保羅的貧富互惠逆轉思維

Paul’s Reciprocity on the Poor and Rich

Solomon H. F. WONG

At the end of the letter to the Romans, Paul says that he will come to visit Rome after he has delivered to Jerusalem the collection raised from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia. Paul also mentioned this collection in the Corinthian correspondence and Galatians. The collection of donations for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem seems to have become significantly important for Paul’s ministry. Why is this collection important to Paul’s ministry and why is this also related to his planned visit to Rome in the near future? The grace of God in Christ (Christ event) and human actions seem to play a reciprocal role in this nascent eschatological community. This paper is an attempt to trace the reciprocity thinking of Paul on the collection regarding the relationship between the rich and poor on the one hand, and between the gentile believers and Jewish believers on the other. We begin our exegetical journey with Romans 15:22-29; then, we lightly touch on 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 and 2 Corinthians 8-9, and Galatians 2:10; and finally, we come back to Romans 15:22-29 for a glimpse of Paul’s aim of writing Romans.