Longing to Go to Rome 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ [as grace comes to us from God through Jesus, so our thanks goes to God through Jesus, our representative] for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. [Paul is commenting on how many places Christianity has spread. Faith is not just in Rome or in particular house-churches but is spreading all over the world.] 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son,

Greeting [All ancient letters began with a greeting, usually X to Y. Here it is Paul to all those in Rome with much expansion in between. The most likely dating of this letter is AD 57 +/- several months when Paul was in Corinth before his trip to Jerusalem (Acts 24:17).] 1 Paul, a servant [or slave, which in Greek is “doulos”] of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle [an official messenger of the gospel; see Galatians 1:1], set apart for the gospel of God [the joyful procl

Why did Paul write to the Christians in Rome? While Romans was a new kind of letter for Paul to write—he had previously written at least nine of the New Testament letters—he was not thinking through ideas for the first time. Romans is an exposition of ideas he had tried, tested, and worked out in detail. In Romans Paul poured out his Jesus-focused teachings that together say more than the sum of their parts. Tom Wright says that we should listen to Romans in the way we woul

St. Paul Today I start a new series on Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome. In this series I will have comments within the text of the letter rather than reflections after the text. I have done this before, but it has been a while. This will be more of a Bible study than a devotional. Why should you read and study Romans? Some of the great Christian leaders of the past have this to say: Augustine: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to grati

50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. Comments The ascension of Jesus is covered more broadly in Acts 1, but this account in Luke connects his gospel with his history of the early Church in Acts. It had been forty days since Jesus’ resu

Jesus Opened Their Minds 24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his na

Jesus Appears to His Disciples 24:36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed

Meal at Emmaus 24:28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “D

On the Road to Emmaus 24:13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, l

The Resurrection 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6