Tenth Sunday after Trinity — Year A — exegesis on the Epistle, Romans 10:5-15

August 9, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity is August 9, 2026.

Readings for Year A can be found here.

My exegesis for the Gospel — Matthew 14:22-33 — the account of Jesus and, ever so briefly, Peter, walking on water, can be found here.

The Epistle is as follows (emphases mine):

Romans 10:5-15

The word of faith

10:5 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.”

10:6 But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)

10:7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim),

10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10:10 For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation and so is saved.

10:11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”

10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.

10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

10:14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?

10:15 And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.

Year A in the Lectionary explores Paul’s letter to the Romans in relative depth.

The first Epistle reading for the season was Romans 6:12-23, in which Paul lays out the believer’s transformation from being a slave to sin to becoming a slave to Christ, through grace and the Holy Spirit, helping us to become obedient in all things. The Spirit takes us on a journey through sanctification, which brings us closer to God as we obey His holy and perfect Son.

In 2020, I wrote about the first half of Romans 7 for my Forbidden — Essential — Bible Verses series:

Romans 7:1-3 – God’s law, law belongs to the living, marriage

Romans 7:4-6 – God’s law, sin, fruits of faith, Jesus, Holy Spirit

Romans 7:7-14 – God’s law, sin, conviction, moral commandments, Ten Commandments

Returning to Year A, we then had Romans 7:15-25a, we heard Paul’s discussion of his — and our individual — daily struggle against sin. While our souls are redeemed, our bodies are still a source of sin. Sanctification, which Paul was deeply experiencing when he wrote these verses, encourages us to loathe our sins. When we die, the souls of the believers go to live in heavenly eternity. The body dies and is at rest until the Second Coming, when it will become glorified and be reunited with the soul in heaven.

In the following week’s Epistle, Romans 8:1-11 (see here and here), Paul described what living in the Spirit is like and told us of the hope to come in bodily resurrection.

Then came Romans 8:12-25 (see here and here), in which Paul discussed believers’ adoption as children of God, thanks to the Holy Spirit leading us. The latter part of the reading goes into the longing that believers and creation have for the kingdom to come, when both shall be made perfect once again.

After that, we looked at Romans 8:26-39 (see here, here and here), in which Paul explains how believers can be assured that nothing and no one will ever come between them and God, from now through eternity.

Last Sunday, we heard Romans 9:1-5, wherein Paul laments that his fellow Jews — Paul was a Pharisee originally — had not yet come to the light of Christ.

I wrote about the rest of Romans 9 and the first few verses of Romans 10 some years earlier as part of my Forbidden Bible Verses series:

Romans 9:6-13 – election, New Covenant

Paul introduces the New Covenant to the Jews. Our salvation depends not on our lineage (i.e. Abrahamic descent) and not all will be saved. Our election to salvation depends not on our own works but on God’s choosing.

Romans 9:14-24 – election, New Covenant

This passage explains how and why God, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, opened the promise of salvation to the Gentiles through the New Covenant: ‘not only Jews but also Gentiles’.

Romans 9:25-33 – faith, not works; New Covenant

This passage further explains how and why God, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, opened the promise of salvation to the Gentiles.

Romans 10:1-4 – Jesus, Mosaic law, zeal, knowledge

Paul earnestly desires and prays for the Jews of his time to realise that Jesus came to fulfil the law of the Old Covenant, in place only for a limited time to prepare them for the Messiah (Jesus).

Paul’s overarching theme is that the law cannot save; it can only convict us of our sins. It is faith that saves, faith in Jesus Christ being that of the pathway to faith in God.

His issue is convincing the Jews that notional ‘works righteousness’ through the law cannot effect salvation, because no man or woman is capable of keeping all of God’s law. When we fail in one, we fail in all of them.

To begin another scriptural argument, Paul cites Moses on righteousness coming from the law; Moses wrote that those who ‘do these things’ will ‘live by them’ (verse 5).

Matthew Henry‘s commentary explains Paul’s scriptural argument and the citation of Leviticus 18:5, wherein God commands that the Israelites obey His statutes:

The excellency of the gospel above the law. This he proves by showing the different constitution of these two.

(1.) What is the righteousness which is of the law? This he shows, v. 5. The tenour of it is, Do, and live. Though it directs us to a better and more effectual righteousness in Christ, yet in itself, considered as a law abstracted from its respect to Christ and the gospel (for so the unbelieving Jews embraced and retained it), it owneth nothing as a righteousness sufficient to justify a man but that of perfect obedience. For this he quotes that scripture (Lev 18 5), You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. To this he refers likewise, Gal 3 12, The man that doeth them, shall live in them. Live, that is, be happy, not only in the land of Canaan, but in heaven, of which Canaan was a type and figure. The doing supposed must be perfect and sinless, without the least breach or violation. The law which was given upon Mount Sinai, though it was not a pure covenant of works (for who then could be saved under that dispensation?) yet, that is might be the more effectual to drive people to Christ and to make the covenant of grace welcome, it had a very great mixture of the strictness and terror of the covenant of works. Now, was it not extreme folly in the Jews to adhere so closely to this way of justification and salvation, which was in itself so hard, and by the corruption of nature now become impossible, when there was a new and a living way opened?

In one of his three sermons from 1984 on these verses, John MacArthur also picks up on the curse on those who cannot obey the law, which is every human being, past, present and future. This is why true faith imputes righteousness, as God bestowed it upon Abraham, our spiritual father in faith:

Now Israel was ignorant, first of all … [of] the person of God and now the provision of Christ. They didn’t understand what Christ provided. And that’s what the epistle to the Romans is intended to unfold. And that’s why it says in chapter 1 verse 17 that the righteous live, not by works, but by faith. Great truth.

Now there’s a third point. It follows very naturally on the first two, they were ignorant of God’s person, they were ignorant of the provision of Christ. Thirdly, they were ignorant of the place of faith …

The end of verse 4:  “Christ is the termination of law righteousness to everyone (that what? that does what?) believes.” That’s all.  Faith, believing.  Believers receive what workers never get.  And not believing in Christ forfeits the righteousness of God.  Faith signs the covenant and makes His righteousness our own.

Now to verify the place of faith, and it is essential, to verify the place of faith, Paul goes back and quotes Moses.  He doesn’t want to be criticized for having some new doctrine so he reaches back and uses Mosaic sources.  Notice verse 5, “For Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law.”  First of all, he’s going to show that Moses talks about law righteousness. Then he’s going to show that Moses talks about faith righteousness.  “Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law that the man who does these things shall live by them.”  Moses talked about righteousness by law.  And he makes reference here to Leviticus 18:5, Leviticus 18:5 …

In other words, if you say you’re coming this way, the demand is for absolute perfection.  That’s the way Paul sees the statement of Leviticus 18:5.  He uses it to emphasize that thought, that to attain righteousness through keeping the law of God means you’ve got to live that way all the time.  Which is what?  Impossible … 

… In fact, Deuteronomy 27:26, some other words recorded in the Pentateuch, “Cursed be he who confirms not all the words of this law to do them.”  In other words, you don’t do all of them all your life, you’re cursed.  So if you want to come this way, lots of luck.

Paul then brings Christ into the argument, saying that the righteousness that comes through faith tells us not to ask in our hearts, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ as that would be bringing Christ down (verse 6). The citation comes from Deuteronomy 30:11-14.

Henry says there is no need to overanalyse Christ’s holy mysteries accomplished from His crucifixion through to His resurrection from the dead:

What is that righteousness which is of faith, v. 6, etc. This he describes in the words of Moses, in Deuteronomy, in the second law (so Deuteronomy signifies), where there was a much clearer revelation of Christ and the gospel than there was in the first giving of the law: he quotes it from Deut 30 11-14, and shows,

[1.] That it is not at all hard or difficult. The way of justification and salvation has in it no such depths or knots as may discourage us, no insuperable difficulties attending it; but, as was foretold, it is a high-way, Isa 35 8. We are not put to climb for it—it is not in heaven; we are not put to dive for it—it is not in the deep. First, We need not go to heaven, to search the records there, or to enquire into the secrets of the divine counsel. It is true Christ is in heaven; but we may be justified and saved without going thither, to fetch him thence, or sending a special messenger to him. Secondly, We need not go to the deep, to fetch Christ out of the grave, or from the state of the dead: Into the deep, to bring up Christ from the dead. This plainly shows that Christ’s descent into the deep, or into hades, was no more than his going into the state of the dead, in allusion to Jonah. It is true that Christ was in the grave, and it is as true that he is now in heaven; but we need not perplex and puzzle ourselves with fancied difficulties, nor must we create to ourselves such gross and carnal ideas of these things as if the method of salvation were impracticable, and the design of the revelation were only to amuse us. No, salvation is not put at so vast a distance from us.

MacArthur says the passage from Deuteronomy is a call to faith:

In Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse 10 God is calling His people to obedience.  And it says, “If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God,” watch this, “with all thine heart and with all thy soul.” That’s it.  He’s calling them to obedience, but it’s not external, it’s what?  It’s internal, in the heart, in the soul.  And Paul assures us that the intent of this passage in Deuteronomy is a call to faith.  It is a call to faith.  He even calls it in Romans 10:8 the word of faith.  It is a call to a heart response.  It is a call to faith.  It is the obedience of the heart that he is after, not just some external behavior.  And may I suggest to you this?  That a call to faith, a call to a true heart relationship to God in Deuteronomy, is based on the covenant of grace. Now listen carefully.  Deuteronomy is not simply a call to legal externalism; it is a call to respond in faith to a covenant of grace.

Paul continues, saying that righteousness through faith does not ask who will descend into the abyss, as if to bring Christ up from the dead (verse 7).

Henry emphasises that Christ has done everything for us:

… it is very plain and easy: The word is nigh thee. When we speak of looking upon Christ, and receiving Christ, and feeding upon Christ, it is not Christ in heaven, nor Christ in the deep, that we mean; but Christ in the promise, Christ exhibited to us, and offered, in the word. Christ is nigh thee, for the word is nigh thee: nigh thee indeed: it is in thy mouth, and in thy heart; there is no difficulty in understanding, believing, and owning it. The work thou hast to do lies within thee: the kingdom of God is within you, Luke 17 21. Thence thou must fetch thy evidences, not out of the records of heaven. It is, that is, it is promised that it shall be, in thy mouth (Isa 59 21), and in thy heart, Jer 31 33. All that which is done for us is already done to our hands. Christ is come down from heaven; we need not go to fetch him. He is come up from the deep; we need not perplex ourselves how to bring him up. There is nothing now to be done, but a work in us; this must be our care, to look to our heart and mouth. Those that were under the law were to do all themselves, Do this, and live; but the gospel discovers the greatest part of the work done already, and what remains cut short in righteousness, salvation offered upon very plain and easy terms, brought to our door, as it were, in the word which is nigh us. It is in our mouth—we are reading it daily; it is in our heart—we are, or should be, thinking of it daily. Even the word of faith; the gospel and the promise of it, called the word of faith because it is the object of faith about which it is conversant, the word which we believe;—because it is the precept of faith, commanding it, and making it the great condition of justification;—and because it is the ordinary means by which faith is wrought and conveyed.

MacArthur has more on Deuteronomy’s — the second law’s — message of grace, Gospel grace:

You see, the framework of Deuteronomy, and this is what I want you to see, the framework of Deuteronomy is sovereign grace. Now go back to Romans 10 and you’ll see how it fits in. So when you turn to Deuteronomy chapter 30 verses 11 to 14 Paul specifically here kind of touches several of those verses in that passage. You come to these; you know it’s all based on the covenant of God’s grace. And so the righteousness which is by faith says this, or you could put it another way, the Scripture speaking about the righteousness of faith says this, Paul just chooses to personify the righteousness of faith. It says this, “Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven?” Verse 7, “Or who shall descend into the deep?” Verse 8: “The word is near thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart.” And that’s right out of Deuteronomy chapter 30.

Now what is this saying? It’s saying this. Don’t think that you have to respond to God by ascending into heaven or by descending into the deep to collect the truth. Don’t think you have to go on some impossible journey. The righteousness of faith is available, verse 8. It’s near you. It’s in your mouth, it’s in your heart, it’s been revealed. It’s in the covenant of grace. You simply believe and receive it.

My exegesis for verses 8 through 13 can be found here, as these verses are read in the First Sunday of Lent, Year C.

Paul tells us that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (verse 13).

Then the Apostle poses three essential questions (verse 14). How are people to call upon One in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in One of whom they have never heard? How are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him?

Henry discusses the anger of the Jews, that the message of the Messiah be preached to the Gentiles as well. Yet, in the Old Testament, we learn that God is the God of the Gentiles — ‘the nations’ — too, not just His chosen people:

How necessary it was that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, v. 14, 15. This was what the Jews were so angry with Paul for, that he was the apostle of the Gentiles, and preached the gospel to them. Now he shows how needful it was to bring them within the reach of the forementioned promise, an interest in which they should not envy to any of their fellow-creatures. (1.) They cannot call on him in whom they have not believed. Except they believe that he is God, they will not call upon him by prayer; to what purpose should they? The grace of faith is absolutely necessary to the duty of prayer; we cannot pray aright, nor pray to acceptation, without it. He that comes to God by prayer must believe, Heb 11 6. Till they believed the true God, they were calling upon idols, O Baal, hear us. (2.) They cannot believe in him of whom they have not heard. Some way or other the divine revelation must be made known to us, before we can receive it and assent to it; it is not born with us. In hearing is included reading, which is tantamount, and by which many are brought to believe (John 20 31): These things are written that you may believe. But hearing only is mentioned, as the more ordinary and natural way of receiving information. (3.) They cannot hear without a preacher; how should they? Somebody must tell them what they are to believe. Preachers and hearers are correlates; it is a blessed thing when they mutually rejoice in each other—the hearers in the skill and faithfulness of the preacher, and the preacher in the willingness and obedience of the hearers.

In his third sermon on these verses, MacArthur says similarly:

This is a very simple process of logic. Listen to me. If only those who call on the name of the Lord can be saved… Is that true? We just learned that, right? Only those who call on the name of the Lord can be saved. In other words, only those who ask can be saved. Only those who ask on God’s terms. Only those who ask properly, understanding who Christ is, who God is and what the salvation provision is, only those who come on God’s terms and ask can be saved …

And none can call unless they believe, right? And none can believe unless they hear. And none can hear unless somebody tells them. And nobody can tell them unless they’re sent. Hmm.

So, God has a whole plan laid out. You see, how are they going to call on one in whom they haven’t believed? They’re not. And how are they going to believe in Him of whom they haven’t heard? They’re not. And how are they going to hear without a preacher? They’re not.

Paul then says that if those who do not know the Lord are to hear about Him, someone — a preacher — must be sent to tell them about the Lord.

The Apostle asks (verse 15), citing Isaiah 52:7, how can they — preachers — proclaim Him unless they are sent, for it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’

Isaiah spoke not of physically beautiful feet but the fact that those which are on the Lord’s work to proclaim Him are doing beautiful things, indeed.

Henry discusses the message of true peace that the Gospel brings to all who are evangelised:

How welcome the gospel ought to be to those to whom it was preached, because it showed the way to salvation, v. 15. For this he quotes Isa 52 7. The like passage we have, Nah 1 15, which, if it point at the glad tidings of the deliverance of Israel out of Babylon in the type, yet looks further to the gospel, the good news of our salvation by Jesus Christ. Observe, (1.) What the gospel is: It is the gospel of peace; it is the word of reconciliation between God and man. On earth peace, Luke 2 14. Or, peace is put in general for all good; so it is explained here; it is glad tidings of good things. The things of the gospel are good things indeed, the best things; tidings concerning them are the most joyful tidings, the best news that ever came from heaven to earth. (2.) What the work of ministers is: To preach this gospel, to bring these glad tidings; to evangelize peace (so the original is), to evangelize good things. Every good preacher is in this sense an evangelist: he is not only a messenger to carry the news, but an ambassador to treat; and the first gospel preachers were angels, Luke 2 13, etc. (3.) How acceptable they should therefore be to the children of men for their work’s sake: How beautiful are the feet, that is, how welcome are they! Mary Magdalene expressed her love to Christ by kissing his feet, and afterwards by holding him by the feet, Matt 28 9. And, when Christ was sending forth his disciples, he washed their feet. Those that preach the gospel of peace should see to it that their feet (their life and conversation) be beautiful: the holiness of ministers’ lives is the beauty of their feet. How beautiful! namely, in the eyes of those that hear them. Those that welcome the message cannot but love the messengers. See 1 Thess 5 12, 13.

