christology, greco-roman religious piety 231
to call the righteous, but sinners”),45 mark 2:17 (“those who are well have
no need of a physician, but those who are sick. i came not to call the righ-
teous, but sinners”),46 luke 19:10 (“the son of man came to seek and save
the lost”),47 a saying of Jesus in the fourth gospel (e.g., “for this purpose
i was born and for this purpose i have come into the world,” John 18:37),48
or the Johannine Corpus as a whole.49 marshall correctly notes that ἦλθεν
and σῶσαι are reminiscent of luke’s ἦλθεν γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ζητῆσαι
καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός (luke 19:10).50
the theological point of 1 tim 1:15 is also at issue. some say the state-
ment emphasizes Christ’s pre-existence (“Christ Jesus came”)51 or incar-
nation (“Christ Jesus came into the world”).52 others think the focus is on
salvation as universal (“to save [gentile] sinners”) rather than exclusive
(Jews alone).53 still others think the statement has to do with salvation
being present and future.54 according to towner, for instance, it is not
that Christ “came” (past tense) but that Christ “comes” (gnomic aorist)
to save each generation of unbelievers; he comes to the community of
humankind in need of salvation.55
regardless, the salvific purpose of Christ’s entrance into human history
is clear. first timothy 1:15 explicitly connects redemption to the incarna-
tion, making a profound Christological statement thereby. Jesus’ earthly life
and ministry is condensed into a single saving event: “Christ came into the
world to save sinners.” the salvific purpose of Christ’s entrance into human
history is personal. first timothy 2:15b–16 details Paul’s own experience on
the road to damascus: “Christ came into the world to save sinners of which
I [Paul] am the foremost” (1 tim 1:15b). the text recalls how Paul persecuted
the church, albeit out of ignorance, and how Christ saved him instead of
45 oden, First and Second Timothy and Titus, 42.
46 roloff, Der Erste Brief an Timotheus, 90–91.
47 o. michel, “grundfragen der Pastoralbriefe,” in m. loeser (ed.), Auf dem Grunde der
Apostel und Propheten: Festgabe für Theophil Wurm (stuttgart: Quell, 1948), 86; Brox, Pas-
toralbriefe, 111; Kelly, Pastoral Epistles, 54; oberlinner, Die Pastoralbriefe, 43.
48 guthrie, Pastoral Epistles, 15.
49 Collins, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, 39–40.
50 marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 397.
51 marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 398; mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 55.
52 Knight, Pastoral Epistles, 102; fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 53.
53 Quinn and Wacker, The First and Second Letters to Timothy, 134; mounce, Pastoral
Epistles, 57.
54 Kelly, Pastoral Epistles, 54.
55 towner, 1–2 Timothy and Titus, 146; cf. liefeld, 1 and 2 Timothy/Titus, 72; hasler, Timo-
theus und Titus, 16, 56; stott, 1 Timothy and Titus, 53; marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 398; fee,
1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 53.