For I say that Jesus Christ became a minister of [the] circumcision for [the] truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers;
Here Paul explains what Christ did when He came, and whom He came to serve. The verse holds two things together that are easy to separate: God keeping His word to one nation, and God opening His mercy to all the others. (The writers below use older translations. Where the ESV says "a servant to the circumcised," they say "a minister of the circumcision.")
The phrase marks out the people Christ served on earth. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant, so the title ties His ministry to that nation.
Jesus Christ is called a "minister of the circumcision." The clear meaning is that His ministry was connected with the people in the covenant of circumcision — the circumcision made by hands.
His coming matched what the prophets had said. And the nation He came to turned Him away.
As I understand it, "a minister of the circumcision" means this: He was the One who came to make good to the Jew the promises God made to the fathers. He also came according to prophecy, and in fulfilment of prophecy. How was He received? We are told, "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him" (John 1:11). They did not want Him and would not have Him.
Christ served for a reason: God's own truthfulness. God had made promises to Israel, and the coming of Jesus proved He keeps them.
For the Jew, the sending of Jesus was the proof and witness of God's faithfulness. In the person of His Son, God made good the promises given to the fathers.
The verse says Christ confirmed the promises. It does not say He delivered them all.
He did come as the Servant of all God's purposes for His ancient people. So the promises made long ago to the fathers stand confirmed, though they have not all been fulfilled yet.
Confirming those promises took more than His coming. It took His death.
So He could bless righteously, according to promise. "Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers" — and He did it in full effect, only through death and resurrection.
Israel had promises to claim. The Gentiles — the nations outside Israel — had none.
The Gentiles could not thank God for His promises, but they can thank Him for His mercy. As Gentiles we had not a single promise, but we have mercy and all is through Christ.
Having no promise might look like the poorer position. One writer says the opposite.
The mercy shown to the Gentiles might seem lower than the promises made to the Jews. Deep down it is better still, because this mercy is pure grace — the free and sovereign grace of God in action.
The title is not only a job description. It says who stooped to take it.
His love for sinful Israel never gave up, never wavered, never grew tired! See where it carried Him! "He became a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers." For their sake, the One who controls creation was found serving among them as a Man.
The verse ties Christ's service on earth to Israel. Some use this to argue that the four Gospels belong to a closed chapter and say nothing to us. The passage itself answers them.
Yet look carefully at the very passage where these words stand. It seems to overturn this whole theory and prove it completely groundless. When the apostle is stressing true Christian behaviour, he points the saints back to the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus when He was here on earth. ... He was in reality a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God — not, notice, to fulfil the promises made to the fathers at His first coming, but to confirm them. He did this by His teaching and His example.
- Servant — Christ took a servant's place among Israel. The One who controls creation served among them as a Man.
- Truth — His coming put God's own truthfulness on display. God backed His word to the fathers by sending His Son.
- Confirmed — He secured the promises in Himself and made them good through death and resurrection. Not all of them have been fulfilled yet.
- Mercy — the nations had no promise to claim. What reaches them is pure grace, and they can thank God for it.
- Example — the apostle points believers back to how Christ lived and served on earth. That is still the pattern for Christian behaviour today.
and that the nations should glorify God for mercy; according as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among [the] nations, and will sing to thy name.
This verse gives the second half of why Christ came. Israel had promises to confirm; the nations had none, so mercy is their only ground before God.
The verse turns on a contrast. God gave Israel promises. He gave the other nations none, so a different word fits them: mercy.
God made a nation's promises to that nation only, and Christ came to make good to Israel all that God had promised... So the apostle can add in the next verse, "and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy" (v. 9). The Gentiles could not thank God for His promises, but they can thank Him for His mercy. As Gentiles we had not a single promise, but we have mercy and all is through Christ.
That difference is not just about two groups long ago. It sets the ground on which anyone comes in today.
Israel took up the promises on the ground of law and human responsibility, and lost them completely. Then Christ came, and in Him all the promises of God are yes and amen. He came to establish the promises, as Heir of them all, to the people to whose fathers they had been made... He was rejected, and instead of becoming the "Crown of glory… unto the residue of his people" (Isa. 28:5), the Heir of glory goes on high, and the poor Gentile believer, who had no promises, comes in on the footing of pure mercy, not promise.
Having no promise sounds like the weaker place to stand. Commentators say the opposite: mercy is the better portion, because it is pure gift.
