GOD'S NEW WORLD, DAY 2 (good news about a new Lord)

 

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for

the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 

the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead,

Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles…

To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints…” (Romans 1.1-7)

     What was Paul trying to accomplish?  We have seen, in one of the final passages in his letter to the Romans, just how driven he was, desiring to proclaim the gospel in Spain, the western frontier of the known world.  But why?  Was it simply that Paul was restless, somewhat of a lone ranger, happiest on the road, accompanied by a few close friends?  While there is no doubt more than a grain of truth in these reasons, I suggest that there was a “biblical” conviction which pushed Paul to exert himself to the point of seeking to evangelize unto the very limits of Rome’s world.  This reason can be inferred from his opening remarks to “God’s beloved” in Rome.  Paul begins by introducing himself as a servant (Gr: doulos = slave) of Jesus, called to be an apostle, “set apart” for the good news of God (Rom. 1.1).  The expression “set apart” is evocative of the prophets of ancient Israel, those whom Paul had read (about) in “the holy scriptures” (1.2); to be set apart was to be consecrated/designated by God for a holy task.

     God’s gospel about his Son.  Paul then goes on to describe the content of his gospel – it is God’s “good news” concerning his son who was a descendant of David (1.3).  This is crucial – the Son of God is also the “son” of David.  In 2 Sam. 7.1-17, God had promised David that one of his descendants would always rule over God’s people, forever.  Moreover, God promised to be a “father” to the original son of David, Solomon (2 Sam. 7.12-14).  Therefore, David’s son was also God’s son.  Indeed, in the Hebrew Scriptures, the expression “Son of God” refers to one of two things – either the nation of Israel (e.g. Ex. 4.22) or the king of Israel (e.g. Ps. 2.7-9).  So, for Paul to call Jesus both the Son of God and a “son” of David is for Paul to say one thing about Jesus – he is Israel’s anointed king, i.e., Messiah.  So, back to our question – why was Paul so determined to proclaim the gospel in Spain?  Well, the answer is contained in the fact that Jesus is the Messiah (“Christ”) – the long-awaited Davidic king who would save the people of God and establish God’s kingdom “on earth as in heaven” (cf. Mt. 6.10).  The Scriptures of Israel were clear – the king of Israel was destined not only to reign over the people of God, but also over all the nations (Ps. 2.7-9; Zech. 9.9-10; Dn. 7.13-14; Ps. 110.1).

     Paul’s gospel of the Lord Jesus.  This is why Paul calls Jesus “Lord” (Gr: kurios; Rom. 1.4).  Not only was “Lord” a typical respectful greeting akin to the English “sir” in Greek-speaking society, it was also the way the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (LXX) rendered the divine name (YHWH; cf. 1 Cor. 8.5-6).  Also, it was one of the titles of the Roman emperor.  When the Caesars called themselves kurios, it was to express their sovereign rule over all of their domains.  Coins bearing the image of Caesar Augustus have been found bearing the titles of “Lord”, “Saviour” and “son of (a) god”.  A belief developed that upon death, Roman emperors underwent “apotheosis”, i.e., they were inducted into the pantheon of Roman divinities.  So, upon the death of an emperor, his successor became “son of the divine so-and-so who had just become a god”.  Emperor worship was especially prominent in the Eastern end of the empire, where there was a great variety of cults and esoteric beliefs/rituals.  Busts of the emperor would be set up in prominent locations in cities and people would burn incense before the statue to Caesar’s “genius”, i.e. his spirit.  This practice would eventually become a litmus test for determining who was a faithful and obedient subject of the empire (cf. Rom. 1.5) and many Christians would be martyred for refusing to offer this act of worship to the one who styled himself “the lord” of the world.

     This is precisely why, I believe, Paul was determined to proclaim Jesus as Lord everywhere where Caesar was (falsely) acknowledged as kurios.  As far as Paul was concerned, Jesus’ lordship extended far beyond that of Caesar and enfolded Caesar’s kingdom within the universal kingdom of God, which Jesus had established through his death and resurrection and over which he now presides as (the true) kurios.  Paul, as an apostle of the world’s true Lord, was duty-bound to announce Jesus’ lordship in every place that the kingdoms of man held sway, beginning with that of Caesar.  So, Paul writes to the subjects of Lord Jesus in Rome, the city where Caesar, so he believed, reigned supreme.  As the book of Revelation proclaims:

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
    and of his Messiah,
and he will reign forever and ever.” (Rev. 11.15)

Paul’s apostolic activity was nothing short of revolutionary, and as the book of Acts and his letters bear out, this revolution was no less risky and bloody than those which were undertaken in the name of some earthly rival to Rome.