Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World

by E Randolph Richards

Ancients thought the earth had four ends. The southern end of the earth was in Ethiopia, which is probably the reason Luke tells the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. The western end of the earth was at Gibraltar, which is likely why Paul wants to go to Spain (Rom 15:28).

When I close my eyes and imagine the kingdom of God, I am not supposed to see just me and Jesus. How does

Jesus portray the kingdom? His people are gathered together, feasting at a banquet, hosted by King Jesus. We should be imagining a banquet table with people from Brazil, Canada, the United States, Europe, Kurdistan, India, Nigeria, and China, sharing a banquet table together with our King.

As we have seen, patronage, reciprocity, gratitude, and faith connected all kinds of people together in the ancient Mediterranean world. Paul expected his hearers to understand these dynamics very well when he used the patronage language charis and pistis to explain the work of God, Christ, the cross, and grace in believers’ lives. We want to continue to dig even deeper into the way Paul used patronage to explain the gospel.

Failing to acknowledge others in your life means failing to honor them. It is considered a great insult. Paul continues his description of sinful humanity in Romans: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him” (Rom 1:20-21).

But while they boast about the law, this has only drawn more attention to their failure to obey it. By boasting and not following it, they end up bringing shame on God: “As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’” (Rom 2:24). Paul concludes that circumcision (the law) only “has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though

you had not been circumcised” (Rom 2:25). Speaking as a fellow Jew, Paul concludes, “What shall we conclude then? Do we [Jews] have any advantage? Not at all!” (Rom 3:9

Paul agrees the issue is collective: there

are two groups. Paul’s audience thinks, “Yes, Jews and Gentiles.” Paul says no. One group is those under sin: “For we have made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin” (Rom 3:9). The other group is those not under sin: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

All people have not been worthy clients and so do not deserve his favor. Rather, as ungrateful recipients of creation, they deserve his wrath. Yet, God has responded by generously offering all people his patronage. He acted to benefit us because he could. He offers us a charis: the life of his Son. Paul describes it as a patron’s gift, because we the clients are not worthy or deserving. Paul is using the ancient system of patronage to stress—in ways ancient people readily understood—that God gives us this gift on the basis that he wants to benefit us because he can.

The key for Paul is that this declaration of Abraham being considered righteous, after he trusts God, comes in Genesis 15. Abraham doesn’t bear a child until Genesis 16. God’s promise is given without any evidence yet. There is a lot going against God’s promise—Abraham’s age and Sarah’s barrenness. Yet, Abraham trusts the promise. For Paul, this is a beautiful image of how trust and righteousness are related.

No relationship is established. The client isn’t choosing to depend on the patron. Abraham trusted God, in the faithfulness of God. Abraham was considered righteous because he believed and trusted in what God had promised to do for him.

For Paul, the beauty is that anyone, whether Jew or Gentile, can trust God. He continues: “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him [Abraham] alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to

life for our justification” (Rom 4:23-25).

Abraham became a father by trusting God, and we become his children by trusting God. We honor it by boasting.

Our identity is not through shared blood or ethnicity but through charis, the gracious gift of our patron. Although we are all from different households, different genealogies, different ethnicities and networks, we all had a need that only this new patron could meet. He graciously gave us the gift we needed (salvation as justification, sanctification, glorification).

We often dismiss these commands as some sort of unattainable ideal. But these commands do not seem as outrageous if we imagine these are the rules for our personal family.

Paul calls the church a body to illustrate this mutual dependency among members. The hand, eye, and feet cannot say to one another, “I don’t need

you” (1 Cor 12:21). The c...

believers is to mutually depend on, care for, honor, love, support, and serve one another, with gifts constantly flowing ...