It is hard to disagree with that assessment.

We have five more Sundays of readings from Romans to come.

May all be blessed by the Apostle Paul’s message about the divine mysteries of election, redemption and salvation.

Readings for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity — Year A

August 8, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity — the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost — is August 9, 2026.

Readings for Year A follow, emphases mine.

First Reading

Readings from Genesis continue. Having explored the life of Jacob — Israel — in recent weeks, the focus now turns to his sons, in particular his favourite: Joseph of the multi-coloured coat.

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Joseph sold by his brothers

37:1 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan.

37:2 These are the descendants of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him an ornamented robe.

37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

37:12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem.

37:13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.”

37:14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring word back to me.”So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem,

37:15 and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”

37:16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.”

37:17 The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

37:18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them they conspired to kill him.

37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.

37:20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”

37:21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”

37:22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” –that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.

37:23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the ornamented robe that he wore,

37:24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

37:25 Then they sat down to eat, and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

37:27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed.

37:28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Psalm

In this Psalm of praise and thanksgiving, David expresses gratitude towards God for Joseph, who became very powerful under Pharoah, and saved his ungrateful brothers — the house of Israel — in a time of famine.

Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b

Remembering Joseph

105:1 O give thanks to the LORD; call on his name; make known his deeds among the peoples.

105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.

105:3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

105:4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.

105:5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered,

105:6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

105:16 When he summoned famine against the land and cut off every supply of bread,

105:17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.

105:18 His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;

105:19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD kept testing him.

105:20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free.

105:21 He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions,

105:22 to instruct his officials at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.

105:45b Praise the LORD!

Alternative First Reading

God appears in all His majesty on Mount Horeb to Elijah, another great person of the Old Testament, and gives him a fearsome mission.

1 Kings 19:9-18

Elijah on Mount Horeb

19:9 At that place he came to a cave and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

19:10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

19:11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake,

19:12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

19:13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

19:14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

19:15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

19:16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

19:17 Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill, and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.

19:18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Alternative Psalm

It is thought that this Psalm was written after the Jews were released from captivity in Babylon. The Psalmist (not David, because this would have happened after his time) recounts God’s past blessings to His people.

Psalm 85:8-13

I will listen to God

85:8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

85:9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

85:10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

85:11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.

85:12 The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

85:13 Righteousness will go before him and will make a path for his steps.

Epistle

Readings from Paul’s letter to the Romans continue and will do so for the next few weeks. My exegesis on these verses will appear in a separate post, but you can read the one for verses 8 through 13 here.

Romans 10:5-15

The word of faith

10:5 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.”

10:6 But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down)

10:7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim),

10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10:10 For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation and so is saved.

10:11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”

10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.

10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

10:14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?

10:15 And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Gospel

After Jesus fed the 5,000 (see here and here), He stayed behind to pray while the Apostles set sail, ending up in a storm. Peter, before becoming stricken with fear, briefly walked on water to meet Jesus coming towards him. My exegesis can be found here.

Matthew 14:22-33

Jesus walking on the sea

14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

14:24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

14:25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.

14:26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.

14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

14:28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

14:29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.

14:30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

14:32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

14:33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

May all reading this have a blessed Sunday.

Forbidden Bible Verses — Leviticus 23:15-22

August 5, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bible ourhomewithgodcomThe three-year Lectionary that many Catholics and Protestants hear in public worship gives us a great variety of Holy Scripture.

Yet, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

My series Forbidden Bible Verses — ones the Lectionary editors and their clergy omit — examines the passages we do not hear in church. These missing verses are also Essential Bible Verses, ones we should study with care and attention. Often, we find that they carry difficult messages and warnings.

Today’s reading is from the English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK) with commentary from Matthew Henry, John Gill, Bible.org and Bible Hub.

Leviticus 23:15-22

The Feast of Weeks

15 “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. 16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the Lord. 18 And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19 And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 And you shall make proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute for ever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

The Feast of Trumpets

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”

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Last week’s post discussed the Feast of Firstfruits, where God commanded that, once the Israelites had arrived in Canaan — still in the future at this point — the first sheaves of barley were dedicated to Him. This involved a grain offering, which the priest was obliged to wave in thanks to the Lord for His blessings, as well as a burnt offering of a year-old male lamb without blemish. These were types of Christ, as He was the Lamb of God who was the one, satisfactory sacrifice for our sins and, upon His resurrection, became the firstfruits for those who had died (1 Corinthians 15:20).

This week’s feasts — also intended once the Israelites arrived in Canaan — are those of the Weeks and the Trumpets. I spent a lot of time researching Jewish websites to see what they had to say but hardly any answered my questions, so other citations will be used below. I am reticent to call the Feast of Weeks Pentecost, regardless of the fact that many of my Christian sources use the term. It seems to be used because both the Feast of Weeks and Pentecost have taken place on a specific 50th day — although they do not always coincide — or are near enough to each other on the calendar for Christians to draw an association. Pentecost means fiftieth.

The Hebrew name for the Feast of Weeks is Shavuot (pronounced as it is spelled). Shavuot is Hebrew for ‘weeks’.

However, Wikipedia states that ‘Pentecost’ became commonplace in parts of the diaspora:

Since Shavuot occurs fifty days after Passover, Hellenistic Jews referred to it by the Koine name “Pentecost”.[16]

We know from the Book of Acts that the first Pentecost took place on Shavuot that year. Many Jews were in Jerusalem to know about — some even having witnessed — the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus. That is because Shavuot was one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals requiring that male Jews travel to Jerusalem. The time they had been there previously would have been for Passover, which coincided with the Last Supper and Christ’s crucifixion. I would love to know what the same men there for that Passover made of what happened on the first Pentecost. Some, we know, went back to the diaspora (e.g. Asia Minor or Rome) with the Good News. It would be interesting to know what the others thought. Some Jews from the Diaspora stayed in Jerusalem between Passover and Shavuot, as it would have been impractical to return home only to begin the journey again.

It is also my hope that we can better understand the ancient Feast of Trumpets, which precedes the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

The Lord continued speaking to Moses saying that the Israelites shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, specifically from the day that they brought the sheaf of the wave offering (verse 15), that being the one from the Feast of Firstfruits.

N.B.: Kindly remember that Matthew Henry and John Gill call grain ‘corn’, which was the term used in their era. For the Feast of Weeks — Shavuot — this was wheat, not barley. Another unusual usage for us in the modern day is that of ‘meat’, which referred to ‘food’ in their era, not strictly animal protein.

Matthew Henry‘s commentary says (emphases mine throughout):

Here is the institution of the feast of pentecost, or weeks, as it is called (Deut 16 9), because it was observed fifty days, or seven weeks, after the passover. It is also called the feast of harvest, Exod 23 16. For as the presenting of the sheaf of first-fruits was an introduction to the harvest, and gave them liberty to put in the sickle, so they solemnized the finishing of their corn-harvest at this feast.

John Gill‘s commentary tells us how the Jews calculated this time period:

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath,…. Not the seventh day sabbath in the passover week, nor the whole feast of unleavened bread, but the first day of it, which was an holy convocation, a sabbath in which no servile work was to be done, Leviticus 23:7; and it was from the day after this, even the sixteenth of Nisan, that the following count was to be made; so the Targum of Jonathan, after the first feast day of the passover: and Josephus {s} is very clear in it, that Pentecost, or the feast of weeks, was the fiftieth day from the sixteenth of Nisan, when the above offerings were made:

from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; which plainly points out the express day from whence the count was to begin, even on the day when the sheaf of the firstfruits of the barley harvest was offered:

seven sabbaths shall be complete; or seven weeks, that is, forty nine days; and hence, Jarchi says, we learn that the count began from the evening, or otherwise the weeks would not be complete; and Gersom thinks the day in which the sheaf was offered is included in the days counted; for the count began from the day after the first of the passover, and lo, seven days are seven weeks of days, which make forty nine days.

With time, a difference arose around what day in the Hebrew calendar the feast took place. Wikipedia says that, today, adding a second day is honoured outside of Israel:

In practice, Shavuot is observed on 6 Sivan in Israel[33]and a second day is added in the Jewish diaspora (in keeping with a separate rabbinical ruling that applies to all biblical holidays, called Yom tov sheni shel galuyot, Second-Day Yom Tov in the diaspora).[34]

God commanded that 50 days to the day be counted after the seventh Sabbath; then the Israelites were obliged to present a grain offering of new grain to Him (verse 16), that grain being wheat.

Gill specifies the nature of the offering:

… ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord; that is, of new corn, as the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi explain it, and this was of wheat; for it was the offering for the wheat harvest, which was offered on the fiftieth day from the offering of the sheaf or omer of the barley harvest.

God commanded that the Israelites bring from their dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah — 3/5 of a bushel or 22 litres —which had to be of fine flour and (unusually) baked with leaven (yeast) as first fruits to Him (verse 17).

It would not have been easy milling fine flour (see Leviticus 2:1-10), which involved grinding wheat on a stone wheel. I cannot fathom how long that would have taken and how many shifts of people.

Henry explains the yeast element:

Then they offered a handful of ears of barley, now they offered two loaves of wheaten bread, v. 17. This was leavened. At the passover they ate unleavened bread, because it was in remembrance of the bread they ate when they came out of Egypt, which was unleavened; but now at pentecost it was leavened, because it was an acknowledgment of God’s goodness to them in their ordinary food, which was leavened.

In his exposition on this verse, Gill uses the term ‘two tenth deals’. ChristianAnswers.net defines a tenth deal as follows:

Hebrew: עִשָּׂרוֹן —transliteration: issaron —meaning: a tenth part [of an ephah]; the fraction 1/10

The word “deal” is an added word used in the King James Version in a number of verses related to fractions of a dry measurement called an ephah.

Gill says:

And ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals,….

they shall be of fine flour; of wheat flour, the finest of it, of which all meat or bread offerings were made; and this was particularly on account of the wheat harvest, and therefore it was proper that the finest of the wheat should be used on this occasion; See Gill on “Le 2:1”; each loaf or cake, according to Maimonides {w}, was seven hands’ breadths long, four hands’ breadths broad, and four fingers high:

they shall be baked with leaven; the common meat offering was unleavened, part of which was burnt on the altar, where no leaven might be burnt, Leviticus 2:4; and from hence it may be concluded that no part of these loaves was to be burnt, but the whole of them fell to the share of the priests …

An American church elder, Donald E Curtis, wrote an excellent exposition of Leviticus 23 for Bible.org. He notes that even when this was offered in the temple centuries later (bold his):

The most unique aspect of this celebration in the temple was the waving of two leavened loaves of bread before the Lord. This was the only leavened offering made in the temple! These loaves, like the earlier wave offering, are also declared to be a First Fruits offering.

Gill clarifies what bringing these loaves out from Israelite dwelling places meant in practice:

Out of their habitations in the land of Canaan; and not out of those without the land, as Jarchi observes; and not out of all of them, as Ben Gersom remarks; though the Vulgate Latin version has it, out of “all” of our habitations, but wrongly; and indeed out of no one particular habitation, because it was at the public expense; but they were brought from some part of the country or another, even the quantity of two tenth parts of an ephah, or two omers of wheat flour made into two loaves, which were to be, and were waved before the Lord, and hence so called; and are the same with the new meat offering, or rather bread offering, made of the new corn, in the preceding verse …

In addition to these two huge leavened loaves, God commanded that the Israelites also present seven lambs a year old without blemish, one bull from the herd and two rams: ‘They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord’ (verse 18).

Henry calls to our attention the uniqueness of the animal sacrifices for Shavuot:

With that sheaf of first-fruits they offered only one lamb for a burnt-offering, but with these loaves of first-fruits they offered seven lambs, two rams, and one bullock, all for a burnt-offering, so giving glory to God, as the Lord of their land and the Lord of their harvest, by whose favour they lived and to whose praise they ought to live. They offered likewise a kid for a sin-offering, so taking shame to themselves as unworthy of the bread they ate, and imploring pardon for their sins, by which they had forfeited their harvest-mercies, and which they had been guilty of in the receiving of them. And lastly, two lambs for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, to beg a blessing upon the corn they had gathered in, which would be neither sure nor sweet to them without that blessing, Hag 1 9. These were the only peace-offerings that were offered on the behalf of the whole congregation, and they were reckoned most holy offerings, whereas other peace-offerings were but holy.

Gill says that these animals were in addition to the two daily sacrifices which would also have taken place. Some of this was left to the priests’ discretion:

… in Numbers 28:27 it is two young bullocks, and one ram; and Aben Ezra suggests, that this was at the will and option of the priest, whether one bullock and two rams, or two bullocks and one ram; but according to Maimonides {x}, these sacrifices were distinct from them; they are sacrifices of the day, as being a feast day, and these belonged to the loaves; so that according to him, and so he expresses it, there were to be offered on this day, besides the daily sacrifices, three bullocks, three rams, and fourteen lambs, twenty beasts in all, for burnt offerings; and two goats for sin offerings to be eaten, and two lambs for peace offerings to be eaten; and with this account agrees Josephus {y}, they sacrifice for burnt offerings, he says, three bullocks, and two rams, (or, as Dr. Bernard thinks, it should be read three rams,) and fourteen lambs, and two goats for sin offerings:

they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat offering, and their drink offering; each of the said beasts were offered, unto the Lord on the altar of burnt offering, and burnt thereon; and to every beast they offered, there was a meat offering and a drink offering: the meat offering consisted of three tenth deals, or omers, of fine flour, to a bullock, two to a ram, and one to a lamb; and the drink offering was half an hin of wine to a bullock, the third part of one to a ram, and a fourth part to a lamb, as Jarchi observes, which appears from Numbers 28:12 …

God said that the Israelites must offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings (verse 19).

Gill reiterates Henry’s observation about these being the only peace offerings offered on behalf of the whole congregation:

Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering,…. Which was for the sin of the whole congregation, typical of Christ, whose soul was made an offering for sin; in virtue of which all other sacrifices become acceptable to God, and believers enjoy the fruits and blessings of divine grace:

and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings; which Gersom says were the most holy things, and were only slain in the north, and only eaten by males, as the rest of the holy things, and are the only peace offerings of the congregation that were offered throughout the whole year.

God stipulated that the priest shall wave ‘them’ with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs; they shall be holy to Him for the priest (verse 20).

Gill explains that ‘them’ in the verse meant the two loaves and the two lambs:

And the priests shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits,…. The two loaves called the two wave loaves, Leviticus 23:17; with which were waved the two lambs of the peace offerings; and these alive, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom intimate. The Jewish doctors {z} dispute, whether, in waving, the lambs were put above the bread, or the bread above the lambs; which some reconcile by observing, that the bread was put by the side of the lambs:

[for] a wave offering before the Lord; being waved this way and that way, upwards and downwards, and towards the several quarters of the world, showing that the fruits of the earth were owing to the providential goodness of God everywhere:

with the two lambs; not that all the above sacrifices were waved, or any part of them, along with the lambs, but the wave loaves, and they were waved together, as one wave offering to the Lord:

they shall be holy to the Lord for the priests; both the loaves and the lambs, these were separated and devoted wholly to the Lord, and to be eaten by his priests; the peace offerings of a single person were light holy things, as Jarchi says; but the peace offerings of the congregation, as these were, are the most holy things, and so to be eaten only by the priests, and by the males only, in the court of the tabernacle.

The Lord commanded that, once in Canaan, the Israelites make proclamation on the same day and that they were to hold a holy convocation; they would not do any work. Furthermore, He said that observing the feast would be a statute forever in all their dwelling places throughout their generations (verse 21).

Of the fact that the Feast of Weeks was only a day long, Henry says:

Some suggest that whereas seven days were to make up the feast of unleavened bread there was only one day appointed for the feast of pentecost, because this was a busy time of the year with them, and God allowed them speedily to return to their work in the country.

Gill points out that the priests sounded a trumpet (shofars, initially, and, later, silver trumpets [Numbers 10:1-8]):

And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, [that] it may be an holy convocation unto you,…. This proclamation was made by the priests with the sound of a trumpet, that the people might observe that this fiftieth day, or day of Pentecost, was devoted to sacred service, and that they were called to holy exercises in it:

ye shall do no servile work [therein]; what was not necessary for food, as Ben Gersom observes, but what was necessary on that account, as kindling a fire, &c. might be done, see Leviticus 23:7; for this was to be kept in like manner as the first and seventh days of the feast of unleavened bread; the general design of which was to express thankfulness for the appointed weeks of the harvest, and to honour the Lord with the firstfruits of the increase of the earth …

[it shall be] a statute for ever all your dwellings throughout your generations; so long as they dwelt in the land of Canaan, and had their harvest in it, even until the Messiah came, in whom all those types and figures had their accomplishment.

