The way of imagination

“ Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest   and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.   Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9.1-5)        As we said last time, the letter to the Romans was written by a man whose world had been turned upside down by Jesus (more than once!).   After attempting to destroy the church, Saul of Tarsus had an experience that set him on the path which would eventually lead him to write a letter to the Christians of Rome.   Here’s what happened.      N...

“ You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased   to reveal his Son to me…” (Galatians 1.13-16)        As one reads his letter to the Romans, it is easy to forget that Paul was not always a disciple of Jesus.   His understanding of the gospel and his devotion to Christ seem to have always been part and parcel of his thinking and his way of life.   However, as he pointed out to the Galatians at least 5 years before writing to Rome, Saul of Tarsus – prior to his becoming a believer in Jesus – had been a “zealous” persecutor of the church; indeed, he had tried to destroy it.   The tradition of “zeal” for Torah had become p...

  “ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God… the gospel concerning his Son…Jesus Christ our Lord…   I am not ashamed of the gospel ; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1.1-4, 16-17)        There can be no doubt about it – Paul’s letter to the Romans is concerned with one thing – the gospel.   As we shall see, as he writes to the Christians of the imperial capital, Paul is concerned especially with how the gospel is to be both understood and lived out in community – one composed of both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles).   The communities of Jesus-followers which were scattered throughout the Eastern end of the Roman empire were a unique phenomenon in the history of th...

  Remember when Paul shared his travel plans with the Christians in Rome (cf. Rom. 15.22-33)?   Well, this is the story of how he actually got to the imperial capital… Rome or bust .   Ever since Acts chapter 19, when Luke told us that Paul “had to” see Rome, we have known where all this travelling was going to end (cf. 19.21).   Thanks to his appeal to the Emperor, Paul is finally bound for the imperial capital.   Over against the pretensions of the emperors (inscribed on Roman currency) who proclaimed themselves the “saviours” and “lords” of the world, Paul has been traveling the eastern end of the empire proclaiming “another king” by the name of Jesus (cf. Ac. 17.7). Paul “had” to get to Rome, and circumstances “conspire” to get him there… 1.      Paul goes to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost (Ac. 20.16). 2.      Paul’s rescue from the mob/arrest by the Tribune Lysias (Ac. 21.31-36; 24.7). 3.   ...

  “ 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...

  “ In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God.   For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed… by the power of the Spirit of God …I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation…This is the reason that I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now… I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while...” (Romans 15.17-24)      They say not to tell anyone your plans; rather, they say, show people your results.   Well, true to form, the apostle Paul did both. [1]   Paul was nothing if not ambitious (Rm. 15.20; cf. Gal. 1.13-14; Phil. 3.4-6).   It seems that eve...

“She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed…what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”… Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council…went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus…   When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph… taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb…”  (Mark 14.8-9; 15.43-46)        Who cares about a dead king?   As Mark will tell us, not those whom we might have expected…   As the corpse of the Messiah hangs from the cross, Mark provides the names of three women and mentions “many others” who had followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and who were watching events transpire from a distance (15.40-41).   This is the first time in the narrative that we meet these women.   Upon Peter’s d...