CON CAMPBELL: I'M IN PURSUIT
OF PAUL THE APOSTLE. MY NAME IS CON CAMPBELL. I'VE STUDIED PAUL'S 13 NEW
TESTAMENT LETTERS FOR YEARS. NOW I WANT TO KNOW HIM BETTER. FOR THE FIRST TIME
I'M FOLLOWING HIS JOURNEYS, FROM JERUSALEM
ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN, ALL THE WAY TO ROME
WHERE HE WAS MARTYRED. I MADE IT A PRIORITY
TO VISIT THE NATIONAL
LIBRARY OF GREECE. WHAT A GRAND SPACE FLOODED
WITH NATURAL LIGHT, A PERFECT SPACE
TO THINK AND REFLECT. AND SO MANY OLD BOOKS,
EACH VOLUME PROVIDES A HANDSHAKE WITH THE WISDOM
OF PAST GENERATIONS. IDEAS HAVE POWER.
THE IDEAS PRESENTED IN THE APOSTLE PAUL'S 13
LETTERS WERE ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL FOR SHAPING NEW CHURCHES
ACROSS THE ROMAN EMPIRE. AND I WAS HERE
TO SEE SOME OF THE OLDEST COPIES
OF PAUL'S WRITINGS. SO I WENT DOWNSTAIRS TO AN
UNMARKED DOOR IN THE BASEMENT. JACOB: HEY, DR. CAMPBELL.
HOW'S IT GOING? CON: THIS IS WHERE
THE ACTION HAPPENS, HUH? CON: FOR EIGHT HOURS A DAY, THIS TEAM WAS DIGITALLY
PHOTOGRAPHING AND ARCHIVING... MORE THAN 300 OF THE OLDEST COPIES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. EACH GREEK MANUSCRIPT
HAD BEEN HAND-COPIED LETTER BY LETTER,
AND LINE BY LINE BEFORE THE INVENTION
OF THE PRINTING PRESS. THEIR GOAL IS TO PHOTOGRAPH
EVERY HANDWRITTEN... GREEK NEW TESTAMENT
MANUSCRIPT IN THE WORLD. CON: I TEACH ANCIENT GREEK.
NOW I STOOD CENTURIES CLOSER TO THE ORIGINAL
GREEK WRITINGS OF PAUL. CON: HOW MANY NEW
TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS ARE THERE IN THE WORLD? JACOB: IN THE WORLD THERE ARE
APPROXIMATELY 5,800 MANUSCRIPTS, AND THAT IS JUST GREEK
NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS. THERE ARE THOUSANDS
AND THOUSANDS MORE IN LATIN AND OTHER
EARLY LANGUAGES. THAT NUMBER CHANGES
ALL THE TIME. SO JUST AT THIS LOCATION,
WITH THE HELP OF THE STAFF, WE'VE DISCOVERED 21 MORE NEW,
NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS. CON: HOW DOES THAT STACK UP
AGAINST OTHER ANCIENT DOCUMENTS? JACOB: YEAH,
SO THE NEW TESTAMENT IS A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD. IT'S RARE THAT
SOMETHING IS FROM, SAY, THE FIRST
FOUR CENTURIES, WHEREAS WITH THE NEW TESTAMENT
SOME OF THE EARLY PAPYRI ARE 150 TO 200 YEARS
AFTER THE WRITING. CON: SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING
IS THE GAP BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT AND THE
NEXT COPY THAT WE HAVE OF IT IS ABOUT 1,000 YEARS FOR
SOME OF THOSE ANCIENT TEXTS. BUT FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT,
THERE'S A VERY SHORT GAP OF 100, 120, 150 YEARS
BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL AND THE COPIES THAT WE
HAVE... WE ACTUALLY HAVE. JACOB: YEAH, WITH...