However, this text does not state another important reason for Shavuot, which was the giving of the Torah to God’s people.

Wikipedia tells us:

It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may fall anywhere between May 15 and June 14 on the Gregorian calendar.[1]

Shavuot marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel in the Hebrew Bible according to Exodus 34:22. Rabbinic tradition teaches that the date also marks the revelation of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai, which, according to the tradition of Orthodox Judaism, occurred at this date in 1312[2]or 1313 BCE.[3][4]

The word Shavuot means ‘weeks’ in Hebrew and marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer. Its date is directly linked to that of Passover; the Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah. On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot, they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.[5]

My Jewish Learning adds:

The Bible refers to Shavuot as chag hakatzir, the festival of the harvest, since Shavuot was also the time when the first fruits, known as bikkurim, were brought as a sacrificial offering in the Temple. The term Shavuot itself literally means “weeks,” a reference to it falling in the calendar precisely seven weeks after the start of Passover. (This makes Shavuot the only Jewish holiday with no fixed date and is also why it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Pentecost, a springtime Christian holiday whose name means “50.”). Shavuot is the culmination of the 49-day period known as the Omer, a period of semi-mourning as well as spiritual progression from slavery to revelation. Shavuot is also referred to in the prayer liturgy as z’man matan torateinu, the time of the giving of our Torah. 

Unlike the Passover seder and the building of a sukkah on Sukkot, Shavuot lacks the ritual pageantry of the other pilgrimage festivals, a fact that has inspired much consideration by Jewish theologians. Apart from the liturgical adjustments and special biblical readings common to all Jewish holidays, the main communal ritual associated with the holiday is Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the practice of staying up all night studying Torah. The custom seems to have emerged in Jewish mystical circles of the 16th century, where the practice was seen as a rectification for the ancient Israelites having overslept on the morning of the giving of the Torah. (The word tikkun literally means “repair.”). 

One interesting custom which combines both the remembrance of harvest and the receipt of the Torah is reading from the Book of Ruth:

Another significant Shavuot custom is the public reading of the Book of Ruth, the story of a Moabite woman who joins the Jewish people after the death of her husband. There are a number of reasons for this custom, but the most frequently cited is that Ruth’s arrival in Israel occurred around the time of the barley harvest, and her acceptance of Judaism was similar to the Jewish acceptance of the Torah. 

Furthermore, after receiving the Torah, God’s people discovered they could not eat the meat they had prepared previously and had to discard it in favour of kashrut — kosher — law:

It’s also customary to eat dairy foods, and often cheesecake, on Shavuot. Blintzes and dairy kugel are also commonly eaten Shavuot foods. There are a number of reasons offered for this custom, but perhaps the best-known is that the Israelites became obliged on Shavuot in the laws of keeping kosher, including the prohibition on eating meat and dairy together. After they returned to the camp following the revelation of the Torah, they discovered that the previously prepared meat could no longer be eaten, since it was not prepared in accordance with the newly given dietary laws. Instead, they ate the dairy food that was immediately available. 

Both Henry and Gill were aware of Shavuot’s connection with the Torah.

Henry says:

This annual feast was instituted in remembrance of the giving of the law upon Mount Sinai, the fiftieth day after they came out of Egypt. That was the feast which they were told in Egypt must be observed to God in the wilderness, as a memorial of which ever after they kept this feast.

Gill says:

… and the Jews say, as Ben Gersom observes, that this fiftieth day, being reckoned from the sixteenth of Nisan, fell upon the sixth of Sivan, on which day, they say, the law was given, which is another reason for the observance of it …

However, for Henry, Gill and other Christian commentators, those of us who believe in Jesus, will always associate that first Pentecost with the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believe that Christ is Lord.

Gill refers to the firstfruits that day produced, thanks to the Holy Spirit working through the Apostles (and disciples):

… and it is remarkable, that on this same day the Word of the Lord went out of Zion, and the law or doctrine of the Lord, even the everlasting Gospel, went out of Jerusalem, published by the apostles of Christ to the people of all nations, Acts 2:14; when they were favoured with the firstfruits of the Spirit, after our Lord’s ascension to heaven, and receiving gifts for men, which he now in an extraordinary manner bestowed on his disciples, Acts 2:1; and which were the firstfruits of all others, after to be given forth in the course of time, and of the effusion of the Spirit in the latter day; and when there was a number of souls converted, as the firstfruits of after conversions among Jews and Gentiles, Acts 2:41; and particularly of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, and of the harvest of souls in the end of the world, Matthew 13:30 …

Henry points out that more divine firstfruits graciously appeared that day:

But the period and perfection of this feast was the pouring out of the Spirit upon the apostles on the day of this feast (Acts 2 1), in which the law of faith was given, fifty days after Christ our passover was sacrificed for us. And on that day (as bishop Patrick [a learned Anglican bishop of Ely, Cambridgeshire] well expresses it) the apostles, having themselves received the first-fruits of the Spirit, begat three thousand souls, through the word of truth, and presented them, as the first-fruits of the Christian church, to God and the Lamb.

Bible.org’s Donald E Curtis shows us the relationships between Shavuot and Pentecost — and the divine fulfilment of God’s plan on Pentecost (bold in the original):

Old Covenant (Shadow)

Fire on the mountain
Giving of the Law
Law written on stone
Two leavened loaves
Birth of a nation

New Covenant (Substance)

Fire on the believers
Giving of the Holy Spirit
Law written in the heart
Jews and Gentiles
Birth of the Church

God’s final commandment for Shavuot was that, when the Israelites reaped their harvests in Canaan, they were not to reap up to the edge of their fields or gather the gleanings [stray bits] afterwards; they were to leave them for the poor and the sojourner: ‘I am the Lord your God’ (verse 22).

God had already commanded this in Leviticus 19:9-18:

Through Moses, God commands the Israelites to love their neighbours as themselves: leaving crops behind for the poor, not stealing, dealing fairly with each other, paying wages promptly and not taking advantage of the deaf or the blind.

Both our commentators think that the Israelites needed to be reminded of leaving provisions behind for the poor and the stranger.

Gill says:

This law is repeated from Leviticus 19:9; and as Aben Ezra observes, the feast of weeks being the feast of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, it is repeated, that they might not forget what God had commanded them to do at that time, namely, to leave somewhat for the poor; and the Jewish writers {a} observe, that this law, being put among the solemn feasts of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, and the beginning of the year, and the day of atonement, teaches, that he that observes it, and leaves the corner of the field and the gleanings to the poor, it is as if he built the sanctuary, and offered his sacrifices in the midst of it; but a much better reason may be given for it, which was, to teach them that when they expressed their thankfulness to God, they should exercise charity and liberality to the poor;

thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: See Gill on “Le 19:9”;

thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I [am] the Lord your God; See Gill on “Le 19:10.”

Henry surmises that disobedience might have meant the Israelites’ sacrifices might have been rejected:

Probably it comes in here as a thing which the priests must take occasion to remind the people of, when they brought their first-fruits, intimating to them that to obey even in this small matter was better than sacrifice, and that, unless they were obedient, their offerings should not be accepted. It also taught them that the joy of harvest should express itself in charity to the poor, who must have their due out of what we have, as well as God his. Those that are truly sensible of the mercy they receive from God will without grudging show mercy to the poor.

Now we move on to the Feast of Trumpets.

And the Lord spoke to Moses (verse 23).

Gill says:

And the Lord spake unto Moses,…. At the same time, in a continued discourse, concerning some other days, which were to be observed in a sacred manner …

God commanded Moses to speak to the people of Israel, saying that, in the seventh month, on the first day of that month, they shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation (verse 24).

Gill gives us the Hebrew timeline:

… in the seventh month; the month Tisri, as the Targum of Jonathan, which was the seventh from the month Nisan or Abib; which was appointed the first month of the year, on account of the Israelites coming out of Egypt in it; otherwise, before, this month Tisri was the first, and so it still continued, for the fixing the years, and settling the sabbatical and jubilee years, and for the planting of trees and herbs {e}:

in the first [day] of the month shall ye have a sabbath; not entirely as the weekly sabbath, in which no manner of work at all was to be done, but in which no servile work was to be done; and was observed in like manner as the first and seventh days of unleavened bread, and the day of pentecost, Leviticus 23:7 …

Gill tells us how encompassing this command became through the centuries:

… all the people of Israel were concerned in the following precept, and obliged to observe it, even priests, Levites, Israelites, proselytes, and freed servants; though other servants, and women, and children, were not obliged to hear the sound of the trumpets {b}, and which were blown not in Jerusalem only, but in all cities and towns where the sanhedrim was {c}; and it was the hearing of them the people were bound unto, and not less than nine distinct soundings were they obliged to hear {d}; to which perhaps respect is had in Psalm 89:15 …

Today, we refer to this feast as Rosh Hashanah, although in Numbers 29:1 it is referred to as yom teru’ah (“day of blowing [the horn]”).

This feast is considered to be the pre-eminent Jewish New Year.

Wikipedia discusses the complexity behind Jewish New Years, of which there are four.

First:

The origin of the New Year is connected to the beginning of the economic year in the agricultural societies of the ancient Near East.[18] The New Year was the beginning of the cycle of sowing, growth, and harvest; the harvest was marked by its own set of major agricultural festivals.[18]Semitic speakers generally set the beginning of the new year in autumn, while other ancient civilizations chose spring for that purpose, such as the Persians or Greeks or Hindus; the primary reason was agricultural in both cases, the time of sowing the seed and bringing in the harvest.[18] …

Another view is that the birth of mankind, and by extension the anniversary of the world’s creation, along with its significance as a day of coronation of God, was a tradition passed down from Adam and Eve who were created on that day. They passed it down through the generations until it was finally recorded in the Talmud.[21]

Secondly:

Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the numbering of a new year in the Hebrew calendar. According to the Mishnah, four different New Years are observed: Rosh Hashanah (the first of Tishrei), the first of Nisan (when the Exodus began), the first of Elul, and Tu BiShvat (the fifteenth of Shevat). Each delineates the beginning of a year for different legal or religious purposes. The Talmudic distinctions among the New Years are discussed in tractate Rosh Hashanah.[17]Rosh Hashanah is the new year for calculating ordinary calendar years, Sabbatical years, Jubilee years, and dates inscribed on legal deeds and contracts. Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of humankind.[22] In Jewish practice, the months are numbered starting with the spring month of Nisan, making Tishrei the seventh month; Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the new calendar year, is also actually the first day of the seventh month.[23]

The second of these “New Years”, the first of the lunar month Nisan (usually corresponds to the months March–April in the Gregorian calendar), is the beginning of the ecclesiastical year; the months are numbered beginning with Nisan. It marks the start of the year for the Three Pilgrimage Festivals.[24] Its injunction is expressly stated in the Hebrew Bible: “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months” (Exodus 12:2) …

The third New Year, the first of Elul, the new year for animals, began the religious taxation period for tithing animals in biblical times. Elul corresponds to the Gregorian August/September, after the spring birthings, when counting the number of animals in herds was relatively simple. However, the Halakha follows the second opinion that the day coincides with Rosh Hashanah itself,[26]and therefore this third new year has no bearing in Halakha.

The fourth New Year, Tu Bishvat, the new year for trees, began the religious taxation period for tithing fruits and nuts from trees. Shevat corresponds to the Gregorian January/February, the end of the Mediterranean wet season when most of the year’s rainfall had occurred. Taking fruit or nuts from a tree younger than three years old, with the birthday counted as Tu Bishvat, was prohibited.

Bible.org’s Curtis sums the feast up well:

The first of these occurs on the first day of the seventh month of the religious calendar. To the ancient Hebrew authors this was the month of Ethanim. In the modern calendar, the month is called Tishri. The holy day is designated as “a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets.” The phrase “blowing of trumpets” translates the Hebrew word “teruah.” The word is loosely like the English word “fanfare.” Like “fanfare,” “teruah” has an association with the sound of a trumpet, but really means those things for which we might sound a trumpet: to alert, to call to battle, to announce the arrival of a king, etc. In the case of this holiday, the trumpets announce the coming of the holidays to follow. The holidays that follow, therefore, are incredibly important. Perhaps, it is better to say that you did not want to be found unprepared when their day arrived. As the Boy Scouts say, “Be prepared!”

The Jews begin blowing ram’s horns (shofars) in their synagogues in the sixth month (Elul) and continue up to the Day of Atonement. The trumpets remind the people that the Day of Atonement is approaching. It is a time to reflect on the year and the state of your character and your relationship to God. Then, on the first day of the seventh month (Rosh Hashanah), there is a special service that features an elaborate ceremony of trumpet blowing.

The trumpets remind the Jews of at least eight things131:

1. To prepare for the coming Day of Atonement by examining the life you have lived this past year.

2. To celebrate the creation with God as its King. This is because, according to Jewish tradition, creation began on the first day of the seventh month.

3. To remember that the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai with the loud blast of a shofar (Exodus 19:16-19).

4. To imagine the sound of the heavenly shepherd recalling those who have strayed from Israel’s fold.

5. To rejoice in freedom from slavery. In the past, slaves were freed at the blast of a shofar.

6. To rejoice in restoration. Property was returned at the blast of the shofar at the Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25:9).

7. To remember Abraham’s obedience when he offered his son Isaac. When Abraham sacrificed Isaac, a ram was caught in the thicket by its horns.

8. To look forward to the coming of Messiah’s kingdom, which the blast of the shofar will bring in.

Vojisrael [Voice of Israel?] has more, referring to this Rosh Hashanah as Yom Teruah, stating that it is a time of self-examination and repentance:

Yom Teruah is commonly translated as “blowing of trumpet.” Teruah literally means to make a loud noise. This word is used to describe the sound made by the trumpet but can also represent the noise made by a large gathering of people shouting in unison. Interestingly, Yom Teruah is the only commanded feast day that the Lord does not give a specific reason for its celebration, only that it is to be observed as a holy day. There are many speculations about what the observance of this day represents, but scripture only tells us it is a “memorial of blowing of trumpets.”  Its true purpose and meaning are a mystery only known to God.

Every other Feast date was determined by the counting of days between the Feasts, but Yom Teruah was unique. This is the only Feast determined by observing the appearance of the New Moon in the month of Tishri. Watchmen were traditionally set on the wall to watch for the moon to become visible, blowing their trumpets at the first sign of its sighting, signifying the start of this feast day. Because the possibility of atmospheric conditions or human error could make it difficult to identify the appearance of the New Moon, it was often referred to as the day and hour unknown or hidden …

Rosh Hashanah is also the beginning of the 10 Days of Repentance (also known as the 10 Days of Awe), ending on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Jewish tradition asserts that God writes every person’s words, deeds, and thoughts in the Books of Life or Death, which He opens and examines on this day (Rosh Hashanah). If their good deeds outnumber the sinful ones for the year, that person’s name will be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year on Yom Kippur. For this reason, Rosh Hashanah is also known as the “Day of Judgement” or Yom Hadin.

For the Jewish people, it is a time of introspection, personal growth, and spiritual rebirth. This is accomplished through forgiveness: apologizing, forgiving, and receiving forgiveness. Many use this time to make amends with loved ones and heal broken relationships. By the time Yom Kippur arrives, they are ready to begin the new year with clean hearts.

My Jewish Learning would agree with that assessment:

In ancient times, the Israelites gathered to advance against an enemy. Today, the trumpet calls us to advance down a much more spiritual path. In the present day, for example, during the High Holidays, the sound of the shofar motivates the people to repentance.

Returning to today’s verses, God commanded that the Israelites would do no ordinary work and would present a food offering to the Lord (verse 25).

Gill says:

Ye shall do no servile work [therein],…. Only such as was necessary for dressing food, but not any manual work, such as servants were employed in on other days, as agriculture or any mechanic business:

but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; a burnt offering, and what that was may be seen in Numbers 29:1.

