Here’s Jimmy! 5

Those who think the ride from Jesus’ vision of the kingdom to Paul’s theology and gospel is a simple one are mistaken, and in J.D.G. (Jimmy) Dunn’s newest book, Jesus, Paul, and the Gospels, we are treated to a sketch of the shift involved in moving from Jesus to Paul.

How do you connect Jesus to Paul?

There are some who think it’s simple: what they do is make “kingdom” mean what Paul meant by “justification” or “salvation” and be done with it, dust off their trousers, and move on to the next problem to solve.

Jimmy says there are three gaps or gulfs between Jesus and Paul:

1. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God; Paul preached Jesus.
2. Jesus’ message was primarily for Israel; Paul’s mission was primarily for Gentiles.
3. Jesus was a local Jewish teacher; Paul was influenced by religions and politics of his day.

So Jimmy takes three probes into the issues, and he suggests the similarity here is explained by the enduring impact of Jesus’ own mission prior to his death and resurrection:

1. The openness of God’s grace: Jesus taught God’s kingly rule was already experience in his ministry; there is good news for sinners (factionalism is being criticized here) and the poor. Paul teaches that God justifies the ungodly now; there is good news for Gentile sinners, and he is concerned with the poor. [A line can also be drawn from the ecclesial dimensions of “kingdom” to the ecclesial focus of Paul.]
2. Eschatological tension and the Spirit: Jesus teaches living in light of the coming kingdom; the Spirit is present in power. Paul teaches the future of justification; the Spirit is the down payment and first fruits.
3. The Love command: Jesus and the Law comes to completion in the love command; Paul and the Law does the very same thing.

Paul is therefore “one of the truest disciples of Jesus” (115).