A PLEA CONCERNING THE PAYING OF THEIR ‘DEBT' TO THE JERUSALEM CHURCH BY MEANS OF ‘THE COLLECTION' WHICH WAS TO BE FOR THE RELIEF OF THE EXTREME POVERTY OF THE SAINTS IN THAT CHURCH AND WHICH WOULD ITSELF BE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE FORWARD GOING OF THE OVERALL PURPOSES OF GOD (2 Corinthians 8:1 to 2 Corinthians 9:15).
This next section of the letter deals with Paul's activities in collecting money for "the poor among the saints in Jerusalem" (Romans 15:26). He had declared his great concern for the poor in Galatians 2:10, and that it was genuine comes out in that he seems to have encouraged the churches to gather these funds over a period of about five years (52-57 AD), seeking to obtain them from the churches in Achaia (Romans 15:26; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 1 Corinthians 8:9 ); Galatia (Acts 18:23; 1 Corinthians 16:1); Macedonia (Acts 19:22; Acts 2 Corinthian 2 Corinthians 8:1-5; 2 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 9:4), and Asia Minor (Acts 20:35).
But he saw it as more than just an act of loving charity, he saw it as having at the heart of it the fulfilling of the ancient prophecies of the overt uniting of Israel and the Gentiles as one under the One God of the whole world.
Delegates from most of these regions, and possibly from all, were to accompany Paul when he took the gift to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4). They wanted it to be an act of fellowship and encouragement as well as an act of giving, an overt declaration of their oneness in Christ.
The recipients were to be the Jerusalem church who were seemingly on the whole especially poor and in need. The very prominence of their position counted against them. Becoming Christians, and particularly being baptised, might well have eventually resulted in social and economic ostracism within Jerusalem's society where Judaism dominated the whole way of life. At various times Christians were discriminated against and victimised.
The communal sharing of goods that the early Christians in Jerusalem practised demonstrated levels of poverty already in existence among the Jerusalem converts right from the beginning (Acts 6:1), and it would be exacerbated by the fact that ageing Jewish Christians (like their Jewish compatriots) would come to live in and around Jerusalem in their final days so that their bodies would be there ready for the day of resurrection. The communal sharing in the beginning may have helped in the short term, but it could not solve their economic problems, and it inevitably left those who gave so sacrificially, in a worse position to help in the long term (compare Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32; Acts 4:34-35).
But the whole of Palestine in fact suffered from lack of food around that time due to a famine that arose during the reign of Emperor Claudius in 46 AD (Acts 11:27-30) and lasted some years, and as the mother church of Christianity, the Jerusalem church would undoubtedly have a larger number of visitors to give hospitality to than did others, as well making some provision for those who went out from it.
And finally there was the fact that all Jews in Palestine, including Jewish Christians, had to pay double taxes, to Rome and to the Jewish authorities. All these things then would contribute to the poverty of the Jerusalem church.
But why did Paul devote so much of his time and energy to raising and delivering this collection? Undoubtedly the first reason was because of his love for his needy Christian brethren (Romans 12:13; Romans 13:8; Galatians 6:10). He also believed that this gift would bring glory to Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 8:19), and that it would help to level out by mutual assistance God's provision for His people's physical needs (2 Corinthians 8:13-15). Moreover, it provided a visible demonstration of the equality of status that existed between Gentile and Jewish Christians (Ephesians 2:11-22), and would undoubtedly reduce the tensions between them. The Jerusalem church tended to be very conservative and ‘Jewish', and while Acts 15 had laid down the position with regard to Gentile Christians, not all would have been convinced. A genuine expression of loving concern could therefore only help to improve the relationships.
He probably also hoped that God might use it in order to allay Jewish suspicions about Christianity, and about his own mission to the Gentiles (compare Acts 11:2-3), demonstrating that it did not see Jews as enemies. It also illustrated the spiritual indebtedness that the Gentiles owed to their Jewish brethren (Romans 15:19; Romans 15:27; 1 Corinthians 9:11), and was personally a way in which he could partially compensate for his own earlier persecution of the Jerusalem saints (Acts 8:3; Acts 9:1; Acts 26:10-11; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; 1 Timothy 1:13), which had undoubtedly largely in the first place contributed to its poverty.
But above all Paul almost certainly saw in the entry of his large Gentile contingent, with their munificent gift, into Jerusalem, a partial fulfilment of the prophecies which spoke of the Gentiles and their riches flowing into Jerusalem in the last days (Isaiah 2:2-5; Isaiah 60:5-22; Isaiah 61:6; Micah 4:1-5; Haggai 2:7). It fulfilled the vision of the one ‘Israel of God' (Galatians 6:16).
So Paul wrote as he did in the following two Chapter s of 2 Corinthians in order to facilitate the Collection, which he clearly considered to be of great importance, and to bring out its significance, while at the same time laying out a philosophy of Christian stewardship for all time, and defending himself against charges that some would make against him..
This is certainly not the first time that the Corinthians had heard about this collection. Paul's abrupt mention of "concerning the collection for the saints" in 1 Corinthians 16:1, and his subsequent discussion of it, emphasises that he had spoken to them about it previously at some length, and that it was well known and of interest to them, and 2 Corinthians 8:10; 2 Corinthians 9:1-2 below indicate that their interest had continued, even though the controversy that had developed between them and Paul may well have contributed to some delay (2 Corinthians 2:5-11; 2 Corinthians 7:12).
However now that Paul had learned that the Corinthian congregation were responding more positively to him again, he sought to reintroduce the subject and press for its completion, beginning by describing the generosity of the Macedonian churches, and then expressing his confidence in their own anticipated generosity to the glory of God.
He begins in chapter 8 by stressing how eager the Macedonians were to have their full part in the Collection, and stresses their example of self-sacrifice, probably hoping that it would be an incentive and example to the Corinthians to give as well, following this up with the example of self-giving of Jesus Christ Himself and what he saw as the approach that they should now take. Then he informs them that Titus and two others will be coming to see them partly for this purpose.
And he finishes the chapter by mentioning the glorying he has engaged in on their behalf before the other churches.
But this seemingly pulls him up short as he suddenly realises how tactless he has been. Here he had been, lauding the Macedonians without any thought that the Corinthians who were reading his words might have been priding themselves on being the first to be involved in the Collection, and without having mentioned how he had in fact been glorying in their zeal. Even the sending of the three men could be seen as suggesting that without them the Corinthians could not be depended on to act. So he hurriedly does an about face in chapter 9 and assures them that he realises that what he has been saying has actually been unnecessary because it is they who have been involved in the project from the beginning, and explains that the reason that the three men are coming is simply so as to ensure that when the Macedonians pay them a visit they might not be caught out unprepared, and as he has already stated (2 Corinthians 8:20-21) in order to protect his own reputation.
In his infectious enthusiasm he then adds further reasons why they should be forward in giving, and finishes by giving thanks for God's glorious gift of Jesus Christ. This adequately explains why there seem to be two accounts of his appeal to the Corinthians, while also explaining their dependence on each other.