1

Introduction

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Fellowship of the Ring, the wise

wizard Gandalf sends a poetic message to a group of hobbits;

Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin: “All that is gold does not glitter;

Not all those who wander are lost: The old that is strong does

not wither; Deep roots are not reached by the frost.” Gandalf’s

poem was meant to encourage the hobbits to welcome the mysterious

stranger called Strider whom they met at The Prancing Pony

tavern. All appearances indicated that Strider should be avoided.

He seemed like nothing but an odd and possibly dangerous

wanderer. Yet by the end of Tolkien’s epic it is revealed that

Strider was no mere wanderer. His real name was Aragorn and he

was the heir of the legendary King Isildur. Eventually this

drifter would be crowned King of the renewed kingdom of Gondor.

Far from being a threat to the hobbits, Strider was essential for

the success of their journey. He was proof that, indeed, “not all

those who wander are lost.”

What place does Strider have in a discussion of New

Testament theology? Strider, it seems to me, provides a good

2

illustration for helping us understand the nature of the Church.

The Church, just like the heir of Isildur, may appear to be

homeless. This appearance, while having a ring of truth to it, is

far from the whole story. The Church, as the New Testament

portrays it, is actually both decisively redeemed from exile by

the death and resurrection of Christ, and still in exile in this

age.

The dialectic of these two realities is an example of the

“already-but not yet” eschatological perspective of the New

Testament. This example of inaugurated eschatology is important.

However, I think that more can said than the fact that Israel’s

restoration from exile has already begun but is not yet complete.

Thus, this paper aims to explore more deeply the tension between

the redemption and exile which the Church experiences

simultaneously. Through this exploration, we shall see that the

continued experience of exile for Christians is about more than

simply waiting for the complete fulfillment of an only partially

realized redemption. Instead, the exile itself has a redemptive

purpose.

3

Old Testament Background

Before we can understand how the New Testament treats the

theme of exile, we must quickly examine the prominence of this

theme in the Old Testament. The shape of exile and restoration

established in the Old Testament is the mould for full and final

restoration in the New Testament.

The Exile and Restoration in Deuteronomy

After Israel’s miraculous exodus from Egypt, Yahweh

establishes a covenant with Israel. In Deuteronomy 28-30, Moses

warns Yahweh’s redeemed people of the possibility of a future

exile from the land they are about to possess as a part of the

covenant. In response to disobedience and unrepentance, Yahweh

will “bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation

that neither you nor your fathers have known.” His warning

culminates in a frightening promise:

The Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, butthe Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt

4

before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If onlyit were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see. And the Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shalloffer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.1

Yahweh made Israel into a glorious nation. Yet when Israel

wandered from worship of their Redeemer, his wrath would make

Israel utterly pathetic.

As just as this wrath would be, the warning finishes with a

reminder of Yahweh’s gracious faithfulness. This is most clearly

seen in Deuteronomy 30. Moses promises that after the previously

outlined curses come to pass “the Lord your God will restore your

fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again

from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.”2

This restoration will not be a mere re-gathering either. The

blessings of Yahweh will exceed what they had been before:

“[Yahweh] will make you more prosperous and numerous than your

fathers.”3 The obedience of Israel will also be elevated because

1 Deut. 28:64-68 ESV. (All scriptural quotations are from the English StandardVersion unless otherwise noted.)2 Deut. 30:3.3 Deut. 30:5.

5

Yahweh promises to “circumcise your heart and the heart of your

offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your

heart and with all your soul; that you may live.”4 On the other

side of exile are repentance and a glorious restoration. Although

the immediate concern of this passage in Deuteronomy is the

faithfulness of Yahweh’s covenant people amongst the foreign

nations that occupied the land of Canaan at the time of their

entrance, looking back at them in light of Israel’s history,

these texts rightly develop a “prophetic ring.”5

The Exile and Restoration in the Later Prophets

As the reality of exile drew nearer in Israel’s history, the

covenantal foundation of Yahweh’s promise of restoration from

exile emerged as a major part of the ministry of the prophets.

