Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson II)

We should never become upset when others we pray for reject our love. That would only eliminate one more intercessor before God on their behalf. It also might give them a false sense of eternal security. God gave us patience through the Fruit of the Spirit for just that reason. That’s why we should count it all joy to have such a powerful tool as patience to remain faithful to God for any who reject the Gospel. Knowing what you are and what God has made you to be in Christ should be enough to convince you that it’s by the grace of God that you are what you are and to be thankful that you are not what you used to be. Instead of this making you proud, it should make you even more humble and gentle. To know that you are one of God’s elect should give you peace of mind about your salvation. In turn, this should release you from worrying about yourself and give you more time and energy to care for others. No doubt this is what was on Paul’s mind when he said to the young Timothy: “I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen¹.²

Albert Barnes is impressed with how the Apostle Paul begins this chapter in such a tender and caring manner. This was no doubt necessary because he had just gotten through outlining and defending what most Jews would find offensive and belittling, and that was their being rejected by God in favor of the heathen Gentiles. So the best thing to do was show that this in no way diminishes God’s love and affection for them. Paul did not do this just to take heat off himself, but because he was always under pressure, to tell the truth. Paul was not fooled. Many Jews considered him a traitor to the Jewish faith. After all, wasn’t he on his way to Damascus to persecute the new sect in Judaism announcing that Jesus was the Messiah? Did he not return to Jerusalem preaching the very message he tried to stamp out? Then he had the gall to claim that this Jesus met him on the way and commissioned him to take this news to the Gentiles. Yes, this Jesus they had crucified, was now being proclaimed as the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles.

So how could they trust Paul? But perhaps more than anything, Paul was driven to get the news of salvation to them because he was fully aware of the painful and dreadful condemnation that was on them. That’s what broke his heart and caused him to have such tender compassion and concern for their welfare. That’s why he earnestly prayed to God for their eventual salvation. Everyone should see in Paul’s actions the proper feelings of a minister of the Gospel when declaring the most upsetting truths from the Bible. Paul was tender, affectionate, kind, and convincing. He was not harsh when stating the obvious truth. He also poured out his earnest desire to God that they would avert the impending doom. So shouldn’t these awesome doctrines be preached by all the ambassadors of God?³

This was also the opinion of Bible scholar Adam Clarke, especially when he saw the compassion in Paul’s prayer for their salvation. It wasn’t something Paul said or did out of feeling sorry for his fellow Jews, but something he cherished deeply in his heart. And that’s how he expressed it to God in prayer. Paul did not want to see his countrymen destroyed that way. In fact, he did not preach about their rejection with any joy or excitement. To him, it was one of the most dismaying doctrines he had to defend. It wasn’t his decision to call the Gentiles to take the Jew’s place, that was God’s decision. But that still didn’t keep him from praying for their spiritual welfare and yearning for them to return to God by accepting Jesus as the Messiah. I agree with Clarke that all ministers should take no pleasure when proclaiming the truth that some people may never be saved. They know that the preaching of the Gospel will not be accepted by everyone. No matter how bad it may make the evangelist feel, just knowing that some who hear them will never come to salvation. But it should not inhibit any preacher from declaring the love and mercy of God to everyone who believes. Not only that, but they should also not be excluded from our prayers that all may come to know the truth and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. After all, it’s not our decision, but God’s.

Bible teacher H. A. Ironside also admires what the Apostle Paul is attempting to do here. He wants to make it clear that even though he supported the fact that God was morally right in setting Israel aside as a nation, the Lord did not do so arbitrarily but because of their unbelief. Paul also saw the value in this because now it opened the door to the Gentiles during the new dispensation of grace. No more salvation by works, but by faith. That’s why Paul was anxious for the Jews to know that God’s deflection away from Israel as a nation did not mean He was ruling out or rejecting individual Jews or Israelites from coming to Him for salvation. Israel, as a nation, had long ago ceased to have a true covenant relationship with God. The prayers of the Pharisees where the prayers of hypocrites. The sacrifices in the Temple had been abused to the point God no longer accepted them.⁴ And spoken laws of the Rabbis had replaced the written law of Moses. And this ill-standing would continue until they came under the Last Covenant. And according to prophecy, that would not take place until the beginning of the millennium when “a nation will be born in a day.”⁵ So although Paul sees Israel as a lost state, he still expresses his burning desire and prayer that they may yet be saved, like the lost sheep Jesus told about in His parable.⁶

For Charles Hodge, what Paul says here was meant to assure the Jews that he had no pleasure in foretelling the trials and tribulations that were coming down upon their heads. He wants them to know that his earnest prayer is that in spite of all they’ve done and their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, eventually they will be saved. Paul knew that many of them, and Israel as a nation, would not turn to Jesus as their Messiah in his lifetime, so he was looking toward the future with his prayer.⁷

Charles Spurgeon sees Paul’s prayer here as one we can adopt as our own. In fact, he encourages that Christians pray for Israel’s coming to God. It is well known, that in the last couple of centuries, much pain, sorrow, persecution, and destruction have visited God’s ancient people even down to the present day. No matter where they were scattered, they were treated as an unwanted minority. And now that they are back in their homeland, they are still the targets of hate and murder on a daily basis. Anyone with a heart must be touched by their grief and sorrow. So let it be everyone’s deepest desire and daily devotion for Israel to finally accept Jesus, whom they rejected long ago, as Messiah. But just as Paul was teaching here, it must be done by faith. We must remember, that for Paul it was even more than that. They had persecuted him in the most severe and humiliating ways. The very ones he prayed for were opposed to him and would be happy to see him die a horrible death. No matter what city he visited, some of these paid agitators would follow him and try to turn the Jews living there against him. Whenever and wherever they could, they tried to tear down whatever he built in honor of Christ.

