The World of the Apostle Paul
Ruins of Amphitheatre, Ephesus
Roman chariot in a fight of gladiators
Living as he did in a world which was, in political outlook, Roman, but in social life was imbued with Greek customs, the Apostle Paul makes frequent allusion to contemporary conditions with which we are totally unfamiliar. It will be profitable therefore briefly to consider some aspects of the life of the ancient world which so constantly appears as the background of his Epistles.
Such allusions may be classified under the four main topics to which they have reference – athletics and the theatre; philosophy and religion; political organisation and military matters. To the first of these Paul makes reference in 1 Corinthians, where, speaking of his sufferings for the sake of the Gospel, he introduces the subject of the theatre by way of illustration:-
“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death, for we are made a spectacle (marg., a theatre) unto the world, and to angels and to men” (1 Cor. 4:9).
Now, the theatre ‘shows’ included gladiatorial combats which always came last in the programme, and of each pair of combatants, usually unequally matched, one was bound to be slain unless the whim of the presiding magistrate decided otherwise, and turning his thumb downwards he bade the victor stay his hand. Moreover, of the gladiators, the very last to be set forth were the worst of all, those held to be of no account.
The Apostle draws a most appropriate parallel from this custom, when considering the perils which he encountered in his unequal combat with the powers that be, and even his own countrymen. Regarded with contempt by all men, as were the gladiators who were generally of servile origin, he and his brethren were made as the filth and offscouring of the world (v:13) and the word here used signified disused olive oil, after it had been poured on and scraped off the body to cleanse it. Their lives were continually in danger, they were “as it were appointed to death,” and after providing a spectacle to all men, their ministry was cut short by the cross or the executioner’s block.
In the ninth chapter of the same epistle Paul likens our labours to attain to the Kingdom to those of the athletes who competed in the games. The Corinthian brethren would be well acquainted with the great ‘Isthmian Games’ which were held annually near their city. Indeed, the majority of them would have been regular attenders thereat until they knew the Truth, after which, they would have held severely aloof, for, in addition to many other reasons, the fact that games were always held in honour of some god would have been sufficient to deter them. But once again the comparison is almost complete:-
“Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly: so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (vs 24-27).
The severe discipline of the athlete had to be undergone in detail, and as Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:5), “If a man also strive for masteries (Diaglott, the games) yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully.” The account of the thirty days’ training for the Olympian festival shows the extreme rigour of the conditions. The capabilities of the competitors were tested, and all who were in any way unfit were rejected. Inquiries into parentage and eligibility were carefully carried out: disobedience to the orders of the trainers was severely punished. At the close of the training period the competitors were gathered together and thus addressed: “If you have exercised yourselves in a manner worthy of the Olympic Festival, if you have been guilty of no slothful or ignoble act, go on with a good courage. You who have not so practised, go whither you will.” Then all swore to use no unfair means to secure victory, and the contests began. That was indeed the touchstone which proved the work of the previous days. Then it was that carefulness and strict observance of the prescribed course earned their reward. Amidst toil and sweat and bodily discomfort men strove for the mastery, to gain the coveted Greek prize of a wreath of dried wild celery leaves, (Changed by the Romans to a pine wreath) to hear the loud acclamations of their fellow men, and to receive honours from the city to which they belonged. This was the end of all their labour – a withering prize of dried celery leaves, to hear the loud acclamations of their fellow men, and to receive honours from the city to which they belonged. This was the end of all their labour – a withering prize and short-lived glory. “Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.”
O faint not brother for thy sighs Are heard before his throne: The race must come before the prize, The cross before the crown. (A.N.)
Indeed, how much better is the crown which our Lord offers to us – a golden crown (Rev. 4;4) of glory and eternal life. But the conditions are no less exacting for us. None who have indulged freely in the carnal pleasures of this life can hope to gain the victory, nor those who have acted deceitfully or unworthily. To them it will be said, as to the unworthy athletes, “Go whither ye will – Depart from me ye cursed.” Just as with shame and mortification the unsuccessful saw the victors run on to victory and heard the poets sing their praises in terms which exalted foolish pride to the very skies, so will the rejected turn with weeping from the Great Tribunal, to behold from afar the joy of the redeemed, and to hear the sweet strains of saints praising in angelic voices Him to whom alone all praise belongs.
How the Apostle must have laboured and subdued his body in order that he might not become a castaway. The word he uses means, “not standing the test,” applicable to one who is unable to endure unto the end to gain the prize of life everlasting. He speaks of the preparation needed for the race for the crown of life which needs to be every whit as careful as that of the athlete. And just as in the games the runner divested himself of all clothes that might impede him, so Paul exhorts us to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race set before us.
At the sides of the course stood the crowds of encouraging spectators, urging on the runners, who could look to the winning post and see the prize hanging thereon. So Jesus endured for the joy which was set before him: and Paul, following in his footsteps, could say at the end of his ministry: “I have finished my course; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.” We, in our day, striving towards the same goal are compassed about by the great cloud of witnesses of which Paul writes in Hebrews 11, the contemplation of whose work cheers and encourages us likewise to endure unto the end. What if the race be tedious, the toil seem long? We can see the great prize at the end of the course, and when the dust and the heat have all vanished away, and the mind rejoices in the realization of suffering past for ever, the righteous Judge will come forth and acknowledge the victors in the presence of all the holy angels.
