Go-and-teach-all-nations
Romans 15:17-19
Paul’s service as an apostle - everywhere he declared the complete good news about Christ
v17 Because I belong to Christ Jesus, I can have pride about my work on God’s behalf.
v18 I will not try to speak about anything except what Christ has done by means of me. He has led the Gentiles to obey God. He has done this by means of my words and actions.
v19 He has given to me the power of the Holy Spirit to do signs and miracles. So I have traveled the entire distance from Jerusalem to Illyricum. And everywhere I declared the complete good news about Christ.
v20 I have always wanted to preach the gospel where people do not know Christ. I did not want to work in any place where someone else had already started to work.
v21 Rather, as scripture says,
‘ALTHOUGH NOBODY TOLD THOSE PEOPLE ABOUT HIM, THEY WILL SEE.
ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT HIM, THEY WILL UNDERSTAND.’
v22 This work has often stopped me so that I could not come to you. It is the reason why I have delayed my visit.
Comment:
Verses 17-19 - Paul considers that he has received a great honor. God has used Paul to bring the Gentiles into God’s kingdom. This honor comes only because Christ is working by means of Paul. Paul is speaking on behalf of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). By Paul’s words and actions, he has declared the Christian message. The Holy Spirit gave Paul the power to do ‘signs and miracles’. These showed that he was a genuine apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12). For example, Paul ordered a man in Lystra to stand up. This man had a problem with his feet. He had never been able to walk. But when Paul ordered the man to stand, God cured the man. The man stood on his feet, and he walked (Acts 14:8-10). And God did many other miracles when Paul prayed. For example, by Paul, God had cured many people in Ephesus (Acts 19:11-12).
Paul had finished his work in the east Mediterranean area. He had declared the Christian message across the whole region. From Jerusalem to Illyricum, he had established Christian churches in all the important towns and cities. Illyricum includes parts of Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Croatia, today.
Verses 20-22 - Paul did not want to continue the work that other people had started. This was because Paul did not want to interrupt anyone else’s work. So Paul was like a farmer who plants seed. Or, he was like a builder who lays a good foundation (base for a building) – 1 Corinthians 3:6-10. He wanted to preach the gospel to people who had not heard it before. Paul uses words from Isaiah 52:15 that describe the work of God’s servant. Christ was making these words true by means of Paul.
At the beginning of his letter, Paul said that he had decided to visit Rome on many occasions. But he had not been able to do so (Romans 1:13). He did not explain what had prevented him. But now he explains the reason. It was important for him to finish his work in the east part of the Roman world (that is, in the regions that the Romans ruled in the east).
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info.
Go-and-teach-all-nations