Commentary on Romans 15:14-33

Test in red, if any are my additions.

 

ST. PAUL WRITES TO THE ROMANS AS THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES; HIS PLAN TO VISIT ROME.

A Summary of Romans 15:14-33

The Dogmatic and Moral Parts of the Epistle being finished, the Apostle subjoins an epilogue (Rom 15:14-16:27) in which only personal matters are treated. At first (verses 14-21) he apologizes for the freedom with which he has written them and offers a justification. He is the Apostle of the Gentiles and wishes to make known in the Eternal City the contents of his preaching to other Gentiles. Next he says (verses 22-29) that, after visiting Jerusalem, he hopes to realize his long desire to see Rome on his way to evangelize Spain. Meanwhile he ardently implores (verses 30-32) their prayers for protection against his enemies in Jerusalem. Verse 33 is his final salutation.

Rom 15:14. And I myself also, my brethren, am assured of you, that you also are full of love, replenished with all knowledge, so that you are able to admonish one another.

 

With this verse the Apostle begins to explain why he has written at such length and so openly to the Romans. It was not that he doubted the purity of their faith or the sanctity of their lives; for he is assured (perhaps through letters sent him by Aquila and Priscilla) that they are full of love (αγαθωσυνης = agathosynes) , i.e., of moral goodness and kindliness; and that they are replenished with all knowledge, i.e., with a profound and accurate understanding of the truths of faith, so as to be able to admonish, i.e., to warn, to instruct one another (αλληλους νουθετειν = allelous nouthetein).

 

In the Vulgate bonitate (goodness) would be more literal than dilectione 

(love); etiam (also) should precede alterutrum (one another). The final clause should read: “so that you are able (etiam) also to admonish one another."

 

Rom 15:15. But I have written to you, brethren, more boldly in some sort, as it were putting you in mind: because of the grace which is given me from God.

 

St. Paul wrote to the Roman Church more boldly in some sort, i.e., in terms somewhat bold (τολμηροτερως = tolmeroteron) , at times, not to teach them any new doctrines, but only to put them in mind, i.e., to remind them of things they already knew. This he felt to be his duty because of the grace, i.e., because of the commission, given him as the Apostle of the Gentiles (Rom 1:5; Rom 12:3).

 

Brethren (Vulg., fratres) supposes the less probable reading αδελφοι (adelphoi).

 

Rom 15:16. That I should be the minister of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles; sanctifying the gospel of God, that the oblation of the Gentiles may be made acceptable and sanctified in the Holy Ghost.

 

Here the Apostle describes the nature and purpose of the grace and commission he has received. His Apostolate to the Gentiles was a kind of priesthood which, as Gospel-priest, he exercises under Christ.

 

The minister (λειτουργον = leitourgon) means here the priest as discharging the sacred ministry. The object of this ministry is the Gentiles. The word is related to liturgy.

 

Sanctifying the gospel. The word  ιερουργουντα (hierourgounta) implies the act of fulfilling a sacred function, and especially the offering of sacrifice. Thus the preaching of the Gospel among the Gentiles is here represented by the Apostle as a sacrifice. The preacher is the priest (Greek: hiereus), the Gentiles are the victim to be offered (see Rom 12:1), and preaching is the act by which the victim is brought to the altar and prepared for immolation. By preaching the Gospel the Apostle is performing a sacrificial act, the purpose of which is to prepare and dispose the Gentiles to be an oblation acceptable to God. For other sacrificial terminology Paul uses in relation to his ministry see (Rom 11:3; Philippians 2:17).

 

Sanctified in the Holy Ghost. As in the ancient sacrifices the victim, before being immolated, had to be cleansed and purified so as to be pleasing to God, so the Gentiles, in order to become an oblation acceptable to God, should first be purified from their moral unfitness. This purification of the Gentiles by which they became acceptable to God was finally effected through Baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit.

 

In the Vulgate sanctificans evangelium (sanctifying the gospel) should rather be operans (in a ritual sense, i.e., ministering) evangelio = gospel (Lagrange).  The et (and) before sanctificata (being sanctified) should be omitted; consequently also the and in English.  The end of the verse should read: that the oblation of the Gentiles may be made acceptable, being sanctified in the Holy Ghost; not made acceptable and sanctified.

Rom 15:17. I have therefore glory in Christ Jesus towards God.

Therefore (ουν = oun) shows we have here a deduction from the contents of the preceding verse. Since he is engaged in a work for Christ and acting under Christ’s direction, the Apostle has spoken more boldly than he would have done had he been acting on his own account (Parry).

Glory. The glory and fruit that come from the Apostle’s ministry are due, not to him, but to Christ whose minister and instrument he is.

Towards God, τα προ τον θεον (ho pros ton theon), i.e., for that which regards the work of God, namely, the preaching of the Gospel.

Rom 15:18. For I dare not to speak of any of those things which Christ worketh not by me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed.

