I’ll never read Romans 13 the same way again. Let me back up.

Esau McCaulley’s latest book—Reading While Black—covers a wide range of exegetical ground. McCaulley examines themes of policing, political involvement, justice, anger, and freedom in a way that can best be described as faithful. McCaulley is faithful both to the biblical text and his own identity as a black Christian in the United States. It’s his faithfulness to his own identity and tradition that makes his exegetical contributions so significant.

In case you’re unaware, Romans 13 is the classic passage of scripture that Christians turn to when seeking to defend their obedience to civic authorities. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1) Paul goes on to say, “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad” (Romans 13:3). Here’s the problem. McCaulley approaches this text with a personal story of how rulers in his context were a terror to him despite his good conduct. How do you faithfully exegete Romans 13 in light of that? I’ll leave the answer to McCaulley. For here, it’s enough to say that his reading of scripture is sound, taking in the broader context of Romans and historical reality into account.

In Revelation 7, John sees a vision of “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (v. 9) standing before God’s throne. Not unlike the Day of Pentecost when people came together yet spoke different languages, God’s people were never intended to be homogenized. McCaulley’s book is a profound reminder that God’s church aligns most faithfully to the eschatological vision when multiple voices are heard.

McCaulley, Esau. Reading While Black. InterVarsity Press, 2020.