Romans 15:22-33

 (Romans 15:22-33)

For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.  But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you;  Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.  But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.  For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.  It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.  When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.  And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.  Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;  That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;  That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.  Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

 

Paul stayed in Corinth at the end of his third evangelistic trip and wrote the Romans. In this letter, he had an earnest desire to visit Rome and have fellowship with the Saints in Rome. Paul would have felt the need to systematically explain the basic doctrines of the Christian faith to the Saints in Rome. He also planned evangelism in Spain and wanted to know the need for cooperation with the Roman Church, so he would go to Rome, but at the same time, he had the expectation that fellowship with the Saints in Rome would be a great joy and encouragement to Paul and all of them. He would have been eager to visit Rome for a while.

 

Unlike Paul's previous visits to Rome, which had been blocked several times, conditions were now available to visit Rome. But before Paul's plan to go to Spain via Rome, an important thing happened. This was not something that could be solved on the way to Rome, which I wanted to visit so much, but rather, it could only be solved by going to Jerusalem, which is the opposite road to Rome. 『But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.』

 

Paul desperately wanted to visit the Saints in Rome, and he also wanted to go to Spain for a new evangelism, but before that, he had to go to Jerusalem to deliver the relief money that the Macedonians and Achaia people had been happy with. Paul described this as serving the saints. The road to Jerusalem was in the opposite direction to Rome, but it was so important to Paul that he had to go.

 

Many of the Saints in Jerusalem were experiencing financial difficulties. We can guess how difficult the lives of the saints living in Jerusalem at that time would have been. Why did they become poor? The text does not explain the exact reason for this, but when inferred from Acts 11:28, a great famine could have been the cause, and persecution could have been another cause given the circumstances at the time.
In any case, among the saints living in Jerusalem, there were many who had difficulty maintaining a living without the help of others. And for those people, Macedonians and Agaya people raised relief money. However, in 2 Corinthians 8, those who provided relief money were not rich.

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5『 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. 』

 

The Macedonians were those who were in great trial and extreme poverty, but upon hearing the difficult news of Jerusalem, they voluntarily pleaded with them to join us in helping the saints. Paul added this in a letter to the Saints in Rome.『 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.』

 

It is God's full grace that allows us to enjoy spiritual wealth through the Gospel, but Paul stresses that it is natural that we must help each other in difficult and difficult times, since God made us share the Gospel through the church in Jerusalem. Through this, the church in Jerusalem, the Roman church, and the churches in Macedonians and Achaia will all have a deep appreciation of the unity that all are one in Christ, regardless of the physical streets or the status of Gentiles and Jewish Christians.