{"id":7591,"date":"2025-08-01T08:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T00:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7591"},"modified":"2025-08-01T09:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T01:49:11","slug":"348-the-decisive-impact-of-christs-death-and-resurrection-on-pauls-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7591","title":{"rendered":"348. The Decisive Impact of Christ\u2019s Death and Resurrection on Paul\u2019s Conversion"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Resurrection of Christ<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup>and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Resurrection of the Dead<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

14\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026 [I]f Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain.\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup>We are even found to be misrepresenting God…\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup>For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised.\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup>If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup>Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.\u00a019\u00a0<\/sup>If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

20\u00a0<\/sup>But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.\u00a021\u00a0<\/sup>For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human,\u00a022\u00a0<\/sup>for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.\u00a023\u00a0<\/sup>But each in its own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.<\/span><\/strong> [1 Cor 15:3-4, 14-23<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Conversion of St. Paul<\/em>, by Nicolas Bernard L\u00e9pici\u00e9, 1597<\/span><\/p>\n

Genuine change in an individual comes from an encounter experience with the Crucified and Risen Christ that prompts a different way of life in relationship with him.<\/span><\/p>\n

With his conversion, Paul\u2019s vision of who God is and how God relates to the world went through massive changes. Of decisive impact on Paul\u2019s conversion, his ensuing life and his growing theological outlook are three historical realities that stand at the core of the Jesus-event: the life, suffering death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. In this reflection, we shall briefly attend to the impact of these realities on Paul\u2019s Christology and his theology on Resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Christology<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On many counts, Paul had been adamant that Jesus deserved to suffer and die on the cross. In his reckoning, Jesus was plainly a blasphemer calling himself the Son of God, who even threatened to pull down the Temple, the most sacred edifice in Judaism. In the eyes of Paul, a strict Pharisee, Jesus as leader of a mixed-bag of disciples who held compliance with the Mosaic Law in disdain exposed Jesus as anything but a holy and righteous man. Besides, Jesus had to be a liar and a usurper of the authentic Messiah, one who would certainly kill and drive out the hated Roman occupiers. Yet, Jesus being put to death by crucifixion in the hands of the enemies clearly disqualified him as the coming Messiah. Furthermore, and this is crucial in Paul\u2019s understanding, nowhere in the Torah was there room for a \u201ccrucified Christ\u201d. Instead, the Old Testament explicitly states that \u201cone who hung on the cross was cursed by God \u201c(Deut 21:22-23). Before Saul became Paul, there was simply no way in his theological horizon that the crucified and massively humiliated and discredited Jesus of Nazareth could possibly be the Jewish Mashiach<\/em> \u2013 the Anointed or Chosen One.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then came the pivotal encounter with the Crucified and Risen Christ on the Road to Damascus. It was in every respect a \u201cshaking of the foundations\u201d for Paul. Not only did he come to realise that the cross of Christ was not a curse from God, but he now understood it as God\u2019s gift of salvation. Now, the cross of Christ stands at the core of the Christian faith. Let\u2019s unpack that a little.<\/span><\/p>\n