's roots to fail); and the cares of the world, including the lure of wealth (the thorns that choke the Word as it begins to grow). By resisting this same sort of temptation in the wilderness, Jesus models for disciples the will to resist those things that destroy a growing faith.

The great significance of this temptation narrative is not that Jesus withstood these trials, but that in them Jesus' true nature and identity as the "Son of God" are celebrated. His fidelity to God and unshakable commitment to carrying out God's plans are what reveal Jesus' genuine "Son of God" identity to the believing reader. As the Devil tries to sabotage the unique quality of this relationship between God and his son Jesus, he begins with a small, even innocuous test of Jesus' power.

Two stories, one in Genesis and the other in Matthew and Luke. Watch the parallels in both (the temptations of the antagonist), and the differences with which each protagonist meets the tempter.

The first tale:

Humanity is the protagonist in the person of Eve.

That she is alone puts her in the way of danger.

The Tempter challenges the word of God: “Did God say …?”

The Tempter will, in the end, look for an act that manifests her separation from the word, and from the God who spoke it. She will take of its fruit and eat.

She chooses to answer in her own (human) words and herself undermines the sufficiency of the word of God: “Neither shall you touch it.” Her personal addition to the divine prohibition (a childish whining: “You never let me have anything”) prepares her to hear the universal lie:

“You shall not die.” God wants no other gods around. That lie, should she believe it, turns God into humanity’s (the Protagonist’s) antagonist!

She believes it and humanity begins its long dying.

The second tale:

 

Jesus is the protagonist, the tempter, the antagonist

That he is alone puts him in the way of danger

The Tempter challenges the word of God: See 3:17 and the Voice whose words are, “This is my son. …” Three verses later: “If you are (what God said) the Son of God.”

The Tempter looks for an act that manifests his separation from the word, and from the God who spoke it. “Command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

He chooses to answer not in his own words but in the words of Scripture (in God’s words). Even so does he refuse to manifest a separation, but rather to manifest an intimacy. He did not take or eat. Moreover, his answer is a direct hit at the Tempter’s effort to implant doubt: “We live … by every word … from the mouth of God.”

 

By his choosing always to respond with God’s word and not his own, the protagonist becomes (for now) proof against the following blandishments of his antagonist.

---

[1] Seesemann, TDNT, VI, 34-5.

[2] (Jeremias, New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, 1971), 68-75.

[3] (For more on the Old Testament view of Satan, see Peggy Day, An Adversary in Heaven: Satan in the Hebrew Bible [Harvard Semitic Monographs 43; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988] and Elaine Pagels, The Origin of Satan [New York: Random House, 1995]).

Romans 5:12-19

Romans 5:12-19 (NRSV)

¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— ¹³ sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. ¹⁷ If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. ¹⁹ For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:12-19 offers a new perspective on the righteous purpose of God for humanity.  The theme to which I will keep returning is the contrast between Adam’s disobedience and Christ’s obedience, and the implications for humanity. I will situate the argument of Paul within the broader narrative of Romans, connecting Adam and Christ as archetypes for humanity.

To summarize the point of the study, here is how Paul defines "sin" in this passage:

·      More than just a mistake: Sin isn't simply falling short or an imperfection. It's described as a "positive quality of a person, a personal offense against a personal God." It's a conscious act against what one knows to be true and good.

·      A malevolent force: Paul often personifies sin (and death). It's depicted as an almost "malevolent force, hostile to God and alienating people from each other and from God," external to humanity with a personal agency at work.

·      The origin of separation: Sin causes separation from God, strongly defined by death, which includes not just bodily death but also spiritual separation. It's seen as an "interloper" or "usurpation against the creative will of God," having no rightful place.

·      Inherited corruption: People sin due to "wicked impulses of human nature, which was due to the corruption inherited from Adam." This links to the concept of hereditary sin, though Paul doesn't fully explain the mechanism of its transmission.