WITH VERY RARE EXCEPTION ARE THERE ANY OTHER TEXTS
THAT ARE TESTED VERY EARLY. CON: I WAS GRATEFUL
TO HAVE TOUCHED MANUSCRIPTS CHERISHED
SO LONG AGO. THEY TELL THE STORY OF JESUS THAT STOOD IN SHARP CONTRAST TO THE WISDOM AND PHILOSOPHY
OF THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD. YET PAUL PRESSED ON,
KNOWING HE'D MEET RESISTANCE. PAUL TRAVELED BY FOOT
ACROSS ASIA MINOR, THAT IS TURKEY TODAY, ON HIS
SECOND MISSIONARY EXPEDITION. THIS TIME HE CHOSE A MAN
NAMED SILAS TO GO WITH HIM. THEY ENCOURAGED
THE CHURCHES THAT PAUL HAD FOUNDED
ON HIS FIRST JOURNEY. BUT WE'RE TOLD THAT THE SPIRIT
OF JESUS STOPPED PAUL FROM SPEAKING ANY MORE
IN THAT REGION. THEN PAUL SAW A VISION,
A VISION OF A MAN STANDING ON WHAT WE NOW CALL THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE
SAYING, "COME AND HELP US." SO IMMEDIATELY PAUL
SAILED FROM TROAS TO EUROPE. AND THE FIRST PLACE THAT PAUL
STEPPED ON EUROPEAN SOIL WAS THE SEACOAST
CITY OF NEAPOLIS. LANDING ON
ANOTHER CONTINENT HAD TO BE A PROFOUND
MOMENT FOR PAUL, AS HE ANTICIPATED ENGAGING A
WHOLE NEW REGION OF THE EMPIRE. JUST TO THE WEST,
PAUL AND SILAS ENTERED THE CITY OF PHILIPPI,
A ROMAN COLONY. PHILIPPI, LIKE
OTHER ROMAN CITIES, WAS LAID OUT WITH ORDER,
COMPLETE WITH A THEATER, STONEWORK, PAVED
STREETS AND, AS ALWAYS, A
MARKETPLACE, AN AGORA. BUT IN CONTRAST TO
THIS MODEL CITY, ITS CITIZENS WERE
SPIRITUALLY HOMELESS. AFTER SOME DAYS IN PHILIPPI, PAUL AND SILAS WENT TO A NEARBY
STREAM TO PRAY ON THE SABBATH. THERE THEY SPOKE WITH
A BUSINESSWOMAN NAMED LYDIA. THIS AREA HAS TRADITIONALLY
BEEN IDENTIFIED AND MEMORIALIZED AS THE
PLACE WHERE LYDIA BECAME THE FIRST CONVERT IN EUROPE,
AND WHERE SHE WAS BAPTIZED. CLOSE BY, A CHURCH
WAS BUILT TO REMEMBER LYDIA'S FAITH IN CHRIST.
