Romans pt15: Zeal is Timeless
Zeal and Identity
V1-3 “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
If you want to read this passage well, it would serve you to understand the idea of zeal first. Zeal is about protecting the law. There was a group of people called the Zealots and their platform was readiness for outrage at unlawful behavior. They were very patriotic; they were nationalistic; they saw violence as justified and, as such, were willing to both kill and die for righteousness.
First-century Jews with Zeal typically cared mostly about three identity markers that set the Jews apart: Circumcision, Sabbath, and Kosher food. These are uniquely Jewish markers; everyone knew they were Jewish if they saw someone abiding by them. And part of Zeal was keeping Jewish identity front and center; if you entered, you assimilated. This accomplished two things: (1) it gave them an heir of honor and status because they were there first. And (2) it made righteousness a function of Jewish identity, not something a Gentile or an outsider could attain. This means that if you wanted to come to God, you needed to become culturally Jewish. This is the kind of thing that was causing division between the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome; the requirement that others assimilate into your culture before they can worship your God.
Zeal is Timeless
Zeal never goes away; it shows up wherever there is fundamentalism. Modern zeal can be seen in evangelicalism's propensity to claim that Christians believe in capitalism, democracy, and conservatism when of course, those three things are cultural constructs and have nothing to do with Jesus. Christians believe in Jesus; they follow him no matter what government or economic system they find themselves in. We can see it in the attempt by Christians to create Christendom, that is, creating a monolith of both thought and behavior for all who enter in and creating detailed lists of exactly how everything should be done, usually positing them as a doctrinal statement or a statement of faith that includes all kinds of behavioral requirements.
Paul says, “Look, I know you are zealous for God, but you are trying to turn people into Israelites instead of Jesus’ followers.” This is a trap that many religious people fall into; many in the modern church are trying to turn people into good Americans instead of Christlike humans (something that often requires us to be bad Americans). When we do this, we might be displaying Zeal for God, but it is not the righteousness of God that we are after, but our own righteousness as good, patriotic, and traditional American Christians. This is what Paul means when he says, “They did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own.” They wanted people to enter into God through Judaism and Jewish culture, but Jesus is the door!
This causes division in the church along racial, political, and gendered lines. In the Roman church, it had drawn a line between the Jewish and Gentile Christians, and the Book of Romans was written to help erase that line and to help them put all of that aside and come together as the body of Christ.
This is why Paul ends this passage by emphasizing Jesus, not the Law.
“4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
(Ro 10:4).”
Discussion Questions
What is zeal, and how does it relate to the Jewish identity markers of circumcision, Sabbath, and kosher food?
How does modern zeal manifest itself in the church today? Can you give any examples?
How does the Zealots' nationalistic and violent ideology contrast with Paul's message of unity in Christ?
In what ways can religious zeal become a hindrance to true righteousness and faith?
How does Paul's emphasis on Jesus as the culmination of the law help to erase the division between Jewish and Gentile Christians in the Roman church?