Henry describes the original feast and ends with a Christian application:

They blew the trumpet every new moon (Ps 81 3), but in the new moon of the seventh month it was to be done with more than ordinary solemnity; for they began to blow at sun-rise and continued till sun-set. Now, 1. This is here said to be a memorial, perhaps of the sound of the trumpet upon mount Sinai when the law was given, which must never be forgotten. Some think that it was a memorial of the creation of the world, which is supposed to have been in autumn; for which reason this was, till now, the first month. The mighty word by which God made the world is called the voice of his thunder (Ps 104 7); fitly therefore was it commemorated by blowing of trumpets, or a memorial of shouting, as the Chaldee renders it; for, when the foundations of the earth were fastened, all the sons of God shouted for joy, Job 38 6, 7. 2. The Jewish writers suppose it to have a spiritual signification. Now at the beginning of the year they were called by this sound of trumpet to shake off their spiritual drowsiness, to search and try their ways, and to amend them: the day of atonement was the ninth day after this; and thus they were awakened to prepare for that day, by sincere and serious repentance, that it might be indeed to them a day of atonement. And they say, “The devout Jews exercised themselves more in good works between the feast of trumpets and the day of expiation than at any other time of the year.” 3. It was typical of the preaching of the gospel, by which joyful sound souls were to be called in to serve God and keep a spiritual feast to him. The conversion of the nations to the faith of Christ is said to be by the blowing of a great trumpet, Isa 27 13.

I shall conclude with Bible.org’s Curtis’s citations of New Testament verses involving trumpets, which follow along the lines of a call to be alert and repent:

As the spring holy days spoke of the first coming of Messiah, so we can begin to see that the fall holidays speak of His return. This is seen by the consistent imagery of trumpets in the New Testament.

And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other (Matthew 24:31).

… in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52).

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them (Revelation 8:6).

I will look briefly at the Day of Atonement next week, the verses for which are in the Lectionary, and conclude with the end of the Feast of Booths.

Next time — Leviticus 23:42-44

Ninth Sunday after Trinity — Year A — exegesis on the Epistle, Romans 9:1-5

August 2, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity — the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost — is August 2, 2026.

Readings for Year A can be found here.

My exegesis for the Gospel, Matthew’s account of feeding the 5,000, can be found here and here.

The Epistle is as follows:

Romans 9:1-5

The glory of God’s people in Israel

9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ–I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit–

9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.

9:4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;

9:5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.

In Year A, the Lectionary editors take us through a thorough study of Paul’s letter to the Romans.

A few weeks ago, the Epistle reading was Romans 6:12-23, in which Paul lays out the believer’s transformation from being a slave to sin to becoming a slave to Christ, through grace and the Holy Spirit, helping us to become obedient in all things. The Spirit takes us on a journey through sanctification, which brings us closer to God as we obey His holy and perfect Son.

In 2020, I wrote about the first half of Romans 7 for my Forbidden — Essential — Bible Verses series:

Romans 7:1-3 – God’s law, law belongs to the living, marriage

Romans 7:4-6 – God’s law, sin, fruits of faith, Jesus, Holy Spirit

Romans 7:7-14 – God’s law, sin, conviction, moral commandments, Ten Commandments

Four weeks ago, in Romans 7:15-25a, we heard Paul’s discussion of his — and our individual — daily struggle against sin. While our souls are redeemed, our bodies are still a source of sin. Sanctification, which Paul was deeply experiencing when he wrote these verses, encourages us to loathe our sins. When we die, the souls of the believers go to live in heavenly eternity. The body dies and is at rest until the Second Coming, when it will become glorified and be reunited with the soul in heaven.

In the following week’s Epistle, Romans 8:1-11 (see here and here), Paul described what living in the Spirit is like and told us of the hope to come in bodily resurrection.

Then came Romans 8:12-25 (see here and here), in which Paul discussed believers’ adoption as children of God, thanks to the Holy Spirit leading us. The latter part of the reading goes into the longing that believers and creation have for the kingdom to come, when both shall be made perfect once again.

Last week’s exegesis was about Romans 8:26-39 (see here, here and here), in which Paul explains how believers can be assured that nothing and no one will ever come between them and God, from now through eternity.

Logically, one could progress to Romans 12. However, in Romans 9, 10 and 11, Paul wants to address where the Jews stand with regard to redemption and God’s ancient covenants with the Patriarchs of Genesis. It is only after he examines these theological sticking points that he can reasonably move forward with the rest of his letter.

Even today, probably because so many Jews and Christians have made their minds up on who is saved and who isn’t, contention exists. To answer everyone’s question now, we have the following from Romans 11;

Romans 11:25-28 – God’s purpose, judgement, Israel, mystery of salvation

Paul writes that God will lift His the judgement against Israel’s unbelief. Gentiles should not necessarily feel proud or secure. Churches will fall into apostasy. The Church was intended for the Jews first, not Gentiles, who were grafted in only because of the Jews’ unbelief.

This is also a warning against anti-Semitism.

In today’s verses, Paul describes how saddened and aggrieved he is at the unbelief of the Jews, his kinsmen. Paul was a Pharisee until his Damascene conversion.

Matthew Henry‘s commentary gives us an excellent overview (emphases mine):

We have here the apostle’s solemn profession of a great concern for the nation and people of the Jews—that he was heartily troubled that so many of them were enemies to the gospel, and out of the way of salvation. For this he had great heaviness and continual sorrow. Such a profession as this was requisite to take off the odium which otherwise he might have contracted by asserting and proving their rejection. It is wisdom as much as may be to mollify those truths which sound harshly and seem unpleasant: dip the nail in oil, it will drive the better. The Jews had a particular pique at Paul above any of the apostles, as appears by the history of the Acts, and therefore were the more apt to take things amiss of him, to prevent which he introduces his discourse with this tender and affectionate profession, that they might not think he triumphed or insulted over the rejected Jews or was pleased with the calamities that were coming upon them. Thus Jeremiah appeals to God concerning the Jews of his day, whose ruin was hastening on (Jer 17 16), Neither have I desired the woeful day, thou knowest.

He says that he speaks the truth in Christ — ‘I am not lying’ — and that his conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit (verse 1).

The KJV reads:

1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 

Henry explains this introduction:

He asserts it with a solemn protestation (v. 1): I say the truth in Christ, “I speak it as a Christian, one of God’s people, children that will not lie, as one that knows not how to give flattering title.” Or, “I appeal to Christ, who searches the heart, concerning it.” He appeals likewise to his own conscience, which was instead of a thousand witnesses. That which he was going to assert was not only a great and weighty thing (such solemn protestations are not to be thrown away upon trifles), but it was likewise a secret; it was concerning a sorrow in his heart to which none was a capable competent witness but God and his own conscience.

John MacArthur, in one of his two sermons from 1983 on these verses, goes even deeper:

Verse 1, “I say the truth,” that’s the opening statement, “I say the truth.” That’s a claim to personal honesty. I’m telling you the truth. This is how I really feel. Now that would have been sufficient. I’m telling you the truth, he says. We would say, “Oh, that’s fine, Paul. We can accept that. You’re a man of integrity. You’re a man of deep passion. You’re not known to lie. You’re telling us the truth?” Yeah, I’m telling you the truth. But he adds an incredible certification. Look what he says. “I say the truth (What?) in Christ.” That is certification of the highest kind.

“What do you mean by that, Paul?” I’m in Christ. I’m in Christ. What does that mean? I’m one with Him. What does that mean? In Him I live and move and have my being, He knows everything I think, everything I do, everything I feel and I’m telling you I say the truth to you and Christ is in me and I’m in Him to verify that what I say is what I really mean. That’s strong, isn’t it? Can you do that? When you say the truth to somebody, I’m telling you the truth in Christ. What you’re saying is Christ is my witness. Christ who is omniscient. Christ to whom I am united. Christ who is, John Murray calls Him, the orbit in which my emotions move and the spring from which they proceed. Christ who is my very life knows. He knows I’m telling the truth. It’s calling on Christ to witness to the honesty and integrity of the heart. That’s quite an oath, that’s quite a vow. I know my position in Christ. I know my union in Christ. I know Christ sees and hears everything. I know He walks intimately with him. I know I live every moment in His holy presence. I know He knows everything about me, I know He reads my mind, He reads my heart. And in the light of that knowledge I can say I’m telling you the truth and Christ is witness to it.

Boy, what an affirmation. What a strong way to affirm. This is not uncommon for him …

“My conscience bears me witness (What?) in the Holy Spirit.” Who’s in control of his conscience? The Holy Spirit … If you’re under the control of the Holy Spirit, He controls your conscience … As we live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, obey the Spirit, we can trust our conscience ‘cause it’s under His control. And He’ll trigger that conscience to commend us or condemn us.

Paul does not hesitate to expose his feelings, saying, ‘I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart’ (verse 2).

Henry posits that this statement tells his audience everything without being specific:

That I have great heaviness, v. 2. He does not say for what; the very mention of it was unpleasant and invidious; but it is plain that he means for the rejection of the Jews.

MacArthur explores the depth of Paul’s statement:

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit. So now he’s got Christ and the Holy Spirit both affirming that what he says is true. You say, “Boy, he must have something important to say.” That’s right. That’s right. He has something very important to say. What is it? Verse 2: “That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.” That’s what he says. Great heaviness, continual sorrow in my heart, I’m not just saying this. He’s called two out of the three members of the trinity to affirm that this is really how he feels. And I frankly, folks, I stretch to grasp even the fringes of this kind of a heart attitude, I really do. I mean, he really loves these people. He’s not bitter against Jewish people. His heart is broken over these people and he calls everything he can to attest to the integrity of his heart and says, “I have great heaviness, great heaviness.” That’s just what it means, great weight, a tremendous burden and continual sorrow. The great heaviness has to do with continuous pain. I’m under constant pain, he says, constant pain, unending sorrow, never stops. Oh, I understand what it is to rejoice but there’s always that tension with me, always, that while I’m rejoicing in my relationship to God, I am continually in pain over this unending sorrow in my heart. And I’m not just saying what’s expedient, I’m telling you exactly what’s in my heart, God the Son and God the Spirit be witness.

Then Paul says that he would almost rather be written out of the Book of Life — ‘I could wish that I myself were accursed’ —  in order that the Jews came to Christ en masse (verse 3).

The KJV reads:

3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

In other words, he was almost wishing that his personal salvation were taken away for the sake of many Jews coming to a belief that Jesus is the Messiah.

MacArthur tells us:

What is he saying in verse 3? My sorrow and my pain over Israel, who are my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, the Israelites, causes me to say I could wish I myself were anathema from Christ. You know what that means, folks? If I could I’d go to hell if it would get the Jewish people saved. That is an amazing statement. You see, his sorrow is in direct proportion to the seriousness of Israel’s unbelief.

Notice what he says in verse 3, “For I could wish…” It isn’t that he says “I do wish.” It’s one step short of that. It’s hyperbole, but nonetheless reveals the heart. He says, “I could wish,” it’s expressing a hypothetical situation. “I could wish myself accursed if it could bring salvation to my brethren.” Now obviously it couldn’t, could it? One man’s damnation is not another man’s salvation, except in the case of one man, and who was that? Christ, not Paul. Paul can’t die for the world. He can’t go to hell for the world. He can’t suffer the pains of chastening and judgment for others, he can’t. But he says I could if it were possible wish that I myself was anathema, the word means devoted to damnation, accursed, from Christ. Oh, those words are haunting words. He has just finished a whole chapter on how he could never be separated from Christ. And that which he exalts in more than anything else is his relation to Christ, his intimacy with Christ, his kinship with Christ, his union with Christ, his oneness with Christ. And now he says I could give that up if it could mean the salvation of my people.

Now if somebody just came along and said, “You know, I care so much about your salvation, if it were possible I’d go to hell if you could be saved,” you’d look at them and say, “Wait a minute, you’re…that’s nice, those are just words.” And you’d say that to Paul, too, unless he had verse 1 there and called two of the three members of the Trinity to attest to the fact that this is really how he felt. You wonder why you don’t have an effective evangelistic ministry? You wonder why you don’t reach out to people and see them saved. Well, maybe it isn’t because you don’t know a good method, maybe it’s because you don’t understand this kind of a heart. It’s a heart-searching text.

By the way, the word “anathema” means to be cut off or separated. It’s usage is always applied to things which could never be redeemed. They were killed and cut off and never able to be redeemed. He’s saying, “I abandon my own redemption if it could mean that of my people, Israel.” What a heart, what a heart.

Henry also provides a moving analysis:

Because the glory of God’s grace in the salvation of many is to be preferred before the welfare and happiness of a single person, Paul, if they were put in competition, would be content to forego all his own happiness to purchase theirs. 1. He would be content to be cut off from the land of the living, in the most shameful and ignominious manner, as an anathema, or a devoted person. They thirsted for his blood, persecuted him as the most obnoxious person in the world, the curse and plague of his generation, 1 Cor 4 13; Acts 22 22. “Now,” says Paul, “I am willing to bear all this, and a great deal more, for your good. Abuse me as much as you will, count and call me at your pleasure; your unbelief and rejection create in my heart a heaviness so much greater than all these troubles can that I could look upon them not only as tolerable, but as desirable, rather than this rejection.” 2. He would be content to be excommunicated from the society of the faithful, to be separated from the church, and from the communion of saints, as a heathen man and a publican, if that would do them any good. He could wish himself no more remembered among the saints, his name blotted out of the church-records; though he had been so great a planter of churches, and the spiritual father of so many thousands, yet he would be content to be disowned by the church, cut off from all communion with it, and have his name buried in oblivion or reproach, for the good of the Jews. It may be, some of the Jews had a prejudice against Christianity for Paul’s sake; such a spleen they had at him that they hated the religion he was of: “If this stumble you,” says Paul, “I could wish I might be cast out, not embraced as a Christian, so you might but be taken in.” … 3. Nay, some think that the expression goes further, and that he could be content to be cut off from all his share of happiness in Christ, if that might be a means of their salvation. It is a common charity that begins at home; this is something higher, and more noble and generous.

Both our commentators remind us that Moses said something similar after the Israelites worshipped the golden calf (Exodus 32).

Henry says:

Thus Moses (Exod 32 33), in a like holy passion of concern, Blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written.

MacArthur elaborates:

Exodus 32:32, and Moses is interceding for his people.  They have broken God’s law.  They’ve worshiped the golden calf and God comes down and says, I’m going to kill them all.  I’m going to wipe them out.  And so in verse 31 Moses goes to the Lord and says, “O this people have sinned a great sin and they have made them gods of gold, yet now if Thou wilt forgive their sin.”  And he can’t even finish the statement.  “If Thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.”  If they die, O God, I’ll die with them. I’ll die with them. That’s a heart of great compassion, not unlike the expression of Paul in Romans 9.

But there’s a greater illustration. Galatians 3:13. Listen to what it says.  “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.”  How?  “Being made accursed for us.”  Now listen carefully.  What Paul couldn’t ever have done, Jesus what? Did. Jesus did.  “He who knew no sin was made sin for us.”

Interestingly, MacArthur knew of a young woman in his area who had the same wish for her parents, which God fulfilled. This is quite gruesome and tragic but shows that God works everything to His plan:

It’s really an incomprehensible love to many of us. And maybe it seems distant. Let me see if I can bring it into perspective. Tuesday in our staff meeting, Tracy shared with us that he had a friend named Mitch Saline, whose wife recently, I guess in the last week or so, went out of their apartment in Simi Valley to go jogging and a man jumped out of a bush and rammed a knife in her and killed her, just one wound and it was enough to take her life. And I guess we ask the question, why? How bizarre, how horrible a young Christian couple, the flower of life just beginning to bud and such a stupid senseless vile thing. But as Tracy shared with us more we sort of got a perspective. Kathleen had a great burden for her unsaved parents and she had said, prior to the stabbing, of course, that her burden was becoming so heavy for her parents that if her own death could bring about the salvation of her parents, she would be willing to die. And she died, and her mother came to Christ after the memorial service. Now maybe that’s a more contemporary glimpse of something of the heart of the apostle Paul, who could have wished himself accursed for their sake.

Paul states that they are Israelites, ‘and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises’ (verse 4).

Henry gives us a beautiful expository:

III. He gives us the reason of this affection and concern.

1. Because of their relation to them: My brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Though they were very bitter against him upon all occasions, and gave him the most unnatural and barbarous usage, yet thus respectfully does he speak of them. It shows him to be a man of a forgiving spirit. Not that I had aught to accuse my nation of, Acts 28 19. My kinsmen. Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. We ought to be in a special manner concerned for the spiritual good of our relations, our brethren and kinsmen. To them we lie under special engagements, and we have more opportunity of doing good to them; and concerning them, and our usefulness to them, we must in a special manner give account.