The Book of Isaiah, recording the ministry of Isaiah which took

place long before the deportation to Babylon and the destruction

of the city of Jerusalem and its temple, says a great deal about

what God would do in those events. The ministries of Jeremiah and

4 Deut 30:6.5 Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 139, 350.

6

Ezekiel, which straddled the deportation and destruction, filled

these expectations out even more fully. All of the prophetic

expectations for exile and restoration followed that pattern set

by Deuteronomy’s warnings.

One of the most significant ways in which the prophets

develop Israel’s expectations is by presenting their return from

exile as a glorious second Exodus. For example, in Isaiah 11, the

prophets promise that “there shall come forth a shoot from the

stump of Jesse, a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” The

appearance of this “root of Jesse” will mark the day in which

“the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the

remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt,

from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shiniar, from Hamath,

and from the coastlands of the sea.” Here, Isaiah is explicitly

linking this future recovery with the historic exodus from Egypt.

In 11:16 he announces that “there will be a highway from Assyria

for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for

Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.”

The pattern of Exodus is called to mind again in Isaiah 43.

There, Yahweh comforts his people saying “Fear not…for I have

7

redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine.” In spite

of their dire circumstances—either fearing the invasion of large

foreign armies or suffering under their oppression—Yahweh assures

them that he will protect them, just like he did at the time of

the Exodus. “When you pass through the waters,” says Yahweh,

calling to mind the journey through the Red Sea, “I will be with

you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.”

There are many other examples of this throughout the

prophets.6 Together, these passages show us that when Yahweh

would bring his people back from exile, it would be an event even

more momentous than the first exodus from Egypt. Israel would be

established as a nation in such a way that she experienced

unequaled prosperity and holiness. However, the narrative account

of Israel’s return from Babylon provided in Ezra and Nehemiah

paints an underwhelming picture of this return. Although the

authors are intent on showing that the unexpected events of the

6th century BC are indeed acts of Yahweh on behalf of his people,

they do not shy away from recording the problems that those who

6 All of Isaiah 40-66 seems concerned with this idea. 51:9-11 might be the most vivid section of all. A few other examples from outside of Isaiah can be found in Jeremiah 23:7-8, 33:11-16; Ezekiel 20:33-36, 34:1-11.

8

returned faced. These problems do not seem to fit in with the

grand event that the prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel

envisioned.

Ezra 3:13 captures well the mix of joy and sorrow that marks

the entire restoration: “The people could not distinguish the

sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping,

for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was

heard far away.” The occasion seems, on the surface, to be a

reason for joy. Yet it also, upon reflection, is a reason for

sadness. More serious than the lack of consensus in celebration

is the lack of the presence of Yahweh. As Matthew Levering points

out; “During the dedication of Solomon’s temple ‘a cloud filled

the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to

minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled

the house of the Lord.’ (1 Kgs. 8:10-11). Rather ominously, this

cloud of glory does not return.”7 Yahweh has done something great

in bringing back his people from Babylon, but it is obvious that

the incredible restoration that he promised to do at this time

had not yet come to pass. Israel was all too well aware of this.

7 Matthew Levering, Ezra and Nehemiah (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press, 2007), 56-57.

9

N.T. Wright, along with many others, argues that this lack

of fulfillment marked Israel’s self-understanding all the way

through the period of Second-Temple Judaism. “Most Jews of this

period,” argues Wright, “would have answered the question ‘where

are we?’ in language which, reduced to its simplest form, meant:

we are still in exile.” Even though the restoration had come

about in a small measure, it was essentially unrealized. Thus,

Wright concludes:

[First-Century Judaism] believed that, in all the sensewhich mattered, Israel’s exile was still in progress.Although she had come back from Babylon, the gloriousmessage of the prophets remained unfulfilled. Israel stillremained in thrall to foreigners; worse, Israel’s god hadnot returned to Zion. Nowhere in the so-called post-exilicliterature is there any passage corresponding to 1Kings8.10f., according to which, when Solomon’s temple had beenfinish, ‘a cloud filled the house of YHWH, so that that thepriests could not stand to minister because of the cloud;for the glory of YHWH filled the house of YHWH’.8

This then creates the context for the New Testament.

