Paul's View on Jesus' Jewish Identity in 2 Corinthians
In 2 Corinthians, Paul affirms his Jewish identity while simultaneously emphasizing a transformed understanding of Christ that transcends ethnic distinctions. When challenged by opponents in Corinth who boasted of their Jewish heritage, Paul asserts his own credentials, stating, "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I" [1]. This declaration highlights that Paul possessed the same markers of Jewish identity as his challengers, including being a Hebrew, an Israelite, and a descendant of Abraham [2].
Paul's opponents likely viewed Jewish heritage as a qualification for ministry, a perspective Paul himself once held as a Pharisee [2, 4]. However, his understanding of Christ led him to re-evaluate such outward distinctions. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary notes that Paul's statement "know we no man after the flesh" in 2 Corinthians 5:16 signifies that worldly and external relations, such as being a Jew or Gentile, are superseded by the spiritual reality of being a "new creature" in Christ [3]. This shift means that while Paul acknowledges his Jewish background, it no longer serves as the primary lens through which he understands Christ or others [4].
Augustine, in his Confessions, Letters, discusses Paul's approach to his Jewish identity, particularly in the context of becoming "as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews" [5, 7]. Augustine clarifies that this was an act of compassionate love, not deceit, allowing Paul to minister effectively without compromising Christian principles [7]. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary on 1 Corinthians 9:20 further explains that Paul adopted Jewish customs in matters not contrary to Christianity, distinguishing between his national identity as a Jew and his willingness to adapt for the sake of the gospel [6].
Sources
- 2 Corinthians “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. -- 2 Corinthians 11:22”
- 2 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 2 Corinthians 11:22: 11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called Israelites ”
- 2 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Corinthians 5:16: Wherefore--because of our settled judgment (Co2 5:14), henceforth--since our knowing Christ's constraining love in His death for us. know we no man after the flesh--that is, according to his mere worldly and external relations (Co2 11:18; Joh 8:15; Phi 3:4), as distinguished from what he is according to the Spirit, as a "new creature" (Co2 5:17). For instance, the outward distinctions of Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, slave or free, learned or unlearned, are lost sight of in the higher life of those who are dead in Christ's death, and alive w”
- 2 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 2 Corinthians 5:16: 5:16-17 merely from a human point of view: Paul might be reflecting on his belief at one time as a Pharisee that the Messiah would come to set the Jews free from political oppression. • How differently we know him now! Christ rose from the dead, ushered in the new creation (5:17), and was established as the redeemer from sin and Lord of the universe (Rom 1:3-4; Phil 2:6-11; Col 1:15-20).”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. IV.-- 12. You say in your letter: 1 "You do not require me to teach you in what sense the apostle says, ' To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews ;' ' and other such things in (part 2): of the matter: they will not become Christians, but they will make us Jews. 14. For what Christian will submit to hear what is said in your letter? "Paul was indeed a Jew; and when he had become a Christian, he had not abandoned those Jewish sacraments which that people had received in the right way, and for a certain appointed time. There”
- 1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 9:20: I became as a Jew--in things not defined by the law, but by Jewish usage. Not Judaizing in essentials, but in matters where there was no compromise of principle (compare Act 16:3; Act 21:20-26); an undesigned coincidence between the history and the Epistle, and so a sure proof of genuineness. to them that are under the law, as under the law--in things defined by the law; such as ceremonies not then repugnant to Christianity. Perhaps the reason for distinguishing this class from the former is that Paul himself belonged nationally to "the Jews,"”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. III.--3. In your exposition of the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians I have found one thing which causes me much concern. For if it be the case that statements untrue in themselves, but made, as (part 1): CHAP. IV. --4. You do not require me to teach you in what sense the apostle says, "To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews," s and other such things in the same passage, which are to be ascribed to the compassion of pitying love, not the artifices of intentional deceit. For he that ministers to the sick becomes as if he w”