Day Sixteen

I’m starting to think that I’m barking up the wrong tree, so to speak. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NRSV) This is pure Pauline Christology and is arguably inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus himself. Maybe death is not what I’m trying to save myself from. Even the most orthodox interpretation of the Resurrection requires the acceptance that Jesus “was crucified, dead, and buried.” (The Apostles’ Creed) The great mystery for the early followers of Jesus that continues to this day is to try to reconcile why, if Jesus was the Messiah—and more, if he was God incarnate—he would have submitted to death upon a cross rather than vanquish his foes.

Early on, then, death became the enemy for the faithful to be saved from with salvation being signified by eternal life. Research has revealed that first century Judaism was diverse, sometimes to the point of being fractious. While there was one school of thought that posited an afterlife, the mainstream thought leaned more toward death being the end of life with a dormant consignment to Sheol that might or might not be disrupted by some apocalyptic event. What is not clear, however (and may never be), is which camp Jesus placed himself in. Once again, that decision was made for him by Paul and the other seminal influences of the early Church.

Getting back to where this all started—ME—I’m beginning to have second thoughts about whether or not there is really anything that I need to be saved from. From a cynical perspective the concept can easily be seen as a contrivance of disgruntled first century Jews that might have eventually faded away had it not been embraced by Constantine (this is another fascinating step in the development of the Church that must be addressed at another time as it is truly not germane to this series). What I cannot so easily dismiss is the fact that a man called Jesus did most definitely exist, and that he delivered a core message that in spite of subsequent corruption and embellishment just might hold a kernel of Truth that will benefit me.