·      Universal experience: The story of Adam and his transgression is presented as the story of all humanity. Each individual repeats Adam's pattern, demonstrating humanity's "liability to sin."

·      Revealed by law, not created by it: Sin was present before the Law (Torah), but the Law makes humanity aware of sin as sin, even though they suffer its consequences beforehand. God doesn't "reckon" sin without law, meaning accountability isn't fully assigned until the law arrives.

Introduction

Paul now wants to discuss by analogy the work of Adam and the work of Christ.  We may also note that Paul will sometimes take up a new theme before he is quite through with the old one.  The next section is more clearly related to justification and its consequences.  Chapter 6-7 deal with the negative aspects of this new life, that is, freedom from sin and the law and implicitly death, and Chapter 8 speaks positively of possession of and by the Holy Spirit.   This section explains the basis of life in Christ. Paul is ending his argument that he began in 1:18. Paul is less concerned with fixing blame on Adam than he is with setting the scene for humanity's universal need for Christ's redemptive act.  Indeed, redemption is the true focus of Paul's discussion here - not sin and death. By holding up Adam with one hand and Christ with the other, Paul can demonstrate God's universal grace as a cure for sin's universal dominion over the world and the weakness of the universal experience of law to bring healing.  Humanity as understood in Adam is in trouble with God and with each other. God has provided a new pattern for humanity in Christ. To understand this passage properly, we need to look upon Adam and Christ as the “secret” of humanity, the truth of which God has revealed in Christ. Thus, the Old Testament story of Adam reveals how today humanity is in so much trouble with God and each other. Each of us keep making the same boring and unimportant decision to depart from what we know to be true and good. Caught in this endless cycle repeated in the life of every human being, humanity is in prison. Yet, in his life of obedience that led to the cross and in his resurrection from the dead, Christ reveals a truth concerning humanity that only his future beauty (glory) of his coming will fully reveal. Christ liberates us from the prison and opens us to the beauty of a future life in the Spirit, which will be the theme of the next chapters. This beautiful truth about humanity is present now for those with faith but awaits in hope its future declaration in the coming of Christ in glory. 

What does Paul mean by sin here?[1] Paul does not explain how that negative effect of Adam takes place.  Paul is aware that not all human sinfulness is owing to Adam alone; he makes this clear in v. 12, as he already indicted all human beings in 3:9, 23.  Romans 5:12-14 have been the subject of a centuries-long theological debate, because Paul seems to affirm in this passage the existence of hereditary sin.  

One of the problems Paul was dealing with was that of punishment before Moses.  Indeed, we ended at asking the question, “Why, if they were not accountable, was death allowed as punishment.”  The view of Sanday and Headlam magnify the problem.  Indeed, one wonders why Paul would not use the same argument he used in 1:18-3:20.  He has already shown that all people have enough knowledge for God to hold them accountable, and he thus uses the argument of natural law.  This surely would have solved much of his difficulty here. 

                  Sanday and Headlam have a discussion of Paul’s conception of sin that is revealing.  Paul often personifies sin as well as death. Sin is more than either falling short of an ideal or an imperfection.  It is a positive quality of a person, a personal offence against a personal God.  Guilt is determined by consciousness, and everyone is conscious of the law, whether general in nature or specific in the Mosaic Law.  Sin causes separation from God.  People sin because of the wicked impulses of human nature, which was due to the corruption inherited from Adam.  Is sin a personal or impersonal force?  It would seem Paul would answer that sin is external to humanity and that there is a personal agency at work.  What Paul has tried to show is that God’s plan of salvation began with the offering of Justification to the believer in v. 3:21-4:25. However, the Christian life does not end there but has only begun.  Justification opens the door to peace and joy and makes us part of a whole new order of humanity, for we are no longer of Adam, but of Christ, and thus, our bond is not with sin and death, but with righteousness and life.  Indeed, Chapters 6-8 only make clearer what he has already said in this one chapter.