The mercy shown to the Gentiles might seem less than the promises given to the Jews. Deep down it is better still. This mercy is pure grace — the working of God's free and sovereign grace. God had made no promises to the Gentiles. So for them it was not a question of truth but of grace, if God chose, as He did, to pour out mercy on them through Jesus.
Mercy can feel less safe than a promise. That feeling only shows how little we know God.
To some, mercy may seem vague and unsafe compared with promise. That is only because God is so little known. In fact His grace flows without limit, now that the people who had the promises rejected the only One in whom those promises can be made good. God's mercy has no limit, and on our side there is no question of claim, fitness, or deserving.
The Gospels show a woman taking this very ground. She knew she had no claim on Israel's blessing, and she asked for mercy anyway.
"Quite so," she replied, "but dogs get crumbs from their masters' tables." She meant: "I know I have no claim to the blessing that belongs to Israel. But my daughter and I are needy. I make a claim on Your mercy" (See Matt. 12:21 and Rom. 15:9). The Lord could not refuse such an appeal, and He rewarded her great faith by healing her daughter.
The words "as it is written" matter. God's plan to bless the nations was not a late addition, and Paul proves it from every part of the Old Testament.
The Jews divided the Old Testament into three parts (Luke 24:44): the law (Deut. 32:43), the prophets (Isa. 11:10), and the Psalms (Ps. 18:49; 117:1). Each of them, and all of them together, attest God's purpose to bless Gentiles, and to have worshippers from among them without their being merged into Israel. Since that is so, the one group had to bear patiently with the other.
So both sides had a place in God's purpose, and each was to make room for the other.
The "I" who praises God among the nations here is Christ Himself.
His confessing among them shows that He has taken up their cause, and that He has them with Himself in the perfection of a finished redemption. But He also sings among them to God the Father. He has gone beyond the narrow limits of Israel. No longer held back, Christ reaches the height of His joy, and with gladness of heart He sings among the people He loves for ever.
- Promise — Israel alone held God's promises, and Christ came to make them good.
- Mercy — those outside had no promise at all. Mercy is the only ground they can stand on.
- Better — mercy is not the lesser portion. It is free and sovereign grace: no limit in God, and no claim in us.
- Written — this was not an afterthought. The law, the Psalms and the prophets all said the nations would praise God.
- Song — Christ Himself leads the praise. He confesses and sings to God's name among the very people He has taken up.
And again he says, Rejoice, nations, with his people.
These words are not Paul's own. He is quoting the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, and he uses it to answer Jews who objected to Gentiles being blessed. The nations are called to rejoice — but with another people. That small word "with" carries the argument.
Paul builds his case from Scripture. He has already quoted the Psalms. Now he turns to Moses.
The second quotation is from the law, Deuteronomy 32:43, and tells us that not only will the Gentiles sing to God, but that they will do so "with his people" — Israel.
That song is a hard one. It foretells Israel's failure and God's judgment on the nations. Still it ends this way.
So Moses' song (Deuteronomy 32) flows from Jehovah's unchangeable purpose. Israel failed openly, yet Israel stays the centre of His government of the world (v. 8). The call of the Gentiles is only meant to provoke Israel to jealousy (v. 21). The apostle drew on this long afterwards, when it came to pass (Romans 10:19). No doubt the Gentiles proved wholly unworthy, and God will take vengeance on them (vv. 40-42). But even when He restores Israel, as He will (v. 36), He calls the Gentiles to rejoice with His people (v. 43).
Verses 8 and 9 name two grounds for two peoples. Which is the greater portion — promise or mercy?
Romans 15:8-9 shows the two sides of Christ's mission: the ways of God towards the Jew and towards the Gentile, carried out when He came. The mercy shown to the Gentiles might seem lesser than the promises given to the Jews. At bottom it is better still. This mercy is pure grace — the exercise of the free and sovereign grace of God. The Gentiles had no promises made to them. So for them it was not a question of truth but of grace, if God were pleased — as He was — to pour out mercy on them through Jesus. To prove that this grace to the Gentiles was in God's mind, the apostle quotes from the Psalms, the law, and the prophets.
Read the whole line in Deuteronomy and two things stand out.
First, we have in the song of Moses the following words: "Rejoice with his people, O nations… He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people's land" (Deuteronomy 32:43). I make only two remarks. First, the joy of the Gentiles is said to be with His people, and not without them. Second, the word "people" means the nation itself, not just the chosen remnant inside it. The mention of the land makes that clear.
Sharing another people's joy could sound like second place. It is not.
We see the Gentiles owning Israel and Jehovah. "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." The Gentiles are as much at home with Him as Israel. They own Israel to be Jehovah's own people, and they are not.