So what was Paul’s response? He openly shared his heart’s desire and prayed that they might be saved. This should serve all of us as an example to never grow tired or cold in our hope to see those among us we love turn to Christ as their Savior. It is blatantly unchristian to wish bad things upon people who do not share our faith and beliefs. If we do so, how can we then try to witness to them and tell them of our desire to see them born-again? So instead of looking for ways to get back at them for their mean words, criticism, and gossip, we should be looking for ways to show them the love, mercy, and grace of God that lives in our hearts.⁸

Professor F. F. Bruce also likes what he sees in Paul’s heart. Here was a man who knew that his own people, the Jews, were bound for destruction, but yet he prayed fervently for their salvation. And of all people, he was the most qualified to do so because he understood their state of mind more than most. He confessed to having had the same “unenlightened zeal for God” they were dealing with that caused them to so fanatically oppose him. But Paul also knew about the change that comes to anyone who meets the risen Christ and accepts Him as their Lord and Savior. No one needed to tell Paul what it was like to have such dedication for Jewish traditions, customs, and manners that it compels them to go out and hunt them down in order to bring an end to their heresy and infidelity.⁹ A true Jew gave themselves to the constant practice of the Jewish religion at all cost. And that is the very reason why Paul could understand that the steppingstone put in position by God for salvation had indeed become a stumbling-block. That was until the scales fell from his eyes and his life was re-orientated.¹⁰

Now that same consuming ambition caused him to travel the world to magnify Christ and bring others to know Him. So, if it could happen to him as a Jew, why couldn’t it happen to other Jews. But everywhere he went, he ran into their blind commitment to earn salvation by works so that they could establish a righteousness of their own making. Nevertheless, after Christ found Paul and he accepted the work of Christ on the cross it brought an end to such a senseless pursuit. The authority of the law died to him. And as a follower of Jesus, he had all the authority given to him through grace to live according to the will and word of God. This was the way of faith, not the way of works.¹¹

English evangelical preacher Charles Simeon of the late 1700s makes the point that Paul was very much aware of his Jewish brethren’s zeal to serve God. But he assessed it as “misguided zeal.” There were three things that led them astray. First, they really did understand God’s plan devised for justifying sinners – they were trying to do it all on their own. Secondly, in doing so, they discarded the unmatchable work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Thirdly, when the true way to become right with God was shown to them they would not accept or trust in it because they felt being saved that way was humiliating and beneath their dignity.

These were their errors although they professed to be following the Law. They couldn’t grasp that Christ was the fulfillment of the law in becoming right with God. All of the Jewish rites, rituals, and ceremonies were pointing to Christ but they couldn’t see Him in the details. This required that they accept it by faith.¹² They were more interested in approaching their salvation on a lower moral level than a higher spiritual level. How true this is of our fellow believers stuck in nominal churches today. As long as they go by the church rules they feel safe in their salvation. Their one biggest error is that the Church cannot save them nor guarantee their salvation. It still takes faith in Jesus Christ as the only Lord, Savior, and Master for a sinner to become right and stay right with God.¹³

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson I)

Verse 1:  Brothers and sisters, what I want most of all is for the people of Israel to be saved. That is my prayer to God.

After presenting his case and laying down his reasons why his fellow Jews are in such a dilemma for having rejected the Messiah, Paul announces his great concern for his fellow Jews and their tendency to stumble over the Rock Christ Jesus that was laid in Zion. This could well be emulated today by our own compassion for those among us who have a form of Christianity, but not according to a full and accurate knowledge of God’s Word. People who adhere to a moral standard, and practice a code of self-righteousness, but that is not enough to meet God’s requirements for salvation. They build their own little kingdoms and set up their own private rewards for adhering to the stringent and unrealistic rules that have become stumbling blocks instead of stepping stones to a greater knowledge of Christ and becoming more Christ-like. Christ is our righteousness, it cannot be improved upon. It is He whom we should glorify and imitate, not any human who see themselves as holier-than-thou idols, to be copied. They spend so much time trying to impress and gain favor with each other that they have little time for the One they should try to please, Christ Jesus.

No doubt this compassion and willingness to consider self-sacrifice on Paul’s part was born within his heart and soul, but it does bear a close resemblance to what happened with Moses when he came down off Mt. Horeb in Sinai only to find the people worshiping their handmade idol, a golden calf. Moses pleaded with God not to destroy His people in haste and out of anger, to remember from where He brought them and where He intended to take them. So in the name of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses pleaded with God for mercy and forgiveness. Willing even to have his name blotted out of the book of life for their sake.¹

The prophet Samuel also went through a similar heart-rending experience after he felt rejected by the people of Israel who wanted a king like the other nations. Somewhat out of desperation, Samuel asked them if they could remember any time that he stole from them or defrauded them; could they recall any time when he oppressed them or took a bribe. They could find none. Yet, Samuel told them when they finally got their king, “As for me, far be it from me to sin against Adonai by ceasing to pray for you! Rather, I will continue instructing you in the good and right way.”² When God eventually told Samuel that He regretted making Saul king, Samuel did not respond with amusement as though it was some type of vindication. Scripture tells us: “Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard what God was saying, that he cried to the Lord all night.”³

And who can forget the scene where Jesus was told by some Pharisees that He needed to get out of Jerusalem because King Herod was after Him in the same way that he had gone after John the Baptizer. But instead of responding in anger or fear, our Lord cried out: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city that murders the prophets. The city that stones those sent to help her. How often I have wanted to gather your children together even as a hen protects her brood under her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.”⁴ So this was not the first time God had sent one of His servants to the children of Israel and they came away brokenhearted because of their spoiled attitudes and misperceived special place with God so that they did not need a savior. But what Jesus knew that they didn’t know was that in about 35 years after they crucified Him, the entire city of Jerusalem would be destroyed, its inhabitants killed or carried away, and the House of God be torn down, never to be rebuilt. That should have been enough to make anyone cry.

Some early church scholars added their comments to what they felt Paul was trying to say here. For instance, Ambrosiaster sees no hatred for Judaism by Paul. All Paul wanted was for the Jews who were still tied to the Law expecting salvation, to be freed so they could follow Christ who came to offer them salvation. As far as Paul was concerned, the law was like a veil over their faces. He wants them to take it off so they can see Jesus, the One who came to give them everlasting life. In fact, Paul speaks affectionately of the Jews and has many good things to say about the law. But they needed to know that time for trying to fulfill every demand of the law in order to earn salvation was over. What more could he do to show his love and concern for his fellow countrymen? If only they would listen to him and not assume that he was their enemy.⁵

Another early church scholar, Chrysostom, is also struck by Paul expressing this as his heart’s desire and prayer. He admired the fact that Paul continues to demonstrate his deep-seated compassion and goodwill toward the Jews. He does not harshly criticize them for their being lost and wandering aimlessly in search of salvation. In fact, he compliments them for what they already knew about God, the law, and the Messiah. But in the end, he is forced to tell them the facts and how things really were.