8 N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 269.

10

New Testament Return from Exile in Christ

Because First-Century Jews lived with a “sense of continuing

exile and the expectation of a new work of God to redeem his

people,”9 it is very significant that the New Testament writers

take are make connections between Christ and the return from

exile. Often this is done as they take up the prophetic language

of restoration through a second exodus to describe what God has

accomplished in Christ.

The Return from Exile in the Gospels

The very first words of our New Testament, Matthew’s

genealogy, provide us with an example of this connection. In this

genealogy, Matthew is setting the story of Jesus’s earthly

ministry within Israel’s broader history. Matthew does this by

breaking Israel’s history up into three chapters: 1) Abraham to

David, 2) David to Exile, 3) Exile to Jesus Christ the son of

David, the son of Abraham. Each section of this genealogy

represents a new era in Israel’s history. Everything that

happened in between the call of Abraham out of Ur in Genesis 12

9 Ian Duguid, “Exile” in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander et al. (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 477.

11

through the Covenant made with David in 2 Samuel can be seen as

one era marked by ascent out of the pit of fallen pre-history up

to the glorious theocracy of King David. All that happened after

David throughout the era of the Kings and into the Babylonian

captivity can be seen as a second era marked by descent from a

blessed Kingdom to the pit of judgment. The third era is another

era of ascent starting from the pit of exile; climaxing in Jesus

Christ. The coming of Jesus Christ marks the end of one era—exile

—and the dawning of the Messianic age.10

Another prominent way the exile-restoration framework

emerges in the Gospels is through references to the glorious

second Exodus promised by Isaiah. As we saw earlier, Isaiah

(along with other prophets) portrays Israel’s return from exile

as a glorious second Exodus. It would be a grand and magnificent

event whose miraculous scope went beyond even that of Israel’s

exodus from Egypt.

For example, in Matthew, John the Baptist is connected with

“he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘the

voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the

10 Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 9-26.

12

Lord; make his paths straight’”11 Before the Lord was to

personally come and lead an exodus of his people from Babylon, a

messenger was to prepare the way. John the Baptist was this

messenger. Significantly, Mark begins his Gospel with essentially

the same quote from Isaiah 40:3, combined with a related prophecy

from Malachi 3 which also speaks of the Lord’s preparatory

messenger. Both Matthew and Mark set Jesus’ ministry within the

framework of Isaiah’s new exodus out of exile.

Luke-Acts makes these connections even more explicit. Like

Matthew and Mark, Luke connects John the Baptist with the

preparatory messenger of Isaiah 40. Jesus is also connected with

Isaiah’s prophecies as he makes the claim that the preacher in

Isaiah 61:1-2 is himself. Luke sets up Jesus’ self-identification

with Isaiah 61 as a banner over which his whole ministry is to be

understood. Throughout all of Luke-Acts “the Isaianic New Exodus

tradition is evoked…to depict the significance of the new

movement in light of its claim of continuity with past.”12 Jesus’

11 Matthew 3:312 David W. Pao, Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic), 70.

13

miracles, ministry and even his sacrificial death can be

connected to Isaiah’s foretold new exodus.

This restoration continues on through the story told in

Acts. Because Jesus died and was raised as the Messianic Davidic

King, the abundance, unity, and indwelling of the Holy Spirit

which were to mark Israel once she was restored were realized. In

the words of Alan Thompson: “Luke is demonstrating in the

narrative of Acts the outworking of God’s promises of

restoration.”13 The Disciples recognized Jesus as the Christ,

even before his resurrection (Luke 9:20). With this recognition,

they knew that the kingdom associated with the arrival of the

Christ was near. Whatever doubts about this that had arisen on

Good Friday were certainly gone after they began to process the

incredible events of Easter. Therefore, after hearing from the

resurrected Christ that they would be “baptized with the Holy

Spirit not many days from now,” it is understandable that they

would ask “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to

Israel?”14 The disciples not only knew who the Christ was, but

13 Alan J. Thompson, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsityPress), 103. 14 Acts 1:5-6.

14

they also knew that the Christ was meant to restore the kingdom.

