Christ Died for Our Sins

Representation and Substitution in Romans and Their Jewish Martyrological Background

Jarvis J. Williams

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781608994366
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498270939
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

In Christ Died for Our Sins, Jarvis J. Williams argues a twofold thesis: First, that Paul in Romans presents Jesus' death as both a representation of, and a substitute for, Jews and Gentiles. Second, that the Jewish martyrological narratives in certain Second Temple Jewish texts are a background behind Paul's presentation of Jesus' death. By means of careful textual analysis, Williams argues that the Jewish martyrological narratives appropriated and applied Levitical cultic language and Isaianic language to the deaths of the Torah-observant Jewish martyrs in order to present their deaths as a representation, a substitution, and as Israel's Yom Kippur for non-Torah-observant Jews. Williams seeks to show that Paul appropriated and applied this same language and conceptuality in order to present Jesus' death as the death of a Torah-observant Jew serving as a representation, a substitution, and as the Yom Kippur for both Jews and Gentiles. Scholars working in the areas of Romans, Pauline theology, Second Temple Judaism, atonement in Paul, or early Christian origins will find much to stimulate and provoke in these pages.

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Thesis and History of Research

Thesis

What kind of death did Jesus die, according to the NT authors: representative or substitutionary? And what background influences shaped the NT authors’ presentation of Jesus’ death? In this monograph, I argue a twofold thesis. First, in the Epistle to the Romans, Paul presents Jesus’ death as both a representation of and a substitute for Jews and Gentiles. Second, the Jewish martyrological narratives are a background behind his presentation of Jesus’ death in Romans. By representation, I mean that Jesus became the sinner in that he functioned as the sinner in life and in death, although he was not an ontological sinner. By substitution, I mean that Jesus, a Torah-observant Jew, died in the place of non-Torah-observant Jewish and Gentile sinners in order to accomplish specific soteriological benefits for them.1 By Jewish martyrological narratives, I refer to the narratives in 2 and 4 Maccabees and LXX Dan 3:1–90 that record the deaths of Torah-observant Jews for the salvation of non-Torah-observant Israel.

I endeavor to support the thesis in this book and to advance the arguments by means of grammatical-historical exegesis and by means of a conceptual, theological, and comparative analysis of all of the relevant texts in the Jewish martyrological narratives and in Romans. I develop the following arguments to support my thesis. First, the Jewish martyrological narratives appropriated Levitical cultic language and Isaianic language to the deaths of the Jewish martyrs (Torah-observant Jews) to present their deaths as a representation, a substitution, and as Israel’s Yom Kippur for non-Torah-observant sinners. Second, in a parallel way Paul similarly appropriated Levitical cultic language and Isaianic language to the death of Jesus (a Torah-observant Jew) to present his death as a representation, a substitution, and as the Yom Kippur for Jews and Gentiles (non-Torah-observant sinners).2

History of Research3

Jesus’ death for others is an important historical and theological motif in many of Paul’s letters.4 Discussions about the background influences behind and the origins of Paul’s conception of Jesus’ death have a long and prestigious history in biblical scholarship.5 Scholarly discussion, however, as to whether martyr theology influenced Paul’s conception of Jesus’ death gained widespread attention in the twentieth century. The discussion focused mainly on five trajectories of thought, which I discuss in detail below. The first part of the history of research focuses on scholars who have discussed the background behind Paul’s understanding and presentation of Jesus’ death. The second part of the history of research focuses on scholars who have argued that Paul presents Jesus’ death as a substitution for or as a representation of others.

1. Jewish Martyrological Narratives Not the Background behind Paul’s Presentation of Jesus’ Death in Paul

Jewish Martyrological Narratives, Jesus’ Death, and ἱλαστήριον

First, there are those scholars who argued that martyr theology was not the background behind Paul’s presentation of Jesus’ death. Ethelbert Stauffer was the first scholar to analyze the relevant literature and then to set martyr theology into systematic categories.6 In 1955, Stauffer discussed martyrdom in 2 and 4 Maccabees, the New Testament, Polycarp, and in texts that post-date the New Testament. However, he does not discuss whether martyr theology is the background in front of which interpreters should read Paul.

In 1955, Leon Morris considered the background behind Paul’s conception of Jesus’ death.7 His investigation was particularly concerned with the meaning of ἱλαστήριον in Rom 3:25. He argued that there is no clear meaning of ἱλαστήριον. Yet, he contended that it refers not to the mercy seat nor to the Yom Kippur ritual, but to the removal of God’s wrath. Regarding martyr theology and ἱλαστήριον, Morris argued that 4 Macc 17:21–22 is parallel with Rom 3:25 since both contain ἱλαστήριον.8 He likewise argued that a parallel between these two texts based on this one term does not necessarily mean that martyr theology (and particularly 4 Macc 17:21–22) shaped Paul’s understanding of Jesus’ death. Instead, Morris emphasized that the two texts have similar terms, and he forcefully arg...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Thesis and History of Research
• Chapter 2: Representation and Substitution in the Hebrew Cult and in Isaiah 53
• Chapter 3: Representation and Substitution in Second Temple Jewish Martyrologies
• Chapter 4: Jewish Martyrology and Substitution in Romans 3:21—4:25
• Chapter 5: Jewish Martyrology and Substitution in Romans 5:6–11, 8:1–4, and 8:31–34
• Chapter 6: Jewish Martyrology and Representation in Romans 5:12—6:23582
• Chapter 7: Conclusion
• Bibliography