Jerusalem Collection

Paul began a collection for the Jerusalem community as both a sign of unity within the churches but also because they were in need. I learned that the books regarding Paul’s letters about this instance were arranged not chronologically but by the length, in that they were written. If I was an average reader, I would be completely shocked at the way these books are organized. However, I was raised in a Christian church, so I got used to not reading the KJV bible chronologically. That was unless you took interest in one of the “Read the Bible in Order” small bible study groups offered there. I was not… I did my own exploring along with collecting countless sermons and creating a timeline in my mind.

When asked to organize five of these books in relative-chronological order, I got nervous. One of my majors is English so you would think this is my time to shine. Well, my biggest problem as a writer is jumping around my own personal timeline. When I read certain passages, I was constantly questioning when Paul was writing these, was he looking back in time, was he looking forward, or was he talking in his present tense.

I did a rough timeline of what I believed was the order and I came up with Galatians, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, Romans, and Philippians. I mistakenly thought in Galatians Paul was referring to start his ministry completely disregarding mentioning he had been to Jerusalem. That was my mistake entirely then next I listed 1st Corinthians because Paul mentions his plan to go to Macedonia. Then 2nd Corinthians because Paul mentions that it is his third visit to Corinth. I then listed Romans because Paul writes of his plans to visit Rome. Lastly, Philippians because he mentions being previously in Macedonia but that is all I could gather.

I then learned that I had a lot of rearranging to do with the most accurate arrangement being 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, and Romans. The information that I gathered was correct I just missed small details that clearly stated when the occurrences took place. That is when I learned that I must remember to humanize Paul and really look into the tone that he uses and what he does not mention by what he says. His letters are like a puzzle but we as readers must learn to take what he gives us and look for what he opts out.

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