What if Paul Wasn't in the New Testament?

What if all you had were the four gospels of Jesus’ life: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

Four narratives.

Four portraits.

Four testimonies.

No commentary.

No interpretation.

No letters.

No other books.

What kind of faith would you build?

What would you learn about Jesus?

You would see Jesus announcing something he called the Kingdom of God, not as a place you go after death, but as a place that can be lived in NOW.

You would watch him share meals with people who were considered “evil” and socially expendable.

You would hear him constantly denounce the religious leaders, call them “hypocrites” to their faces, and purposely break their laws of the Sabbath.

You would notice how often he got frustrated with his own disciples for not understanding what he was trying to tell them.

You would hear him tell stories about:

• fathers running toward prodigal sons

• laborers being paid the same wage regardless of hours worked

• outsiders becoming heroes while insiders miss the point

• loving your enemies and those who despise you

• giving to others without your other hand knowing

• forgiving others no matter how many times they hurt you

• seeking for treasures that will not corrupt

You would not find him:

• walking people through a sequence of verses in the OT to be saved

• teaching people to repeat a specific prayer in order to be saved

• telling people they have to meet each week at a “church” to be saved

• requiring people to perform certain rites and ceremonies in order to be saved

Instead, you would see a man calling people into a way of life.

“Follow me,” he taught. “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Now before you argue with me that you still want/need Paul’s letters, just consider the following:

• Paul was not one of the 12 apostles who Jesus personally chose to walk with Him during His mortal ministry.

• Paul was not a personal witness of the daily events of Jesus’ life.

• Paul personally persecuted “Christians” who were trying to follow Jesus’ teachings.

• Paul had a miraculous “conversion” to Jesus on the road to Damascus.

• Paul became a passionate missionary and a theologian for the early Christian Movement.

• Paul wrote many letters that wrestled with questions about sin, grace, law, faith, justification, and what the cross and crucifixion of Jesus Christ accomplished AFTER it all happened.

And that’s my point.

Paul came AFTER Jesus and then tried to explain, expand, and evangelize about Jesus.

Most Christians seem to learn about Jesus from Paul FIRST.

And then they learn about Jesus from the 4 Gospels SECOND.

Does that mean that studying Paul is wrong?

No.

It just means that his letters are disposable if you want to learn about Jesus.

Paul's writings are:

• thoughtful

• complex and

• influential (almost too influential in my opinion)

but they are merely interpretations.

Paul’s letters are theological reflections written a couple decades AFTER Jesus’ ministry, and they are written to specific communities/churches facing specific issues.

In contrast, The 4 Gospels give us the stories themselves from people who were there. People who walked and talked with Jesus as He went about His Father's business.

No commentary.

No interpretation.

No reflections.

Instead, the 4 Gospels give us:

The stories.

The accounts.

The narratives.

So my frustration with "the Christians" is not Jesus vs. Paul.

My frustration is about ORDER.

[And the same could easily be said about "the Mormons" who put Joseph Smith and their prophets before the words of Jesus, or "the Catholics" who put the pope before Jesus' teachings.]

So here's the question to ask yourself:

If you truly want to get to know Jesus, do you start with the people who personally walked and talked with Him during His mortal ministry, or do you start with Paul’s explanations, interpretations, and commentary about Him?

Whose lens is going to draw you closer to Jesus?

I guess only you can decide for yourself.

But for me, I want the stories, the narratives and the personal testimonies of those who walked and talked and listened to what Jesus taught and saw what He did.

To me, that is the first place to start if you want to learn about Jesus.

Then if you want to, I guess you could read how Paul interprets Jesus 😉