Romans 3:21-31

Most commentaries I’ve examined assume that Paul’s discussion of the work of Jesus in Romans 3:21-31 centers in the cross. The reference to blood and to propitiation (or propitiating sacrifice) in v 25 justifies this, but this doesn’t mean that Paul’s focus is exclusively on the cross. Several things support the notion that he also has resurrection in view:

1) Paul’s summary of the gospel in 1:3-4 is a brief narrative of death and resurrection, not merely a story of the cross. That sets the background for all that he says elsewhere. This is strengthened by contextual considerations: 3:21-31 is the first expanded discussion of the “righteousness of God” that was first mentioned in the “prologue” (1:17-18), and the prologue is chiastically structured with the “gospel of God’s righteousness” parallel to the “gospel of God’s Son.” Hence, the “manifestation of the righteousness of God” in 3:21-31 is the story of death and resurrection from 1:3-4.

2) Paul says that justification is a gift of grace that is available “through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ” (v. 24). While Paul can certainly use “redemption” as a description of what occurred at the cross (Eph 1:7; Heb 9:15 if Heb is Pauline), he more commonly uses the word to describe the resurrection (Rom 8:23; Eph 1:14; 4:30). Jesus’ resurrection may well be in the background of Col 1:14 as well; redemption is defined as “the forgiveness of sins,” but as Paul insists in 1 Cor 15 without the resurrection we are still in our sins. (As Dick Gaffin puts it, a dead Christ is an unjustified Christ; and without a justified Christ there are no justified or forgiven Christians.) Thus, justification comes as a gift of grace through the death and resurrection of the Son of God, who is Son of David.

3) Even “propitiating sacrifice” includes a note of resurrection. This is evident in the sacrificial system generally, where the death of a victim was followed by its translation into smoke and its ascent to Yahweh’s throne in heaven. If we take HILASTERION as simply “propitiation,” it still remains that turning away God’s wrath gives sinners a fresh start. If Paul is alluding to the day of atonement in particular, the point still stands: The rites of the day of atonement not only cleansed the sanctuary from all its old defilements, and cleansed Israel from all its sins and transgressions, but also, and by the same token, initiated a new start for Israel. If Kiuchi is correct in his claims about the day of atonement, then it was in particular a new start for the priesthood; Aaron shed all the sins and iniquities of Israel that had attached themselves to him over the year, and he was refreshed to start the whole process over again. This is not to say that HILASTERION refers to the resurrection; it refers to the cross (“in his blood”), but the purpose of the propitiation, however understood, was to offer new life.

Now, how does this clarify the argument of Rom 3:21ff? First, it helps to explain how it is that justification as a gift of grace can be accomplished “through” the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The phrasing suggests (though perhaps does not require) that the justification of which Paul speaks is accomplished in the work of Jesus. He does not say that teh redemption is the GROUND or the PRESUPPOSITION of justification, but the means or agency by which the justification occurred. That is, Paul is not talking about justification as “ordo salutis” but as “historia salutis.” That’s why he can say that justification is accomplished “through” the redemption, through the work of Jesus in His death and resurrection supremely.

Second, how is THIS the case? Let me attempt to explain this as concretely as I can: Paul says that God’s righteousness has been revealed to all who believe in Jesus. They are justified through the redemption that is in Jesus. During Jesus’ lifetime, He gathered disciples, who believed in Him and trusted in Him. They trusted that they would be acceptable to God, and that God would display before the world that they were His people. They believed this because they believed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, and their association with Him meant that they would share in the glory of His vindication. This vindication takes place not only through Jesus’ death, but through His death-and-resurrection. (Again, a dead Christ is an unvindicated Christ.) God passes His judgment, a judgment of “not guilty” and “righteous” on His Son by raising Him from the dead. Those who believe in Jesus are likewise vindicated in their faith: they have put their trust in the right man, and His vindication (through the redemption) is THEIR vindication.