The Apostle briefly and modestly alludes to the fruits of his Apostolate. The verse is made awkward and obscure by the double negative (the dual use of the word “not”), but the sense is: I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ worketh through me, as if they were my own, etc. If St. Paul speaks of what he has done, by word and action, in fulfillment of his commission to preach the Gospel and bring the Gentiles to the obedience of faith, it is only because this redounds to the glory of Christ.

By word and deed, i.e., by his spoken and written words—his preaching of the Gospel, and by his example and miracles.

Rom 15:19. By the virtue of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Ghost, so that from Jerusalem round about as far as unto Illyricum, I have replenished the gospel of Christ.

St. Paul now shows the means by which his preaching was confirmed, and indicates the vast area over which the course of his labors extended.

Signs and wonders both mean miracles.

Virtue and power (δυναμει = dynamei) also mean miracles; but here δυναμει means both the power to work miracles and to manifest the Holy Ghost (Lagr.). The words virtue and power in verse 19 translate δυναμει (dynamei). The word indicates a strong power, force, action, etc. Our word dynamite is derived from it.

So that (ωστε = hoste). Through the help of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost the Gospel has been preached in the whole Orient (the east), beginning from Jerusalem (Acts 9:28 ff.) and its environs on the southeast, and extending to Illyricum on the northwest. Illyricum was the name given to the western districts of the province of Macedonia, bordering on the north-east shore of the Adriatic. We have no record of St. Paul preaching in this district, hence it marked the westernmost boundary of his missionary labors up to the present time. Throughout all this extended region, from Jerusalem and its environs on the east to Illyricum on the west, St. Paul had replenished, i.e., had fully preached the Gospel in all the principal centres. He does not say that he had converted all the pagans, or even the greater number of them; but he had sufficiently promulgated the good news so that all might learn thereof.
 

Rom 15:20. And I have so preached this gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation.
Rom 15:21. But as it is written: They to whom he was not spoken of, shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand.
 

The Apostle explains the principle which determined the choice of the regions in which he preached. It was not his practice to preach the Gospel where Christ was already known. This is not contrary to his desire to evangelize the Romans (Rom 1:15), because, first of all, he was well aware that the Roman Christians were thoroughly grounded in the knowledge of the faith (Rom 1:8; Rom 15:14), and secondly he had no intention of appearing at Rome as the Apostle of that Church, but only of paying a visit there (verses 22-24).
  

I have so preached. Literally, “I so make it a principle to preach,” etc. It was the Apostle’s rule not to preach where Christ was known already, because he did not want to build upon another man’s foundation (1 Cor. 3:10; 2 Cor. 10:15, 16). It was his office to lay the foundations of new Churches, and leave to others the continuation of his work (1 Cor. 3:10; 1 Cor 12:28).
 

As it is written, in Isa 52:15, cited according to the LXX. The Prophet says that the Gentiles who have not heard the Messiah spoken of shall hear of Him and shall understand. St. Paul identifies the Messiah with our Lord, and applies to himself the fulfillment of the Prophet’s words in making Christ known to the pagans who before had not heard of Him.

The Apostle (in verses 22-32) says that the completion of his work of founding Churches in the Orient has finally left him free to undertake his visit to Rome on the way to Spain. First, however, he must go to Jerusalem with the collections that have been made for the poor there. He beseeches the Christians at Rome to pray that he may escape the hands of his enemies in Jerusalem. 

 

The Apostle (in verses 22-32) says that the completion of his work of founding Churches in the Orient has finally left him free to undertake his visit to Rome on the way to Spain. First, however, he must go to Jerusalem with the collections that have been made for the poor there. He beseeches the Christians at Rome to pray that he may escape the hands of his enemies in Jerusalem.

Rom 15:22. For which cause also I was hindered very much from coming to you, and have been kept away till now.

For which cause, i.e., because I was continually engaged in the establishing of Churches in the east (Rom 1517-20).

And have been kept away till now. These words are not in the Greek or ancient versions, and are wanting in some copies of the Vulgate. They are considered as a gloss from Rom 1:13. The corresponding words of the Vulgate should be omitted.

 

Rom 15:23. But now having no more place in these countries, and having a great desire these many years past to come unto you,
Rom 15:24. When I shall begin to take my journey into Spain, I hope that as I pass, I shall see you, and be brought on my way thither by you, if first, in part, I shall have enjoyed you: 

 23, 24. No more place, etc., not that there is nothing further to be done, but that, having established Churches in all the principal cities and centres, his work of founding Churches in the East is finished.

When I shall begin to take my journey into Spain, etc. The Gospel had surely not been preached in Spain and the Apostle, on his way thither, would make his long-desired visit to the Romans.

And be brought on my way, etc., i.e., be accompanied by some of the faithful at Rome for a certain distance when departing, as was the custom after visiting a community (Acts 20:38; 21:5).

If first, etc. The Apostle modestly expresses the wish that he may first enjoy the company of the Romans for a little time, before going to Spain.

 

Rom 15:25. But now I shall go to Jerusalem, to minister unto the saints.