Verse-by-verse study

¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— In what sense can one say that everyone has sinned? Each of us sins as Adam did, and death has thus come upon all, while the participation of the many in the image of the eschatological man, Christ, is by participation in the transformation into his likeness.[2] We can more appropriately think of Adam as the first sinner. In him began the temptation by the power of sin that still seduces us all today. All of us sin because we think we can attain a full and true life thereby. In this sense, the story of Adam is the story of humanity. Every individual repeats it.[3] Thus, based upon the argument of Paul so far, as sin and death came into the world through Adam, death spread to all persons with the result that everyone has sinned. The point is that the sequel to the influence of Adam on humanity is the ratification of his sin in the sins of all individuals.[4] At this point, “sin” is an almost personified malevolent force, hostile to God and alienating people from each other and from God. ¹³ Sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Paul connects the fate of humanity with the death of Christ and with the Law, thereby linking a general anthropological relation between sin and death that makes the death of Jesus relevant to humanity in general, and not just those who lived within the historical particularity of the Israelite covenant. Paul has indicted humanity who has sinned like Adam since 1:18. Adam is the pattern of humanity as dominated by guilt, bondage, and death. The failure of Adam is the way Paul chose to characterize the human condition. The act of obedience by the Son did what Adam ought to have done but failed to do. Christ by his obedience is the pattern of the new humanity, in which are justification, redemption from sin, and victory over death. Sin defines humanity, for we know nothing of sinless humanity.[5] Sin is a special relationship of people to God, and it derives its power from this relationship. Sin is disturbing of the relationship with God that that we see defined strongly in death. Sin is robbery. Of course, sin was present before the Torah, but God does not “reckon” sin without a law, a notion that presupposes the Jewish conception of heavenly books in which God recorded human deeds.  “Reckon” here means that humanity was not accountable until the Torah.[6] What Paul means here is that sin has its effects, but humanity is unaware of the connection without the law. People are not aware of sin as sin, even though they suffer its consequences. Sin still has terrible consequences, but people are not aware of the connection until the law arrives. Sin emerges from its anonymous existence with the law. ¹⁴ Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression (παραβάσεως) of Adam. The point is not the origin of death or sin.  Death continues to dominate, not because of Adam, but because of the continued participation of humanity in sin. The point is the liability to sin and the liability to die as a punishment.  All people share in Adam’s transgression. Adam began the common sinning of humanity. Adam by his transgression determined the character of the present age, so Christ has determined the character of the age to come. Sin is not part of the created order of God. We can see this in the way Paul uses the modest statement that sin “entered into” the world. It can be present and active within it only as an alien. It has no appointed place to belong. If it has its place, it is that of usurpation against the creative will of God, the place of an interloper. Sin is in a place in which it has no business because sin is that which God has not willed. It can only say No where God says Yes, and where in its own different fashion the creature of God can say Yes. Sin, on the other hand, can never say Yes to God. It offers only a negative. Death, the opposite of life, entered the world of human beings through sin. However, this does not mean only bodily death. It includes spiritual death, in the sense of separation from God. Adam led the way in humanity becomes servants of sin.[7]This discussion of sin and law has in the background the experience of Israel. They are the elect people of God confronted with the law or command of God. Its existence depends upon the covenant. Yet Israel shows itself to be what all nations are, a rebellious and rejecting people when it comes to its relation to God. As Paul puts in verse 12, all people are sinners, but they are not notorious sinners until they know the law.[8] Adam is a type of the one who was to come. Paul treats Adam as the head of the old humanity, and what happened to the head has influenced the body of human beings. 