JUST INSIDE THE DOORS, I FOUND A MOSAIC MAP OF PAUL'S
SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY. HE BEGINS IN ANTIOCH,
HERE IN ANTIOCH. THIS IS EPHESUS,
UP TO TROAS, NEAPOLIS, PHILIPPI, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE
NOW, THEN THESSALONICA, BEREA, ATHENA, SEE THE ACROPOLIS
AT THE TOP OF ATHENS, CORINTH. THEN HE SAILS
BACK HERE TO EPHESUS. THAT'S A GREAT, GREAT MAP. MURALS RETELL KEY EVENTS
IN THE LIFE OF PAUL. SOME FORESHADOW
THE TROUBLES PAUL WOULD SOON ENCOUNTER
BACK IN PHILIPPI. IN KEEPING WITH THE PATTERN
OF PAUL'S MINISTRY, GOD ALLOWED SOMETHING BAD
TO HAPPEN TO PAUL AND SILAS IN ORDER THAT THEIR MESSAGE WOULD BECOME VERY PUBLIC. RIGHT HERE IN THIS
RECTANGULAR MARKETPLACE IN THE CITY OF PHILIPPI, THERE WAS A SLAVE GIRL WHO WAS BEING USED BY HER OWNERS TO MAKE QUITE A BIT OF MONEY
TELLING PEOPLE THEIR FORTUNES. WELL, SHE STARTED LISTENING
TO PAUL AND SILAS, AND WHAT THEY WERE TEACHING
AND PREACHING ABOUT. AND WHEREVER THEY WENT, SHE
WOULD CRY OUT IN A LOUD VOICE, "THESE ARE THE SERVANTS
OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. "THEY ARE TELLING YOU
THE WAY TO BE SAVED." SOUNDS LIKE GOOD PRESS, BUT PAUL WASN'T HAPPY
WITH THIS FREE PUBLICITY. AND AFTER A FEW DAYS HE GOT
KIND OF AGITATED ABOUT IT, AND HE CAST OUT OF
THE GIRL THE SPIRIT THAT WAS GIVING HER THE ABILITY
TO TELL PEOPLE'S FORTUNES. WELL, SUFFICE TO SAY, HER OWNERS WERE NOT VERY
HAPPY WITH PAUL AND SILAS. THE OWNERS OF THE SLAVE GIRL
DRAGGED PAUL AND SILAS TO THE AUTHORITIES,
CLAIMING THAT PAUL AND SILAS HAD CAUSED THEM
TO LOSE THEIR INCOME. WELL, THE MAGISTRATE HAD THEM
STRIPPED AND BEATEN WITH RODS AND THROWN INTO PRISON
WITH THEIR FEET FASTENED. SO EVEN THOUGH
THEY'D BEEN BEATEN, AND EVEN THOUGH
THEY'D BEEN IMPRISONED, 'ROUND MIDNIGHT THAT NIGHT,
PAUL AND SILAS COULD BE HEARD SINGING HYMNS WITH JOY.
AND AROUND THAT TIME, A VIOLENT EARTHQUAKE SHOOK...
SHOOK THE FOUNDATIONS, IT FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR TO
THE JAIL, AND THE CHAINS THAT WERE FASTENING
THEM FELL OFF, AS WELL. IT LOOKED FROM THE OUTSIDE AS
THOUGH THEY WOULD HAVE ESCAPED. THE JAILER WAS WOKEN
BY THE VIOLENT TREMORS, SAW THE OPEN GATE AND ASSUMED
THAT HIS PRISONERS HAD ESCAPED. AND SO HE DREW A KNIFE AND
WAS ABOUT TO KILL HIMSELF FOR FAILURE OF DUTY,
BUT PAUL STOPPED HIM. HE SAID, "DO NOT HARM
YOURSELF. WE ARE ALL HERE." AND THE JAILER FELL AT THE FEET OF PAUL AND SILAS AND SAID, "WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?" PAUL SAID, "PUT YOUR TRUST "IN JESUS CHRIST,
AND YOU WILL BE SAVED." AND HE AND HIS WHOLE FAMILY WERE
BAPTIZED AND FILLED WITH JOY. THROUGH CONTROVERSY AND
SUFFERING, THE STORY OF JESUS BECAME KNOWN, TOOK ROOT,
AND GREW OVER TIME. BUT BELIEVERS' LIVES
WOULD NOT BE EASY. PAUL WROTE A LOVELY LETTER
BACK TO THE PHILIPPIANS YEARS LATER WHEN HE WAS
IMPRISONED IN ROME. AND EVEN THOUGH HE
WAS IMPRISONED AND DRAWING TOWARDS
THE END OF HIS LIFE, HIS LETTER IS ONE
THAT IS FULL OF JOY. IT'S THE JOYOUS
LETTER THAT PAUL WRITES. AND PAUL IS SAYING THAT CHRIST
SUFFERS AND THEN IS GLORIFIED. SUFFERING COMES
BEFORE GLORY. AND THAT HELPS US TO
UNDERSTAND PAUL'S OWN LIFE. HE SUFFERS TERRIBLY. HE KNOWS THAT THAT GLORY WILL COME AND THAT HE WILL
SHARE IT WITH JESUS. THAT IS HIS HOPE, AND SO HIS
INSTRUCTION TO THE PHILIPPIANS: "REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS.