That was something he couldn’t change.⁶ Early church theologian Augustine also sees Paul making an appeal to them by speaking of his hopes and prayers for his fellow Jews. Especially in the church in Rome because he didn’t want the Gentiles to misunderstand and turn backs on the Jewish believers in any condescending way. He knew that just as the pride of the Jews had to be dealt with because they thought so highly of their good works, so the Gentiles would need to curb their pride in having been preferred over the Jews as God’s new Israel.⁷ Pelagius likens what Paul does here as being so burdened for his fellow Jews that he not only prays for them with his tongue but also with his heart.⁸

Reformer Martin Luther agrees with Augustine’s assessment in that Paul is here speaking of the hope that still remains for the Jews in order to dampen the possibility that the Gentiles in the church at Rome might think of themselves more highly than they should. And just as Paul had to reject the arrogance of the Jews based on their good works he must likewise oppose the Gentiles so that they don’t become overbearing. God may have opened the door for them to hear the Gospel, but this is no reason for them to think they are more loved or preferred by God over the Jews.⁹

Fellow Reformer John Calvin views the same thing, but from a different perspective. He sees Paul going out of his way being as unoffensive as he could so that his soft words could help cushion the sharpness of his mannerism that might offend his fellow Jews and less harmful to the cause of winning them over to Christ. He wants them to know that this is not a last minute apology he has come up with to keep them from treating him so badly. This burden has been on his heart since the day he was converted because he personally understood what a dilemma they were in. The only thing Paul wanted for his efforts and appeal was their salvation. Such feelings arise only from genuine love. No doubt Paul had other reasons why he felt it necessary to appeal to their sense of fairness in accepting what he had to say. If they ever concluded that he was out to destroy them or make it hard for them to survive, like he did to Christians before his conversion, it would have eliminated any opportunity for him to try and explain to them the Gospel of Christ. Not only that, but such a reputation would have caused the Gentiles to become suspicious of his love for them. In addition, it’s one thing to explain what you now understand to be the errors of your former religion, but to turn your back on it and trash it just because they won’t agree with you would suggest that you are acting out of hatred, not love.¹⁰

Adam Clarke sees Paul expressing his heart’s desire for reconciliation between the Jews and God over their rejection of Jesus the Messiah. Although Paul knew that the Jews were now in a state of rejection, yet he also knew they had fallen into this state out of their own stubbornness. Nevertheless, God is still a gracious God, slow to anger, and full of mercy. So he hoped and prayed that they still might come to their senses and repent and turn back to God. And what more evidence could he offer than what he said about his willingness to become a sacrifice, even a curse, for their salvation and reconciliation with their Father in heaven.¹¹

Robert Haldane points out that whenever the Apostle Paul refers to others as his brethren, he rightly talks about his fellow Jews and fellow Christians. In fact, Paul felt compassion for both and sought their salvation through Christ by faith. This is truly expressed in his prayer to God. Many of his Jewish brethren were enemies, yet he earnestly prayed for them. For Haldane, while the salvation of his countrymen was the greatest desire of Paul’s heart, and while he exerted every effort that he could to call their attention to the Gospel, he never neglected taking time to bring them and their need before God in prayer. This is a wonderful example for us all. We should never pass up any opportunity or become weary in our prayers for those we earnestly desire to accept Christ as their Savior. Even when we may lose contact with them, or they indicate no desire to see us, just remember we always have access to God in prayer. Not only that, but we have been given to Holy Spirit to help us express our heart’s desire for their salvation.

That’s why Haldane encourages every believer to never cease praying for those they love and want to see saved by God’s grace. Even when they tell us to leave them alone and have no interest in hearing the Scriptures we want to read them or form some untrue opinions about our efforts. So never give up on them by not giving up on God’s ability to reach them through the Holy Spirit. Remember, there are things God knows about them that we don’t know. He knows whether or not they are already on His “Call List” list.

Just look at Paul. There was no one among the Jews that was more opposed to the Gospel than Paul. And every believer who remembers their own feelings about being witnessed to back when they were rebellious against God and His Word, knows just what they may be up against. But there is another side to this. There are those among our acquaintances and friends who claim to be believers but are not. If we feel that we must lighten up on them because it wouldn’t look good, and we might be accused of attacking another Christian, we ought not be fooled into thinking that God would understand and take them off our prayer list.

Jim Rohn (1930-2009) was one of America’s top entrepreneurs, authors, and motivational speakers. In most of his books, you will find the word “goal.” In fact, Rohn’s overall philosophy was, If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plans, your plans will go to work on you.”

Setting goals in our lives are one of our most important duties. Setting goals will give you something to aim at, it will awaken your ambition. Since we don’t know how long any of us will live, we need to think regarding the end coming while we’re still planning and innovating. There are at least five good reasons for setting goals.

One of them is that having goals means you’ll have focused on where you want to go. What sense does it make to shoot an arrow if you have no target? Not only is this a sign of sheer perplexity, but a total waste of time and energy. Having no goal and focus means that all of you abilities, talents, and gifts are meaningless. Another reason to set goals is that it helps you measure forward progress. Without setting a goal, you won’t know if you are any closer to what you really want to accomplish in life. Why do you think books have page numbers? Why do races have fixed distances and time are kept?

Then there is the fact that having goals helps keep you locked in and undistracted, helping you to complete your task. If you know your plane leaves at 2:30 PM and you need to be there two hours ahead of time, and it takes you 30 minutes to reach the airport, you begin building a time-frame. Then you calculate an hour for checking-in, going through security, and arriving at your gate. You look at the clock, know you must leave NLT 11:00 AM to be on time, and it is 8:30 AM now, you only have 2 and a half hours to get packed and ready to go. Without setting any such goal, chances are you’ll never make in time for any flight you need to take.

Another reason for setting goals is that it helps you avoid procrastination. If we live day-to-day merely doing things on a whim or impulse and without any urgency, we will hear ourselves saying over and over, “Oh shoot! I was supposed to do so and so at such and such a time!” With no way to remind ourselves, we are like a message in a bottle, floating with the tide, never knowing when or if it will ever reach shore. Where would you be if you had such an attitude with your education, your job training, your getting to work, etc? And finally, setting goals gives you a reason for doing something.