2. Especially because of their relation to God (v. 4, 5): Who are Israelites, the seed of Abraham, God’s friend, and of Jacob his chosen, taken into the covenant of peculiarity, dignified and distinguished by visible church-privileges, many of which are here mentioned:—(1.) The adoption; not that which is saving, and which entitled to eternal happiness, but that which was external and typical, and entitled them to the land of Canaan. Israel is my son, Exod 4 22. (2.) And the glory; the ark with the mercy-seat, over which God dwelt between the cherubim—this was the glory of Israel, 1 Sam 4 21. The many symbols and tokens of the divine presence and guidance, the cloud, the Shechinah, the distinguishing favours conferred upon them—these were the glory. (3.) And the covenants—the covenant made with Abraham, and often renewed with his seed upon divers occasions. There was a covenant at Sinai (Exod 24.), in the plains of Moab (Deut 29.), at Shechem (Josh 24.), and often afterwards; and still these pertained to Israel. Or, the covenant of peculiarity, and in that, as in the type, the covenant of grace. (4.) And the giving of the law. It was to them that the ceremonial and judicial law were given, and the moral law in writing pertained to them. It is a great privilege to have the law of God among us, and it is to be accounted so, Ps 147 19, 20. This was the grandeur of Israel, Deut 4 7, 8. (5.) And the service of God. They had the ordinances of God’s worship among them—the temple, the altars, the priests, the sacrifices, the feasts, and the institutions relating to them. They were in this respect greatly honoured, that, while other nations were worshipping and serving stocks, and stones, and devils, and they knew not what other idols of their own invention, the Israelites were serving the true God in the way of his own appointment. (6.) And the promises—particular promises added to the general covenant, promises relating to the Messiah and the gospel state. Observe, The promises accompany the giving of the law, and the service of God; for the comfort of the promises is to be had in obedience to that law and attendance upon that service.

In his second sermon on these verses, MacArthur refers back to Jacob. We recall from today’s First Reading that Jacob wrestled with God’s angel and was renamed Israel:

… it’s that heart of love that causes Paul to wish himself accursed.  So the first thing that drew Paul’s affection to Israel was his personal connection.  The second was the divine connection and I want you to look at verses 4 and 5, the divine connection.  He loves them not only because they’re his kinsmen but he loves them because of their special relationship to God.  You see, he loves God and therefore loves whom God loves.  He can’t separate himself from that.  The love of Christ is shed abroad in his heart.  If God loves them uniquely, then he loves them uniquely.  And so he introduces us to their special relationship to God in verses 4 and 5.  And these are such rich concepts, just incredible.

I want you to see the privileges  … First of all, he says they are Israelites.  Who are Israelites?  The name Israel, what is it?  Where does it come from?  Well, it goes back to Genesis 32:28, it was given to Jacob after he wrestled with an angel.  It is the unique name of God’s people.  It signifies the name of God’s people, the identity of God’s people. And what it’s basically saying is you’re God’s people, uniquely called and named by God, a noble people.  I love what it says in Isaiah 5 that when God chose a people to place in the land, He chose the most noble vine. And when you see the word “Israelite” you are hit with the nobility of that people.  They’re God’s special people.  They are a noble people …

In Exodus 4:22 it says, “Israel is My son, even My firstborn.”  His people.  Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child then I loved him and called him My son.”  They’re not just a noble race.  They’re the recipients of electing grace.  Now when we say that we’re saying that nationally, beloved, don’t forget that, nationally, not personally, not individually.  They were not just because they were Jews automatically God’s spiritual children, right?  No, because in 9 it says at the end of verse 6, “They are not Israel who are of Israel.”  No, I’m talking about nationally; they were nationally chosen to be God’s son.  They were His nation. And He brought them into covenant with Himself and He blessed them, oh, He blessed them.  They were privileged as a nation, privileged to have His protection, privileged to have His care, privileged to have His oversight.

The Old Testament doesn’t talk about God being the Father of individual Jews; that’s why it was so shocking when Jesus talked that way.  The Old Testament talks about God being the Father of the nation, and that’s right.  They were nationally His chosen son, to whom He poured out His blessing. God was their Father in the unique sense of a nation, uniquely set apart to be His witness nation to reveal to the world who He is, to be the recipient of His blessing that it might be transferred from them to the nations of the world, that they might demonstrate the kind of God that He was.

… And so they had a unique relationship … and then drawn into a special relationship with God …

Then it says in verse 4, “To them not only the adoption but the glory.” What is the glory? What is the glory? I’ll tell you what it is. It’s the Shekinah presence of God. Was that given to any other people? Did God dwell in the midst of any other people? No. God was in their tabernacle and their temple in their Holy of Holies, dwelling in light between the wings of the cherubim on their Ark of the Covenant. God wasn’t anywhere else in that unique sense. When they came out of Egypt He gave them His glory and led them. And when they built a tabernacle, His glory descended and dwelt therein …

Notice also it says in verse 4, “And the covenants,” and the covenants.”  Covenants with Abraham, Genesis 12:15 to 17.  Covenant with Moses, and that all the way from Exodus 19 to 31, repeated in Deuteronomy 29 and 30 and given an even added dimension.  Covenant with not only Abraham and Moses but David, 2 Samuel 7, the covenant of a great and eternal kingdom, reigned over by a great and glorious son of David.  God promised them a nation through Abraham. God promised them blessing through Moses.  God promised them eternal glory through David.  I mean, they were the recipients of the covenants. They were the nation to be blessed. They were the nations…nation to be a blessing.  They were the nation given the moral, social, ritual, ceremonial law of God that they might enter into intimacy with Him.  And they were the nation promised an eternal kingdom.  No other nation was given that unique covenant.  Other nations would enter into it through them.  But it was given to them …

Further, verse 4 says, “The giving of the law.” The giving of the law. Exodus 20, the Mosaic standard, they had God’s law. They were told how to have a prosperous life, how to have a blessed life, how to enter into joy, how to know you’re going to be blessed by God. They were given the law. If they kept the law they were to prosper. God said, “You obey it and you’ll be blessed. You disobey it and you’ll be punished.” So they were given the road to prosperity. They were given the road to blessing, the road to joy, the road to peace, the road to happiness, the things that everyone seeks because they were the repository of divine truth. God gave them His law, didn’t give that to everybody. Oh, it was to come from them to the rest of the world but God gave it first to them …

That’s not all, the end of verse 4 says “and the promises.”  And the promises.  You know what I think that refers to?  It’s not the same as the covenants.  Since covenants has already been covered, I believe this refers to the Messiah, the Messianic promises, the promises embracing the saving work of Christ and the kingdom because this was the great Jewish hope, wasn’t it?  This was the great Jewish hope.  They waited for the promise.  And what was the promise?  The promise of Messiah.  In Acts 2:39 Peter is preaching and he says, “For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”  He’s just preached on Christ and he says the promise is offered to all of you.  What promise?  The promise of salvation in the Messiah, the promise of salvation in Christ, that’s the promise.  And the Old Testament was full of promises referring to the Christ.  Again preaching, this time Paul in Acts 13 says in verse 32, “We declare unto you the glad tidings.” And what are the glad tidings? “How the promise which was made to the fathers God has fulfilled the same unto us their children in that He raised up Jesus again.”  The promise of Messiah, Messiah’s death, Messiah’s resurrection, that’s the promise, the glorious Messiah, the glorious promise of the Messianic redemption, the Messianic salvation.  God gave that to them.

Paul says that to God’s chosen ‘belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever’, concluding with ‘Amen’ (verse 5), ‘so be it’.

Henry, in ending his exposition, does so in such a way that we better understand Paul’s grief at the Jews’ unbelief:

(7.) Whose are the fathers (v. 5), Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those men of renown, that stood so high in the favour of God. The Jews stand in relation to them, are their children, and proud enough they are of it: We have Abraham to our father. It was for the father’s sake that they were taken into covenant, ch. 11 28. (8.) But the greatest honour of all was that of them as concerning the flesh (that is, as to his human nature) Christ came; for he took on him the seed of Abraham, Heb 2 16. As to his divine nature, he is the Lord from heaven; but, as to his human nature, he is of the seed of Abraham. This was the great privilege of the Jews, that Christ was of kin to them. Mentioning Christ, he interposes a very great word concerning him, that he is over all, God blessed for ever. Lest the Jews should think meanly of him, because he was of their alliance, he here speaks thus honourably concerning him: and it is a very full proof of the Godhead of Christ; he is not only over all, as Mediator, but he is God blessed for ever. Therefore, how much sorer punishment were they worthy of that rejected him! It was likewise the honour of the Jews, and one reason why Paul had a kindness for them, that, seeing God blessed for ever would be a man, he would be a Jew; and, considering the posture and character of that people at that time, it may well be looked upon as a part of his humiliation.

MacArthur adds:

And then the climax … “And of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came.”  This refers back to the Israelites, the “of whom.”  And “of whom,” that is the Israelites, out of the Israelitish race has come, as concerning, the flesh Christ.  What does that mean?  It means that Christ was born a Jew, doesn’t it?  Born a Jew, culmination of all their privileges.  They were a noble people, called by God to be a special child, recipient of His holy presence among them, blessed with covenants, the knowledge of the divine will through the law, given a way to enter fully into God’s presence through the service or the ceremonies that they might worship, personal intimacy.  They were even given special men who could pass on righteousness from one generation to the next, and ultimately of whom, of Israelites, came Messiah as to His flesh.  As to His Spirit, He came from whom?  From God. As to His flesh He came from Israel.

And then he adds this, “Who is over all God blessed forever.  Amen.“  Now, that’s a great ending.  What is he saying?  Well, this has got to be one of the greatest statements in the Bible and it’s so often overlooked.  Listen carefully and we close with an understanding of this, but don’t miss it, it’s the climax to everything.  Christ came, He was a Jew.  And who is He?  He can’t resist this.  He can’t just say, “As concerning the flesh Christ,” he can’t just say that.  He has to say who He is. And who is He?  “Who is over all God.”  That’s who He is.  “Blessed forever.”

As to His human descent, He’s an Israelite.  As to His divine descent, He is God. And I believe it is not just some kind of benediction that says, “Christ who is over all God blessed forever.  Amen,” as if God was the one being blessed.  I don’t see this as a benediction.  I see this as an affirmation of who Christ is.  First it says “Christ who is over all,” equals the Most High, who is the supreme one.  He is the one God who is over all of Ephesians 4:6.  This passage demonstrates directly that Jesus Christ is God, there’s no other way to take it and be honest with the text … You see, without one exception in Hebrew and Greek, blessed always comes before God if it’s a doxology, “Blessed be God, blessed be the God and Father.”  Whenever you have a doxology just blessing God’s name, blessed always comes before God.  Here God comes first, only time.

Secondly, the one being over all, ho n, must refer back to Christ.  So he says Christ who is over all, God.  That has to be the intent. And “blessed forever” offers praise to Christ, offers praise to Christ.

The rest of Romans 9 stays on the theme of the Jews’ inheritance opening to include the Gentiles, which the Old Testament often states in the many references to ‘nations’:

Romans 9:6-13 – election, New Covenant

Paul introduces the New Covenant to the Jews. Our salvation depends not on our lineage (i.e. Abrahamic descent) and not all will be saved.  Our election to salvation depends not on our own works but on God’s choosing.

Romans 9:14-24 – election, New Covenant

This passage explains how and why God, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, opened the promise of salvation to the Gentiles through the New Covenant: ‘not only Jews but also Gentiles’.

Romans 9:25-33 – faith, not works; New Covenant

This passage further explains how and why God, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, opened the promise of salvation to the Gentiles.

May all reading this enjoy a blessed week ahead.

Readings for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity — Year A

August 1, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 comment

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity — the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost — is August 2, 2026.

The readings for Year A follow, emphases mine.

First Reading

Readings from Genesis continue. Recent weeks have involved episodes from Jacob’s life. Here he receives his desired blessing from God — an angel in the form of a man — and a new name, Israel.

Genesis 32:22-31

Jacob receives God’s blessing

32:22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had.

32:24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

32:25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”

32:27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

32:28 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.

32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.”

32:31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Psalm

David, besieged by his enemies, appeals to the Lord for divine help and faithful deliverance.

Psalm 17:1-7, 15

I shall see your face

17:1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.

17:2 From you let my vindication come; let your eyes see the right.

17:3 If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress.

17:4 As for what others do, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

17:5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

17:6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.

17:7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.

17:15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Alternative First Reading

The Lord, speaking through Isaiah, extends merciful promises to His people in captivity in Babylon and that, ultimately, the promise of Gospel grace is also meant for Gentiles. Note the mention of ‘steadfast, sure love for David’ in verse 3.

Isaiah 55:1-5

Eat and drink what truly satisfies

55:1 Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

55:2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your earnings for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

55:3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

55:4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.

55:5 Now you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

Alternative Psalm

This is an excerpt from the first of the Praise Psalms (145-150). David extols the Lord’s infinite goodness and mercy to His people.

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

You open wide your hand

145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

145:9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

145:14 The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.

145:15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.

145:16 You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.

145:17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.

145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

145:19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.

145:20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

145:21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Epistle

Readings from Paul’s letter to the Romans continue. My exegesis will appear in a separate post.

Romans 9:1-5

The glory of God’s people in Israel

9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ–I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit–

9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.

9:4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;

9:5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Gospel

We have Matthew’s account of our Lord’s miraculous feeding of the 5,000. My exegesis can be found here and here.

Matthew 14:13-21

Jesus feeds 5000

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

14:14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

14:15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

14:16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

14:17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”

14:18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

14:19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

14:20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.

14:21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

May all reading this have a blessed Sunday.

Forbidden Bible Verses — Leviticus 23:9-14

July 31, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 comment

Bible oldThe three-year Lectionary that many Catholics and Protestants hear in public worship gives us a great variety of Holy Scripture.

Yet, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

My series Forbidden Bible Verses — ones the Lectionary editors and their clergy omit — examines the passages we do not hear in church. These missing verses are also Essential Bible Verses, ones we should study with care and attention. Often, we find that they carry difficult messages and warnings.

Today’s reading is from the English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK) with commentary from Matthew Henry, John Gill, Bible.org and Inspired Scripture.

Leviticus 23:9-14

The Feast of Firstfruits

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah[a] of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a quarter of a hin.[b] 14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Last week’s post concluded God’s more specific commands to Moses about the early care of sacrificial animals and their mothers, a reminder of the timing of eating sacrifices of thanksgiving and the obligation to keep His commands and do them because He is the Lord. Note the emphasis below (emphases mine):

31 “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. 32 And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”

Leviticus 23 concerns the various Jewish feasts, beginning with the Sabbath and the Passover. These verses are in the Lectionary and will be discussed at a future date for posting on my Christianity / Apologetics page:

Feasts of the Lord

23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.

The Sabbath

3 “For six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.

The Passover

4 “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight,[a] is the Lord‘s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 8 But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

Inspired Scripture puts these feasts into perspective for us, as excerpted below:

Lev. 23:4-22; Nu. 28:16-25: How Christians Should Observe the Passion Week and Pentecost
    • Background. In Leviticus Chapter 23 and Numbers 28, God describes the sacrifices of the seven major Jewish festivals. To understand these festivals, it is important to read both chapters together. All of these festivals foreshadowed Jesus (Col. 2:16-17; Heb. 10:1). Each festival was a “holy convocation” or rehearsal for Jesus (Lev. 23:2). We are freed from any legal obligation to follow these festivals (Col. 2:16-17). Yet, like the Sabbath, God meant for His people to celebrate Him during these festivals as an act of devotion, not obligation. As a “holy priesthood,” (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6) …
1. The Passion Week (The Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits).
    • The Passover. Passover was the first of three festivals that happened over one week beginning at sundown on the day of the first new moon after the spring equinox, sometime in March or April. This was the beginning of the first month (called “Nisan”) of the religious calendar. In addition to the normal daily sacrifices, the sacrifices described below were repeated on seven consecutive days (Nu. 28:16). The purpose of the Passover was to remember that, during the tenth plague, the shed blood of the lamb allowed each family who acted in faith to have death “pass over” their firstborn son (Ex. 12:12-13, 22-23). God also gave the blood of his firstborn son to allow judgment to “pass over” us (Isa. 53:7; Jo. 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). On the 10th day of the month of Nisan, the Jews selected the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:3). On the 10th day of Nisan, Jesus also entered Jerusalem. On the 14th day of Nisan, the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered on the ninth hour (3:00 pm), counting from 6:00 am (Nu. 28:16; Lev. 23:5; Ex. 12:6). On the 14th day on the ninth hour Jesus also died (Matt. 27:45-50; 28:1; Mk. 15:29; Jo. 2:19). The Passover lamb was to be killed outside the gates of Jerusalem (Dt. 16:5). Jesus also died outside the gates of Jerusalem on Calvary Hill (Jo. 19:16-19; Heb. 13:10-13). The Passover lamb could have no broken bones (Ex. 12:46). Jesus also died without any broken bones (Jo. 19:32-36). The “people of the community of Israel” were to slaughter the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:46). Jesus was also put to death by the people of the community of Israel (Matt. 27:17, 20-22, 25). The exact year that the Messiah would be “cut off” was also predicted 483 years earlier in the book of Daniel (Dan. 9:24-26 – “69 weeks” with each “day” representing 7 years).
    • The Feast of Unleavened Bread / Jesus’ Time in the Grave. The hasty departure of the Jews did not afford the time required to bake leavened bread (Ex. 12:34, 39). To celebrate God’s deliverance, the Jews celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread (a life without sin). Jesus was in the grave during part of this festival. Through Jesus, we are freed from our old sins.
    • The Feast of First Fruits/ Jesus’ Resurrection. On the last day of this week, the 17th of Nisan, God saved the Jews at the Red Sea (Ex. 3:18; 5:3, 14). On this same day, God also saved Noah by bringing him to dry land in the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4). On this day, God also saved the Jews by having Haman h[anged] for plotting to have the Jews killed (Esther 3:12; 4:16; 5:4). On this day, Jesus also rose from the grave and became the “first fruits” for those who were once dead (1 Cor. 15:20). In response, out of gratitude, the Jews brought their “first fruits” or their best offerings to God.