I WILL SAY IT AGAIN, REJOICE." FOLLOWING A MAJOR ROMAN ROAD
CALLED THE VIA IGNATIA, THEY TRAVELED WEST ABOUT
95 MILES OR 150 KILOMETERS, TO THE PORT CITY OF
THESSALONICA, GREECE, SECOND IN SIZE
ONLY TO ATHENS. TODAY, THESSALONIKI
SPREADS OUT FROM THE COAST AND REMAINS A PROMINENT CITY. MODERN BUILDINGS NOW SURROUND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
LINKED TO THE TIME OF PAUL. HERE IN THE CENTER
OF THESSALONIKI, WE SEE THE ROMAN AGORA,
THE AGORA, THE SHOPPING CENTER THAT WAS
THERE IN PAUL'S TIME. PAUL CAME TO
THESSALONICA AND SPOKE IN THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE
ON THREE SABBATHS, AND HE RECEIVED
A GOOD RECEPTION. MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED
IN THE MESSAGE HE PREACHED, INCLUDING JEWS AND GENTILES AND A NUMBER OF PROMINENT WOMEN. BUT SOME OF THE JEWS
BECAME JEALOUS, AND THEY STARTED
A MOB AND THEN A RIOT. AND THEY WENT TO
JASON'S HOUSE WHERE PAUL AND
SILAS WERE STAYING. THEY COULDN'T FIND
PAUL AND SILAS, SO THEY GRABBED JASON AND
TOOK HIM TO THE CITY OFFICIALS. AND THEY COMPLAINED
TO THE CITY OFFICIALS THAT PAUL AND SILAS HAD,
"TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN." NOT ONLY THAT, BUT WHAT THEY
WERE TEACHING OPPOSED CAESAR BECAUSE THEY PREACHED
ANOTHER KING: KING JESUS. IN ORDER TO AVOID
MORE CONFLICT FOR ALL, PAUL AND SILAS SNUCK OUT
OF THESSALONICA THAT NIGHT. BUT PAUL DID NOT
FORGET THE THESSALONIANS. HE WROTE TO THEM TWICE. HE DESCRIBES HIMSELF
AS THEIR SPIRITUAL FATHER. HE'S CONCERNED ABOUT
THE PERSECUTION THEY'D FACE AS NEW
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. SUFFERING PEOPLE NEED HOPE. PAUL TOLD THEM ABOUT
JESUS' PROMISE TO RETURN AND MAKE
ALL THINGS RIGHT. PAUL'S WORDS CHALLENGE
ME TO ENDURE, TO SACRIFICE, TO KNOW
CHRIST AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION
UNTIL JESUS RETURNS. THE HEART OF GREEK THOUGHT
AND WISDOM RESIDED IN ATHENS, WHERE PAUL WOULD MEET A SERIOUS
INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE. TODAY, ATHENS
IS ONE OF THOSE CITIES WHOSE PAST GREATNESS
IS STILL SEEN IN ITS CLASSIC BUILDINGS,
MONUMENTS AND STATUES. ITS ANCIENT REPUTATION
AS A CENTER OF WISDOM AND LEARNING REMAINS,
ESPECIALLY IN THE THOUGHT OF ITS CELEBRATED PHILOSOPHERS
LIKE PLATO AND SOCRATES. THEN OF COURSE,
ATHENS IS DOMINATED BY THE ROCK HILL
OF THE ACROPOLIS, WHICH STOOD PROUDLY
AS A MONUMENT TO THE WISDOM OF ITS
PHILOSOPHERS AND ITS GODS. PAUL ARRIVED BEFORE
SILAS AND LUKE. WHEN PAUL ARRIVED IN ATHENS, HE WAS STRUCK BY A CITY
FULL OF GODS. IT WAS SAID THAT IT WAS
EASIER TO FIND A GOD THAN A MAN IN ATHENS. AND A PROMINENT EXAMPLE HERE
IS THE PARTHENON, WHICH WAS THE TEMPLE
OF THE GODDESS ATHENA. ATHENA WAS THE
GODDESS OF WISDOM. THERE WERE GODS
FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. ZEUS WAS THE KING OF THE GODS.
