Romans 15:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

NIV: For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.

NASB: For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

CSB: because Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

NLT: For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.

KJV: For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

NKJV: For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.

Before Paul can come to Rome as he longs to, he must first travel to Jerusalem to deliver money to the poor Jewish Christians there. Paul has taken it on himself to urge the Gentile Christians on his travels to give generously to help their Jewish brothers and sisters in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1–2; 2 Corinthians 8:1–9).

Now, he has that money in hand. The churches in Macedonia and Achaia, he writes, have been pleased to contribute what they could to the poor saints in Jerusalem. As in all of the New Testament, Paul uses the word "saints" here to refer to all believers in Jesus. This is not some specially-blessed group, but all of those who have accepted faith in Christ.

The following verse shows Paul's emphasis that these Gentile Christians were pleased to give to meet the needs of Jewish brothers and sisters they had never met. Their giving came of their own free will. Paul may have pushed hard for it, but the giving was not mandatory.

Romans 15:22–33 describes Paul's plan to visit the Christians in Rome on his way to preaching the gospel in Spain. He has longed to see them for years. Before he comes, he must deliver a gift of financial aid from Gentile Christians to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. He asks his readers to wrestle with him in prayer about this trip. Paul especially hopes to be delivered from the unbelieving Jewish religious leaders who want to kill him, and that the Christian Jews will receive the gift he is bringing.

Romans 15 begins with Paul's encouragement to those strong in faith: to please other Christians before themselves so the church can be unified. Christ came to fulfill God's promises to Israel and about the Gentiles. Paul is satisfied with the faith and practice of the Roman Christians. His work of taking the gospel to unreached regions of Gentiles in his part of the world is completed, and he longs to come see them. First, he must deliver financial aid to Jerusalem, a trip about which he asks them to pray along with him.

Romans 15 concludes Paul's teaching that those strong in faith ought to sacrifice their own desires to live in harmony with other believers. Paul shows that God always planned to welcome the Gentile nations, and his mission is to introduce Gentiles to the message of salvation by faith in Christ. He longs to visit the Christians in Rome and plans to do so as soon as he delivers financial aid to poor Christian Jews in Jerusalem. He begins Romans 16 by greeting many friends and acquaintances in Rome by name, as part of a drawn-out ending to this letter.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.

Accessed 11/23/2024 7:18:58 PM