When we were kids, every time our father would announce that we were going to grandma’s house, we were not in the car for even an hour before he heard that famous line, “Daddy, are we there yet?” None of us could figure out how far we’d have to go or how long it took to get there. Our father could have easily quieted down our anxiousness if he would have started the trip by saying, “Okay, kids, it takes three hours to get to grandma’s house. Right now the little hand on our dashboard clock is at 9, when you see it get to 12 you’ll know we’ll be near grandma’s house. That way, all of us would have had a goal by which to calculate how close we were.

King Solomon was not known as the wisest monarch in the world without a reason. In one of his Proverbs he says that if we share our goals with the Lord, He will make our plans will work out for the best.¹ Then he goes on to say that people come up with a lot of plans, but the Lord will help them select the right one.² Later Solomon says that careful planning helps you get ahead, but getting into a hurry will only make you fall further and further behind.³

Jesus knew all about setting goals and making plans. He explained it to His disciples this way: “Is there anyone planning to build a new house, who doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so they’ll know if they can complete it? If they only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, they’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at them: ‘They started something they couldn’t finish.’”

And the Apostle Paul was sure of where he came from and where he was going. He told his friends back in Philippi what his goal was. He told them that he kept moving toward the goal which God set for him. That his eyes were fixed on a crown. He wanted to win the race and get the crown of God’s call from heaven through Christ Jesus.⁴ So if the pastor stopped you one Sunday as you are leaving church and asked you, “Do you know where you stand in your Christian life and your walk with God,” what would your answer be? – Dr. Robert R Seyda

Jim Rohn (1930-2009) was one of America’s top entrepreneurs, authors, and motivational speakers. In most of his books, you will find the word “goal.” In fact, Rohn’s overall philosophy was, If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plans, your plans will go to work on you.”

Setting goals in our lives are one of our most important duties. Setting goals will give you something to aim at, it will awaken your ambition. Since we don’t know how long any of us will live, we need to think regarding the end coming while we’re still planning and innovating. There are at least five good reasons for setting goals.

One of them is that having goals means you’ll have focused on where you want to go. What sense does it make to shoot an arrow if you have no target? Not only is this a sign of sheer perplexity, but a total waste of time and energy. Having no goal and focus means that all of you abilities, talents, and gifts are meaningless. Another reason to set goals is that it helps you measure forward progress. Without setting a goal, you won’t know if you are any closer to what you really want to accomplish in life. Why do you think books have page numbers? Why do races have fixed distances and time are kept?

Then there is the fact that having goals helps keep you locked in and undistracted, helping you to complete your task. If you know your plane leaves at 2:30 PM and you need to be there two hours ahead of time, and it takes you 30 minutes to reach the airport, you begin building a time-frame. Then you calculate an hour for checking-in, going through security, and arriving at your gate. You look at the clock, know you must leave NLT 11:00 AM to be on time, and it is 8:30 AM now, you only have 2 and a half hours to get packed and ready to go. Without setting any such goal, chances are you’ll never make in time for any flight you need to take.

Another reason for setting goals is that it helps you avoid procrastination. If we live day-to-day merely doing things on a whim or impulse and without any urgency, we will hear ourselves saying over and over, “Oh shoot! I was supposed to do so and so at such and such a time!” With no way to remind ourselves, we are like a message in a bottle, floating with the tide, never knowing when or if it will ever reach shore. Where would you be if you had such an attitude with your education, your job training, your getting to work, etc? And finally, setting goals gives you a reason for doing something.

When we were kids, every time our father would announce that we were going to grandma’s house, we were not in the car for even an hour before he heard that famous line, “Daddy, are we there yet?” None of us could figure out how far we’d have to go or how long it took to get there. Our father could have easily quieted down our anxiousness if he would have started the trip by saying, “Okay, kids, it takes three hours to get to grandma’s house. Right now the little hand on our dashboard clock it is 9, when you see it get the 12 you’ll know we’ll be near grandma’s house. That way, all of us would have had a goal by which to calculate how close we were.

King Solomon was not known as the wisest monarch in the world without a reason. In one of his Proverbs he says that if we share our goals with the Lord, He will make our plans will work out for the best.¹ Then he goes on to say that people come up with a lot of plans, but the Lord will help them select the right one.² Later Solomon says that careful planning helps you get ahead, but getting into a hurry will only make you fall further and further behind.³

Jesus knew all about setting goals and making plans. He explained it to His disciples this way: “Is there anyone planning to build a new house, who doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so they’ll know if they can complete it? If they only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, they’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at them: ‘They started something they couldn’t finish.’”

And the Apostle Paul was sure of where he came from and where he was going. He told his friends back in Philippi what his goal was. He told them that he kept moving toward the goal which God set for him. That his eyes were fixed on a crown. He wanted to win the race and get the crown of God’s call from heaven through Christ Jesus.⁴ So if the pastor stopped you one Sunday as you are leaving church and asked you, “Do you know where you stand in your Christian life and your walk with God,” what would your answer be? – Dr. Robert R Seyda

Two weeks ago, my youngest daughter kissed and said goodnight to her fiancee. The next morning, when he did not show up for breakfast, she went to wake him up. When she entered the bedroom he was laying in his usual position. But as soon as she got close to him, things didn’t seem just right. And when she tried to wake him up, she knew something terrible was wrong.

She called 911 and the ET’s came to see what was wrong. In her heart, she didn’t want to believe what her mind was suggesting. She asked a friend who was a policeman to call someone because she was so stressed. So he called her next oldest sister, and her heart fragmented when she heard him say, “he’s gone.”

It was like the sky suddenly collapsed, shattering her whole world. They had known each other for over 15 years. We’re deeply in love. She wore a beautiful engagement ring on her finger. But now the one who put it there was gone! I had the privilege of talking with her on the phone and sharing what I had learned from my training as a grief counselor.

When she called the other day, my second oldest daughter, who is with her asked if I could fly there for the memorial service and interment. But my age, health, and other problems would not allow me to go. So she then asked if I could write something to be read at the memorial service. I agreed, and here is what I shared with her.

FOR MICHELLE ON HER FAREWELL TO STEVE

Grief is one of the most painful things a human being can be asked to endure. It is trying to cope with the sudden loss of someone or something you dearly love. Even more agonizing, is when the loss is unexpected and for which there seems to be no explanation.

Grief is made so very real when you turn to talk to someone or reach out to hug someone or expect to see someone, and they are not there anymore. They’re gone! Michelle, I can only imagine how you must feel. This is a personal thing, something that only you can explain because this one is unique to you.

