Gospel Timing
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection,
and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
(Phil 3:10-11)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Life is normally experienced cloaked in the mystery of what has yet to be revealed. Uncertainty defines the experience of life. We buy insurance for our homes, our medical care, and care of our families—even our pets—in the face of an uncertain future. Uncertainty is woven into the fabric of life.
By contrast, the Gospels, like any obituary, record the life of Jesus knowing the end of the story. Much like Paul knew that Jesus is divine, the Gospels are written and begin with a resurrection subtext. This poses a serious problem for postmodern people who read the Gospels discounting Christ’s divinity and presuming that Jesus’ life unfolds more or less like our own, except without the uncertainty. The key claim of the New Testament (the divinity of Christ)—really the only reason to read it—is treated as fiction.
The Pauline Path
While Jesus’ divinity was obvious to eyewitnesses of the resurrection and to Paul through his experience with the risen Christ, the implications for how to proceed in view of that knowledge were not obvious. Paul’s journey after his conversion is summarizing as:
“I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.” (Gal 1:16-18)
This brief account of Paul’s faith journey rings true because his transformation was so profound and he was a highly intelligent and educated individual. Really smart people cannot be told anything—they have to learn things for themselves. Today, three years of study sounds like earning a master’s of divinity in seminary.
While the Gospels take the form of an encomium (a Latin obituary form) amended to encompass the resurrection, at least two points in Paul’s writing suggests a theological reason to dial back and study Jesus’ life and ministry. The first is summarized in the Philippians 3 passage cited above. The second provides more detail:
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Rom 6:3-5)
The idea motivating both passages is the notion that Jesus’ life, ministry, suffering, and death form a template for achieving resurrection and eternal life.
Gospel Timing
If this template is God inspired, as the resurrection suggests, then knowing every detail of the template is theologically important. This theological imperative suggests why the Gospels followed rather than proceeded Paul’s writing. Normally, one would expect an encomium to immediately follow someone’s death, not be delayed until decades later. Thus, it is correct to infer that Jesus’ humanity, while not immediately important to eyewitnesses of the resurrection, became the key to understanding and living life under the new covenant in Christ.
Gospel Timing
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
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