Now on to today’s verses.

And the Lord spoke to Moses (verse 9).

John Gill‘s commentary states that the Lord would have continued His directives to Moses sequentially:

At the same time, for what follow are the other feasts and holy convocations before spoken of …

The Lord specified that these instructions for the Promised Land, Canaan, which His people had not yet reached.

He said, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, “When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest” (verse 10).

Gill explains, using the word ‘corn’ for ‘grain’, customary in his and Henry’s era. In this context it refers to barley:

when ye be come into the land which I give unto you: the land of Canaan, which God had given by promise to their fathers and to them, and which they were now going to inherit: as yet they were in a wilderness, where there were no sowing nor reaping, nor any harvest; so that the following law, though now given, could not take place till they came into the land of Canaan:

and shall reap the harvest thereof; the barley harvest, which was about this time, the month Nisan, and which had the name Abib, from the barley being then in the ear, see Exodus 9:31; for the wheat harvest was not till seven weeks after:

then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest; to with it as after directed: this is called an omer in the text, which was the tenth part of an ephah, Exodus 16:36; and so Jarchi interprets it here; according to the Jewish writers, when the sheaf was reaped, the corn was beat out and winnowed, and dried by the fire, and then ground in a mill, and an omer, or a tenth part of an ephah of the flour of it was taken, and oil and frankincense put upon it, an handful of which being put upon the altar, the rest was the priest’s; and with this pretty much agrees the account Josephus gives, who says, on the second day of unleavened bread, which is the sixteenth (day of Nisan), of the fruits they have reaped they take a part; for they do not touch them before, accounting it just to honour God first, from whom they receive the plenty of these things; and bring the firstfruits of the barley after this manner, having dried the handful of ears, and bruised them, and cleansed them from the bran, they bring to the altar a tenth part to God, and casting one handful of it on the altar, they leave the rest for the use of the priests; and from thence forward it is lawful to reap publicly and privately {k}: this has been in some part imitated by the Heathens: the Egyptians, who ascribe the invention of the fruits of the earth, particularly wheat and barley, to Isis and Osiris, in memory of it, and as a testimony of their gratitude for it, at the time of harvest, bring an handful of the first ears of corn, and beating themselves near them, call upon Isis; and in some cities, at the feast of Isis, vessels of wheat and barley were carried about in great pomp, as Diodorus Siculus {l} relates.

God continued, saying to Moses, that the priest ‘shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it’ (verse 11).

We recall the wave offering being mentioned in Leviticus 7:28-38, which concerned meat:

The Lord concludes His commands to Moses concerning the peace (fellowship) offering. The donor participated in the wave offering with the priest holding his hands by the wrist. The priest who officiated then received the right thigh (shoulder) as his portion of the meat. The breast and the thigh went to Aaron and his sons for their service as priests as a ‘perpetual due’ from the Israelites.

Bible.org‘s commentary from a church elder, Donald E Curtis, tells us:

One of the days during the Feast of Unleavened Bread will be a Sabbath. The day following this Sabbath is the celebration of First Fruits128. On this day, the first sheaf of harvested barley is brought to the Lord and waved before Him. The grain is then left for the priest and for the poor. This is an act of thanksgiving for the Lord’s provision and bounty. No one is to eat from the new harvest until the wave offering is made.

There is no direct Jewish Celebration of this today. However, given its placement between Passover and Pentecost and its emphasis on the Lord’s provision, I see it as a reminder of the manna in the desert, which began shortly after the crossing of the Red Sea.

In terms of Christianity, it is worth noting that the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred the day following the Sabbath. His resurrection corresponds to this wave offering. He is, Himself, a first fruits offering. As Paul says,

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).

Gill reminds us of the importance of the waving motion:

… to and fro, backwards and forwards, upwards and downwards, to make an acknowledgment to the Lord of heaven and earth, that the fruits of the earth and the plentiful harvest were of him, and to give him the praise and glory of it:

He describes exactly what would have happened when that feast was still observed and what it meant for the future:

… on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it; not after the seventh day, but after the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, which was a sabbath, in which no servile work was to be done, Leviticus 23:7; and so the Targum of Jonathan calls it the day after the first good day of the passover, which was the sixteenth of Nisan, as Josephus expressly says, in the place above referred to; and so it is generally understood by Jewish writers {m} the account given of this affair is this; the messengers of the sanhedrim went out (from Jerusalem over the brook Kidron to the fields near it) on the evening of the feast, (i.e. at the going out of the fifteenth) and at the beginning of the sixteenth of Nisan, and bound the standing corn in bundles, that so it might be the more easily reaped; and all the neighbouring cities gathered together there, that it might be reaped in great pomp; and when it was dark, one said to them, is the sun set? they said, yes. With this sickle (shall I reap?) they said, yes. In this basket (shall I put it?) they said, yes. If on a sabbath day, he said to them, On this sabbath day (shall I do it?) they said, yes {n}. These questions were put and answered three times; then they reaped it and put it into the baskets, and brought it to the court, where they parched it before the fire, to fulfil the commandment of parched corn; then they put it in mills for grinding beans, and took out of it a tenth part (of an ephah), which was sifted with eighteen sieves; then oil and frankincense were poured upon it, being mixed; and it was waved, and brought, and a handful taken and burnt, and the rest was eaten by the priests; and when they had offered the omer, they went out and found the streets of Jerusalem full of meal and parched corn {o}, there being now full liberty to reap what they would: now this sheaf of the firstfruits was typical of Christ; it being of barley, may denote the mean estate of Christ in his humiliation; and but one sheaf for all the people, may signify that Christ is the one Mediator, Saviour, and Redeemer: yet as a sheaf comprehends many stalks and grains, so Christ has a complication of blessings in him; yea, he had all his people representatively in him, when he was offered for the whole body of his mystical Israel, all the children of God scattered abroad; the manner of reaping it, by persons deputed by the sanhedrim on the eve of a festival of the passover, in the sight of much people, without Jerusalem, near Kidron, exactly agrees with the apprehending of Christ in the night near Kidron, by persons sent from the Jewish sanhedrim, and his suffering publicly without the gates of Jerusalem; it being brought to the priests in the court, and threshed, winnowed, dried, and parched by the fire, and ground in mills, may denote the various dolorous sufferings of Christ, by means of the priests and elders of the people; and oil and frankincense being put on it, may denote the acceptableness of his sacrifice to God; and the waving of it, his resurrection from the dead, which was on the very day this sheaf was waved; who is the firstfruits of them that sleep in him, and which sanctifies the whole body of them, and ensures their resurrection unto eternal life; see 1 Corinthians 15:20.

Note the next sacrifice of this feast, another type of Christ.

God commanded Moses, ‘And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord‘ (verse 12).

Gill says:

… the lamb without blemish of the first year, for a burnt offering unto the Lord; typical of the perfect and immaculate Lamb of God, whose sufferings are fitly signified by a burnt offering; and which were endured at the time he became the firstfruits of his people, and sanctified them.

Matthew Henry‘s commentary gives us the significance of this sacrifice, in addition to and following the barley:

A lamb for a burnt-offering was to be offered with it, v. 12. As the sacrifice of animals was generally attended with meat-offerings, so this sacrifice of corn was attended with a burnt-offering, that bread and flesh might be set together on God’s table. They are forbidden to eat of their new corn till this handful was offered to God; for it was fit, if God and Israel feast together, that he should be served first. And the offering of this sheaf of first-fruits in the name of the whole congregation did, as it were, sanctify to them their whole harvest, and give them a comfortable use of all the rest; for then we may eat our bread with joy when we have, in some measure, performed our duty to God, and God has accepted our works, for thus all our enjoyments become clean to us. Now, 1. This law was given now, though there was no occasion for putting it in execution till they came to Canaan: in the wilderness they sowed no corn; but God’s feeding them there with bread from heaven obliged them hereafter not to grudge him his share of their bread out of the earth. We find that when they came into Canaan the manna ceased upon the very day that the sheaf of first-fruits was offered; they had eaten of the old corn the day before (Josh 5 11), and then on this day they offered the first-fruits, by which they became entitled to the new corn, too (v. 12), so that there was no more occasion for manna. 1. This sheaf of first-fruits was typical of our Lord Jesus, who has risen from the dead as the first-fruits of those that slept, 1 Cor 15 20. That branch of the Lord (Isa 4 2) was then presented to him, in virtue of the sacrifice of himself, the Lamb of God, and it was accepted for us. It is very observable that our Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the very day that the first-fruits were offered, to show that he was the substance of this shadow. 3. We are taught by this law to honour the Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase, Prov 3 9.

God then stipulated what the grain offering was to contain.

He told Moses that the grain offering must be two tenths of an ephah[b] — 3/5 of a bushel or 22 litres — of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a quarter of a hin[c] — four quarts or 3 1/2 litres (verse 13).

The KJV reads:

13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.

ChristianAnswers.net explains what a tenth deal is:

Hebrew: עִשָּׂרוֹן —transliteration: issaron —meaning: a tenth part [of an ephah]; the fraction 1/10

The word “deal” is an added word used in the King James Version in a number of verses related to fractions of a dry measurement called an ephah.

For example, a “tenth deal” is 1/10th of an ephah, equal to an omer or 6 pints.

Gill says:

And the meat offering thereof [shall be] two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil,…. The usual measure of flour to a meat offering was one tenth deal, Exodus 29:40; but here it is doubled: some Jewish writers say {p} one tenth was on account of the lamb that was offered at this time, and the other as was suitable for a meat offering; but the true reason seems to be, because it was on account of the fruits of the earth and the plenty thereof; and therefore a double measure of fine flour mixed with oil was required as a token of gratitude; for thankfulness ought to be in proportion to mercies: …

and the drink offering thereof [shall be] of wine, the fourth [part] of an hin; which was the common quantity for a drink offering, Exodus 29:40; for, as Jarchi observes, though the meat offering was doubled, the drink offering was not; the reason of which seems to be, because these offerings were on account of the harvest and not the vintage: the Targum of Jonathan calls it wine of grapes, to distinguish it from wine that might be made of other things, but not to be used in drink offerings, only the pure juice of the grape.

God concluded His commands for the Feast of Firstfruits by saying that the Israelites were to eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until they brought the offering of their God: it was a statute for ever throughout their generations in all their dwellings (verse 14).

Gill says that there were punishments for violations of this command:

… they were obliged to eat unleavened bread at this time: but it might not be made of the new corn, until the above offering was made; nay, they were not allowed to parch any of the grains of corn, and eat them; yea, even they might not pluck and eat the green ears, though of ever so small a quantity. The Jews say {q}, if it was the quantity of an olive of either of these, a man was to be beaten for it: …

Also:

[it shall be] a statute for ever throughout your generations; until the Messiah came, who is the substance of these shadows:

in all your dwellings; not at Jerusalem only, but in the several parts of the land of Canaan; yea, as Ben Gersom says, whether in the land, or without the land; a later writer says, it is forbidden to eat of the new corn at this time, whether bread, parched corn, or green ears, until the beginning of the night of the eighteenth of Nisan, and in the land of Israel, until the beginning of the night of the seventeenth of Nisan {r}.

Bible.org’s church elder, Donald E Curtis, gives us his own Christian application of this erstwhile feast:

Jesus’ resurrection is the assurance of our resurrection. It is the promise that we will not see eternal death, but share in eternal life. When He rose from the dead, we became able to share in the new harvest, which I believe is the Holy Spirit.

First Fruits is such a simple holiday, and, yet, it has such significant meaning to us in the Church. Passover is our redemption, Unleavened Bread is our sanctification, First Fruits is our promise of eternal life and resurrection.

I have a personal First Fruits story to tell. I have for years looked upon the Old Testament as containing principles of righteousness living. This is not to be confused with legalism. It should rather be viewed as an attempt to view the Law as Paul did (see 1 Corinthians 9:9, 1 Timothy 5:18, and 1 Timothy 1:8). Anyway, I began meditating about the First Fruits offering and how someone who is not a farmer might participate. In my heart, I committed to a special practice to celebrate the event whenever I got a raise. The gross net increase of the first paycheck containing the raise would be a First Fruits offering to the Lord. This was not to gain approval or special status. It was simply to say thanks and acknowledge that He provides for me every day.

Following this heart commitment, not a month went by before my manager at IBM came to me and said, “I am giving you a raise. It is early and out of grid.” The translation of these words are, “IBM policy says it’s too early to give you a raise, but I am giving you one anyway. IBM says that your next raise should not be more than such-and-such, but I am giving you more than that.” At the time this occurred, my wife and I had custody of my three nieces. IBM benefits did not cover them. My manager had worked out the raise to help our situation.

Matthew Henry rightly concludes:

We are taught by this law to honour the Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase, Prov 3 9. They were not to eat of their new corn till God’s part was offered to him out of it (v. 14), for we must always begin with God, begin our lives with him, begin every day with him, begin every meal with him, begin every affair and business with him; seek first the kingdom of God.

Next week we look at the Feast of Weeks, or what the Jews call Shavuot, their Pentecost.

Next time — Leviticus 23:15-22

Eighth Sunday after Trinity — Year A — exegesis on the Epistle, Romans 8:26-39, part 3

July 28, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 comment

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity — the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — was July 26, 2026.

Readings for Year A can be found here.

The Epistle is as follows (emphases mine):

Romans 8:26-39

Nothing can separate us from God’s love

8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.

8:27 And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.

8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

8:31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

8:32 He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else?

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

8:34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

8:37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.

8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur (as indicated below).

Part 1 of this exegesis covers my previous exegeses from Romans as well as verses 26 through 28 above. Part 2 covers verses 29 through 32.

Paul has taken us through the doctrines of eternal security (the believer’s salvation is sure), predestination (election through God’s foreknowledge) and justification (imputed righteousness) with the promise of glory.

Paul asks who can bring any charge against God’s elect when God is the One who justifies (verse 33).

Matthew Henry‘s commentary says:

Men may justify themselves, as the Pharisees did, and yet the accusations may be in full force against them; but, if God justifies, this answers all. He is the judge, the king, the party offended, and his judgment is according to truth, and sooner or later all the world will be brought to be of his mind; so that we may challenge all our accusers to come and put in their charge. This overthrows them all; it is God, the righteous faithful God, that justifieth.

Paul then asks who can condemn us, because it is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised from the dead and who is even at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us (verse 34).

Henry explains:

Who is he that condemneth? Though they cannot make good the charge yet they will be ready to condemn; but we have a plea ready to move in arrest of judgment, a plea which cannot be overruled. It is Christ that died, etc. It is by virtue of our interest in Christ, our relation to him, and our union with him, that we are thus secured. 1. His death: It is Christ that died. By the merit of his death he paid our debt; and the surety’s payment is a good plea to an action of debt. It is Christ, an able all-sufficient Saviour. 2. His resurrection: Yea, rather, that has risen again. This is a much greater encouragement, for it is a convincing evidence that divine justice was satisfied by the merit of his death. His resurrection was his acquittance, it was a legal discharge. Therefore the apostle mentions it with a yea, rather. If he had died, and not risen again, we had been where we were. 3. His sitting at the right hand of God: He is even at the right hand of God—a further evidence that he has done his work, and a mighty encouragement to us in reference to all accusations, that we have a friend, such a friend, in court. At the right hand of God, which denotes that he is ready there—always at hand; and that he is ruling there—all power is given to him. Our friend is himself the judge. 4. The intercession which he makes there. He is there, not unconcerned about us, not forgetful of us, but making intercession. He is agent for us there, an advocate for us, to answer all accusations, to put in our plea, and to prosecute it with effect, to appear for us and to present our petitions. And is not this abundant matter for comfort? What shall we say to these things? Is this the manner of men, O Lord God? What room is left for doubting and disquietment? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Some understand the accusation and condemnation here spoken of of that which the suffering saints met with from men. The primitive Christians had many black crimes laid to their charge—heresy, sedition, rebellion, and what not? For these the ruling powers condemned them: “But no matter for that” (says the apostle); “while we stand right at God’s bar it is of no great moment how we stand at men’s. To all the hard censures, the malicious calumnies, and the unjust and unrighteous sentences of men, we may with comfort oppose our justification before God through Christ Jesus as that which doth abundantly countervail,” 1 Cor 4 3, 4.