But God is also aware of how His children feel when dealing with grief. The Psalmist David tells us that the Lord is always very near to those whose hearts have been broken, He’s always nearby to those whose spirits are crushed.¹ But the Psalmist also said that when his body and heart grew weak because of sorrow, God was right there to give him strength in his heart, and that was all he needed.² In fact, the Psalmist said that God loves to mend a wounded heart and sooth its pain.³

But I also want to be your Psalmist today. So I’ve written the following just for you on this occasion.

LOVING WHAT DEATH CAN TOUCH

It is a frightful thing

to love what death can touch and hold.

A frightful thing to love, to hope, to dream,

but then to lose what means the most.

Oh, the thought of losing,

must be a thing only for those who cannot dream

but then again to lose can be a holy thing.

A holy thing to love what death can touch,

someone that lived in your heart,

someone that lifted you with laughter

someone you took as God’s gift to you.

To remember them can also be a painful thing.

But it’s a human thing to love,

it’s also a holy thing to love,

it is a blessed thing to love what death can touch,

but cannot hold forever.

By Dad for his Michelle on Steve’s farewell

Inspired by the poetry of Yehuda HaLevi.

To all my precious readers, students, followers, and friends. I’m so thrilled that you have been part of our journey through the Book of Romans. We will be starting our examination of Chapter 10 on Monday, March 5, 2018. I hope and pray that you will come along on this exciting trek through the pages of Holy Scripture.

There are two relevant topics that we will examine in order to learn more about the importance of combining our zeal for God with our desire to know more about of Him. We put a lot of effort into finding out what opportunities the Holy Spirit gave to Israel for them to really appreciate the Gospel of Christ and how those opportunities are also available to the world today. Then we will see the consequences or Israel’s rejection of Christ and His Gospel and how it applies to us today.

So I invite you, with a passionate heart, to show God how much you love Him by loving His Word. You have to fill your time and mind with something each day to help you deal with the reality of living in this world as a Christian. You have many options from watching TV to listening to music to being socially active. Why not make studying God’s Word as one of your top priorities. You won’t be disappointed.

God bless you, I love and appreciate all of you. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

To all my readers and students, for some unknown reason, I was prevented from posting today’s Lesson XXXV of Chapter Nine of the Book of Romans on my Facebook class pages for I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, and SERMON PLANNING AND PREPARATION.

I don’t know what is keeping me from making these posts, but I will do everything I can on my computer to make sure it is running properly, and that my internet connection is up and running.

So until you see the lessons there on Facebook, please bookmark this site so you can continue to enjoy studying God’s Word.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER NINE (Lesson XXXV)

So we can see that putting our trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, the One provided by God, need never fear that their trust will ever be jeopardized. God upholds His people’s faith, even when others might say, “He committed His cause to the Lord; let Him deliver Him, let Him rescue Him, for He delights in Him!”¹ When we go back to the Hebrew text of Isaiah 28:16, it reads “He who believes will not be in haste.” That means the one who stands firmly on God’s foundation will be able to keep their minds firm and secure while all around them others are losing theirs and blaming it on God. There will be no need to panic or get upset and rush aimlessly around. By trusting in God, and being confident that His purpose will be accomplished in His own time, allows His blessed assurance to grow in the promise that He will finish what He started.²”³

Jewish theologian David Stern agrees with the translation, “Will not be humiliated (or ‘disappointed’ or ‘put to shame’) on the Day of Judgment.”⁴ As I see it, the two easily go together. One, down here we have totally invested our future in Christ Jesus and need not become uncertain or afraid of the outcome for He will stick with us every step of the way. Two, we should not become anxious about appearing up there before Him on Judgment Day. Since He ordered that our names be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, He will read it off and tell us to join the band of saints who were destined to live with Him in peace and joy forever and ever.

Speaking like an accomplished Pharisee, Paul poses a question to make a point. This happened between Jesus and the Pharisees many times.⁵ One Jewish Christian writer comments on Paul’s answer to his own question. Ad he sees it, Paul is demonstrating that God has indeed granted righteousness to the Gentiles. But this must in no way be understood his saying that Gentiles have replaced Israel in God’s overall plan of salvation. When this verse is quoted out of context, it can easily be used to reach a false conclusion. Paul will repeat this question in chapter 11 and gives the answer there. To follow the teachings of the Torah on the basis of faith is a good thing and is not done away with by faith in Yeshua; He is the fulfillment of the Torah.⁶

Paul does not condemn observing the teachings of the Torah. However, to take what the Torah says and act on it apart from faith is to “stumble over the stone.” Paul states that the majority in Israel had stumbled over both the Torah and the Messiah. These are intertwined because the Torah and the Messiah are “united” and that “union” is found in the covenant plan of God expressed in the Torah and enacted by the Messiah. Israel did not arrive at the Torah’s goal of accepting Yeshua as the Messiah.⁷ The stumbling-stone and the object of faith are all combined: God, Messiah, and Torah. Christ was designated as a solid rock sanctuary, but instead, He became a stumbling-stone to Israel⁸.⁹

English evangelical preacher Charles Simeon, back in 1844, cautioned that everyone must understand that when the Gospel is preached with the designed intent to offend the listener, this proves that it is true and scriptural. At the same time, when people find the Gospel is preached in such a way as not to cause any offence to self-righteous people, then it certainly is not of God and anointed by the Spirit. Paul ran into this when he proclaimed that salvation came only by grace. His enemies replied, that in that case, God must be partial and unjust. When Paul said it was by faith, they then replied that he was doing away with good deeds. In Simeon’s mind, because some of these same objections were being repeated in his day, if people who know when the Gospel is real, but raise no objection to such interpretation, then they will not be standing up for the Gospel the way the Apostle Paul did. They and others could be rightly accused of accommodating the pride and prejudice of an ignorant world, instead of supporting the preaching of the Gospel as freely and as fully as they should.¹⁰

So don’t worry when the preaching of the Gospel is criticized for not being “hearer-friendly.” As long as people refuse to humble themselves before God, thinking that He owes them something, the Gospel will continue to be a stumbling-bock and a rock of offence. So the question remains: should we quit preaching the Gospel this way and be quiet so as not to cause trouble? Not for a moment! When people are willing to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from God’s Word, then the same glorious power of salvation that turned the world upside down in Paul’s day, will continue to be the power of God unto salvation to all who believe today.

