Holy Chutzpah – Paul of Tarsus

Holy Chutzpah – Paul of Tarsus.

“We are hard-pressed by troubles on every side, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, but we are not driven to despair; we are hunted down and persecuted, but we are never abandoned by God; we get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”  (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Chutzpah (hoots-pah) is a Yiddish word that long ago entered English usage. It is from the Hebrew word, “hutspah,” which means insolent or audacious. Chutzpah is a neutral word that can be either positive or negative. Chutzpah can be righteous or unrighteous, holy or unholy. It is an idea difficult to define, so there are a lot of synonyms for it, especially in the biblical sense: spiritual audacity; brazen gall; tenacious stubbornness; headstrong persistence; outrageous guts; shameless nerve; feisty assertiveness; brazen impudence; unyielding boldness; courageous spine; expectant defiance. The Holy Scriptures, both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, are overflowing with examples of holy chutzpah. One wonders not only if it’s a job requirement for saints and prophets, but also a faith requirement for all believers. In fact, God seems to love chutzpah in us when it is based on our ultimate trust in Him and His character, our unselfish motives, our yearning for justice and mercy. Chutzpah in front of others becomes holy when it is done in obedience to the Lord and is an outworking of our faith in Him. As Rabbi Schulweiss once said, “Spiritual audacity toward God finds a place of honor in Jewish religious thought.” The rabbis of old have always insisted that chutzpah is a valid expression of faith. Just a quick glimpse at the Gospels reveals that Jesus and His followers fully embraced the ancient Jewish ethic of holy chutzpah. When Jesus saw chutzpah in action, He usually said things like, “Great is your faith!” Maybe Christian scholar Dr. Brad Young said it best. “True faith requires bold perseverance. Sometimes it is expressed by brazen impudence. Faith can be defined as chutzpah. Persevere with unyielding tenacity.” (Brad Young, Jesus the Jewish Theologian).

Missionaries are known for their love of adventure, bold assertiveness, and even sometimes for their fearless audacity. Since St. Paul was the first and greatest missionary in the history of Christendom, one can easily assume that he had superior holy chutzpah. Yes indeed, he overflowed with it. We can see his chutzpah came naturally to his personality as we read about his tenacious zeal seeking to persecute followers of Jesus. But then the Lord turned his life around and redeemed Paul’s natural chutzpah from unrighteous to righteous. Paul never seemed to be intimidated by resistance or difficulty as he brought the gospel to Gentiles across the Roman Empire. Paul consistently exhibited brazen confidence and expectant faith in his three missionary journeys, whether it was when confronted by demon-possessed sorcerers or bloodthirsty mobs; enraged religious authorities or the chains and shackles of a Roman prison; dramatic shipwrecks or even his famous “thorn in the flesh.”

And how did Paul manage these troublesome challenges? He made the sorcerer go blind; He was filled with joy when he was run out of town; after regaining consciousness from a beating, he simply got up off the ground and returned to the same city where he was just beaten; instead of losing heart while shackled deep in a Roman dungeon, he sings hymns with his buddy Silas. During a shipwreck, he manages to save everyone on the boat and then evangelize the island they were marooned on. Paul never lost his persistent courage and determination when he faced off with these overwhelming difficulties. Paul himself went into some detail as to his challenges that he had met with courage and determination…

“I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door time after time. I’ve been flogged five times with their thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I’ve been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggled with friends, struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by cold, naked to the weather.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).

One of Paul’s famous face-offs was during his travels through Greece. He arrived in Athens, the intellectual capital of the Empire. He was confident in his ability to interact with all the philosophers and intellectuals, because Paul was trained and mentored by Gamaliel, the most learned and highly esteemed rabbi of that era. As Paul walked through Athens, he became increasingly troubled by all the idols he encountered. This was not merely a surface-level emotional reaction of his. The Greek world for “troubled” in this passage is “paroxysm,” implying a sudden violent emotion, a state of emotional upheaval. Paul was in turmoil with all the paganism he saw, so he decided to meet with the Athenian intellectuals on their own turf. He preached in the synagogues, he reasoned with them in the public square, and he debated with them in the Areopagus, otherwise known as Mars Hill. The Areopagus was the group of leading intellectuals who oversaw Athens in many areas, and were a city council, board of education, and religious authority all rolled into one.

In his speech on Mars Hill, Paul didn’t accuse this group of skeptics of anything that would have put them off. Paul focused on reasoning with them and showing some solidarity with them. He didn’t come across as a know-it-all or a scold for their idolatry. He even complimented them on being “very religious.” Paul first pointed to an altar that was devoted to “the unknown god.” He began to explain to them that their unknown god has now been revealed and is a known God to the world. Paul went on to describe Yahweh God as the Creator of the world, the ruler of nations, who deserves our love. This God who asks us to turn from our sins has actually designated a man who will judge us all justly. And this Man has proven Himself by resurrecting from the dead!

This entire train of thought of Paul’s was of course foreign to these intellectuals raised on paganism. One Creator God? Judgment? Resurrection? The scoffers were in full voice after they heard of such ridiculous things. Paul even quoted from Greek poets, using some secular wisdom that might appeal to them, but most were not impressed. Paul’s speech received mixed reviews, to say the least. Some laughed at Paul in contempt, while others wanted to hear more from Paul later. Some of these intellectuals on Marsh Hill even ended up becoming believers in Jesus and joined Paul in his missionary work. It obviously required a lot of chutzpah from Paul to boldly stand up and spread the Faith to intellectual skeptics and pagan cynics. But of course, we know that Paul had more than his share of chutzpah. And it all started with Jesus stopping him cold on the road to Damascus.

Christian tradition holds that toward the end of his life Paul was under house arrest in Rome for two years, was released, and he went immediately to his fourth missionary journey to Spain. He was then arrested again, by Nero, and was soon beheaded by the Roman authorities. And what was the source of his brazen confidence, his holy chutzpah? He said it best in his letter to the Romans… “Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing – nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8:35-39). Paul’s chutzpah came straight from the love of Jesus.