12 I thank
Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me
trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a
violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured
out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that
deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of
whom I am the worst. 16 But for
that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ
Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would
believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be
honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Beginning this week the lectionary spends some
time in the letters of 1 & 2 Timothy—so named as these documents are
traditionally attributed to St. Paul as letters of instruction from him to his
protégé. As I’ve begun mulling over the passage, the two verses that I find
most fascinating are vss 13 and 15.
Starting
with vs 13: Even though I was once a
blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I
acted in ignorance and unbelief. I’m fascinated by the fact that Paul would
choose to use the word “blasphemer” to describe himself in his former way of
life. At its root, to blaspheme simply means to slander; to accuse wrongfully;
abusive or disparaging language/remarks. Yet while that may be the basic
understanding of the word, in the Scriptures it is almost always theologically
freighted. In other words, heathens or unbelievers blaspheme God when they choose to worship idols instead of him.
Pious Jews considered the unbelieving Gentile world to be automatically blasphemous because of their ignorant and
superstitious ways. The first three commandments are all meant to build a hedge
against blasphemy. Jesus was accused of blasphemy when he stated his
relationship with God in terms that denoted too much closeness (“I and the
Father are one,” etc. John chapter 10).
The
point is that as the world’s most zealous Pharisee, Paul (formerly Saul)
would’ve been well acquainted with the word “blasphemer.” It would’ve been on
his lips, no doubt, every time he arrested a Christian (see Acts 9). And so for
him, in this passage, to turn around and now apply it to himself in his former life—I find it fascinating. I think that one
of the main things we can take from this is that a person can be an incredibly moral person… an incredibly eager-to-serve God person… an
incredibly zealous person, and at the
end of the day, still be a BLASPHEMER. Think of all of the great evil done in
the name of Christ: abortion clinics bombed, their doctors stalked and in some
cases even murdered; Gays and their families who have been persecuted by pious
believers. And in times past, and even today in some places, people of color
discriminated against and targeted by fine upstanding Christians. Closer to
home, I can think of many broken relationships that occurred because a
Christian person couldn’t tolerate the other person’s unbelief or different
belief: the father who will no longer speak to his daughter because she is
Buddhist. Parents who’ve disowned a son because he married a Jew or a Jehovah’s
Witness. Christians who hate their neighbors because they’re Mormon. The list
is endless. This passage challenges us to see our ACTIONS in the light of what
we SAY WE BELIEVE about Jesus. For a Christian to treat any one else with
contempt amounts to slandering Christ and his sacrifice on the cross on their
behalf. It’s blasphemy.
The
other verse that caught my attention is vs 15: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. “Worst,”
as the word is rendered in the TNIV translation is actually somewhat of an
interpolation. The old KJV translations words it this way: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am
CHIEF. This
is, of course, where we get the great old Lutheran hymn “Chief of sinners
though I be.” In that sense, the KJV actually comes a bit closer to the
original meaning in the Greek, where the word used is “proto”… which means
first in line, or first in rank. In other words, Paul is saying he’s the
highest ranking SINNER….and shockingly, after just discussing his past, he uses
the present tense!
I’m not sure why. Obviously Paul the
apostle was not currently engaged in anything heinous. He had not committed
murder (lately); he was not an adulterer; he hadn’t stolen or defrauded anyone.
And even his past deeds were now in the past and duly repented of. It’s
interesting that he still describes
himself in such terms….not only a sinner, but the proto-sinner. In a lot of ways
I think this is Paul’s way of recognizing the grace that has been given him in
Christ. It’s his way of acknowledging his total and utter emptiness without
Christ. Paul seems to be saying Christ Jesus came into the world not to save
the really good people… he came not to save the people who have a couple of
flaws…he came to save ALL, up to and including even a proto-sinner like
himself. Luther’s “sin boldly” statement is along the same lines: “be a sinner
and sin boldly, but let your faith in Christ be even more boldly.” The point
isn’t about licentious living, it’s about the power of Christ to forgive and
save.
In the end, of course, we’ll never
“need” or feel the need for a Savior unless we can look deeply inside and see
ourselves in similar terms. What about you would make you the proto-sinner? Christ
Jesus came into the world to save you from that!
Cheers,
TM
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