SUMMARY OF ROMANS CHAPTER NINE

When we reached the conclusion of the previous chapter, Paul had completed his description of how God doing the right thing to save lost mankind was manifested in Christ, and the results justified His decision to pardon them from the fatal penalty of being forever separated from Him for all eternity. However, some of Paul’s readers may have gotten the impression that God’s plan of saving man in Christ apart from the Law (3:21-22) implies that God had rejected His people of Israel and the promises made to them. That’s why Paul begins with this chapter nine to explain that God has not rejected His people.

Having been an unconverted Jew in the same condition as many Jews, it gave Paul real concern for his fellow Israelites who had not yet accepted Jesus as the Messiah (verses 1-2). Paul knew it would take a lot for them to change their mind, so, if it would do any good, he tried to imagine what it would take to get them to see what without Christ they are lost. He even wondered if losing his own status in Christ would help turn things around. But he realized that there was nothing more he could do than what God had already done through Christ. After all, these were the people who, in the past, had been the recipients of so many of God’s blessings (verses 3-5).

Paul is quick to point out that their promises to keep the law had not caused God’s promises to fail. He reminds them that a true Israelite is not simply one who is a physical descendant of Israel, any more than the promises to Abraham were to be carried out through all of Abraham’s descendants just because they are his earthly descendants. Rather, it depends upon those God has chosen according to His Divine purpose. This is illustrated by contrasting what the Scriptures reveal about Isaac and Ishmael, and then about Jacob and Esau (verses 6-13).

That God has made such distinction is illustrated further with the example of Pharaoh, where God showed how His miracles can soften the hearts of some but harden the hearts of others. That’s because some saw mercy as an undeserved gift from God while others viewed it as an insult to their intelligence and turned down His offer again and again. This also proved why God has the right to make such choices since He is the potter and people are the clay (verses 19-21).

So after much patience and petitioning, God chose some of those vessels He had made on His potter’s wheel to use as “vessels of mercy” and some as “vessels of wrath.” (verses 22-23). Moses and the children of Israel became vessels that He filled with mercy, and Pharaoh and his fellow Egyptians are the ones filled with wrath. Those who were freed were destined to be the nation through whom the world would be blessed. And, as Hosea and Isaiah later would tell them, the Gentiles would also become joint-heirs to the promise of Abraham. (verses 24-29).

Paul’s conclusion? That God’s words of promise were not just to the physical descendants of Abraham (as the Jews would have it), but to the faithful remnant of Israel and to the Gentiles who accepted God’s righteous gift of salvation which is by faith. The only reason any of the Israelites were rejected by God was due to their rejection of the Messiah, even as Isaiah foretold (verses 30-33). So it all boils down to a simple formula: either do it God’s way or try and do it man’s way. God’s way comes with a promise of success, man’s way comes with a promise of failure.

END OF CHAPTER NINE

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER NINE (Lesson XXXIV)

Reformer Martin Luther makes it clear that being right with God is granted to whoever believes in Christ who paid their sins with His life’s blood. And for those who believed, the power of sin in their lives could not overwhelm the drawing power of Christ. Therefore, sin should dominate or control those who believe. Luther goes on to point out that at the end of Isaiah’s quote, the Hebrew reads, “He who believes, does not flee,” can be understood in different ways.¹ In the Complete Jewish Bible they are rendered: “He who trusts will not rush here and there.” Luther believes this means that whoever comes to believe in Christ should never become frightened. Rather, the believer stands quiet and secure on Christ the Rock knowing they can overcome any resistance from within or without. Luther goes on to say that if someone does become afraid and flees, they cannot find peace in their hearts. Missing the assurance they had in Christ will be missed the most when they are hard pressed by hardships. But above all, when they contemplate God’s judgment.²

John Calvin paraphrases Paul’s words as follows: “Just because Christ is called a stumbling-stone, there is no reason that we should dread [meeting] Him, or entertain fear instead of confidence; He is appointed for [bringing] ruin to the unbelieving, but [bringing] life and resurrection to the godly.” Then Calvin comments that as the prophecy concerning the stumbling and offence is fulfilled in the actions of the rebellious and unbelieving, there is an equal threat posed to the godly. It is as follows: Christ is a firm Rock, a Living Stone, a Cornerstone, and immovable, it will never fail those who build on this Rock. By putting “shall not be ashamed”³ instead of “shall not hasten or fall,”⁴ he has followed the Greek translation. Calvin is convinced that the Lord in this passage intended to strengthen the hope of His people. That’s why when the Lord asks us to consider the hope that He gives, it only follows that those who do, will never be ashamed of their choice.⁵

Robert Haldane is quite concise in what he says here about the Stone. He notes that the Apostle Paul confirms what he had been saying concerning the stumbling-stone. He does so by quoting from two sources of Scripture.⁶ For the Jews, Christ is a stumbling-block, the rock of offence, as was predicted by the Prophets. No one then should find it strange that those who lived while Christ was on this earth saw Jesus in this manner. The reason why the metaphor of a stone, and a rock, are used to describe Christ Jesus, is because it projects the truth that the great work of redemption rests solely on Him. For Haldane, Christ is the source, “the foundation on which redemption rests; the center in which all lines converge; their origin from which they all proceed.”

Haldane then examines the parable of the man who built his house upon the rock.⁷ This represents Christ as the foundation, the rock on which the house is built, sustaining it, and imparting to it form and stability. But when Christ is not seen or accepted in this manner, then the same stone that became a foundation and solid rock of security will become an obstacle to them. Not only that, but it also represents a blocking-stone that keeps them from communion with God by their rejection of His Son.⁸

Albert Barnes sums up Paul’s teaching from his point of view. First, remember God is sovereign and answers to no one. He has the right to dispose of people any way it pleases Him. Secondly, the doctrine of election was already in force when God chose Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, it was already an established principle of divine rule and validated as real. Thirdly, to question or to lack having any confidence in this doctrine is the same as having no confidence in God. This would then suggest that God is not qualified to direct the affairs of His own universe. Fourthly, the doctrine of election is not arbitrary. It has been well planned from the beginning.

