Go-and-teach-all-nations
Romans 15:30-33
Paul’s need of prayer
v30 Friends, I urge you by our Lord Jesus Christ to join me in my struggles. Pray to God on behalf of me. Pray for me because of the love that the Holy Spirit gives.
v31 Many people in Judea do not believe. Pray that God will rescue me from them. Pray that God’s people in Jerusalem will accept my work.
v32 Then, if God wants, I will come to you with joy. Then you and I will enjoy a pleasant time together.
v33 I pray to God who makes us calm and content. I pray that he will be with you all. Amen.
Comment:
Verses 30-31 - Paul knew that there was danger for him in Jerusalem. The Christians in Caesarea had tried to stop him so that he would not go. But he refused to change his plans (Acts 21:10-14). He needed prayer for two reasons:
1. He knew that the Jews in Jerusalem would oppose him. Years before, he himself opposed the Christian faith strongly. Then, after Paul became a Christian, he had spoken in Jerusalem about his new faith. People had plotted to kill him. So Paul had left Jerusalem and he had returned to Tarsus (Acts 9:28-30).
2. He was not sure how the Jews would accept the gift from the Gentile churches. Some Jewish Christians may have been unhappy about this gift. Paul had taught the Gentile Christians that they did not have to obey the Jewish laws. And those Jewish Christians considered their law to be very important. So they might refuse the gift because Paul was bringing it.
Paul asked for prayer because they all belonged to the same Lord Jesus Christ. They had the Holy Spirit, who gave them love for each other.
Verse 32 - Paul prayed that he would reach Rome. But he said, ‘if God wants’. He had said this at the beginning of his letter (1:10). Prayer helps us to agree with God’s purposes. If he did reach Rome, Paul and the Christians in Rome would be a help to each other.
We think that the Jewish Christians accepted the gift. Luke does not mention it when he describes Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem. But Luke records what Paul told the ruler called Felix. Paul said that he had returned to Jerusalem to bring gifts to help poor people (Acts 24:17).
Paul’s prayer for safety had a different answer. The Jews in Jerusalem caused trouble for him. The Romans had to rescue him. But the Romans did not free him. Instead, they kept him in prison. They later sent him to Caesarea because of a plot to kill him. After a series of court meetings, and more than two years in prison, he appealed to the Emperor. So Paul went to Rome as a prisoner. Instead of a brief stay, he spent two years there. He was under house arrest. In other words, he lived in his own home, but a Roman soldier did not allow him to leave. But he was able to receive visitors. Also he preached to his Roman guards (Acts 28:16-31).
Verse 33 - Paul blesses the Christians in Rome. He prays that God will cause them to be calm and content.
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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