The quotation does more than illustrate. It ends a dispute.
In the future kingdom there will be not only Jews blessed but Gentiles too. The apostle Paul takes advantage of this. He points out that both already enjoy the present blessings of grace, and that is quite enough to stop the mouth of the Jew. So we find the Old Testament applied in Romans 15:10. How could the Jews object to the apostle's preaching to all people, and fly in the face of their own prophets?
Does this verse describe today, or a day still to come? Commentators say both.
The passages quoted here are, in fact, all of them about the coming kingdom. Yet they have a fulfilment in principle even now. That grace will have its triumphant showing in the kingdom of the glorified Messiah. Already it is the ground of the believing Gentile's confidence and joy.
The end in view is a shared song.
The great object of the Lord's ministry is to bind Jew and Gentile together in the worship and praise of God. By nature the two are complete opposites. We know this will happen in the coming kingdom. In the meantime God brings believers from among Jews and Gentiles into one body on heavenly ground, where all national distinctions disappear.
- Source. The call comes from the law itself — Moses' song. Blessing for the nations stood in Israel's own book from the start.
- Ground. Israel had promises; the nations had nothing to claim. So they receive mercy, and commentators call that the richer portion, because it is pure grace.
- Reach. The joy is "with his people," never apart from them. Gentiles are as much at home with God as Israel, and still own Israel as His nation.
- Force. To object, a Jewish critic would have to contradict his own Scriptures. The verse closes the argument.
- Result. Two peoples opposed by nature end up in one song — true in principle now, complete when Christ reigns.
And again, Praise the Lord, all [ye] nations, and let all the peoples laud him.
Paul is nearing the end of his letter. He lines up four Old Testament quotations to settle one question: does God mean the nations to worship Him alongside Israel? This verse is the third of the four, and it calls the nations themselves to praise.
Paul takes the words from Psalm 117. Its size is no measure of its weight:
This Psalm is the shortest portion of the Book of God. Romans 15 quotes it and makes much of it. And one writer put this well: "It is a small portion of Scripture, and as such we might easily overlook it. But not so the Holy Spirit. He gathers up this precious little testimony which speaks of grace to the Gentiles, and presses it on our attention."
The verses just before set two words side by side: promise, and mercy. The difference matters, because the nations had no promise of their own to claim.
The mercy shown to the Gentiles might seem less than the promises made to the Jews. Yet deep down it is better still. This mercy is pure grace — the exercise of the free and sovereign grace of God. The Gentiles had no promises made to them. So for them it was not a question of truth but of grace, if God was pleased, as He was, to pour out mercy on them through Jesus.
Paul does not draw his proof from one corner of the Old Testament. He quotes from every part of it that a Jewish reader knew, and the weight of them together is his case.
The Jews commonly divided the Old Testament into three parts: the law, the prophets and the Psalms. Each part, and all of them together, attest the purpose of God to bless Gentiles — the law in Deuteronomy 32:43, the prophets in Isaiah 11:10, the Psalms in Psalm 18:49 and 117:1. God will have worshippers from among the nations, and will have them without merging them into Israel.
So why does God want the nations praising Him? Because praise is where the two peoples meet.
Jew and Gentile are opposed to one another by nature. The great object of the ministry of the Lord is to bind them together in the worship and praise of God. This, we know, will be accomplished in the Millennial day. In the meantime God brings believers from among Jews and Gentiles together in one Body on heavenly ground, where all national distinctions disappear.
Read Psalm 117 in its own place, and you hear Israel calling. They have tasted God's kindness, and they want the nations in on it.
The quotation from Psalm 117:1 is the grateful celebration of Israel's new-born joy and blessing. It looks to the day when the Lord restores them to His favour, fulfilling His loving-kindness and His truth. They are filled and satisfied themselves with the merciful kindness of the Lord. So they call on the Gentiles to share their joy and to echo their praise.
So is the psalm already fulfilled? One writer draws the line like this:
In the future kingdom not only Jews will be blessed, but Gentiles too. Paul makes use of this, pointing to the fact that both enjoy the present blessings of grace — and that is enough to stop the mouth of the Jew. How then could the Jews object to his preaching to all people? Still the apostle never says that the prophecy is therefore fulfilled to the letter now. The principle of it is true under the gospel; the fulfilment of it awaits another day and a different state of things when Christ Himself appears.
This string of quotations closes a long run of practical teaching. Paul aims it at a real problem in a real church.