In his fifth sermon from 1983 on this passage, John MacArthur addresses verses 33 and 34 together:

Look at verse 33, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” You mean somebody’s going to do that? Sure they are. But the point here is who can successfully do that? Who can successfully go and demand a retrial for us? Who can go before the tribunal of God and say, “Look I want to bring this case up again. I think this guy ought to be condemned.”

You say, “Does anybody do that?” By the way, the word “lay to charge” means to bring a legal charge against someone. It’s a law-court kind of word. Can somebody go before the tribunal of God and say, “This guy shouldn’t be saved. This guy shouldn’t have possession of salvation. This woman shouldn’t have salvation. Look at this. Look at that. Look at this sin. Look at this other sin. Look the way they live their life. Look what they do and don’t do, and so forth.

And if we fall into sins, doesn’t someone come before the throne of God to accuse us? Well, the answer is yes. In verse 34, “Who is he that condemneth?” Assumes again, that some people are going to go before God and condemn us. Really, the question at the beginning of 33 and 34 are just worded… It’s the same question worded two ways.

The point here is who can successfully condemn us? Who can successfully lay a charge against us that can remove our salvation? Now who is it that is the accuser? Who would do this? Who has access to God’s presence to do this? Satan does. In Job chapter 1 verse 9, he comes before God and he says, “Look, you don’t have anybody on this earth. You don’t have anybody on this earth that’ll be faithful to you and true to you if you let them have it with all the calamity that can possibly come. If you’ll tolerate that kind of calamity, everybody’ll abandoned you and turn their back on you. You don’t have anybody faithful.”

And he was accusing all of those who belong to the Lord. And, of course, he was proven wrong, as God pointed out in the life of Job. But Satan is ever and always the accuser. In Revelation 12 it says, “The accuser of our brethren is cast down to accuse them before our God day and night.” You know you said, “What’s Satan doing?” You say, “Oh, he’s running around the world doing it.” No, Satan spends a lot of his time up in heaven bugging God about us. That’s right, day and night.

He’s up there saying, “MacArthur has no business coming into this place. He’s unholy. He belongs in my kingdom. And you have no business holding on to the guy or anybody else who works with him or goes to his church.” He sweeps us all in, I’m sure. Satan is the accuser. Can he successfully accuse? Can he successfully come before God and accuse us so that God will reject the salvation He has given us? …

I mean is God going to condemn one that He just pronounced righteous? It’s impossible. God alone condemns. And He alone justifies. But He can’t condemn and justify at the same time. He can’t condemn and justify the same person. And the point is this, if God, the highest source of truth in the universe, the highest court there is, pronounces a person righteous, then the same God can’t pronounce the same person damned. And if God has already said he’s righteous when we were in sin, then sin isn’t going to be a problem. We didn’t get in there by our goodness. We don’t stay in there by our goodness. And we can’t get out by a lack of goodness. Listen, if we could get unsaved by a lack of goodness, we could never get saved to start with. But the point is this, if God declares us just, then the same God who declares us just cannot be a God who condemns us. And so we are always being accused. I know the devil is always up there saying that they shouldn’t get what you’re giving them, to God.

But the highest judge has already rendered His verdict. And once the high court of all heaven and all eternity renders the verdict, just, just, just, righteous, righteous, righteous, then no accusation can make God change that verdict. God wrote the law. God enforces the law. God interprets the law. God knows it was satisfied in Jesus Christ. And God knows who He redeems and brings to Himself and declares to be just. He imputes to them the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And once that is done, there can be, therefore, no, what? Condemnation. Once God justifies, that settles it …

Well, maybe Christ could do it?  Maybe Christ could come along and He could stop pleading for us.  And He could no longer ask the Father anything in our behalf.  And then we’d be out.

And so verse 34 says, “Who is He that condemns?”  Christ?  Christ?  Who died, who is risen again, who is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us?  You got to be kidding.  God can’t justify and condemn us at the same time.  Christ can’t redeem us and condemn us at the same time.  And Christ can’t intercede for us and condemn us at the same time.

Christ isn’t going to condemn us.  He died for us.  You think He wants to undo His death, undo the meaning of His redemptive work?  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He that believeth on Him is not condemned.  But He that believes not is condemned already because he’s not believed.”  He that believeth on Him is not condemned.  That’s what He says.

In Romans 8:34, here just restates that truth.  God isn’t going to turn against us.  After all, He chose us.  After all, He gave us the greatest gift.  Will He not give us lesser ones to keep us saved?  And no person can come to God and accuse us, not even Satan himself successfully.  And no matter what they may try, if God is for us, who can be against us?  And now, finally, in this part of the argument, even Christ, He’s not going to come against us.

There’s a four-fold protection and we’ll close with this in verse 34, a four-fold protection.  First, Christ died.  Christ died.  Beloved, the point is that when Christ died, He received the penalty for our sin, right?  He received the penalty for our sin.  If He already paid the penalty for our sin, He already bore the condemnation for us, then there’s nothing to condemn us for.  If He, in fact, condemned the believer to hell, He would be saying that what He did on the cross was inadequate.  Right?  His death is the only condemnation we’ll ever know.  Think of that.  The death of Christ is the only condemnation a believer will ever know.

And then secondly, the second of the four-fold protection, “Yea,” or, “What is more,” would be a better way to translate that.  “What is more, that is risen again?”  If all it said was, “Christ died,” we might say, “Well, maybe He tried His best.  He tried His best to take our condemnation, but it didn’t work.”  But when it says He’s risen again, oh, it showed that He accomplished it.  Christ’s death blotted out our sins.  And this is affirmed by His resurrection. You remember Romans 4:25?  “He was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification.”  He wasn’t just delivered to death for our offenses.  He was raised for our justification.  That’s the corollary.  His death paid the price for our sins.  And His resurrection proved that the price was paid.  The resurrection was the verification.  When God raised Jesus from the dead, He demonstrated that Christ had offered satisfaction, that the sacrifice pleased Him, that sufficient atonement has been made by His death.  And so Christ died, rose again.

And then the third of the four-fold protection: “Who is even at the right hand of God.” That basically is an echo of Psalm 1:10:1, where it says, “The Lord had said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand.”  What does that mean?  That means that the Father took the Son into glory and He sat Him at His right hand.  And that’s the seat of exaltation.  That’s the seat of honor. You say, “Well, what does that mean?”  That means that the Father was satisfied with what the Son did, right?  So Jesus died, paying our penalty, suffering our condemnation.  He rose, showing that indeed it was successful.  He is exalted to the right hand of God, showing that the Father says it is a satisfactory offering.  No other offering needs to be made …

And then there is a fourth: “Who also makes intercession for us.”  That’s the high point.  It’s not what He did. It’s what He did and what He continues to do.  He keeps on interceding for us.  The Old Testament prophet Isaiah said it would be so. The last part of that 53rd chapter says, “He made,” the last phrase of Isaiah 53, “He made intercession for the transgressors.”  He keeps on interceding for us.  He keeps on interceding for us.  “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous,” says 1 John 2:1.

And Hebrews, that thrilling, marvelous, wondrous look at the priesthood of Jesus Christ, in Hebrews 7:24 it says, “He has an unchangeable priesthood.  He is able also to save them to the uttermost.”  In other words, He saves us all the way to the uttermost, all the way to glory.  How?  Seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.  And whenever we sin, He pleads our case.  He intercedes on our behalf.  He comes to our defense.

Paul then asks who will separate us from the love of Christ through affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword (verse 35).

Henry puts forward the dark brutality of persecution:

The fears of the saints lest they should lose their hold of Christ are often very discouraging and disquieting, and create them a great deal of disturbance; but here is that which may silence their fears, and still such storms, that nothing can separate them.

… The present calamities of Christ’s beloved ones supposed—that they meet with tribulation on all hands, are in distress, know not which way to look for any succour and relief in this world, are followed with persecution from an angry malicious world that always hated those whom Christ loved, pinched with famine, and starved with nakedness, when stripped of all creature-comforts, exposed to the greatest perils, the sword of the magistrate drawn against them, ready to be sheathed in their bowels, bathed in their blood. Can a case be supposed more black and dismal?

In his sixth sermon from 1983 on these verses, MacArthur points out:

What’s going to make you turn your back or fall away or lose your salvation?  Some kind of heat?  Some kind of pressure?  What?  Tribulation?  Distress?  Persecution?  Famine?  Nakedness?  Peril? Sword?  I mean, those are the heavies. I mean, is it that you get into those kinds of things and you just bail out?  Do those – watch this – separate us from the love of Christ?  Would you notice this, please, that the love of Christ is not talking about your love for Him, but His love for you.

What can make Him stop loving you?  Because listen, beloved, your salvation isn’t based on your love for Him.  You only love Him because he what? First loved you, and your salvation is based on His love.  So if you’re getting out, He’s got to change his mind.  And what’s going to do that?  What’s going to cause Him to cease to love you?  We know it’s the love that Christ has for you, because verse 37 emphasizes Him that loved us.  Verse 39 emphasizes again, from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.  So 37 and 39, put together with 35, tell us that He’s talking about the love that Christ has for us.  What’s going to break that bond?

Oh, you say things come into the life of a person and they bail out.  What kind of things?  Well, all these kinds of things that He names.  And I think that’s just why He names them.  They’re the most stressful things that could be named.

Well, what can do that?  Listen to John 13:1.  “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world to the Father,” listen to this, “having loved His own that were in the world, He loved them unto the end,” it says. It’s unchanging love …

These are the worst possible attacks. I mean, these are the worst possible stress situations. Could they drive us to reject Christ? Could they drive us out of His love and affection? Could they drive us to doubt Him? Could we falter during those times, and could we get weak, and could we wonder things, and could we maybe fall into a sin and the Lord would just shut us off and boot us out?

By the way, this isn’t just theory. Everything in verse 35 Paul experienced. Did you know that? All you have to do is remember 2 Corinthians, and the whole list is there. The whole list …

Every one of those and a lot more that are listed there in Romans are also listed in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. This is not theory. This is Paul’s life. And he’s saying did tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword sever me from Christ? Did it cause Him in my moments of weakness to say he’s not worth the trouble? I’m going to abandon him? Shall that break the bond of Christ’s love which holds me?

Paul continues the persecution theme, citing Psalm 44:22: ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered’ (verse 36).

Henry says:

It is illustrated (v. 36) by a passage quoted from Ps 44 22, For thy sake we are killed all the day long, which intimates that we are not to think strange, no not concerning the fiery bloody trial. We see the Old-Testament saints had the same lot; so persecuted they the prophets that were before us. Killed all the day long, that is, continually exposed to and expecting the fatal stroke. There is still every day, and all the day long, one or other of the people of God bleeding and dying under the rage of persecuting enemies. Accounted as sheep for the slaughter; they make no more of killing a Christian than of butchering a sheep. Sheep are killed, not because they are hurtful while they live, but because they are useful when they are dead. They kill the Christians to please themselves, to be food to their malice. They eat up my people as they eat bread, Ps 14 4.

MacArthur explains the reason for the quotation:

Verse 36.  “As it is written.”  As it is written? What does that have to do with anything?  “For thy sake we are killed all the day long.  We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”  And he quotes Psalm 44:22 out of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament.  And what he’s saying is hey folks, this is old stuff.  This doesn’t take us out of the love of God.  This just shows us we’re in it.  I mean, this isn’t anything strange.  For thy sake we’re killed all day long.  I mean, this is the history of those who love God.

By the way, in that passage, it’s a plea for God to deliver Israel in distress, and what Paul is essentially saying in taking that text is that all the saints of all the ages have endured this.  It goes with the territory.  I mean, Matthew 10:37-39.  If you’re not willing to say no to your father, and your mother, and your home and everything else, if you’re not willing to take up your Cross and follow Me, if you’re not willing to pay the price, count the cost, and come after Christ, you’re not worthy to be what?  His disciple.  So Paul says, it isn’t that this drives us from Christ.  This just reminds us we belong to Him.

You see, it says in 2 Timothy 3:12, as I pointed out many times, all that live godly in this present age will suffer persecution.  I mean, it’s just the way we know we’re really there.  Now if the drive… You say what if that kind of stuff really happens to people and it drives them away from Christ?  Then the truth of the matter is they were never saved.

And that is what 1 John 2:19 says. And you ought to know this verse because it’s a very important verse.  It says in verse 19, “They went out from us,” 1 John 2:19.  “They went out from us, but they were not of us.  For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.  But they went out from us that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”  You understand the point? When somebody goes, that doesn’t mean they lost their Salvation.  That’s proof that they never really had it.  They never had it.

Oh, no. Verse 36 says, for thy sake we’re killed all day long.  And that’s just all day long stuff.  That’s nothing new.  Notice the little phrase “for thy sake.”  “For thy sake” expresses a willingness.  It does.  It expresses a beautiful willingness on the part of God’s truly redeemed people to bear the cross.  And it’s just what the Savior said.  Those who are my true disciples are willing to take up the cross.  For thy sake we’re willing to suffer.  For thy sake we’re willing to pay a price, to count the cost.

Paul affirms the believer’s willingness to suffer for Christ and emerge in glory by acknowledging His loving power: ‘No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us’ (verse 37).

Henry discusses the victory of the persecuted with real life quotations from martyrs:

(3.) The triumph of believers in this ( v. 37): Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors.

[1.] We are conquerors: though killed all the day long, yet conquerors. A strange way of conquering, but it was Christ’s way; thus he triumphed over principalities and powers in his cross. It is a surer and a nobler way of conquest by faith and patience than by fire and sword. The enemies have sometimes confessed themselves baffled and overcome by the invincible courage and constancy of the martyrs, who thus overcame the most victorious princes by not loving their lives to the death, Rev 12 11.

[2.] We are more than conquerors. In our patiently bearing these trials we are not only conquerors, but more than conquerors, that is, triumphers. Those are more than conquerors that conquer, First, With little loss. Many conquests are dearly bought; but what do the suffering saints lose? Why, they lose that which the gold loses in the furnace, nothing but the dross. It is no great loss to lose things which are not—a body that is of the earth, earthy. Secondly, With great gain. The spoils are exceedingly rich; glory, honour, and peace, a crown of righteousness that fades not away. In this the suffering saints have triumphed; not only have not been separated from the love of Christ, but have been taken into the most sensible endearments and embraces of it. As afflictions abound, consolations much more abound, 2 Cor 1 5. There is one more than a conqueror, when pressed above measure. He that embraced the stake, and said, “Welcome the cross of Christ, welcome everlasting life,”—he that dated his letter from the delectable orchard of the Leonine prison,—he that said, “In these flames I feel no more pain than if I were upon a bed of down,”—she who, a little before her martyrdom, being asked how she did, said, “Well and merry, and going to heaven,”—those that have gone smiling to the stake, and stood singing in the flames—these were more than conquerors.

[3.] It is only through Christ that loved us, the merit of his death taking the sting out of all these troubles, the Spirit of his grace strengthening us, and enabling us to bear them with holy courage and constancy, and coming in with special comforts and supports. Thus we are conquerors, not in our own strength, but in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. We are conquerors by virtue of our interest in Christ’s victory. He hath overcome the world for us (John 16 33), both the good things and the evil things of it; so that we have nothing to do but to pursue the victory, and to divide the spoil, and so are more than conquerors.

However, brutal persecution aside, MacArthur tells us how we can conquer in a similar way in our everyday lives:

… the reason you stay saved isn’t because you hold on.  It’s because He holds on.

And He’s not going to break His grip through those things, and you from your side are going to persevere.  He doesn’t let go of His grip, and you don’t either.  Because you’re steadfast to the end.  That’s the mark of a true believer.