Many of the individualists at the conference had negative impressions of patronage. One scholar, speaking on patronage in the New Testament, commented that Westerners often wonder why the New Testament didn’t “condemn slavery or patronage.” Why did he group those two items together, slavery and patronage? He might answer, “They both exploit people.” My collective friends would beg to differ, asserting “Patronage helps people.” In my individualist world, patronage carries negative connotations. By contrast,

a panel of Lebanese leaders spoke on patronage, citing personal stories of successes and failures, but the system of patronage was never under assault. They critiqued the way people used and abused the system.

Jesus is the unique broker between God and humankind. In Jesus, we have a bridge, a connection, to the Father.

Yet in the very next chapter the Israelites complain about having no water, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Ex 17:3). We are supposed to be more than frustrated. We are supposed to be scandalized by their grumbling, because collectives think ingratitude a terrible vice. By missing the reason, we miss the lesson. We are supposed to marvel that, despite their ingratitude, God remains completely faithful to them. God is a patient patron par excellence.

When Aaron and Miriam grumble against Moses, God rebukes them for disparaging their mediator:

When there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (Num 12:6-8)

Jesus is a better broker than Moses, first, because Jesus is closer to God than Moses was. Moses was God’s servant; yet Jesus is God’s Son. There can be no better mediator than a son to his father. Second, Jesus is superior by having more honor and status than Moses. Jesus has authority over the house, while Moses served in the house.7 The writer is combining brokerage and kinship to help us see the superiority of Jesus as a broker, even to Moses.

Jesus says he’s sending them another broker: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate [paraclete] to help you and be with you forever” (Jn 14:16). The term paraclete has caused much confusion. In John paraclete is commonly translated “comforter” or “helper,” but “advocate” is becoming more popular.

“The paracletes are not portrayed as advocates in the court but as persons

striving to use their connections and ‘influence’ to sway those involved in the formal court proceedings.

Joseph is telling his brothers they don’t need to find a broker. He has already forgiven them. Brown concludes: “The word paraclete would best be translated ‘mediator’ or ‘broker.’”

He has provided protection and provision, and now he says he’s leaving them—but he is providing another broker, who comes from the Father, the Spirit of truth.10 Jesus doesn’t explain it; the disciples don’t need someone to explain what a broker does.

God gives different gifts to his people so they can serve one another. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are not patrons. God is the giver, and he has given these gifts to strengthen his community. We are the brokers of these gifts. We are to use what we have been given by God, our patron, for the purpose he intends us to use them, as his brokers. This purpose is to serve the body to build more strength and unity. As God’s brokers, we are to be clear who the patron who actually provides the gift is: God.

Who can serve as leaders? The easy answer is those whom God has called and equipped. If God arranged his chosen leaders to be born with a big birthmark shaped like a checkmark on their foreheads, it would be easier. Instead we rely on “discernment.” Here is a concern. In individualist cultures, it appears we allow leaders to “discern” on his/her own or we “discern” as leaders those who stand out, that is, those who have unique gifts or have new ideas, perhaps those who don’t seem to need to depend on others. Are these qualifications to be a biblical leader or to be an individualist? Collectives seem to discern as leaders those who come from a strong family, who have status, who are honored by society. Are these qualifications to be a biblical leader or to be a collectivist? Do either of these reflect biblical values or merely cultural values?

Jesus thinks leaders are those who serve. They act to benefit those in their care, as generous brokers for a very generous patron. They don’t do this

be honored or thanked or to bu...

So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. (Mk 12:1-8)

Jesus tells the parable of the tenants not to discuss ancient economic systems but to describe God, his prophets, his people, and the role of Jesus. It is how Jesus retells the story of the Bible, the story of God’s salvation history. We hope you notice that this story is grounded in the key structures and tools of collectivism, but of course they went without being said: God is the patron (the owner), and Israel, his people, are his clients (tenants). The prophets were the servants sent to mediate/broker on his behalf.

These days half of marriages end in divorce, but we keep trying it. None of us is likely to conclude, “We need to jettison marriage. The institution is broken and the Christian world is better off without it.” No. None of us blames the system of marriage. As we said in chapter four, it is the people, not the system.