Oftentimes I hear from my academic circles: "Jesus is yes, but Paul is no." This statement has a history. Some dislike Paul because they think he is a misogynist, a betrayer of Judaism, a social conservative, or a not-a-true follower of Jesus.
All of these understandings are problematic. He never repudiates women's leadership or participation in the church (1 Cor 11; Rom 16). Both men and women are free to participate in worship and receive the gifts of the Spirit. Phoebe is a pastor of the church. Priscilla is also an important leader of the church. Junia is an important apostle (Rom 16:7).
Paul is not a betrayer of Judaism; rather, he affirms the place of Israel and believes that all Israel will be saved (Rom 11:26). Otherwise, he never repudiates the law; rather, he says it is good and perfect. Even faith cannot overthrow it. His only point is Jesus is the Messiah and that faith is more important than any other thing.
Paul is not a social conservative. His view of the community is egalitarian. Gal 3:28 says: "In Christ, there is no longer Greek or Gentile, free or slave, or male and female." His gospel challenges Rome's good news, the Emperor's sonship, and a hierarchical system. He proclaims God's good news, not Rome's good news; God's power rather than Rome's power. He also proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God. Rome says the emperor is the son of God.
Obviously, Paul is not a political revolutionary, so his method of the gospel program is not violent. For this matter, Jesus is not a political revolutionary, either. Paul is an apocalyptic theologian who believes that God would intervene in the world sooner or later through the coming of the Lord. So he feels his job is to let people turn to God through Jesus. Otherwise, he does not say this world is not important or that salvation is only in the future. Rather, he asks people to show good conduct to the world until the end. His position is: A new life already began with Christ, yet it is not completed. As a new creation in Christ or a letter of him, followers of Jesus must continue to live like Christ and demonstrate God's love and justice in the world.
So he says God's weakness is stronger than human strength and God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom (1 Cor 1:25). Paul's point is that people have to embrace the weak and the foolish because God cares for them. So he says: "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are" (1 Cor 1:27-28). Is he a social conservative? Absolutely not!
Paul is a true follower of Jesus. He understands well what Jesus taught and why he was put to death. As Jesus emphasizes God's rule or reign in the world, Paul also starts with God's good news, which is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16-17; 1 Cor 1:18-25).
Both Jesus and Paul point fingers at God. While Jesus does not talk about himself, Paul talks about Jesus and accepts him as the Messiah and Son of God. That is a big difference between them. Otherwise, for both of them, God is the starting point.
The new book that I am working on now will deal with some of these issues.