We need not look for any assessments or adjustment to be made to God’s plan simply based on circumstance. Everything directed by election, even that which is yet to come, will be wise, fair, and good. It is the source of all the blessings that any mortal can enjoy. And when applied to the case before us, it is both benevolent and just. It is better that God was particular in selecting a small number from the nation of the Jews and extending those blessings to the Gentiles than to have restricted it only to Jews who were willing to believe.

Barnes continues: Fifthly, the fact that the Gospel has gone out around the world is proof that this is the work of heaven. Sixth, the confidence Christians have in God is safe. They will not be ashamed or disappointed. God will keep them, and bring them safely to reign with Him and His Son in His kingdom. Seventh, there are plenty of people who are still offended by the story of the cross of Christ. They think that all that pain and suffering was unnecessary. And when, with His blessing, He is proclaimed as the only way, truth, and life, then end up despising Him.

Barnes then concludes that this is not just one cause why sinners perish, it is the only cause. So it is no wonder that the Jews of Jesus’s day brought ruin on themselves and their country. Likewise, sinners do the same today. By not heeding the words of the Gospel, they guarantee condemnation and calamity on their souls. And just as those ancient critics and crucifiers of the Lord Jesus perished, so will all those who choose sin over Savior. They are not to be pitied but prayed for.⁹

Charles Hodge makes the point that the story of a crucified Christ has been considered either foolishness or an offence to unregenerated sinner’s intellect. That’s why understanding and accepting the story of a caring, loving Savior, and receiving the gracious gift of salvation through Him, are characteristic only of those “who are the called.” For sinners to make God out to be a dictator and a reason for excusing themselves from His offer of grace and mercy, is to show signs of total ignorance and confusion.

Then Hodge says that Christ declared those blessed who were not offended by Him. Once our hearts are right with God, Jesus at once becomes the object of supreme affection and the sole basis for confidence in one’s salvation. When the Gospel was first preached by Peter and Paul, it had the same effect it has now. Those converted back then had the same obstacles that sinners must surmount today in order to believe. What they learned back then in order to overcome, we can use as lessons to help us in our appeal to the lost today.¹⁰

Henry Alford addresses how Paul transferred meaning of these quotes from Isaiah to Jesus. He says that it was a justified comparison when we view Christ as a stumbling-stone. Paul chose two locations in the writings of Isaiah to combine in this metaphor: The “stone of stumbling and rock of offence,” mentioned in Isaiah 8:14, is substituted for the “tried stone, precious stone, and sure foundation” in Isaiah 28:16. The reason for this is quite simple. In Isaiah 8:14, the Jews evidently interpreted what was said it to be applied to one of their own, and only for their own. When the priest Simeon spoke openly about the child Jesus as the Messiah, he expressly proves that this prophecy is about to be fulfilled in Jesus.¹¹ This is similarly interpreted by the Chaldee Targum,¹² and the Babylonian Talmud.¹³

In Alford’s thinking was the question of why did the Apostle Paul not give this Stone the same designation as that plainly foretold to be laid in Zion? Certainly, that designation is justified by prophecy, and which affects how we understand the matter here at hand concerning it being a stumbling-block. Alford is not saying that Paul was wrong to do so, he just wanted Paul to explain why. But reasoning will help us see Paul’s point. The stumbling-stone of the First Covenant that the Jews could not get past was eventually taken and made into the corner-stone of the Last Covenant.¹⁴

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon also alludes to the questioning of some scholars as to the real purpose of this Stone. He sees them attempting, with human logical dynamite, to blow up this great Rock of Offence, and to clear away every difficulty from the path of the person who wants to be saved by their own method. This would help them make their way to heaven more pleasant for everyone. But those whose faith is in the Word of God cannot remain silent. Such thinking goes against the mind of God and the teaching of His Word: As it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling-stone and rock of offence.” Now, if they choose not to believe on Him they will surely one day be ashamed. What such skeptics think does not alter the eternal purpose for which God sent Him will stand. So whether some accept Him or not, He will still be glorious no matter what people do or don’t do.¹⁵

F. F. Bruce comments on the portion of Paul’s quote of Isaiah that refers to believers never being ashamed of their faith in Christ the Rock. He writes that in the Hebrew text of Isaiah 28:16 can be taken as the inscription etched in the stone. The words “in him,” that Paul includes here, as well as in Romans 10:11, are not in the Hebrew text but were in the Greek Septuagint version of Isaiah 28:16. For instance, in one Jewish version of this text, it reads: “He who trusts need not fear.”¹⁶ And in a Jewish Version translated by a Messianic Jew, we read: “He who trusts will not rush here and there.”¹⁷ And in another, it is rendered: “The believer shall not panic.”¹⁸ It is clear that Paul saw Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy by adding, “in Him.” In other words, once one is confronted with God’s love through Christ Jesus, they need not fear or run away. Simply bow, repent, be forgiven, and accept Him as Lord and Savior and your soul will never feel insecure again, for you are securely planted on the Rock.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER NINE (Lesson XXXIII)

The concept that God offered His saving grace to more Gentiles than Jews, who became the majority in the early ages of the Church, must be understood as an act of God’s sovereign goodness. But the fact that the Jews were cut off and perished, is to be taken as a result of their own unbelief. This proves true of every sinner who must look into their own heart and at their personal conduct as grounds for their condemnation. They need not fear that this is some secret plan of God to send them to hell. The worst error that leads to destruction is being self-dependent on working out one’s own salvation. This requires full reliance on one’s selfish powers to qualify without help. What makes this so fatal is that it will not be accepted by God as being superior to what Christ provided for sinners on the cross.¹

Professor F. F. Bruce provides an excellent context in which to understand what Paul says here. He notes that in Isaiah, the prophet foretold how the Assyrians would invade Israel, sweeping over the land like a tidal wave. However, there would be one place of refuge to save them from the overwhelming hostile flood: God Himself will provide that sanctuary, a Rock, to all who put their trust in Him, a Rock on which they can stand secure. However, everyone who does not put their confidence in the Rock to save them, but entrusts themselves to other powers or resources will be swept against this Rock, like a rudderless ship washed ashore. As a result, it will bring grief and sorrow to their hearts and minds. So instead of the Rock being a place of refuge for the Jews, it proved to be a dangerous obstacle – a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling.²

This passage is quoted later by the Apostle Peter to make the same point. He refers to Christ as, “A Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock over which they will trip.”³ And why did the Jews stumble? What tripped them up? Instead of seeing Christ as a stepping-stone to salvation, they saw Him as an obstacle in the way of their getting right with God on their own. Did our Lord make them trip-up on purpose? No! They tripped on their own accord. When they took the Word sent to them from God and pushed Him aside, then attempted to go their way they stumbled over Him and have never been able to recover.⁴

John Stott makes the case of way, for some, the proclamation of Christ crucified became a skandalon (“stumbling-block”) to the Jews,⁵ and the cross became a skandalon (“offence”) to them as well.⁶ The Greek word skandalon, to most of those who are English speakers, sounds very much like the word “scandalous.” But when we look at how it was understood by the Greeks, it has two main meanings. First, it represents any object, such as a trap or impediment, that lies in a person’s pathway. Secondly, it can also be used to describe any object or thing by which a person becomes trapped by their own mistake. So the English word scandal would more easily fall into the second definition. But Christ’s crucifixion and the cross fit better into the first definition.

