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In 1 Corinthians, Paul echoes a Jewish tradition from Sirach that teaches all are judged fairly based on their actions. In Sirach, this connects mercy and punishment as two sides of divine justice. Paul uses it to describe the consequences of behavior.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 16:14
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
11 Even if there is one stiff-necked person, it is a marvel if he will be unpunished; for mercy and wrath are both with him who is mighty to forgive, and he pours out wrath. 12 As his mercy is great, so is his correction also. He judges a man according to his works. 13 The sinner will not escape with plunder. The perseverance of the godly will not be frustrated. 14 He will make room for every work of mercy. Each man will receive according to his works. 17 Don’t say, “I will be hidden from the Lord,” and “Who will remember me from on high?” I will not be known among so many people, for what is my soul in a boundless creation? 18 Behold, heaven, the heaven of heavens, the deep, and the earth, will be moved when he visits. 19 The mountains and the foundations of the earth together are shaken with trembling when he looks at them. 20 No heart will think about these things. Who could comprehend his ways?
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
1 Corinthians 11:29
New Testament
27 For this reason, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A person should examine himself first, and in this way let him eat the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks without careful regard for the body eats and drinks judgment against himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dead. 31 But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you assemble it does not lead to judgment. I will give directions about other matters when I come.
Date: 55–57 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... This view that suffering is brought on by one’s sins remains the dominant conviction in the proto- and deuterocanonical works such as Esther, Judith, Tobit, 1 and 2 Maccabees and Sirach. Sirach says, for example, that “each receives his reward according to his deeds” (Sirach 16:14). Paul, as a Pharisee, would have accepted this view and would have believed that suffering was a God-given sign of judgement or punishment. He seems to accept this view in 1 Corinthians 11:29-32 ... However, despite the above, Paul is adamant that this is not why he suffers: he is an innocent righteous sufferer (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5) ..."
Philip B. Mortell, A Socio-rhetorical Interpretation of Paul’s Theology of Christian Suffering in 1 Corinthians (University of Limerick, 2020), 24–25.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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