Jesus’ answer to them is sometimes interpreted as either a rebuke

of the disciples or a postponement of their question. Thompson

argues that “Jesus does not reject their enquiry into God’s

promises of restoration, whether in redirecting this hope to a

distant future or in rebuking a nationalistic focus. He is,

rather, affirming and clarifying their role in this

restoration.”15 Thus, numerous scenes in Acts illustrate how this

long awaited restoration is being fulfilled in Christ, by his

Spirit, through the Church.16

The Return from Exile in Paul

There are many other places in the New Testament to which we

could turn to see that Christ has brought his people back from

exile. For the sake of space, we shall only look at one more;

Paul’s discussion of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians. Greg Beale

argues that “there appears to be a specific OT background in some

of the key passages where Paul explicitly discusses

15 Thompson, Acts of the Risen Lord, 108. 16 See Thompson, Acts of the Risen Lord. especially ch3 “Israel and the Gentiles” pp103-124.

15

reconciliation.”17 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 is part of one such

Pauline discussion of reconciliation. In this passage, Paul

states that Christians are “a new creation” because “the old has

passed away; behold the new has come.”18 By doing this, the

Apostle is connecting the Church’s experience with a number of

passages in Isaiah. The overall context of these Isaianic

passages is “the recreation of the nation through restoring it

from exile to its homeland.”19 Paul is able to say this because

the cause of exile—sin—has been removed: “For our sake he made

him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the

righteousness of God.” 20 Thus, we hear from Paul the same thing

many others New Testament authors have said: “The decisive act in

the ending of exile and the restoration of God’s people has now

taken place in Christ.”21

New Testament Continuing Exile

17 G.K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2011), 528.18 2 Cor 5:1719 Pater Balla, “2 Corinthians” in Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament, ed. G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2007), 766.20 2 Cor 5:21.21 Duguid¸”Exile” in NDBT, 477.

16

If this is actually the case—that Christ has brought about

the glorious new exodus out of exile for his people—what do we

make of the fact that many authors also seem to highlight the

current exilic identity of Christians? In fact, at times it seems

that the Christian’s experience of exile because of their

identity as a Christian is deeper than ever before. What can

account for this dichotomy? This is certainly one example of the

“already-not yet” dynamic of salvation. However, I think that it

is important for something more nuanced to be said. A careful

choice of a few key texts will help bring to light the

significance of the Church’s cotemporaneous experience of

redemption and exile.

17

The Extension of Exile in the Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation may seem like the primary counter-

example to the idea that Christ has brought God’s people out of

exile. The books was written by one who was sitting in a very

literal political exile: “I, John, your brother and partner in

the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that

are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the

word of God and the testimony of the Jesus.”22 On top of this,

throughout the book, the saints are plagued by persecution and

seemingly should expect this persecution to continue. Thirdly,

Babylon, the source and destination of Israel’s 6th century B.C.

exile, is shown to still be afflicting the Saints. In 14:8,

“Babylon the great” is described as “she who made all nations

drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” This

symbolic use of the name Babylon is meant to conjure up past

images of “the ungodly world power under which Israel had to live

in captivity. While Israelite saints did not go along with

Babylon’s religious practices, they were nonetheless tempted to

22 Revelation 1:9.

18

compromise.”23 Thus, “here in the Apocalypse, Rome and all wicked

world systems take on the symbolic name ‘Babylon the Great.’”24

The hostile environment of the Roman Empire perpetuates the

saints’ experience of exile.