POSEIDON WAS THE GOD OF THE SEA. ARTEMIS WAS THE GODDESS
OF FERTILITY. APOLLO WAS THE GOD OF
THE SUN AND YOUTH, AND THERE WERE MANY MORE. PAUL WAS FACING A COLOSSAL
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE. HE WAS DEEPLY DISTURBED, BECAUSE HE SAW MANY WORSHIPPERS BUT SO LITTLE TRUTH.
IN FACT, AT THAT TIME, PAUL WOULD HAVE BEEN
THE ONLY PERSON IN ATHENS WHO'D EVEN HEARD OF JESUS, LET ALONE THAT JESUS WAS
THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. SO, UPSET BY THEIR IGNORANCE
OF THE TRUE GOD, PAUL DECIDED TO DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT. WHILE PAUL WAS WAITING FOR LUKE
AND SILAS TO JOIN HIM IN ATHENS, HE SPENT HIS DAYS HERE
IN THE ATHENIAN MARKETPLACE, A HUGE MARKET THAT SPANNED
OVER IN THAT DIRECTION FOR 25 ACRES OR SO. AND HE WOULD SPEND HIS TIME
HERE TALKING WITH PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS AND JESUS'
RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. HE ALSO GOT INTO CONVERSATION
WITH SOME GREEK PHILOSOPHERS, EPICUREAN AND
STOIC PHILOSOPHERS, WHO WERE INTERESTED
IN WHAT HE HAD TO SAY. SOME REALIZED
THAT HE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT
A FOREIGN RELIGION. OTHERS THOUGHT THAT HE WAS
SPEAKING COMPLETE NONSENSE. AND YET OTHERS WERE
QUITE INTERESTED IN WHAT HE WAS SAYING
AND WANTED TO HEAR MORE. AND THEY ISSUED HIM AN
INVITATION TO ADDRESS THEM FORMALLY AT THE AREOPAGUS
NOT FAR FROM HERE. THE AREOPAGUS IS A
SMALLER ROCK OUTCROP THAT STANDS IN
THE SHADOW OF THE ACROPOLIS. A PLAQUE AT THE BASE
OF THE ROCK DISPLAYS PAUL'S SPEECH AS
RECORDED IN THE BOOK OF ACTS. THIS IS THE LOCATION
OF PAUL'S MOST FAMOUS SPEECH, AND IT IS A BRILLIANT SPEECH. IT'S CLEVERLY CRAFTED. AND ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT'S CLEVER ABOUT IT IS THE WAY THAT HE ADDRESSES
HIS PARTICULAR AUDIENCE, AND WE NOTICE THAT IT IS
STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY THAT
HE ADDRESSES THE JEWISH HEARERS
IN THE SYNAGOGUES. THESE ATHENIAN HEARERS
DON'T KNOW THE HEBREW BIBLE. THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT
THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL, AND THEY BELIEVE IN MULTIPLE
GODS RATHER THAN A SINGLE GOD. SO WHEN PAUL ADDRESSES THEM,
HE BEGINS WHERE THEY ARE. IT'S FOUND IN ACTS CHAPTER 17. IT SAYS, "MEN OF ATHENS, "I SEE THAT YOU ARE EXTREMELY
RELIGIOUS IN EVERY RESPECT, "FOR AS I WAS PASSING
THROUGH AND OBSERVING "THE OBJECTS OF YOUR WORSHIP,
I EVEN FOUND AN ALTAR "ON WHICH WAS INSCRIBED,
'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "THEREFORE, WHAT YOU
WORSHIP IN IGNORANCE, "THIS I PROCLAIM TO YOU:
