The grand story
The overarching, grand story of creation and recreation which underlies much of Second Temple Jewish and Pauline theology is most clearly stated in a passage at the center of the letter to the Romans. Here, both the futility of the present creation and its future restoration are explicitly stated:
For the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of God’s children. For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be freed from its bondage to decay, into the freedom of the glory of God’s children. We know that the entire creation groans and suffers labor pains together until now. Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruit of the spirit, also groan inwardly as we await our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:19-23)
The problem is stated here in no uncertain terms. The entire creation has been subjected to futility and decay. But this isn’t hopeless! It was subjected by God in the hope that it will be freed from its bondage.
Moreover, the freedom of the creation will be achieved through the people whom God has chosen – his “children,” as Paul puts it here. Humanity was originally created to bear God’s image and glory to the creation, as affirmed throughout the Hebrew scriptures (Gen. 1:26-30; Ps. 8:4-8) and second-Temple literature (Sir. 49:16; Wis. 10:1-2; Philo, Opif. 83-88). This glory was taken from Adam when he sinned, but, according to Second Temple Judaism, would be restored to God’s people in the age to come (1 En. 90:37-38; 1QS 4:22-23). This is most likely what Paul means by “the freedom of the glory of God’s children.”
However, there’s a problem with this plan for creation’s redemption. No human is worthy of this status of ruling and restoring creation, of “the glory of God.” In Paul’s own words elsewhere in Romans, “all people have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (3:23). All the nations suppress the truth by injustice, and are receiving God’s wrath; they’ve exchanged “the glory of the imperishable God” for perishable idols and have been given over to do what is deserving of death (1:18-32). How does God plan to solve this problem?
The role of God’s people
God desires to rescue his good creation from futility and decay, and has chosen to do so via humanity; but we humans have failed our vocation. In the Hebrew scriptures, the means by which God chooses to rectify this situation is by electing a particular group of humans to restore the rest of humanity. Abraham and his family were chosen in order to bring God’s blessing upon all the families of the earth (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; cf. Exod. 19:3-6). When his chosen people, Israel, fulfill their true vocation, then all the nations will come to God and be blessed in him, as stated many times by the Hebrew prophets. [2]
Paul also talks about this role for Israel in his letter to the Romans. The Jews were called to be “a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants” – this all thanks to “the outline of knowledge and truth in Torah” (2:17-20). What advantage do the Jews have? Primarily, that they’ve been entrusted with God’s oracles (3:1-2), just as Paul was entrusted with his gospel (cf. 1 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:11; Tit. 1:3) – in other words, to share with the world. Indeed, as Paul later affirms, Israel has succeeded in bringing the nations to God, though paradoxically through her fall (Rom. 11:11-25).
But this plan for humanity’s redemption through Israel has hit a roadblock, according to Paul. Despite being entrusted with God’s oracles, his people have been unfaithful (3:1-3). Though they judge the nations for their sinfulness, the Jews are also subject to God’s justice, and are guilty of the same sins of which they accuse the gentiles (2:1-23). They’ve failed their vocation to bring the gentiles to God; worse, God’s name is even blasphemed among the gentiles because of them! (2:24)
Jew and gentile alike are utterly sinful, whether they have Torah or not (3:9-20). Israel, too, is guilty of sin and deserving of death, even more so because they were entrusted with Torah (5:12-14, 20). Paul greatly laments this fact (9:1-5). How will the faithful God, whose faithfulness isn’t nullified by Israel’s unfaithfulness (3:4-8), now fulfill his plan to redeem humanity, and through humanity, his entire creation?
