The Crucified Messiah

The Letter to the Hebrews exhorts believers not to abandon Jesus when difficult times come, and it does so by emphasizing the superiority and finality of what God has done in His “ Son .” The word “spoken” in Jesus is superior to the earlier and preparatory revelations provided “ to the fathers in the prophets .” The Letter compares the Levitical system with its incomplete provisions and repeated sacrifices to the “ better ” priesthood and the “ once for all ” sacrifice of the “ Son ,” Jesus Christ.

In the opening thanksgiving of his Letter to the Philippians , Paul prepares his readers for one of its key themes: Going on to perfection in Jesus . The bodily resurrection of the believer is necessary for the consummation of this process, and its goal. It is an integral part of the salvation that believers will receive when Jesus appears, and a glorious hope as the past resurrection of Jesus demonstrates.

In his Letter to the Romans , Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of faith. God counted his faith as “ righteousness ” when he was yet uncircumcised, which means that He justified the Patriarch apart from the “ works of the Law .” Thus, he became the father of all men who are also “ from faith ,” the “ faith of Jesus Christ .” Circumcision was added after the promise as the “ seal ” of Abraham’s justifying faith and the “ sign ” of the Covenant.

Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans with at least two purposes in mind. First, to prepare the ground for his visit to the city and his planned missionary trip to Spain. Second, to deal with conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers in the assemblies of Rome. In the Letter’s first half, he explains his Gospel. In the second, he addresses the status of the Jewish people and the specific conflicts in the congregation.

Paul began his Letter to the Romans with a lengthy introduction in which he identified himself and his mission. In doing so, he makes several declarations about the identity and victory of Jesus, more specifically, that he was “ marked out as God’s Son ” by the “ spirit of holiness ” that characterized his life, and by his resurrection “ from among the dead .” By raising him, God validated all that the Nazarene had said and done.