Sacrifice, curse, and the covenant in Paul's soteriology
Abstract
Pauline scholarship often overlooks the fact that from the Levitical sacrificial perspective
“sacrifice” and “curse” are diametrically opposed concepts. A sacrifice must be “holy and
acceptable to God” (Rom 12:1). Arguably, Paul describes Jesus or his blood as a sacrifice to
God (1Cor 5:7; Rom 3:25). In this light, how might we understand his assertion that Christ
became a “curse” on the cross (Gal 3:13)? The “accursed” person who hangs on a tree is impure
and defiled and thus totally unacceptable as a sacrifice to God (Deut 21:23; John 19:31). This
research argues that the key concept that resolves such potential tensions in Paul’s statements is
the “covenant”.
Both “sacrifice” and “curse” are covenantal concepts. Sacrificial activities are essential for
maintaining the covenant between God and his people. When God’s people sin, sacrifice
provides the means to attain forgiveness and to remain in the covenant. However, the covenant
can be broken by grievous sins such as idolatry, which result in the loss of the sanctuary and the
sacrificial means. Consequently, they would fall under the “curse” of the covenant. This
covenantal perspective underlies Paul’s soteriology. This thesis demonstrates that in Paul’s
understanding Christ’s death serves both ends: the termination of the Mosaic curse by becoming
a curse, and the dedication of his life-blood for the maintenance of the renewed covenant. These
two things are related yet not identical.
As test cases for this covenantal model, this research examines three Pauline texts.
Galatians 3:13 describes the redemption of God’s people from the Mosaic covenantal curse.
Deutero-Isaiah envisaged this event as a new “Exodus”, about which Paul talks in 1 Corinthians
5:7. Romans 3:25 illustrates the eschatological Yom Kippur for this new Exodus people
consisting now of Jews and Gentiles, which sustains and sanctifies God’s renewed covenant
people to the end.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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