The subject of the preceding verse is suddenly changed, as the Apostle remembers the necessity of his going first to Jerusalem. He is very anxious to visit the Gentile Christians of Rome, but he is also solicitous for the Jewish faithful in Jerusalem: his great heart embraced them all, because all belonged to the one Church of Christ.

Rom 15:26. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a contribution for the poor of the saints that are in Jerusalem.

This explains why St. Paul must go to Jerusalem. He must take there the collection of alms which the faithful of Macedonia and Achaia have contributed for the poor in the Holy City (1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:1-9:15; Acts 20:3; 21:17). The poverty of the Christians in Jerusalem was due partly to the fact that many had transferred all their possessions to a common fund (Acts 4:32), and particularly to the persecutions which they suffered, during which their common possessions were often plundered and confiscated (Acts 8:1; Heb. 10:34).

 

Rom 15:27. For it hath pleased them; and they are their debtors, For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they ought also in carnal things to minister to them.

The alms contributed by the faithful of Macedonia and Achaia were given out of the abundance of their love and charity, as St. Paul says,  ευδοκησαν (= eudokesan, "it hath pleased them"); and yet they had only fulfilled their duty and paid a debt that they owed. They, like all the Gentiles, had been made partakers of the spiritual benefits of the Gospel, which primarily came from the Jews and through Jewish messengers; and if they had thus shared in the spiritual goods of Israel, it was only just and right that the latter should be assisted in their need by some of the temporal blessings and riches of the Gentiles. "By praising the Corinthians for their charity, the Apostle also delicately reminds the Romans of the debt of kindness they owe to their fellow Jews" (Origen).

The expression λειτουργησαι (= leitourgesai), to minister, here means to render a service from man to man; it has not the sense of a sacred service (Lagrange, Parry against Cornely).

 

Rom 15:28. When therefore I shall have accomplished this, and consigned to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.

Consigned to them this fruit. Literally, set my seal for them on this fruit, i.e., when I have securely conveyed to them this fruit. The seal was primarily a mark of ownership and authenticity, and then secondarily of security and correctness. St. Paul set his seal on this collection for the poor in Jerusalem to prove that the alms were the fruit of the charity of the Gentiles (Cornely); or that they were the product of his own Apostolic labors (Julicher).

Rom 15:29. And I know, that when I come to you, I shall come in the abundance of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

St. Paul feels assured of the conditions that shall attend upon his arrival in Rome. His mission to Jerusalem safely finished, he will bring to the Romans the blessing of Christ (Comely, S. H., Lagr., etc.).

Of the gospel (Vulg., evangelii), is not the best MSS.

Rom 15:30. I beseech you therefore, brethren, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the charity of the Holy Ghost, that you help me in your prayers for me to God,

I beseech shows the state of supreme tension and anxiety which prevailed in St. Paul's mind. He knew that the Judaizers, together with the unbelieving Jews, must now be at the flood tide of their animosity and hatred for him, seeing the success that had crowned his labors in the Orient; and yet he must discharge his duty to the faithful in Jerusalem regardless of the results to his own person (Acts 20:22-25; 21:4, 13)- He appeals to the prayers of the Romans through our Lord Jesus Christ, their and his common Master and Head, to whom they are all united by the charity of the Holy Ghost.

The words Holy and your, and the corresponding sancti and vestris of the Vulgate, are not in the Greek of the best MSS.

Rom 15:31. That I may be delivered from the unbelievers that are in Judea, and that the oblation of my service may be acceptable in Jerusalem to the saints.

The Apostle is beset with two fears. First, there is the implacable hostility of the unbelieving Jews who, before he left Corinth, had planned to kill him on his way to Jerusalem (Acts 20:3); and secondly, there were the Jewish Christians themselves to whom he was bringing the collection, but on whose friendship he could not fully depend, because of their zeal for the Law (Acts 21:20) and their consequent possible dislike for one who had made so little of the Law. Speaking thus he shows that he feels the Romans are animated by a very different spirit in his regard (Lagrange).

And that the oblation, etc. Better, "And that my ministry at Jerusalem be acceptable," etc.

 

Rom 15:32. That I may come to you with joy, by the will of God, and may be refreshed with you.

It is the Apostle's hope to go to Rome with joy, if it be the will of God; and as he will bring to the faithful there the blessing of Christ, he trusts that he himself will find the visit a source of rest and spiritual repose. Little did he know that he would be captured by his enemies at Jerusalem and taken to Caesarea, there to be retained in prison for two whole years before being allowed to go to Rome, and that, when at length he would arrive in the Eternal City, it would be as a fettered and guarded prisoner.

Rom 15:33- Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

A final salutation implores the God of peace to be with all the Roman Christians. The implication is that peace prevails in the community as a whole, and that discord is far removed from them. This is a characteristic salutation which St. Paul is accustomed to place at the end of his letters (cf. 1 Thess 4:28; 2 Thess. 3:18; 1 Cor. 16:24; 2 Cor. 13:13; Phil. 4:23).