It is in v. 15-16 that Paul further develops the contrast between the results of Adam's sin and the results of Christ's obedience, even to the Cross.  Thus, while v. 15-17 stand deep within the discussion of sin and death outlined in the text, they, too, point back to Paul's previous topic in chapters 1-4: the grace of God that leads to our justification. ¹⁵ However,the free gift is not like the trespass (παράπτωμα). For if the many [all] died through the one man’s trespass (παραπτώματι), much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many [all]. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin (ἁμαρτήσαντος). For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation (κατάκριμα), but the free gift (χάρισμα) following many trespasses (παραπτωμάτων) brings justification (δικαίωμα). Paul shows that Christ has achieved a balance on God's cosmic scale of justice.  The sacrificial act of Christ on one side brings into balance the countless trespasses accumulated on Adam's side on the other side is through the power of God's grace.  Paul will write in these verses in archetypical language of the eschatological destiny of humanity as if already fulfilled in Jesus Christ.[9] The grace of God and the gift have come to humanity in superabundance.  The gift is God's benevolent favor, assuring justification and reconciliation to all who believe in Christ Jesus.  Paul relates the Spirit as gift to believers becoming sons and daughters in baptism by fellowship with Jesus Christ.[10] The secret revealed in the dialectical relation of Adam and Christ is that people have fallen from God and yet find themselves bound to God. Both figures stand close upon the barrier between sin and righteousness, death and life. The one looks backward, but the other forward. From Adam to Christ, this is the road of God to humanity and among humanity.[11] ¹⁷ If, because of the one man’s trespass (παραπτώματι), death exercised dominion through that one. The loving turning of God to us, as well as how it relates to the gift of grace believers receive, is something that has not yet found full clarification in the history of theology. To re-emphasize what Paul has just said, the disobedience of Adam demonstrates the sinfulness of humanity, while the obedience of Christ makes many righteous. The formal effect of the sin of Adam is to show humanity as sinners. The power of sin came into the world first with Adam, but the choices of each generation carry sin forward.[12] Thus, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Therefore just as one man’s trespass (παραπτώματος) led to condemnation (κατάκριμα) for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification (δικαίωσιν) and life for all. The reference to the obedience of the one man means that considering Easter, Jesus was obedient to his mission. That obedience led him into the extreme separation from God and to the dereliction of the cross. The remoteness from God on the cross was the climax of his self-distinction from the Father.[13]  We need to raise the question of whether Paul has in mind the participation of all humanity in salvation, and thus of whether Paul thought of a reconciliation of all things.[14] ¹⁹ For just as by the one man’s disobedience (παρακοῆς) the many [all] were made sinners (ἁμαρτωλοὶ), so by the one man’s obedience the many [all]will be made righteous (δίκαιοι). The logic of the argument toward the destiny of human redemption for all persons and therefore all creation seems inescapable. If the disobedience of one man had such effect as the dominion of sin and death, the obedience of one man, Jesus Christ, had the greater effect of justification and life for humanity. The general idea is that just as Adam, the head and symbol of humanity, by his disobedience involved all people in guilt, bondage, and death, so Christ by his obedience qualifies as the head of a new humanity - a new creation - in which are justification, redemption from the power of sin, and victory over death.  Paul has in mind the plan of God for history in this contrast of the first and second Adam.[15]

Theological implication

The Adam of Genesis becomes the first Adam and opposed to him in Christ is the second Adam, the definitive form of human reality that has overcome sin and death. Christ becomes the New Adam, the second heavenly man, the prototype of reconciled humanity. He offers the new perspective on God’s righteous purpose for humanity. In its basic theme, that the excess of sin brings the fullness of grace to light, one could say that verses 12-21 provide a programmatic text for the letter. Paul raises his sight from believers as a group to embrace humanity. In these verses, we might well say that Paul presents the history of humanity as a drama in two parts, two epochs dominated by the two figures, Adam the tragic hero, and Christ the redeemer hero. The passage shows that sin breaks the unity of human reality. Because of it, the Adam of Genesis becomes the first Adam, and opposed to him in Jesus is the second Adam, the definitive form of human reality that has overcome sin and death. Paul emphasized the contrast between Christ and the man of sin so strongly that there was little place for the relation of the person and history of Jesus to the creative purpose of God. With his act of obedience, the one man Jesus Christ is the direct opposite of the Adam. He does not explore a relation between them. The gracious action of God toward those lost under the dominion of sin forges the link. Yet there is at least an implicit connection between Christ’s act of obedience in verse 19 and the sin of Adam. The act of obedience by the Son did what Adam ought to have done but failed to do. The act of obedience was his taking to himself the death of sinners in verses 6ff.[16]

