Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.Paul is praying an earnest and heartfelt prayer for the salvation of his people, the Israelites. This leads us once again into the tension that we have already seen in this section of Scripture. On the one side is the sovereignty of God, who completely independent of anything else is going to do exactly what he chooses to do. He will have mercy on some, and he will harden some, and we make no contribution to his choices. On the other side is our complete freedom and responsibility to choose. Paul is now at the second of these poles. He is praying that they will hear and believe, that the truth will penetrate and change them, that they will make the choice to respond to God that is theirs to make. God is sovereign and we are responsible; both are true. Chapter 10 is filled with energy, persuasion, prayer, preaching, sending, and going. Those who take the gospel to others are described as beautiful, and they share it because it will give life to anyone who will hear and believe.
Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will [have to] live by them." But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile---the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."Love must precede a response to love. The same issue that Paul raises here in spiritual matters also applies in family circumstances. It is right and the calling of God for parents to freely love their children. And you are very blessed if you have been given unqualified, unfettered love from your parents. But if you have not been given it, you can never earn it. If you have received rejection and disapproval from your parents, there is no amount of change, effort, goodness, discipline, service, or accomplishment that will make them love you so that you can be sure of their love. You will continue to wonder, "Is this payment enough? What more must I do?" Real love comes from the good heart of the giver; it is not earned by the loved one.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"Now Paul is answering another question. The Jews have been filled with zeal and enthusiasm, but they are charging off in the wrong direction. The priest and Levite are going down the road thinking about God and missing God. If religious zeal isn't enough, if it requires knowledge about Christ and the willingness to believe it and confess it, then how will they know? And Paul goes on to say that they will know because God will, through a community of his people, send spokesmen whose very feet will be beautiful to those who want to hear. The Lord is about the business of getting the news out. He wants his name known; he wants the truth about Christ to be proclaimed. He wants people to have the opportunity to know how much they are loved, so they can be persuaded of it and march under the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:There are questions that can be asked about people who have not heard about Jesus Christ, who live in places in the world where no preaching has gone forth. But that is not the question being asked here. The question here is, "What about those who really have heard and don't believe? Can we find some fault in the telling of the story? Could the preaching have been better? Would they have been persuaded if we had just said it a little differently, come on a different day, or made the package more attractive? Can we hope that maybe they didn't really hear and that more telling will make a difference?" But Paul says that in the case of those in Israel who rejected their Messiah, that was not the problem, because Moses saw them made jealous by the nations that were different from them, and Isaiah preached to them and was rejected. There is continued reference to envy and anger and disobedience and obstinacy.
"Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world."
Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
"I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."
And Isaiah boldly says,
"I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."
But concerning Israel he says,
"All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people."
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