The role of Israel’s Messiah
For Paul, God’s solution to the great problem — the corruption of Israel, of humanity, of the entire creation — has now come through Israel’s Messiah. As he says at the climax of the first section of his letter to the Romans,
But now, apart from Torah — though it was attested by Torah and the prophets — God’s righteousness has been revealed, God’s righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah for all who have faith. For there is no distinction: all people have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, and are freely declared ‘right’ by his grace through the redemption that is in Messiah Jesus. God set him forth as a mercy seat, through faith, in his blood. This was to show his righteousness, because God in his forbearance overlooked the sins that were committed previously. It was to show his righteousness in the present time: that he is right, and declares ‘right’ the one who has Jesus’ faithfulness. (Romans 3:21-26)
In the Hebrew scriptures, “God’s righteousness” refers to his righteousness in dealing with his covenant people. [3] This righteousness, Paul says, has now been revealed in a new way, apart from Torah, through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah. Since it’s apart from Torah, the distinction between ethnic Jews and gentiles is irrelevant; all people may be “justified” or “declared ‘right’” through Israel’s Messiah. Israel has been unfaithful to her calling (3:1-4), but her Messiah’s faithfulness means that God’s people are redeemed, and redefined around that messianic faithfulness.
Furthermore, the “faithfulness” of Jesus the Messiah is intimately connected with his death (“in his blood”) as a hilastērion, “mercy seat.” This technical word is elsewhere applied to a human only in 4 Maccabees 17:20-22, where the death of the righteous Maccabean martyrs at the hands of the pagans acted as a hilastērion, redeeming Israel from her oppressors (cf. 4 Macc. 6:27-29; 9:23-24; 18:3-4; 2 Macc. 7:36-38). Paul’s view is similar, [4] but for him the enemy from whom Jesus rescued his people is far more sinister and pervasive than the pagans – the enemies are Sin and Death themselves (5:20-21; cf. 1 Cor. 15:26).
Paul returns to this topic later in his letter. In the past, God redefined his covenant people without being unjust (9:6-18). The Jews shouldn’t be surprised that he’s done so again, because he already promised, through the prophets, that he would bring the gentiles into his people (9:24-29). This covenant “righteousness” has been redefined around faith, namely the faithfulness in and of the Messiah, which is the true fulfillment of the covenant promises made in Deuteronomy 30 (9:30-10:13). Most of ethnic Israel, barring a remnant including Paul himself, has failed to achieve this “righteousness” (10:14-11:10).
Finally, the topic of Jesus’ fulfillment of Israel’s covenant returns near the end of the letter to the Romans:
For, I tell you, the Messiah has become a servant of the circumcised people on behalf of God’s truth — to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, and for the gentiles to glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the nations and sing praises to your name.” And again it says, “Rejoice, you nations, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you nations, and let all the peoples praise him.” And again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, the one who rises to rule the nations; in him the nations will hope.” (15:8-12)
The Messiah has served the covenant (circumcised) people and fulfilled the covenant: he confirmed the patriarchal promises and brought the gentiles to glorify God. These aren’t two different categories, because the promise made to Abraham was precisely that all nations would be blessed in him (Gen. 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). Jesus, then, was faithful to Israel’s vocation to be the light of the world, which Israel herself had failed.
In summary, for Paul, the faithful life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah is the climax of the great story, and the point at which things begin to turn around. The enemies of the story, Sin and Death, reigned up to this point – in the creation (8:20-22), in the humanity that was meant to rule the creation (3:23), even in God’s people who were meant to restore that humanity (5:12-14, 20). Because of Jesus’ faithfulness, they’ve been defeated, if not in reality (yet) then in the certainty of God’s plan.
Part 2 (next week)
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[1] N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013), 108–179.
[2] Ps. 22:27; 67:2-7; 72:17-19; 86:9; 98:3; 102:15; 117:1; Isa. 2:2-4; 11:10-12; 25:6-8; 42:1-6; 49:5-6; 55:3-5; 56:6-8; 60:8-16; 62:1-7; 66:10-23; Jer. 3:14-18; 33:6-9; Ezek. 17:22-24; Mic. 4:1-4; Hab. 2:14; Zeph. 3:9-20; Zech. 8:11-23; 14:8-21.
[3] N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, 795–804.
[4] Jarvis L. Williams, Maccabean Martyr Traditions in Paul’s Theology of Atonement (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2010).
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