15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”[Psalm 69:9 ] 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews[Greek circumcision ] on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”[2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49 ]
10 Again, it says,
“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”[Deut. 32:43 ]
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”[Psalm 117:1 ]
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”[Isaiah 11:10 (see Septuagint) ]
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”[Isaiah 52:15 (see Septuagint) ]
22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. 28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31 Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, 32 so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. 33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
NOTES:
15:3 Liberation from the law of Moses does not make the
scriptures of the old covenant irrelevant. Much consolation and motivation for
Christian living can be derived from the Old Testament, as in the citation from
Ps 69:10. Because this psalm is quoted several times in the New Testament, it
has been called indirectly messianic.
15:5 Think in harmony: a Greco-Roman ideal. Not rigid
uniformity of thought and expression but thoughtful consideration of other
people’s views find expression here.
15:7–13 True oneness of mind is found in pondering the
ultimate mission of the church: to bring it about that God’s name be glorified
throughout the world and that Jesus Christ be universally recognized as God’s
gift to all humanity. Paul here prepares his addressees for the climactic
appeal he is about to make.
15:10 Paul’s citation of Dt 32:43 follows the Greek version.
15:14–33 Paul sees himself as apostle and benefactor in the
priestly service of the gospel and so sketches plans for a mission in Spain,
supported by those in Rome.
15:14 Full of goodness: the opposite of what humanity was
filled with according to Rom 1:29–30.
15:19 Illyricum: Roman province northwest of Greece on the
eastern shore of the Adriatic.
15:20 I aspire: Paul uses terminology customarily applied to
philanthropists. Unlike some philanthropists of his time, Paul does not engage
in cheap competition for public acclaim. This explanation of his missionary
policy is to assure the Christians in Rome that he is also not planning to remain
in that city and build on other people’s foundations (cf. 2 Cor 10:12–18).
However, he does solicit their help in sending him on his way to Spain, which
was considered the limit of the western world. Thus Paul’s addressees realize
that evangelization may be understood in the broader sense of mission or, as in
Rom 1:15, of instruction within the Christian community that derives from the
gospel.
15:21 The citation from Is 52:15 concerns the Servant of the
Lord. According to Isaiah, the Servant is first of all Israel, which was to
bring the knowledge of Yahweh to the nations. In Rom 9–11 Paul showed how
Israel failed in this mission. Therefore, he himself undertakes almost
singlehandedly Israel’s responsibility as the Servant and moves as quickly as
possible with the gospel through the Roman empire.
15:25–27 Paul may have viewed the contribution he was
gathering from Gentile Christians for the poor in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Cor 8–9) as fulfillment of the vision of Is 60:5–6. In confidence that the messianic fulfillment
was taking place, Paul stresses in Rom 14–16 the importance of harmonious
relationships between Jews and Gentiles.
15:26 Achaia: the Roman province of southern Greece.
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