The Apostle closes these practical exhortations by pointing to the ministry of Christ. That ministry carries out the purpose of God: to bind Jew and Gentile together through Christ, so that with one mind they may glorify God. The Assembly at Rome was probably a mixed company of Jewish and Gentile believers. The danger was that each side might bring national prejudices into the Assembly, and so disturb the harmony of the whole.
- Mercy first. The nations had no promises to claim. What reaches them is free, sovereign grace — and that is a better thing still than promise.
- Mercy proved. Law, Psalms and Prophets all say the same thing. God means to have worshippers from the nations — and to have them without absorbing them into Israel.
- Mercy overflows. Psalm 117 is the voice of a people already satisfied with God's kindness. They turn and call everyone else to echo their praise.
- Mercy unites. Binding Jew and Gentile together in one worship is the great object of the Lord's ministry. It is settled in a coming day, and true now for believers from both sides.
- Mercy corrects. Paul aims all of this at a mixed church where national pride could break the harmony. Shared praise is the answer to prejudice.
And again, Esaias says, There shall be the root of Jesse, and one that arises, to rule over [the] nations in him shall [the] nations hope.
Paul closes his long argument about Jews and Gentiles — the nations outside Israel — with a string of Old Testament quotations. This one, from Isaiah, is the last. Who is the "root of Jesse"? Why a root and not a branch? And what do the nations do when they hope in Him?
The verse does not stand alone. It closes a chain of quotations taken from every part of the Old Testament the Jews knew, and it ends with a call for patience:
So the law (Deut. 32:43), the prophets (Isa. 11:10), and the Psalms (Ps. 18:49; 117:1) all say the same thing. These are the three parts into which the Jews commonly divided the Old Testament (Luke 24:44). Each of them, and all of them together, show God's purpose to bless Gentiles, and to have worshippers from among them without their being merged into Israel. Since that is so, each group had to bear with the other.
Notice how the verse holds two things together: He rises out of Jesse's family, and He rules over the nations:
The last quotation from the prophets — Isaiah 11:10 — proves that Christ Himself is the bond that will unite Jew and Gentile together. He arises among the Jews — the root of Jesse — to reign over the Gentiles, and "in Him will the Gentiles hope."
Isaiah does not call Him a branch of Jesse but a root, and that one word carries weight:
This adds much to the earlier quotations, for it establishes the deity of the One who was to bring the blessing. He was to be "a root" of Jesse, not just a branch. In the Branch we see the Son of David, the One who came of Israel. But the Root is a very different matter. He is both, indeed, but as the Root He is the Source of all. So His reign extends over the Gentiles, and they find shelter under His wings.
Jesse was David's father, so the root of Jesse means the origin of the family, not its produce:
As the Root of Jesse He is the One from whom David originated. He is not the product, but the Producer. And this He is not by reason of His Manhood, but by reason of His Deity.
Some older translations end the verse with "trust." The word matters, because "hope" links the verse to the prayer in verse 13:
Sometimes a translation hides the connection of a scripture. That is what happens here. The last clause of verse 12 should read, "In Him will the Gentiles hope." Then, building on this, the apostle prays, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Paul does not stop at the quotation. He takes its last word and turns it into prayer:
The nations had no promises of their own; they had to glorify God for His pure mercy. The apostle then thinks of them as people who hope, and he rests on that word "hope." The full promises are not yet fulfilled. God gives us hope, and as to that fulness we are saved in hope. So he prays, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Such is the natural condition of the Christian: full of joy and peace in believing.
The verse also looks forward. What is happening among the nations now is not yet the reign Isaiah described:
The passages quoted will be fulfilled at the second coming of our Lord, when He "arises to rule the Gentiles." Then Gentiles will rejoice with the saved remnant of Israel.
Isaiah's picture is a rallying point — a banner the nations turn to. That day has not come, and today's work is different:
Isaiah 11:10 is not at all realised yet. Christ is an object of reproach, not of glory. But "in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek." He will be the centre, and the Gentiles will seek Him then. Now it is the hour when God the Father seeks true worshippers, a people from among the Gentiles for His name.
- Witness. The law, the Psalms and the prophets all said in advance that God would bless the nations and take worshippers from among them.
- Mercy. The nations had no promises of their own, so their share comes as pure mercy.
- Root. He is not a branch of Jesse's family but its Root — the Producer, not the product — so the blessing has its Source in Him.
- Hope. The verse ends on the word "hope." Paul builds his prayer on it: the God of hope filling believers with joy and peace by the Holy Spirit.
- Glory. The full reign is still ahead. Today Christ is an object of reproach, while God gathers worshippers from the nations for His name.