The objective of this lesson: to see discipleship in terms of transformation.
Jesus is the power source for discipleship. He is the teacher, those who follow and devote themselves to his teaching are Jesus Christ's disciples. Jesus is the power source that supports transformation in his disciples. Those who learn and follow Jesus Christ's teachings do so to find life in him.
The teacher wants his or her students to comprehend the objective of discipleship in terms of changing who he or she is. The power that enables the person to make the changes is Jesus Christ. All other helps are tools. Jesus is the source of power.
The writer of the Gospel of John wrote Jesus is life, that life is the light of people, and the darkness of evil cannot overpower (quench, destroy) that light (John 1:4, 5). The writer also wrote that Jesus, prior to physical existence, had a unique relationship with God that no other being had (has). Therefore, Jesus is God's gift to humanity as an expression of God's enormous love for humanity. The result was and is that the human who places confident trust in Jesus will receive life which will not end (see John 3:16). The writer said Jesus told a woman who had multiple divorces that he could provide her unending life (John 4:13, 14). The writer said Jesus declared that the disciple who placed confidence in him would experience a transformation that allowed the person to pass from death into life (John 5:24). The writer said Jesus declared to his twelve disciples that he was the way, the truth, and the life--the access to God (John 14:6).
The gospel of John presents Jesus in terms of who he is and in recognition that Jesus has a unique relationship with God. That relationship is spoken of in terms of a father-son relationship, not a brother-brother relationship. Jesus is the light that makes access to God possible.
The book of Romans, written by the disciple Paul years after Jesus' resurrection, dealt with a basic problem in the church. That problem expressed itself in the community of disciples (the church) in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. There was a sizable Jewish community in that city. The Jewish community likely argued among themselves (with strong emotion) about Jesus being the Christ. They created so many problems in Rome with their emotional conflict that the Emperor Claudius expelled them (see Acts 18:1, 2). Claudius' edict of Jewish expulsion was in force only as long as he lived--it ended upon his death.
In the book of Romans, Paul did not discuss (in a dedicated section) why he wrote the letter. This presentation of the background situation which caused the writing is based on statements made by Paul in Romans, a statement in Acts, and statements from the Roman historian Suetonius in his discussion of Claudius. There is more than one approach to the background situations that resulted in Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome.
When Claudius died, Jewish people (including Jewish Christians) returned to Rome and its economic opportunities. The Jewish Christians found a very different situation as compared to the situation when they left. Whereas the Jewish Christian community was the backbone of the ekklasie (church) when they left, the ekklasie thrived under gentile leadership in their absence. The tension between Christians in a community of disciples that had a Jewish heritage and a gentile heritage reached destructive proportions. Romans 14 is an evidence of that destructive tension.
The type of edict Claudius used was in force only as long as Claudius lived. (A Senatorial decree was permanent; an Imperial decree expired on the death of the emperor who made the decree; Claudius' expulsion of the Jews was a Imperial decree.) The cancellation of his edict was automatic on his death. Since the city of Rome offered both economic opportunities and food grants, there were reasons for Jews to return to Rome.
Romans 1-11 focused on God's intent to bring salvation to the world by using Judaism and physical Israel as a vehicle. Romans 12-15 focused on what a Christian looked like and how Christianity expressed itself in cosmopolitan Rome. God did not deny His purposes by reaching out to gentiles. However, gentiles were deeply indebted to Jewish awareness of God.
There is no specific evidence regarding the beginning of the congregation in Rome. Paul had a fervent desire to share his insights regarding the gospel with Christians in Rome (Romans 1:9-15). For various reasons he (when he wrote the letter) had not been able to fulfill that desire. His desire to share with them his insights into the good news of Jesus is obvious in the above text. So chapters 1-11 focus on God's work through physical Israel to bring the gentiles the opportunity for access to the living God Who is the Creator. Chapters 12-15 are an encouragement for them to comprehend what life in Jesus Christ looked like in cosmopolitan Rome. That encouragement transcended the completion between Jewish traditions/culture and gentile traditions/culture. For example, the ways to approach cleanliness and purification were not the expression of discipleship in Jesus Christ (see Romans 14).
Yet, the point was not the ekklasie having "a Jewish way of doing things" or "a gentile way of doing things," but having the ekklasie reflect Jesus Christ. The point of being Christian was not preserving Jewish traditions or gentile traditions in the ekklasie, but preserving the values of Jesus Christ in the ekklasie. Those values would be projected in the behavior of those who belonged to Jesus Christ.