So the next question is this: Why do people stumble over the cross? For one thing, it undermines their confidence in self-righteousness. This is not a small thing. If attaining a right standing with God could be established because of what a person could do on their own, then Paul rightly says that Christ died for nothing.⁷ Not only that, but if we could gain a righteous standing before God by our own obedience to the laws, catechisms, ordinances, rites, rituals, ceremonies, and holy days prescribed by the church, then Christ’s work on the cross would become pointless and meaningless. It goes without saying, if we can save ourselves, there is no reason for Christ to have died. His death would be an excessive and wasted act of mercy. That’s why it must be understood that by Christ dying for our sins it is proof positive that we cannot save ourselves. But for many, such a humiliating confession is an intolerable insult to their egotistical religious pride. When we are unable or unwilling to swallow our useless self-admiration, everything that God went through so much trouble to bring about to pass ends up causing people to fall over Christ’s work on the cross as stumbling-stone.⁸

Douglas Moo sees another factor in Judah and Israel’s failure to attain the level of righteousness that God intended for them to reach. As he sees it, Paul may be suggesting that the law of Moses, when rightly interpreted, calls for faith, not only for works. The problem with the people of Israel is that they were so preoccupied with works they completely missed the requirement for faith. Paul consistently restricts his use of the Greek word nomos,⁹ to mean the commands God gave Israel through Moses, not just the Ten Commandments. The Pentateuch as a whole calls for faith, but not the commandments. They demand works. So that’s why Paul talks about the “law of righteousness” in an attempt to make two points at once. They are: Israel pursued righteousness but failed to obtain it, that’s because by so doing they elevated nomos above faith as their primary concern. What makes it even more puzzling, is that they were so narrowly focused on what works the law demanded, that they missed the much larger sign God gave them to focus on. That was His promise that faith can do so much more than works. That’s why they failed to obtain righteousness on their own.¹⁰

Verse 33: The Scriptures talk about that Stone: “Look, I put in Zion a Stone that will make people stumble. It is a Rock that will make people fall. But anyone who trusts in Him will never be disappointed.”¹¹

Once again, Paul calls on the words of the prophet Isaiah to make the case his Jewish readers will easily understand. The prophet was being used by God to make the children of Israel aware that because of their own failures, they would miss out on everything God had prepared and promised to them. But there was this expectancy just when everyone thought all hope was lost: “On that day the Lord Almighty Himself will be their crowning glory, the diadem of beauty to His people who are left.”¹² The prophet goes on to give the Lord’s message: “See, I am placing a Foundation Stone in Zion – a firm, tested, precious Cornerstone that is safe to build on. He who believes need never run away again.”¹³

The Psalmist makes note of what happened when some did not believe and even pushed aside the Cornerstone that God had prepared. As Isaiah reported,¹⁴ “The very rock that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone!”¹⁵ This, of course, was verified by Jesus Himself who asked the Jewish leaders: “Didn’t you ever read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone rejected by the builders has been made the honored cornerstone; how remarkable! what an amazing thing the Lord has done’? What I mean is that the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation that will give God His share of the crop. [Whoever falls on this stone will be broken in pieces; but if it falls on him, he will be crushed to powder!]”¹⁶

So in Paul’s mind, this was a clear picture for the Jewish leaders of the congregation in Rome to look at before contemplating any objection to Gentiles joining the body of believers. After all, didn’t David pray: “None of those who have faith in God will ever be disgraced for trusting Him. But all who harm the innocent shall be defeated.”¹⁷ Paul did not want anyone to be ashamed that they came to believe in Jesus the Christ as their Savior. As he told them in his opening: “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way.”¹⁸

Being that Paul was mainly addressing the Jewish leaders in the congregation at this point, no doubt he was also aware that among Jewish scholars it was not allowed for a person to skip from one verse to another, like putting a chain or necklace together, to make their point, even though as he had just done that with Isaiah’s writings. But being a scholar of Jewish literature himself, Paul also knew what the Talmud had to say: “The reader may skip [from verse to verse] in a prophet but not in the Torah.”¹⁹ In fact, the great scholar Moses Maimonides touched on this subject by saying: “A person reading from the prophets may read three verses to the translator at one time, and the translator translates them one after another. If the three verses are three separate passages, [the reader] should read them to the translator only one at a time.”²⁰

When it comes to the stone being a metaphor for Christ, Ambrosiaster notes there are many passages of Scripture where Christ is portrayed as a Rock or a Stone. The prophet Daniel saw this Stone as it separated itself without the help of human hands from the mountain. As it broke loose it rolled down the mountain and crashed into a huge statue Daniel saw that had a head made of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its trunk and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. When it smashed into this statue’s feet, they broke into pieces so small it reminded Daniel of the chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. Then another miracle happened. The stone begin to grow into a mountain so tall it could be seen from far, far away.²¹

For most Bible scholars, this Stone clearly refers to Christ. And the Apostle Peter says told the Jews: “This is the stone which the builders rejected.”²² The Jews knew that if they compared Christ’s words with His miracles, they would be pressured to recognize that He was not out of line to claim that He had been sent down from heaven. For Ambrosiaster, the rock was undoubtedly the human flesh of the Savior. It detached itself without hands, because it was made of a virgin by the Holy Spirit without the participation of a male.²³ Others may see the mountain as the law, from which the Word Himself becomes independent and the power of His Gospel would be enough to become a driving forces in nations around the world. In any case, it was a clear signal to the Jews that the Gospel would prevail over the law as the fountain of living water for all who come to it for salvation.