Romans 1:1–6 reads:
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of Go in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about he obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called ot belong to Jesus Christ.
Right here at the start of his famous letter to the Romans, Paul lays out the Gospel for us in plain language. Normally, we think of the Gospel as Jesus’ sacrificial death for the world on the cross (see John 3:16). This is certainly a part of the Gospel, but the center of the gospel is what Paul says here in the opening words of his letter: Jesus is the King.
With this, Paul reminds us that the Gospel is all about God taking back the creation (namely humanity) for himself. The Gospel is not all about you and me, it is about God and his redemption of all of the creation.
Paul’s declaration to Rome that Jesus is King is quite a rebellious statement that can get him in deep trouble with Rome and Caesar. During Paul’s time, the word for “Good News” was the word that described the birth of Caesar, not Jesus. To say that Jesus is King is to undermine the rule of Rome. This is precisely what Paul has in mind. Jesus himself rebelled agains the power of death and won, and Paul is in the business of proclaiming it to the world. The fact tha Jesus was victorious over death ushers in a whole new reality for all people.
Furthermore, Paul says that Jesus’ lineage goes way further back than that of Caesar’s. Jesus right to reign reaches back to David.
The antiquity of Jesus’ claim to reign over the world is not only rooted in the antiquity of his lineage, but also in the fact that he yields power over death. Christ has power that the Caesar’s of the world can make no claim to. In fact, death is the friend of the Caesars of the world as they use it to control people through fear and violence.
Paul wants this point to be so clear that it resonates with us down into the darkest depths of our humanity: Christ reigns over death. Don’t live in fear of death, do not be afraid, for it is Christ, not Caesar, who is king.
Lastly, Paul states that through Jesus we have received grace and apostleship. This means that when we believe in the reign of Chris, we have a responsibility ot announce it to all in order to liberate a defeated humanity from its fear of death. This is what “apostle” means: one who is sent to announce or proclaim. Just like Paul, however, announcing this make you a rebel to the powers that be. Have courage. Announce the Good News that Christ is King!