Paul's point is extremely relevant today. Were it understood by most disciples today, the greater portion of our divisions and conflicts would rapidly disappear. The anxieties about doing things "the Church of Christ way" according to the disciple or disciples in a definition of the "right way" in the culture of the locale would evaporate. There would be no preoccupation with a faction's way of doing things in America, or Hispanic ways from a particular nation's way of doing things, or Asian ways of doing things, or an African country's ways of doing things, etc., but the transcendence of doing things in Jesus Christ expressed through the relationships of disciples.
For the thinking and understanding of the teacher, two examples come to mind quickly. Consider the significance of tattoos in societies. In some cultures, they represent revered rites of passage into adulthood. In other cultures, tattoos represent ungodliness. In Paul's point, how can the existence of a tattoo declare faith in Jesus? Or, consider dress. In some societies, jeans symbolize prostitution. In the American society, the fact that a woman wears jeans symbolizes nothing (in a general context). Again, in Paul's point, how can the existence of jeans in a woman's wardrobe declare faith in Jesus? It is easy to substitute symbols for faith rather than to allow relationships dictated by Jesus' values to declare faith.
The objective was transformation of those in Jesus Christ. What is transformation? It comes from a Greek word that is seen today in the process in which a caterpillar spins a cocoon around itself to later emerge as a butterfly. Thus, it is a change process (metamorphosis) in which the physical form of what was ceases to exist in order to produce a physical form entirely different.
Transformation is about an internal change that is represented by a change in behavior which produces a change in relationships. It is confirmed by a change in attitude and behavior that produces a change in relationships. It is deeper (but does not exclude) than acts of obedience. It involves the motives that prompt obedient acts.
In regard to discipleship (Christian) existence, it involves (a) a refusal to live by the values and objectives of those who focus on physical existence, and (b) a basic change in the way we think. The disciple's dedication is to understand God's will by defining what is "good, acceptable, and perfect" by God's revelation rather than by physical objectives (Romans 12:2).
The values of secular society do not determine the behavior of Jesus' disciple. The spiritual values of Jesus Christ determine the behavior of Jesus' disciple. Jesus' values will result in a community existence based on relationships. Jesus' disciple does not determine God's will by the cultural values of his society. He determines God's will by understanding God's revelation of Himself through scripture.
What did that look like among those dedicated to being Jesus' disciples who lived in Rome? It affected the way Jesus' disciples functioned together as a community in Jesus and the way they treated each other. They were to be law-abiding people who refused to function out of the obligations created by a patronage system. They were to live in the understanding that human life is not measured by physical indulgence, nor is it measured by dedication to one's cultural values, but by Jesus Christ's values. It was understanding that the purpose of strength is not subduing or exerting control, but serving each other.
My approach to scripture (the Bible): one determines, as best he or she can, the context of a scripture. He or she places the statement, paragraph, or book in an examination of its context to determine the point of the writer. That point is applied to determine the meaning of the scripture. That meaning is then applied to today's life.
Note the reality of transformation is demonstrated by and expressed in difficult relationships. "My" relationship with "you" is a powerful evidence of "my" transformation, and all the more when "I" find "you" difficult to relate to and "get along" with. Transformation would not erase the problems between Jewish and gentile Christians, but it would provide disciples of Jesus a means of coping with each other in difficult moments.
Most (if not all) New Testament writings are known as "occasional." That means the writing (a letter) occurred because of a specific situation. Thus, the letter exists as the writer's means of addressing the existing situation. (Remember that the New Testament is a collection of letters that were written independently.) The likely situation that caused Paul to write Romans was the tension/conflict between Jewish Christians (who were convinced that God worked primarily through physical Israel [the Jewish people]), and the gentiles who were a collection of non-Jewish national backgrounds. (The first century division of people among Israelites was rather simple: there were Jewish people and non-Jewish people.)
For Thought and Discussion
Jesus was the power source for discipleship. He was also the power source that supported transformation.
Claudius' edict ended when he died. The Jewish Christians found the "ekklasie" prospered without them while under gentile leadership.
Romans 1-11 focused on God's intent to bring salvation to the world by using Judaism. Romans 12-15 focused on what a Christian looked like and how Christianity expressed itself in cosmopolitan Rome.
The point was not on doing things "Jewish ways" or "gentile ways," but on reflecting Jesus Christ.
Be certain to include in the discussion that transformation involves ceasing to be what you were and becoming something entirely different in Jesus Christ.
They would become a community in which they treated each other by Jesus Christ's values. They would be a law-abiding people who were not under the obligations of the patronage system. They would not measure life by physical indulgence or cultural values, but by Jesus Christ's values. They understood the purpose of strength was found in serving each other.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 3