MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

Patronage—Romans 3:26

Life was extremely precarious in the ancient world, and a person could survive only through the combined efforts of family, local community, and clan or tribe. Society as a whole called for those who had extra to share with those who lacked. A widespread custom, especially in the Roman world, was that of patronage, in which those who had would give to those who had none. It became such a part of the fabric of ancient life that the apostle Paul employed it as a way of illustrating God’s plan of salvation. The practice could be especially meaningful to Gentiles.

The Roman world consisted mainly of two classes: the tiny group of the rich who controlled almost all resources, and the majority who were desperately poor. Those who needed a loan, a job, professional and social advancement, food, grain to plant the next crop, land, or legal assistance or any other kind of help, would seek the aid of those who had the needed wealth and power. The latter, known as patrons, provided aid that a person could never get by themselves. Ideally, such patrons assisted not out of expectation of reward or from self-interest but from concern for the recipient. The person who sought such help is called the client. Sometimes the clients are unable to reach wealthy patrons on their own. They would contact a person who would act as a go-between (called a “broker” or mediator), providing access for the needy clients to potential patrons. The patron would then accept and help the client based on the merits or character of the mediator.

Once the patron granted what that client needed and could obtain in no other way, the recipient then assumed a permanent relationship with or obligation of loyalty to the patron. The client was forever indebted to the patron. As a result, Roman society expected the helped person to publicize both the favor granted and to show his or her gratitude for such assistance—to praise the patron and everything connected with him or her before others. Also, society expected the recipient to be willing and ready to perform services for the patron and their family. Clients might gather at the patron’s home early in the morning, waiting for any opportunity to assist them. The client was not paying back the patron—that was absolutely impossible—but simply acknowledging thankfulness for something that he or she could never have gained any other way. Everyone considered the obligation of gratitude or thankfulness to last as long as the client lived. Patronage was the glue that held Roman society together through a web of personal relationships (and it continues to have a powerful influence in many cultures today).

Paul saw in the practice of patronage a way of explaining both what God had done for humanity through Christ and how the redeemed should respond to His gift of salvation. Salvation is free to all, but once believers accept it, they have responsibilities. Interestingly, Paul used the same terms to explain the plan of salvation as Roman writers employed to describe the practice of patronage. Both the apostle and the Roman authors spoke of charis (usually translated as “grace”) to indicate both divine and human favor and pistis (“faith” or “faithfulness”) to indicate how the recipient should respond to such favor.

God and Christ, having brought all things into existence, can alone redeem fallen human beings. He is the divine Patron who gives the sinner grace. Jesus is the mediator, because of His unique relation to both the Father and humanity. Only because of Christ’s merits can humanity receive salvation through Him. Christians, like clients, must accept from God something they can never obtain themselves. But by receiving it, they willingly assume a life of unending gratitude, obedience, and service to God and Christ. Through faith in Jesus, they are always ready to honor their Savior and do His will.

Evans and Porter, Dictionary of New Testament Background, 766-771.