Thus, in Revelation, the heavy presence of Babylon

demonstrates that exile is still a present reality. Its decisive

end, which Christ brought about, does not seem to have taken

effect for the Church of Revelation. A closer inspection reveals

that this is not the case though. Although Babylon is a genuine

threat to the purity of the Church, she is also decisively

defeated. Revelation 17-19 reassures the persecuted Church of

this. In 17, a gaudy prostitute rides on the back of a royal

beast. This woman has become drunk upon “the blood of the saints,

the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”25 She is identified as

“Babylon the Great,” but as intimidating as she is, she is not to

be marveled at. In spite of the great power and authority she

will have, she will certainly be conquered. This conquering will

come at the hand of “the Lamb.” As 17:14 says: “They will make

23 G.K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999), 755.24 Ibid.25 Rev 17:6.

19

war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord

of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and

chosen and faithful.” Although this may seem to place the

salvation of the saints in the future, that is not exactly

correct.

It is very significant that the one who conquers Babylon is

not simply Jesus. It is Jesus described as “the Lamb.” This title

intentionally conjures up images of Jesus’ sacrificial death as

the Passover Lamb. Throughout the book of Revelation, the title

of “the Lamb” is central to descriptions of Christ as conqueror.

The significance of this is that even though the Church is

waiting for a final victory over Babylon, she is certain that it

will happen because of the historical reality of the cross.

Because Jesus, in the past, was crucified but was then raised,

the Church can be sure of Babylon’s future defeat. The slaying of

the worthy lamb “ransomed people for God from every tribe and

language and people and nation, and…have made them a kingdom and

priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.”26 Because of

this, the book of Revelation serves as very important book in

26 Rev 5:9-10.

20

helping the Church understand the nature of her redemption and

exile.

The Extension of Exile in the Epistle to the Hebrews

Hebrews, like Revelation, portrays Christians as people who

are still being plagued by exile and longing to return home. This

is especially obvious in chapters 11 and 12. Chapter 11, famously

recollects the experience of a number of Old Testament saints and

commends them as positive examples for living as an exile:

These all died in faith, not having received the thingspromised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar,and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exileson the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear thatthey are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking ofthat land from which they had gone out, they would have hadopportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a bettercountry, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is notashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for thema city.27

The author continues later on, describing the trials of Old

Testament saints: “They went about in skins of sheep and goats,

destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy

—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves 27 Hebrews 11:13-16.

21

of the earth.”28 Christians are then encouraged to continue in

the same sort of perseverance as wanderers and exiles. It is

assumed that the Old Testament examples are useful because

Christians are in a similarly marginalized position. Thus,

Hebrews 12 opens; “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great

a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin

which slings to closely, and let us run with endurance the race

that is set before us…” (12:1).

Interestingly, this homeless characterization of Christians

becomes a bit perplexing as one reads on through chapter twelve:

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them…But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better wordthan the blood of Abel.29

Here, the author describes his readers as people who are

partaking in the New Covenant. This New Covenant is that which

Jeremiah said would be a characteristic of the restored (no

28 Heb 11:17-18.29 Heb 12:18-24.

22

longer exiled) people of God. How do Christians live away from

their homeland yet also participate in the New Covenant? F.F.

Bruce’s evaluation of this passage seems to capture the dialectic

being presented here well:

The new Jerusalem has not yet come down to mankind, but inthe spiritual realm they already have access to it. Theyhave become fellow-citizens with Abraham of that well-founded city for which he looked; it is the city orcommomweatlh which comprises the whole family of faith,God’s true dwelling-place. Even now this city has not beenmanifested in its fullness; it is still in one sense ‘thecity which is to come’ (13:14), but the privileges of itscitizenship are already enjoyed by faith. The people of Godare still a pilgrim people, treading the ‘highways to Zion,’but by virtue of his sure promise they have already arrivedthere in spirit.30

Christians are ones who have been brought into full citizenship

of the restored kingdom even if they have not yet arrived there.