If one is in Adam, one is an old, fallen, imprisoned, creature. If one is in Christ, one is a new, reconciled, and redeemed creature, as we learn in II Corinthians 5:17. One dies but enters life. However, these two worlds do not exist side by side, nor do the old and the new compose two people. For the possibility of the one involves the impossibility of the other. Only in the light of the critical Moment, when humanity and its world are passing as one whole, from the old to the new, from here to there, from the present to the coming age, does the distinction between the two become apparent. The two ways meet and go apart where in Adam people have fallen from God and where in Christ they find God again.[17] Adam sums up the history of humanity. Adam sums up the meaning or meaninglessness of this history. Human history is Adamic history. It begins in and with his history and its judgment is that it continuously corresponds to this history. With innumerable variations, it repeats the history of Adam. It re-enacts the scene in the garden. A golden age never existed, because the first human being is a sinner. Who is Adam? He simply did in the insignificant form of the beginner that which all people have done after him. He was in a trivial form what we all are, people of sin. No one must be Adam. We are so freely and on our own responsibility. God knows us in Adam. Adam is the truth concerning us as God knows it and tells us. Yet[18] Paul shows that God has broken this Adamic history and given humanity another possibility simply by exposing humanity to the truth of itself.[19]

According to Bultmann, Paul is using in this paragraph a Gnostic myth about the original man.  This is hardly an accurate description of Paul's teaching in this paragraph.  If there is a myth behind the discussion, it is not the Gnostic myth, but that of Genesis 2-3.  The unmistakably etiological character of that story insinuates that the sin of Adam was the cause of universal misery and sin.  Paul is primarily interested in the contrast of the universality of sin and death with the universality of the life in Christ.  

The Roman Catholic exegetical tradition has so interpreted this passage, especially 5:12, in terms of the universal causality of Adam's sin on the sinfulness of human individuals.  Note the Tridentine decree, which gave a definitive interpretation to the Pauline text in the sense that his words teach a form of the dogma of Original Sin, a rare text that enjoys such an interpretation. Paul never explains how the connection between Adam and humanity works or how the sin of Adam transmits to the rest of humanity.  When Augustine opposed Pelagius, who had been teaching that Adam influenced humanity by giving it a bad example, he introduced the idea of transmission by propagation or heredity.  Theologians have queried whether Paul was teaching a form of monogenism because of his emphasis on Adam as "one man" and his historicization of Adam.  Polygenism is thus a modern development of teaching about evolution.  It goes far beyond Paul's perspective; hence, one should not use what Paul says here to solve such a problem.

 

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[1] I rely upon Sanday & Headlam in their ICC commentary on Romans.

[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume II, 304.

[3] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, Volume II, 263.

[4] An interpretation that Joseph Fitzmyer in his commentary on Romans prefers.

[5] Barth, Romans, 168.

[6] John Knox in his commentary on Romans

[7] Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV.1 [58.4], 139-40.                         

[8] Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV.1 [61.3], 585-86.

[9] Pannenberg, Jesus God and Man, 197.

[10] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, Volume III, 9.

[11] Barth, Romans, 176.

[12] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume III, 197.

[13] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume II, 375.

[14] Pannenberg, Jesus God and Man, 76.

[15] Pannenberg, Jesus God and Man, 196, 380.

[16] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume II, 295-296.

[17] Barth, Romans, 165.

[18] Barth, Church Dogmatics, I.2 [15.2], 157. 

[19] Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV.1 [60.3], 507-8, 512-13.