Romanschapter 15
33 verses · BSBRomans book hub →
Speaks with:Romans 1×6Romans 15×41 Thessalonians 5×3Romans 12×3Romans 14×3Philippians 2×3
Summary
Chapter summary
We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, not to please ourselves. Christ pleased not himself; now the Scriptures are written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort might have hope. Paul's ministry to the Gentiles summarized; his travel plan named. Jerusalem first with the offering, then Rome, then Spain. Request for prayer that the offering be accepted by the saints. Calvin notes the apostle's willingness to serve before enjoying the Roman brethren, modelling gospel priority.
Context
Epistle · Paul — Romans overview
- A. 1–13 Bear the Weak: Christ Received Both Jew and Gentile
- B. 14–21 Paul's Ambition: To Preach Where Christ Was Not Named
- C. 22–33 Plans for Spain and the Offering for Jerusalem
The outline
A.Bear the Weak: Christ Received Both Jew and Gentilevv. 1 to 13
Read vv. 1 to 13 →B.Paul's Ambition: To Preach Where Christ Was Not Namedvv. 14 to 21
Read vv. 14 to 21 →C.Plans for Spain and the Offering for Jerusalemvv. 22 to 33
Read vv. 22 to 33 →
The world behind this chapter
Romans 15The history
"The collection" was years of work. Paul had gathered money from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia for the poor believers in Jerusalem, and he is about to deliver it in person with a delegation. It was practical relief for a community that had known famine, and it was a statement: Gentile churches supporting the mother church, tying the two halves of the movement together with money.
He knows the trip is dangerous and asks them to pray that he be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and that the offering be acceptable to the saints. Both worries were real; the second may have worried him more.
Spain was the far west, Romanized and wealthy, and reaching it meant a long sea passage and a base of support. When Paul says he hopes to be sent on his way by them, he is using the language of formal backing — provisions, letters, money, companions. That was how ancient travel worked, and it is essentially why this letter exists.
His claim to have fulfilled the gospel from Jerusalem around to Illyricum, and his policy of not building on another man's foundation, explain why he had never come to Rome before: someone else had already laid it.
What it meant to them
For the Roman believers, this chapter turned a long theological letter into a request. They were being invited into a mission that reached past them to the edge of the map.
It also finished the letter's argument with a wall of Scripture about Gentiles praising God alongside his people, and one summarizing command: welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Sources cited
- F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free
- F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts (NICNT)
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Romans 15. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 3 · Quoted here
'The reproaches... fell on me': Paul (Christ pleased not himself).
Psalms 69:9→because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
public-domain commentaries in agreement
v. 12 · Spoken beforehand, fulfilled here
'root of Jesse'; Paul cites; Targum messianic.
Isaiah 11:1→Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
quoted explicitly in the New Testament; Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Appendix IX (public domain)
v. 12 · Prophecy and fulfillment
'the ROOT of Jesse... on him shall the Gentiles hope' (Isa 11:10 LXX)
Isaiah 11:10→On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
public-domain quotation
v. 21 · Quoted here
'To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see': Paul grounds his ambition to preach where Christ is unnamed
Isaiah 52:15→so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.
public-domain commentaries in agreement; cross-checked against the UBS apparatus
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.