Mission According to Paul by Joel E. Kim

This morning, I would like us to think through the idea of missions and theology in Romans 15. I would like to begin by quoting C. K. Barrett who began his lecture this way: “The starting-point of this lecture is the statement that I once read, ‘Paul was not a theologian; he was a missionary’–a statement incorrect both in principle and in history. It is wrong in principle, because there is no Christian theology that is not, in the broadest sense, kerygmatic theology; and it is wrong as a matter of fact, because the historical Paul wrote as a theologian and worked as a missionary.”¹

I think he's right. For Paul, missions flows from his theology. In the passage that we just read, we witness the intricate interplay of theology and missions for Paul. At first glance, Paul's letter closings like Romans 15 may appear to have a rather simple form and structure, consisting of some final remarks thrown together in a somewhat loose and disorderly fashion. A detailed study reveals, however, a high degree of formal structural consistency which indicates the care with which these final sections were constructed. The Epistle to the Romans was no exception. Carefully weaving together themes initially discussed in the introduction and explained throughout the epistle, Paul, a master theologian and a missionary, provides a shape of his missiological theology under three headings: God at Work, Paul at Work, and the Church at Work.

God at Work
Let us turn to “God at Work” first. The end of Paul's epistle to the Romans seems to be a simple description of what Paul wants to do: he wants to visit the Romans, he also wants to go by Jerusalem, and ultimately he would like to spread his missions work out to Spain. His immediate outlook, however, is tied to his comprehensive understanding of his place in redemptive history.

Paul’s redemptive-historical perspective can be seen in Romans 15:7-13. At the beginning of Romans 15, he exhorts the Romans to unity and harmony, ending with his appeal in verse 7: "Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.”² As the verse indicates, the basis for Paul’s exhortation to unity and harmony is Christ. But Paul proceeds to explain how Christ welcomed them not by appealing to his earthly life as he has done elsewhere, but by presenting his understanding of the redemptive purposes of God in Christ. The Gospel of God that Paul carefully explains offers a universal solution to a universal problem of sin. The redemption of God that has come in Christ Jesus is not a solution to a particular group of people, but for all those who believe in his name. This means harmony and unity, not disharmony and distinctions, must characterize those who are in Christ.

This unity in Christ is not an accidental effect of Christ’s death and resurrection, but the intended result of God’s redemptive activity in Christ. How does Paul know this? Because the redemptive intentions of God had been announced for generations. To prove his case, Paul proceeds to cite a series of Old Testament quotations: Psalm 18:49 and 117:1; Deuteronomy 32:43; and Isaiah 11:10. Not by accident, one is from the Torah, another is from the Prophets, and two are from Psalms.

Psalm 18:49 – "For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations and sing to your name."

Deuteronomy 32:43 – "Rejoice, O nations, with his people for he will avenge the blood of his servants and will render vengeance on his adversaries and will atone for his land and his people.”

Psalm 117:1 – "Praise the Lord all nations, extol Him all peoples."

All three of these passages are unified in that they speak of the day of salvation of the Lord when all nations, not only the Jews, will declare the glory of God. In other words, all three of these passages are eschatological; that is, these passages anticipate a day of great salvation when Israel and the Gentiles together will not only receive and experience the salvation of God but will also lift up praises and glory to Him. According to Paul, this day of salvation has already dawned. The anticipated days has already come in the person of Christ Jesus. The hoped-for day of universal rejoicing has begun with the revelation of the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Not just Israel, but even the Gentiles will taste the salvation of God and will rejoice and exalt His name.

Of particular interest to us is the next quotation from Isaiah 11:10: “Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse who will stand as a signal for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious.” Let me briefly summarize the context of this passage in Isaiah. In Isaiah 10-12, Isaiah prophesied the restoration of Israel and foretold the promise of God's merciful preservation of a remnant of Israel despite his judgments. In particular, Isaiah 10:5-19 spoke of God’s promise to turn and condemn Israel's oppressors declaring that "The remnant will be saved.” Therefore, Isaiah encouraged the Israelites to take courage in view of that promise of God that their oppressors will be struck down (Isa 10:25-34). Who will strike down the oppressor of Israel and restore Israel? Isaiah proclaims that the savior will come from the house of David, “the root of Jesse” (Isa 11:1).

Paul takes these words of Isaiah and applies them to Christ: “And again Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in Him will the Gentiles hope’” (Rom 15:12).³ The fact that Paul begins his epistle reminding his readers that Jesus is the descendent of David (Rom 1:3) might be sufficient to justify his Christological interpretation. However, two additional items are worth noting. First, the use of the phrase “he who arises” (ho anistamenos) in Isaiah seems to offer additional evidence for the Christological reading. In Romans, where the resurrection of Jesus (with the related noun anastasis) is often discussed (cf. Rom 1:4; 6:5; 10:7), “he who arises” seems a fitting allusion to Christ.⁴ The root of Jesse who was anticipated and hoped for, who will rise to rule over not only the Jews but also the Gentiles, is the risen Christ. Second, this Christological reading is confirmed further when Paul glaringly omits the phrase "in that day" (en tē hēmera ekeinē) from the Isaiah passage. It is difficult to imagine that Paul unintentionally omitted the phrase. Rather, his omission seems to indicate that, for Paul, the day anticipated and hoped for in Isaiah has already dawned in Christ Jesus. The arrival of Christ means that there is no longer a need to look to the future for “that day,” since it has already come in him. The coming of Christ is the fulfillment of generations of prophecies and expectations.