In Romans 5:6-11, Paul writes about the profound love of God demonstrated through Christ’s sacrifice for sinners. This passage reflects some of the same themes present in Jewish thought during the time of the Maccabees, particularly the idea of martyrdom as an act of ultimate faith and atonement.
The Maccabean period, around the 2nd century BCE, was a time of intense persecution for the Jewish people under the rule of Antiochus Epiphanes. During this time, Jewish martyrs chose to die rather than abandon their faith.
When Paul writes in Romans 5 about Christ dying for the ungodly, it’s possible that he was drawing on these well-known stories of martyrdom with a special “twist” that only the sinless Son of God could provide.
Verses 6-7 hint at the suffering and martyrdom of the Maccabees.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die (Romans 5.6-7).
The Maccabees were heroes to Jewish people because they suffered horrific deaths rather than compromise their faith.
Jesus’s death is unique because it accomplished what no other sacrifice could: the justification of those who, despite knowing the law, were unable to fully observe it due to the inherent weakness of human nature.
His sacrifice extended beyond the boundaries of Israel’s covenant, reaching even those who were considered ungodly and outside the chosen people.
Jesus didn’t just die for those who tried and failed to keep the law; he also died for those who were completely disconnected from it—those who had no part in the covenant of Israel.
When I first became a follower of Jesus, I hadn’t even read Romans 5. I didn’t know anything about the Maccabees or their significance. All I knew was that I was weak, ungodly, and desperately in need of God’s saving power.
Praise God! We don’t need to pass a theological examination to become one of Jesus’ followers.
God’s Love on Display
I remember hearing this thought when I was in seminary 50 years ago. We didn’t come looking for God. Instead, He came looking for us. Praise God! That’s exactly what He does for humans.
But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God (Romans 5.8-9).
God’s wrath is the expression of His justice towards those who have violated His law and harmed others. However, when we place our trust in Jesus, instead of facing His wrath, we experience His friendship.
How does God defeat His enemies? By transforming them into His friends.
For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5.10-11).
The good news of God’s love is that reconciliation is not the end of the relationship, just as the cross was not the end of God’s saving work through Jesus. After the cross came the resurrection; after reconciliation comes abundant life.
This is the love that God has for humanity.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 