THE GOD WHO MADE THE WORLD "AND EVERYTHING IN IT,
HE IS THE LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH AND DOES NOT LIVE
IN SHRINES MADE BY HANDS. "NEITHER IS HE SERVED
BY HUMAN HANDS "AS THOUGH HE
NEEDED ANYTHING, "SINCE HE HIMSELF GIVES EVERYONE
LIFE AND BREATH AND ALL THINGS. "THEREFORE, HAVING OVERLOOKED
THE TIMES OF IGNORANCE, "GOD NOW COMMANDS
ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO REPENT, "BECAUSE HE HAS SET A DAY WHEN HE IS GOING TO JUDGE THE WORLD "IN RIGHTEOUSNESS BY
THE MAN HE HAS APPOINTED. "HE HAS PROVIDED PROOF
OF THIS TO EVERYONE "BY RAISING HIM
FROM THE DEAD." IT'S AT THIS MENTION OF
RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD THAT SOME OF THE MEMBERS
OF THE COUNCIL BEGAN TO SNEER. BUT OTHERS WANTED TO HEAR
MORE FROM PAUL ABOUT THIS. IN FACT, AFTER THIS SPEECH, PAUL
WON SOME FOLLOWERS FOR JESUS, INCLUDING ONE DIONYSIUS, WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE
COUNCIL OF THE AREOPAGUS, AND SEVERAL
OTHER PEOPLE, AS WELL. AND PAUL'S SPEECH
IS STILL REMEMBERED BY MANY IN ATHENS TODAY, SOMETHING I NOTICED WHILE SPEAKING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF GREECE. CON: CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT
THE PURPOSE OF THE LIBRARY? CON: WITH PAUL HAVING
BEEN RIGHT HERE IN ATHENS, DR. TSIMBOGLOU CERTAINLY VALUED THE LIBRARY'S COLLECTION OF
PAUL'S NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS. CON:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. WHEN PAUL CAME HERE
AND PREACHED HIS MESSAGE OF A CRUCIFIED KING WHO DIED
FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD AND THEN WAS RESURRECTED,
THAT MESSAGE SOUNDED LIKE FOOLISHNESS TO
THE INTELLECTUAL ELITE. IT WAS NONSENSICAL TO OTHERS. IT SEEMS TO ME WE'RE IN MUCH
THE SAME SITUATION TODAY. FOR MANY INTELLECTUALS,
THE MESSAGE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS SOUNDS LIKE FOOLISHNESS,
OR IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. I CERTAINLY FEEL
THE PRESSURE MYSELF, THE PRESSURE THAT COMES FROM INTELLECTUAL SECULARISM, THAT REGARDS THIS MESSAGE
MAYBE AS A FAIRY TALE, AS A NICE STORY PERHAPS,
BUT A BIT SILLY. BUT I'M REMINDED THAT
PAUL'S CONVICTION IN THIS MESSAGE IS
NOT BASED ON AN IDEA. IT'S NOT BASED ON AN
INTELLECTUAL FORMULATION, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY BASED
ON AN HISTORICAL EVENT: HIS OWN PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
WITH THE RESURRECTED JESUS ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS.
FOR PAUL, THIS ENCOUNTER IS THE EVENT THAT TURNS
HIS WORLD UPSIDE DOWN, THAT THROWS OUT GREEK WISDOM.
