Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 65:2 (NA 2014)
Article: Paul And Empire A Reframing Of Romans 13:1-7 In The Context Of The New Exodus
Author: Ovidiu Hanc

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Paul And Empire
A Reframing Of Romans 13:1-7
In The Context Of The New Exodus1

Ovidiu Hanc

([email protected])

In Romans 13:1-7, Paul wrote the most emphatic New Testament passage on relations with civil authority. The primary aim of this dissertation has been to propose a rereading of this passage on civil authority by framing it in the context of Paul’s rabbinic education, his high view of Scripture, his own self-understanding, and especially in the larger New Exodus paradigm that is present in Romans as the archetype of salvation.

Paul’s political parenesis is rooted in the training he underwent, and mostly in his high view of Scripture. There are substantial arguments for positing Paul’s use of the Old Testament as the major framework for his theology in general and for his theology of the state in particular.

The study of the Pharisaic movement in the first century is complex and at times ambiguous since the main sources that present this particular group do not have a synoptic approach. However, the writings of Josephus, the Rabbinical sources, and the New Testament point to the fact that the Pharisees were especially concerned with the study of the Mosaic Law. They were active and influential in matters of political affairs, but their political involvement represents specific contextual instances rather than basic stereotypes that characterise the movement as a whole. Paul described himself as a Pharisee prior to his conversion. His high interest in the Mosaic Law and ritual purity are in line with the portrait of the Pharisaic movement. Hence, to argue that the Pharisees were a political party and similarly, Paul had a

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theological anti-imperial agenda is to interpret historical data in a subjective manner.

Paul writes to the church in Rome not as a political activist, but rather in terms that resonate with the Isaianic features of the servant of God. His self-understanding as the Servant of the Lord, who seeks for a way of salvation not an escape from society, indicates that the original meaning of his theology is rooted in the Old Testament, not in the socio-political realities of first century Rome. The Scripture represents the all-encompassing factor that motivates simultaneously his citizenship of the Roman Empire and of the Kingdom of God. Paul commands the Church not to subvert the Empire, but to serve it in a Christ-like sacrificial manner. He is not a revolutionary figure but a servant who is willing to submit to civil authority as a servant of Christ.

There is an increasing tenden...

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