The Extension of Exile in First Peter

First Peter presents another opportunity to understand even

better how it is that Christ’s death and resurrection were the

decisive events to end the exile, and yet Christians still find

themselves to be in exile. Exilic language permeates Peter’s

letter from beginning to end. It is addressed to “those who are

30 F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1990), 357.

23

elect exiles of the dispersion.”31 It is possible that this

designation is a description of the recipients’ physical

situation. There was precedence in the first century Roman Empire

for entire people groups to be transported to newly conquered

areas.32 Yet Peter develops his recipients’ exile identity in

such a way that it becomes theological, even if it is also

physical. Thus, in 1:17 he can exhort Christians to “conduct

yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.” Also, in

2:11 Peter urges his readers to “abstain from the passions of the

flesh, which wage war against your soul” because these readers

are “sojourners and exiles.” Peter then ends the letter by

passing along greetings from “She who is at Babylon.”33 This

reference to Babylon is almost certainly a concealed reference to

Rome.34 Thus, Peter’s perspective is similar to Revelation’s:

Babylon was not merely an ancient kingdom that persecuted Israel,

it was a present reality in the form of the Roman Empire and its

cult.

31 1 Peter 1:1.32 For a full discussion of this phenomen as it relates to 1 Peter, see Karen Jobes, First Peter (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005), 27-40.33 1 Peter 5:13.34 Jobes, First Peter, 321-323.

24

In spite of Peter’s exile emphasis, he also clearly

acknowledges the reality of salvation for Christians. In 1:3

Peter rejoices in the fact that “the God and Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ…has caused [past tense] us to be born again.” New

birth is something that has happened in the past. Again, in 2:5-6

Christians are described as “living stones” who are “being built

up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.” Adding to

this, just a few verses later Peter presents this description of

his readers:

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you areGod’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This terminology is overflowing with themes that were expected to

mark the restored people of God. As Karen Jobes points out, “the

phrase ‘a chosen race’ echoes Isa. 43:3, which announces that God

himself is Israel’s only savior, who will deliver his people from

their exile in Babylon.”35 The section as a whole clearly draws

upon Exodus 19:5-6 (which Isaiah 43 is probably also doing):

35 Ibid., 158.

25

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me akingdom of priests and a holy nation.

In other words, how Peter describes his readers is exactly what

God’s redeemed people, are meant to be. Even the language of

being “called out of darkness and into his marvelous light”

conjures up an image of exodus and restoration. If all of this is

true, why then, in the very next section, does Peter identify his

readers and “sojourners and exiles”?

The answer may lie in the fact that, in First Peter,

Christians are sojourners and exiles not because they still await

restoration. Instead, they take on this exile identity because

they are brought out of the world. Salvation makes one into an

exile. Mirsolav Volf, in his excellent reflection on exile in

First Peter, notes that those to whom Peter wrote “became

alienated from their social environment in a new way when they

became Christians...Before conversion, they were much like their

neighbors (see 4:3ff.); after conversion they became different,

26

and this was the cause of their persecution”36 Redemption created

exiles.

First Peter also brings to light the purpose of the exile

for Christians. Unlike ancient Israel, exile is not a consequence

of disobedience and idolatry. Exile comes about through

forgiveness and being made into a true worshipper of God.

Christians are made different from the rest of the world from

which they formally fit in. Peter calls his readers to make the

gap between themselves and the Gentiles obvious to others.37

Thus, in 2:15 Peter claims; “For this is the will of God, that by

doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish

people.” Again, Peter calls his readers to endure suffering, even

when it is unjust:

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what isgood? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake,you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, alwaysbeing prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you fora reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it withgentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that,

36 Miroslav Volf, “Soft Difference” in Captive To the Word of God (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2010), 70. 37 Passages like Jeremiah 29:3-7 show that there was a missional aspect to ancient Israel’s exile as well. This should not be surprising in light of Genesis 12:1-2. In spite of this parallel, the fact that the exile is a punishment for Israel’s sin serves as a contrast between the experience of ancient Israel and the Church.

27

when you are slandered, those who revile your good behaviorin Christ may be put to shame.38

That difference between the Church and the rest of the world is

meant to attract the attention of outsiders. Peter even seems

optimistic that this attention could even bring salvation to

outsiders, thus drawing them into the exile of the redeemed. In

First Peter, there is a missional purpose to the continued state

of exile in which the Church finds herself.