AND THE SAME HAPPENS TODAY. FOR ME IT'S NOT ABOUT,
THIS IS A NEAT IDEA OR THIS IS A MORE COHERENT
IDEA THAN OTHER IDEAS, THOUGH IT IS
THOSE THINGS, I THINK. IT'S ABOUT,
IS THIS A TRUE IDEA BASED ON THE RESURRECTION
OF JESUS FROM THE DEAD? THESE ANCIENT STATUES ARE
LIFELESS AND MOST ARE FACELESS. I TRY TO IMAGINE WHO THEY WERE, BUT NOW THEY SPEAK AS SILENT
WITNESSES THAT LIFE IS SHORT. AND WE'RE TOLD THAT
THESE PEOPLE LIVED AS THOUGH THERE
WAS NO TOMORROW. THAT WAS THEIR REPUTATION
WHEN PAUL TRAVELED SOUTH TO THE PORT CITY
OF CORINTH, GREECE. YET HE REMAINED THERE
FOR A YEAR AND A HALF, AND WAS ABLE TO
ESTABLISH A CHURCH IN THIS CITY THAT HAD
SUCH A HARDCORE REPUTATION. LATER, PAUL WROTE
FOUR LETTERS TO THE CHURCH, OF WHICH WE HAVE ONLY TWO.
IN THOSE LETTERS, HE DREW BACK THE CURTAIN
OF ETERNITY TO OFFER HOPE TO THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS.
AND WHAT PAUL WROTE ALSO REVEALED THE
WISDOM OF THE CROSS AS THE SOURCE OF HIS PASSION
AND PERSEVERANCE. THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS IS
A WAY OF PERCEIVING REALITY THROUGH THE LENS OF JESUS'
DEATH, HIS CRUCIFIXION, BECAUSE THE CROSS OVERTURNS
THE VALUES OF THE WORLD. THE WORLD VALUES POWER. THE WORLD VALUES
STRENGTH AND SUCCESS. IT VALUES FAME AND GLORY.
BUT THE CROSS VALUES WEAKNESS. IT VALUES HUMILITY.
IT VALUES SACRIFICE AND LOVE. AND SO PAUL LIVES A LIFE
THAT IS SHAPED BY THE CROSS. HIS LIFE IS
CRUCIFORM SO THAT HE WILL SUFFER FOR
THE SAKE OF OTHERS. HE WILL BE BEATEN AND IMPRISONED
FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS. HE WILL DIE FOR
THE SAKE OF OTHERS. BUT HE KNOWS THAT
WHAT APPEARS TO BE WEAKNESS IS ACTUALLY THE POWER OF GOD, JUST LIKE THE ONE HE FOLLOWS, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. WHILE THE BEGINNING OF THE
LETTER FOCUSES ON JESUS' DEATH, THE END OF THE LETTER
FOCUSES ON HIS RESURRECTION. AND SO CENTRAL IS
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS TO PAUL'S MESSAGE, HE SAYS, "IF JESUS HAS NOT BEEN RAISED,
OUR PREACHING IS USELESS, "AND SO IS YOUR FAITH, BECAUSE
YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR SINS." THERE IS NO MESSAGE
WITHOUT THE RESURRECTION. AND THEN PAUL PIVOTS TO
THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE CHAPTER, AND I THINK THE HIGHLIGHT
OF THE ENTIRE LETTER, WHEN HE REFLECTS
ON THE FACT THAT BELIEVERS
IN JESUS WILL RECEIVE A RESURRECTION BODY
JUST LIKE JESUS', A BODY THAT IS GLORIOUS,
THAT IS IMMORTAL, THAT WILL LIVE FOREVER, THAT
WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO DEATH, THAT WILL NOT BE SUBJECT
TO DECAY AND ILLNESS, AND WILL NEVER AGAIN
SIN AGAINST GOD. AND SO THE CLIMAX
OF THE LETTER, PAUL TRIUMPHANTLY
SOUNDS THE CALL, "WHERE O DEATH IS YOUR VICTORY?
WHERE O DEATH IS YOUR STING?" AND ULTIMATELY THE DEATH
AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CONQUERS GREEK WISDOM, BECAUSE IT OFFERS OUR ONLY ANSWER TO HUMANITY'S GREATEST PROBLEM: DEATH ITSELF.
