Corinthians II 8:7-15
This powerful passage introduces the Corinthians to the crucial third stance of the developing a ‘Davidic relationship’ with God – and of course, he uses Christ as the prime example.
Having seen everything that the Corinthian church had manifested through their application of the gospel:
- Quality of praxis
- Excellent rhetoric
- Abundant knowledge
- Gracious love for the apostles of God
Paul exhorts the Corinthians to DO SOMETHING.
They have received all of these gifts, and yet they started something a YEAR AGO. They have had all of the things that they need to finish it but they haven’t done so. For Paul to be this upset, it must be an issue of gracious work – that is, an act of charity and earnest good will to the poor.
Regardless of the project contents, Paul shows them how Christ had received everything from the Father in his own life, but yielded to death so that others’ lives could be spared. In other words, Christ pours out the life He has from the Father into ‘us.’ But wait, who is the ‘us?’
Paul would likely have been referring to ‘us’ being the Judeans and Christ’s willingness to sacrifice himself rather than have Rome wage a full onslaught against him and his followers. Jesus was the King of God’s people – hands down, without question, he functioned as a King functions in Judahite terms. Not so for the Romans – part of the irony of the mockery ritual – for the Romans, the power to rule came from man’s deification, not as a by-product of a relationship with the Lord of the universe.
This is clear when you consider how the Romans separate out the charges of being King of the Jews from the claims to be a Son of God. To Romans ears one of those is a foreign blasphemy – beyond their jurisdiction or interest to pursue – while the other is a political challenge – a grave offense. To Judahite ears they are one and the same thing.
By giving Christ a reed and crown of thorns, the Roman soldiers mock his civic abilities – it has no reflection on his function as a Son of God. This irony is captured clearly in the gospels, where in speaking to Jerusalem, Jesus weeps over it with sadness and scorn because he knows it is coming to and end and why – it was given everything and they tossed it. Those who crucified him, however, Christ forgives – the Romans had no idea what they were doing – their conception of kingship could not wrap itself around the person of Christ.
So for Paul, in speaking to the Corinthians, this example of Christ giving up all that he had as the Son of God to protect his followers from Roman ignorance is useful as an example of how the grace given to us by God should enable us to be able to pass that grace on – to take a hit for the team, so to speak.
If God’s grace cannot enable this action, then it is a shame because there are plenty of others who are not Christian and very philanthropic! If we are not able to pull our own weight, then we hardly reflect the abundance that we gain through living a Christ-like life.
But Paul once again is brilliant in thinking ahead – it is not necessary for you to give up everything you have and make yourself destitute to help someone else out. Rather, your concern is equality – ease the burden, not to create your own, but to achieve an environmental balance. It’s not about self-sacrifice – it is about transaction of love and grace and achieving balance through putting the power of God precisely where it needs to go and at precisely the right moment.
The quote Paul takes, by the way, is reflecting the issuance of manna from heaven to the assembly (ekklesia) of Moses. The grace comes on a daily basis, and those who gathered it earnestly found themselves with as much as those who were unable to gather as fervently – Exodus 16:17-18
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© 2006 Jacob Gorny