Romans 15:8-12
(8) Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
(9) And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
(10) And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
(11) And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
(12) And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
Having pointed to the Lord Jesus as the Model for Christians, Paul proceeded to discuss Jesus’ ministry and its objectives: Christ became a servant (the word “deacon” comes from this Gr. noun diakonon) of the Jews (lit., “to the circumcision”). Jesus was born a Jew as God’s Messiah for Israel. God had two objectives to accomplish through Jesus’ ministry. The first was to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs (cf. 9:4-5). God’s second objective in Christ’s ministry was so that (lit., “and that,” because the following clause is coordinate with the preceding one) the Gentiles may glorify God (cf. 15:6) for His mercy. God had made covenants only with Israel (9:4), not with the Gentiles (cf. Eph. 2:12), so God had no covenantal promises to confirm with the Gentiles. Any spiritual blessings that come to the Gentiles spring solely from the mercy of God. Nevertheless God eternally purposed to bless the Gentiles spiritually through the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and through His covenants with Israel (e.g., Gen. 12:3; cf. John 4:22).
God’s two purposes in the ministry of Christ are being achieved now while Israel nationally has been set aside (cf. Rom. 11:1-31) and the church is being formed of both Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14-22). And it will be achieved in the future when Israel is restored to her place as head of the nations and becomes a means of blessing to everyone (cf. Deut. 30:1-10).
To demonstrate the validity of his statement concerning the ministry of Christ and its purposes, particularly the one relating to Gentiles, the Apostle Paul quoted four Old Testament passages, introducing the series with the formula, As it is written (perf. tense, “it stands written”). Significantly these quotations are taken from all three divisions of the Old Testament—“the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44)—and from three great Jewish heroes: Moses, David, and Isaiah. The first quotation (Rom. 15:9) is from David’s song of deliverance (2 Sam. 22:50; Ps. 18:49); the second (Rom. 15:10), from Moses’ valedictory song to the people of Israel (Deut. 32:43); the third (Rom. 15:11), from both the shortest and the middle chapter of the Bible (Ps. 117:1); and the fourth (Rom. 15:12), from Isaiah’s messianic prophecy (Isa. 11:10).
A progression of thought can be traced through the four quotations. In the first, David praised God among the Gentiles (Rom. 15:9); in the second, Moses exhorted the Gentiles, Rejoice . . . with His people (v. 10); in the third the psalmist commanded the Gentiles to praise the Lord (v. 11; cf. v. 7); and in the fourth, Isaiah predicted that the Gentiles will live under the rule of the Root of Jesse (the Messiah) and they will hope in Him (v. 12). The Old Testament never presented the Gentiles as “heirs together with Israel, members together . . . in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 3:6), but it certainly did see them as receiving blessing from God’s fulfilling His covenantal promises to His people Israel.
Excerpt from:
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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