The Exile in the Book of Acts

Luke’s narrative of the apostolic Church illuminates this

point even more brightly. It was established earlier that Luke

presents his narrative in such a way that makes it clear and

restoration is being brought about through the Holy Spirit by the

risen Lord Jesus Christ. Even though this is the case, the Church

in Acts still bears many marks of exile; much like in Revelation,

Hebrews and First Peter. This is most obviously seen in the

surplus of suffering the Church encounters. It has been observed

that “Acts has no purpose, no plot, no structure, and no history

38 1 Pet 3:13-16.

28

without suffering.”39 The prevalence of this theme shows that the

‘kingdom of God’ still has a future fulfillment in Acts. However,

this fulfillment’s delay does not prevent the kingdom from

spreading. Instead, it is the catalyst for growth. As Thompson

notes: “Suffering is intimately related to two of the dominant

themes of Acts: the spread of the word and the establishment and

strengthening of local churches.”40

One might also expect the restoration of the kingdom, as

promised through the Old Testament prophets, to mean a large

scale exodus of the people of God towards Jerusalem. This is the

pattern Jesus followed in Luke’s Gospel. The narrative and

teaching of Luke are paced by Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Thus,

in the very beginning of Acts, the disciples are commanded to

wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. Upon receiving the Spirit,

the ministry of the Apostles begins in earnest and, in spite of

some resistance, the Church grows and flourishes.41 Yet, the

Spirit was not given to merely enable Apostolic witness in

Jerusalem. Jesus explicitly stated in Acts 1:8 that the disciples

39 Thompson, Acts of the Risen Lord, 54.40 Ibid, 55.41 e.g. Acts 4:32-37, 5:12-16

29

would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and

you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The geographic spread which

follows the reception of the Holy Spirit is noteworthy. The Holy

Spirit, which was a sign of redemption, actually sent people

along the paths an exile would travel. God’s people were spread

out to the far corners of the globe. However, just like in First

Peter, this diaspora would not be due to punishment. It was the

result of redemption.

Suffering, therefore, throughout the whole book of Acts, is

what sends the Apostles out from Jerusalem. Stephen’s martyrdom

in Acts 7 is presented as the means for the spread of the Gospel.

“Those who were scattered” by persecution “went about preaching

the word.”42 Trials were not a hindrance to the Gospel’s spread,

they enabled it.

The high point of this journey comes as the Apostle Paul

reaches Rome, the most important city in the entire Mediterranean

in that day. Paul was rejected while teaching in Jerusalem.43

This rejection is what begins his judicial journey to Rome as

42 Acts 8:4.43 Acts 20:27-36.

30

described throughout the last eight chapters of Acts. During this

journey Paul is given audience with many noteworthy officials,

proclaiming to them the Lordship of Jesus. Then, at the end of

the book, Paul is in Rome and hoping for a possible audience with

Caesar himself. Even though Paul is imprisoned, Luke finishes his

narrative by telling us: “[Paul] lived there two whole years at

his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming

the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with

all boldness and without hindrance.”44 Trials brought the Gospel

to the ends of the earth.

There is one final aspect of Acts that can help us

understand the exiled-redeemed dichotomy which the Church

experiences. That aspect is that the Church is referred to as

“the Way” multiple times throughout Acts. Given Luke’s Isaianic

framework in Luke-Acts, it is reasonable to see this title as

deriving from Isaiah 40:3: “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness

prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a

highway for our God.’” Beale provides a convincing summary of the

significance of this allusion:

44 Acts 28:30-31.

31

This name for the Christian movement, ‘the Way,’ thusdesignates that the Christians were the true end-time Israelbeginning to fulfill the prophecies of Israel’s return fromexile. They were on ‘the Way’ out of exile to returning toGod. The name ‘the Way’ indicates that one could begin toparticipate in this restoration journey by believing inChrist and joining others who already believed and werewalking on ‘the Way,’ progressing in their new-exodusjourney. Consequently, ‘the Way described both those firstjoining it and those who had belonged to it for some time,so that the name included reference to a manner of ongoingChristian living as part of a restoration journey.45

