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Jesus and the Exodus: Discovering the Key that Unlocks the Scripture's
282 pages, Hardcover
Published November 29, 2023
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February 7, 2024
Part life story, part voyage of discovery, Dr Tom Holland returns to his favourite hunting ground—Paul’s letter to the Romans. In his latest book, “Jesus and the Exodus: Discovering the Key that Unlocks Scripture”, Tom builds on his earlier work, “Contours of Pauline Theology”. Here, he shows how the exodus events are far more important for interpreting the New Testament than many of us have realised.
“The Old Testament is the story of God, who is merciful, kind and gracious to a point that is impossible to understand” (p39). That story focuses on God’s two great acts of deliverance: a first exodus from Egypt and a second exodus from Babylon. These twin events point forward to an even more mighty deliverance. And, Tom argues, it is this “new exodus” that serves as the key to understanding Paul in Romans. In this letter, Paul deliberately adopts the language of these two salvation events to describe the deliverance of God’s people from the dominion of Satan and sin through the death of the Firstborn, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This “new exodus” line of thinking leads Tom to pursue a consistently corporate interpretation of Romans 5-7, a section which has traditionally been understood in post-Enlightenment individualistic terms. So, the corporate emphasis of Romans 5 which resounds with echoes of the return from exile continues into Chapters 6 and 7 with, what some will find, surprising results.
This paves the way for Paul’s teaching on baptism. For Tom, the baptism to which Paul refers in Romans represents not the inauguration of the individual believer on profession of their personal faith, but the joining of the whole believing community into Christ’s death by the Spirit. This further underlines Tom’s conviction that Paul’s theology is not individualistic, but corporate. It is the body of believers collectively as the church which comprises the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Tom’s big point is that Paul is not promoting a novel doctrine; he is simply developing the theological model from his Jewish roots in which he was taught that Yahweh would bring about the promised New Exodus. I was particularly struck by the remarkable way Paul draws on the prophecy of Isaiah. As Tom makes clear, the eighteen passages cited by Paul provide “a summary of salvation history” and form the “scaffolding upon which Paul [builds] his argument” (p34). It is the ancient prophet who authenticates Paul’s argument rather than the apostle’s Greco/Roman contemporaries.
One of the features that marks this book out for me is the context in which Tom sets his work. These are not the musings of an armchair theologian; they represent the very real struggles of a pastor-teacher striving to convey the gospel he loves to the people he loves.
Unlike Tom’s previous works, this book is aimed at the average Christian reader who has not benefitted from a theological education. Whether you agree or disagree with his conclusions you cannot fail to appreciate Tom’s reasoning. His reverence for the Word of God drives his desire to communicate it faithfully. If you are looking for a comfortable read that will simply confirm your traditional understanding of Romans, this book is not for you. If you are willing to wrestle with a perspective that challenges your assumptions whilst respecting your reformed theological framework, this could be the beginning of an exciting adventure. It will deepen your confidence in Paul and your love for the God of the exodus!
“The Old Testament is the story of God, who is merciful, kind and gracious to a point that is impossible to understand” (p39). That story focuses on God’s two great acts of deliverance: a first exodus from Egypt and a second exodus from Babylon. These twin events point forward to an even more mighty deliverance. And, Tom argues, it is this “new exodus” that serves as the key to understanding Paul in Romans. In this letter, Paul deliberately adopts the language of these two salvation events to describe the deliverance of God’s people from the dominion of Satan and sin through the death of the Firstborn, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This “new exodus” line of thinking leads Tom to pursue a consistently corporate interpretation of Romans 5-7, a section which has traditionally been understood in post-Enlightenment individualistic terms. So, the corporate emphasis of Romans 5 which resounds with echoes of the return from exile continues into Chapters 6 and 7 with, what some will find, surprising results.
This paves the way for Paul’s teaching on baptism. For Tom, the baptism to which Paul refers in Romans represents not the inauguration of the individual believer on profession of their personal faith, but the joining of the whole believing community into Christ’s death by the Spirit. This further underlines Tom’s conviction that Paul’s theology is not individualistic, but corporate. It is the body of believers collectively as the church which comprises the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Tom’s big point is that Paul is not promoting a novel doctrine; he is simply developing the theological model from his Jewish roots in which he was taught that Yahweh would bring about the promised New Exodus. I was particularly struck by the remarkable way Paul draws on the prophecy of Isaiah. As Tom makes clear, the eighteen passages cited by Paul provide “a summary of salvation history” and form the “scaffolding upon which Paul [builds] his argument” (p34). It is the ancient prophet who authenticates Paul’s argument rather than the apostle’s Greco/Roman contemporaries.
One of the features that marks this book out for me is the context in which Tom sets his work. These are not the musings of an armchair theologian; they represent the very real struggles of a pastor-teacher striving to convey the gospel he loves to the people he loves.
Unlike Tom’s previous works, this book is aimed at the average Christian reader who has not benefitted from a theological education. Whether you agree or disagree with his conclusions you cannot fail to appreciate Tom’s reasoning. His reverence for the Word of God drives his desire to communicate it faithfully. If you are looking for a comfortable read that will simply confirm your traditional understanding of Romans, this book is not for you. If you are willing to wrestle with a perspective that challenges your assumptions whilst respecting your reformed theological framework, this could be the beginning of an exciting adventure. It will deepen your confidence in Paul and your love for the God of the exodus!
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