When we think of Jesus, the first image that often comes to mind is the compassionate teacher who walked among the people of Israel, healing the sick and teaching love, forgiveness, and mercy. We hear his words echo through the centuries: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" or "Blessed are the meek and humble." These phrases, spoken directly by Jesus, form the bedrock of our understanding of his ministry. He embodies a God who calls us to love our enemies, care for the poor, and live humbly. This is the Jesus we know and cherish from the Gospels.
But what if I told you that this is only a fraction of the New Testament? Most of what we know and practice today as Christianity is not built on the teachings directly attributed to Jesus himself, but on the writings of a man who never met Jesus during his life on Earth: the Apostle Paul. It’s Paul's voice we hear throughout the epistles, shaping the doctrines of the early Christian church. He wrote about Christ based on visions and revelations he claimed to have experienced after the crucifixion. And that’s where things get interesting.
The difference between the Gospel Jesus and Paul’s Christ is striking. The Jesus who preached "the last shall be first" in the Gospels seems worlds apart from Paul’s Christ, who, through Paul’s letters, tells slaves to "obey your masters" and wives to "submit to your husbands." How do we reconcile this difference? Did Paul actually talk to God through revelation, as he claimed? Or is there a deeper theological tension we need to wrestle with?
From a historical perspective, Paul is one of the few figures in the Bible who we can confidently say existed. He’s backed by archaeological evidence, and his letters—written to the early Christian communities—are some of the earliest Christian texts we have. His story is remarkable: a man who started as a fierce persecutor of Christians, Saul of Tarsus, is radically transformed by a vision of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. This conversion was so profound that it led him to become the architect of the Christian church as we know it today. Through Paul’s missionary work, Christianity spread across the Roman Empire and beyond.
But for all Paul’s influence, the difference in tone between the Jesus of the Gospels and Paul’s Jesus has raised contention. While the Gospel Jesus spoke about social justice, mercy, and love, Paul’s letters often sound more concerned with order, structure, and authority. In Ephesians, Paul famously writes, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22). In Colossians, he advises, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything" (Colossians 3:22). These passages, and others like them, have been used throughout history to justify oppressive systems, from patriarchy to slavery.
So what do we do with this? How do we, as modern Christians, navigate the tension between the radical love of Jesus and the hierarchical, often conservative teachings found in Paul’s letters?
First, we must recognize that Paul was writing to specific communities in a specific time. The early Christian church was a fragile entity, often persecuted and surrounded by cultures that valued order and stability. Paul’s teachings were likely influenced by the need to maintain peace and cohesion within these early Christian groups. It doesn’t mean we should accept all of his teachings as literal, timeless mandates. Instead, we can interpret them through the lens of Jesus’ overarching message of love and justice.
Second, we must not ignore the transformative power of Paul’s story. He was a man who claimed to experience direct revelations from Christ, and those experiences changed the course of history. Paul’s Christ is, without question, different from the Jesus of the Gospels—but that doesn’t mean we should throw out his teachings altogether. In fact, many of Paul’s writings, when viewed in their full context, are deeply in line with Jesus’ message. Paul speaks passionately about the power of love in 1 Corinthians 13, famously declaring, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Finally, it’s okay to wrestle with these differences. Christianity has always been a faith that invites questions, contemplation, and growth. Paul’s influence on the church is undeniable, but so is Jesus’. The key is to follow the path that leads us closer to the heart of God, a God who is love, compassion, and mercy.
So, as we consider the differences between the Gospel Jesus and Paul’s Christ, let’s embrace the richness and complexity of our faith. Let’s strive to embody the love and humility that Jesus taught, while also recognizing the historical context of Paul’s letters. And let’s remember that the message of Christianity is, at its core, about bringing love, justice, and mercy into a world that desperately needs it.
Amen.
by Dan and Bonkers
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