Thus we see that everything in Acts which seems to expose the

fact that restoration is not complete is in fact an expression of

Jesus’ reign as Lord. It is through suffering and rejection,

through being thrown out Jerusalem and sent to the far corners of

the earth, that the Church is able to proclaim the arrival of the

kingdom of God. This is exactly how that kingdom is established

across the whole earth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that to be a Christian is to

be one of God’s redeemed people; yet to be one of God’s redeemed

people involves a deep experience of exile. The environment in

which the Church lives is hostile and foreign. Babylon still

oppresses God’s people. They are not at home. The Church does not45 Beale, New Testament Biblical Theology, 858.

32

yet possess the fullness of the blessings that come from being

God’s people. The New Testament teaches us that this should not

be thought of as an unfortunate reality. It is part of the

glorious purpose for which Christians have been called. The

Church is spread out across the globe to bring about the

restoration of exile, not just for ancient Israel, but for all of

God’s creation. The Church’s continued experience of exile has a

missional purpose.

The Church is to call others out of allegiance with Babylon

and onto “the Way” through the wilderness towards restoration.

Certainly, the Church looks forward to the day when Babylon, the

location of her exile, is finally overthrown and is replaced by

the heavenly Jerusalem. On that day the creation will be made new

and the Church will finally be in her better homeland. But in

this age the Church lives with a tension between exile and

restoration.

The historical fact of Christ’s death and resurrection is

real which means that the Church’s redemption is real. The exile

has, with absolute certainty, been ended. Yet the Church is still

looks ahead. She cries “maranatha.” She does not set down roots

33

here and now because she seeks a better country. Yet she does not

merely bunker down and wait for escape. The Church faithfully

lives in the far country she finds herself in by calling others

to join her on her pilgrimage. Together Christians walk towards

the Promised Land, much like the Israelites walked through the

desert. They were decisively out of Egypt, having crossed the Red

Sea. But they were not yet in the Promised Land, they had not

crossed the Jordan. The Church likewise exists in the wilderness.

She is there to call others to join her before the final

judgment; to call others to receive the forgiveness of sins which

allows for all the blessing of restoration to flood upon God’s

people.

Spiritually, the Church walks unflinchingly towards the

Promised Land. Geographically, she is free to go anywhere in

order to “make disciples of all nations.” This tension maybe best

expressed in the final stanza of Henry Lyte’s hymn, Jesus, I My Cross

Have Taken.

Haste thee on from grace to glory,Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.Heaven’s eternal days before thee,God’s own hand shall guide us there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission.

34

Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,Hope shall change to glad fruition,Faith to sight and prayer to praise.

We are pilgrims. But we are not purposeless pilgrims who wander

only to arrive at home. We are pilgrims who, even in their

journey, have a purpose, an “earthly mission.”

35

Bibliography

Beale, G.K. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testamentin the New. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2011.

---, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999.

Bruce, F.F., The Epistle to the Hebrews. New International Commentary onthe New Testament, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1990.

Craigie, Peter C. The Book of Deuteronomy. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1976.

Duguid, I. M. “Exile.” Pages 475-478 in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. Downers Grove: Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

Jobes, Karen H. First Peter. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009.

Levering, Matthew. Ezra and Nehemiah. Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press, 2007.

Pao, David W. Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2002.

Thompson, Alan J. The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus: Luke’s Account of God’s Unfolding Plan, New Studies in Biblical Theology 27. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2011.

Volf, Miroslav. “Soft Difference: Church and Culture in 1 Peter.”Pages 65-90 in Captive to the Word of God: Engaging the Scriptures for Contemporary Theological Reflection. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2010.

Wright, Christopher J.H. Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament. DownersGrove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

36

Wright, N.T. The New Testament and the People of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

---, Paul: In Fresh Perspective. Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2005.