John 8:31-32.  Many believed on His name, and He said to them if you continue in my word, then you’re my real disciple.  It’s the continuers, the ones who hold on, that give evidence that God is holding them.  And so in all these things, not only does it not blow us out of our salvation, instead of that, we become super-conquerors.  The word here is a tremendous word.  Hypernikmen.  We use the word Nike to speak of a missile.  It’s from this word, conquer. Nika, the verb.  Nike, conquering.  And we’re super niks, super conquerors, winners of a sweeping, surpassing, overwhelming victory.  We don’t just win.  We win big.  I mean, when we get hit with tribulation and we get hit with distress and persecution, and we get hit with famine and nakedness and peril and sword, we don’t just squeak through.  We come out roaring!  Super conqueror.

You say how can you be a super conqueror.  You either win or lose.  Well, no.  It’s more than that.  We don’t just win.  We come out super conquerors for two reasons.  Reason number one is that when we come out, the whole thing makes us better than when we started.  Because everything that happens in our lives is refining us.  Right?  And as I told you earlier, when we go through these kinds of struggles, we come out hating sin more, loving righteousness more, desiring more of God, understanding ourselves better, able to help others because we’ve been through it.  It just enriches us every way you look at it.

The person who’s been through these things and seen the ugliness of their own sin, and seen their own weakness and their own flesh, and seen all the struggles they have, comes out the other side with a better understanding of themselves.  A greater longing for God, a greater hunger for holiness.  All of that is good.  So it’s not just a victory.  It’s a victory that we come out better for it.  We’re super conquerors.

Not only that, let me give you a second reason we’re super conquerors.  It’s because every one of those things works for us, a far greater eternal weight of glory.  Ultimately there will be a greater reward.  Each time we go through those kinds of things which do not separate us from the love of Christ, but refine us, we not only come out better people here and now, but we come out the recipients of greater reward then and there.  And that’s the super conquering aspect.  It’s a great thought.  It’s a great thought.

And so, I mean Paul really defuses that argument.  You think that those kinds of things are going to separate you from the love of Christ?  Just the opposite!  Just the opposite!  When a true believer goes through those kinds of things, all of a sudden the Spirit of grace and glory rests on him and he sees things that he never saw before about what he ought to be.  He sees his weakness. Yes, and he sees the strength of God.  He wants to run from his own sin and run to the holiness of God with a greater sense of direction than ever before perhaps.  And out of that comes a pure devotion to Jesus Christ, and a greater eternal weight of glory.

They don’t separate us.  And who makes it possible?  It’s all through Him that loved us.  Through Him that loved us.  He holds on.  He holds on.  The bond never breaks.  It never breaks.

Paul says he is convinced — persuaded in some editions — that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers (verse 38), nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (verse 39).

Henry gives us a superb interpretation of these verses:

A direct and positive conclusion of the whole matter: For I am persuaded, v. 38, 39. It denotes a full, and strong, and affectionate persuasion, arising from the experience of the strength and sweetness of the divine love. And here he enumerates all those things which might be supposed likely to separate between Christ and believers, and concludes that it could not be done. (1.) Neither death nor life—neither the terrors of death on the one hand nor the comforts and pleasures of life on the other, neither the fear of death nor the hope of life. Or, We shall not be separated from that love either in death or in life. (2.) Nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers. Both the good angels and the bad are called principalities and powers: the good, Eph 1 21; Col 1 16; the bad, Eph 6 12; Col 2 15. And neither shall do it. The good angels will not, the bad shall not; and neither can. The good angels are engaged friends, the bad are restrained enemies. (3.) Nor things present, nor things to come—neither the sense of troubles present nor the fear of troubles to come. Time shall not separate us, eternity shall not. Things present separate us from things to come, and things to come separate and cut us off from things present; but neither from the love of Christ, whose favour is twisted in with both present things and things to come. (4.) Nor height, nor depth—neither the height of prosperity and preferment, nor the depth of adversity and disgrace; nothing from heaven above, no storms, no tempests; nothing on earth below, no rocks, no seas, no dungeons. (5.) Nor any other creature—any thing that can be named or thought of. It will not, it cannot, separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It cannot cut off or impair our love to God, or God’s to us; nothing does it, can do it, but sin. Observe, The love that exists between God and true believers is through Christ. He is the Mediator of our love: it is in and through him that God can love us and that we dare love God. This is the ground of the stedfastness of the love; therefore God rests in his love (Zeph 3 17), because Jesus Christ, in whom he loves us, is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

MacArthur looks at the Greek used:

… at the end of verse 38 he says, “nor powers.”  That’s kind of an interesting single word.  Commentators struggle with what it means.  Let me give you MacArthur’s view.  When it is used in the plural in the New Testament, the form of dunamis, when it is used in the plural, most frequently it refers to miracles, or mighty deeds.  And it may well be that that’s what Paul has in mind. No miracle, no mighty deed, no supernatural thing, nothing beyond our control can ever separate us from Christ.  No state of being, no being.  No time and no power.

And then he throws this in: Nor height, nor depth.  Well, what in the world does that have to do with it?  What is height and depth?  The word hupsma was used to speak of a star at its zenith, and when a star was at its zenith, they said the star was at its height.  So it has to do with going out into the infinity of space.  And depth is the word bathos, and it was astronomically used to speak of a star at its low point.  So what he’s saying is this.  Nothing at the end of an infinite outer space out there, and nothing at the other end either, from one end of infinity to the other.  Because height is infinite, and depth is infinite.

And so the sum of this stuff is mind-boggling.  Where are you going to lose your salvation?  If it can’t happen in death, and it can’t happen in life, and holy angels can’t do it, and demons can’t do it, and things present can’t do it, and things to come can’t do it, and nothing from the infinite edge of space up there to the infinite edge of space down there can do it.

Oh, but there’ll be someone say oh yes, but.  But I can do it myself. So he says, nor any other creation!  See.  It’s like Romans 3 where he says, “For all have sinned.”  He talks about all of the sinfulness of man.  He says, “There’s none righteous.”  And you know somebody will say, except me.  So he says, “There’s none righteous.  No, not one.”  And here he just throws in, or any other creation shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  It’s the love of God in Christ, our Lord that holds us.

Henry has a moving anecdote about death relating to these verses:

Mr. Hugh Kennedy, an eminent Christian of Ayr, in Scotland, when he was dying, called for a Bible; but, finding his sight gone, he said, “Turn me to the eighth of the Romans, and set my finger at these words, I am persuaded that neither death nor life,” etc. “Now,” said he, “is my finger upon them?” And, when they told him it was, without speaking any more, he said, “Now, God be with you, my children; I have breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ this night;” and so departed.

This ends my exegeses on Romans 8. More from Romans will follow for the next several weeks.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity — Year A — exegesis on the Epistle, Romans 8:26-39, part 2

July 27, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 comments

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity — the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — was July 26, 2026.

Readings for Year A can be found here.

The Epistle is as follows (emphases mine):

Romans 8:26-39

Nothing can separate us from God’s love

8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.

8:27 And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.

8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

8:31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

8:32 He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else?

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

8:34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

8:37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.

8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur (as indicated below).

Yesterday’s post covers my previous exegeses from Romans as well as verses 26 through 28 above.

We now move from the doctrine of eternal security to predestination.

Matthew Henry‘s commentary says:

The apostle, having reckoned up so many ingredients of the happiness of true believers, comes here to represent the ground of them all, which he lays in predestination. These precious privileges are conveyed to us by the charter of the covenant, but they are founded in the counsel of God, which infallibly secures the event. That Jesus Christ, the purchaser, might not labour in vain, nor spend his strength and life for nought and in vain, there is a remnant given him, a seed that he shall see, so that the good pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. For the explication of this he here sets before us the order of the causes of our salvation, a golden chain, which cannot be broken.

Paul tells us that for those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn within a large family (verse 29).

The KJV and other versions of the Bible use ‘predestinate’. I shall use ‘predestined’ in my own comments.

Henry provides us with a profound analysis of foreknowledge and predestination:

Whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. All that God designed for glory and happiness as the end he decreed to grace and holiness as the way. Not, whom he did foreknow to be holy those he predestinated to be so. The counsels and decrees of God do not truckle to the frail and fickle will of men; no, God’s foreknowledge of the saints is the same with that everlasting love wherewith he is said to have loved them, Jer 31 3. God’s knowing his people is the same with his owning them, Ps 1 6; John 10 14; 2 Tim 2 19. See ch. 11 2. Words of knowledge often in scripture denote affection; so here: Elect according to the foreknowledge of God, 1 Pet 1 2. And the same word is rendered fore-ordained, 1 Pet 1 20. Whom he did foreknow, that is, whom he designed for his friends and favourites. I know thee by name, said God to Moses, Exod 33 12. Now those whom God thus foreknew he did predestinate to be conformed to Christ. 1. Holiness consists in our conformity to the image of Christ. This takes in the whole of sanctification, of which Christ is the great pattern and sampler. To be spirited as Christ was, to walk and live as Christ did, to bear our sufferings patiently as Christ did. Christ is the express image of his Father, and the saints are conformed to the image of Christ. Thus it is by the mediation and interposal of Christ that we have God’s love restored to us and God’s likeness renewed upon us, in which two things consists the happiness of man. 2. All that God hath from eternity foreknown with favour he hath predestinated to this conformity. It is not we that can conform ourselves to Christ. Our giving ourselves to Christ takes rise in God’s giving us to him; and, in giving us to him, he predestinated us to be conformable to his image. It is a mere cavil therefore to call the doctrine of election a licentious doctrine, and to argue that it gives encouragement to sin, as if the end were separated from the way and happiness from holiness. None can know their election but by their conformity to the image of Christ; for all that are chosen are chosen to sanctification (2 Thess 2 13), and surely it cannot be a temptation to any to be conformed to the world to believe that they were predestinated to be conformed to Christ. 3. That which is herein chiefly designed is the honour of Jesus Christ, that he might be the first-born among many brethren; that is, that Christ might have the honour of being the great pattern, as well as the great prince, and in this, as in other things, might have pre-eminence. It was in the first-born that all the children were dedicated to God under the law. The first-born was the head of the family, on whom all the rest did depend: now in the family of the saints Christ must have the honour of being the first-born. And blessed be God that there are many brethren; though they seem but a few in one place at one time, yet, when they come all together, they will be a great many. There is, therefore, a certain number predestinated, that the end of Christ’s undertaking might be infallibly secured. Had the event been left at uncertainties in the divine counsels, to depend upon the contingent turn of man’s will, Christ might have been the first-born among but few or no brethren—a captain without soldiers and a prince without subjects—to prevent which, and to secure to him many brethren, the decree is absolute, the thing ascertained, that he might be sure to see his seed, there is a remnant predestinated to be conformed to his image, which decree will certainly have its accomplishment in the holiness and happiness of that chosen race; and so, in spite of all the opposition of the powers of darkness, Christ will be the first-born among many, very many brethren.

In his third of six sermons from 1983 on these verses, John MacArthur says:

So, “all things work together for good.”  Nothing can stand in the way of that.  We’re just moving toward glory.  You say, “Who does that apply to?”  Them that love God.  Who are they?  Oh, they’re the ones who have in their heart’s deepest desire the longing to commune with God, to glorify God, to obey God and even though they fall short, it’s their heart’s desire.  That’s the group that this promise belongs to.  But how do you get to be like that?  I mean, how do you get in that group?  Oh you have to be, what, called.  That’s right.  God has to predetermine to set His love upon you.

Now I don’t understand the mystery of that.  I just know it’s what He says.  You say, “Well, how does He know who to do that to?”  Oh it’s according to His what? His purpose established before the world began.  He predetermined to do that.  Someday you can ask Him why.  I don’t know if you’ll get an answer. But we don’t know.  I’ll tell you something wonderful.  You say, “Well, what if He changes His mind? What if He gets me halfway through and says, ‘I made a mistake?  This guy’s not worth the trouble.'”  Here’s a little hope for you, Romans 11:29.  Romans 11:29 says, are you ready for this?  “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”  What does that mean?  What does repentance mean?  Change.  Turn around, go the other direction, change your mind.  A calling of God can never be changed.  Never.

In his fourth sermon, MacArthur discusses the rest of the verse:

I want you to look at verse 29 now.  This is so wonderful.  Now here we find the purpose of salvation.  Let me give you two thoughts if we have time … :  the purpose of salvation, the progress of salvation.  The purpose: It says in verse 29 midway through, “To be conformed to the image of His Son, that He,” that is the Son, capital H, “might be the firstborn among many brothers.”  Now that’s the purpose of salvation.  The purpose of salvation is that we would be conformed to the image of God’s Son, that He, that is the Son, might be the prōtotokos, and I’ll explain that Greek word in a moment, among many brethren.

Now here we have a secondary and a primary phrase in this purpose.  Let’s look at the secondary one.  It says that we have been called according to His purpose, and His purpose is to conform us to the image of His Son.  Now listen to me.  You were saved, time past, to be made like whom?  Christ.  And all of life is just a moving toward that, that ultimate reality of being like Him.  You see God’s plan was to save men to make them like Christ, and if men could be saved and become lost and never become like Christ then they couldn’t be saved because they were saved to be like Christ.  That is God’s covenant with Himself.  That is His eternal purpose.  Forgiveness of sin, the removal of guilt, the gifts of love and peace and joy and wisdom, all of those things are only a part of the reality of salvation.  Even heaven is only a part.  The real goal is that we be conformed to the image of His Son.  In other words, watch this one, God is redeeming an eternally holy, Christ-like, glorified race of humanity.

That’s why we were redeemed and when you believed, that process of being conformed to Christ began, and it must be fulfilled.  That is God’s holy purpose.  That’s why we read back in verse 24, “We are saved in hope.”  “We are saved in hope.”  That’s why we read in verse 17, that “we are children, and if we are children then we are heirs.”  If you are ever a child of God, then you are an heir of God, and if you are an heir of God, you are “a joint-heir with Christ since we suffer with Him that we may be also (What?) glorified together with Him.”  The same idea; we were made sons that we might be heirs and our inheritance is to be like Christ and to inherit all that belongs to Him.  It’s tremendous; it’s absolutely tremendous.

… And so when we go to glory we’re going to receive a glorious body that works in the same environment and according to the same principles as does the resurrected glorified body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I think it’s even more than that. I think we’re not only going to be like Him in whatever that glorified body is, but I think we’re going to be like Him in the spiritual dimension as well. We will be outwardly perfect and we will be inwardly perfect.

And so residing in us will be the very holiness of Jesus Christ. The divine, incorruptible nature given to us at redemption will be freed from the encumbrance of the humanness which we now possess, and we’ll [be] liberated, as it says in this chapter, unto the glorious liberation of the children of God. We will be delivered from the bondage of corruption, back in verse 21, and so we will have an outward appearance like that of Jesus Christ, and an inward holiness like that of Jesus Christ.

I mean, I’ve heard of wanting to be like your hero, but that’s just incomprehensible. But that’s what it says.  The word is “image,” interesting word, conformed to the image, icon. You might have heard of an icon, which is a statue made to look like someone.  This is not an incidental image.  This is not an accidental image.  This is a calculated image.  It is a replicated image.  It is a derived likeness.  It is used of a son who is the image of his father.  How about Hebrews 1, where it says God has spoken by His Son who is the expressed image of His person.  And so we are not going to be accidentally in the image of Christ; we are going to be directly replicated in His image.  It’s just a marvelous thing to think about.  And it’s what John had in mind when he said, “We’ll see Him and be like Him, for we’ll see Him as He is” … 

The glory of the Son then is the end of salvation and the ultimate objective in bringing us to His image is that we may be able to give Him the glory who is most glorious, who is most glorious.  Just the idea that He is the prōtotokos among many brethren is beautiful.  He didn’t have to make us His brethren.  He could have made us His servants.  He didn’t have to bring us all the way into the family, but He did. 

MacArthur says this about foreknowledge:

… we say this:  God foresees faith, He foresees who is going to believe, but the faith that He foresees is the faith that He Himself creates.  The faith that He foresees is the faith that He Himself creates.  You want to hear it in the words of Jesus?  John 6, “No man comes unto me except the Father draw him.  All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me.”  We’re born again not of the will of men, but of the will of God.  It is not of ourselves, “it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast,” Ephesians 2:8-9.  The Bible is very clear on that.

So God does foresee the faith, but it is the faith that He Himself creates.  This is illustrated in Acts 13:48 … “And when the Gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord.”  They heard Paul and Barnabas preaching, and listen, “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed,”  Acts 13:48.  “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”  What were they ordained to?  Eternal life.  You can’t have a salvation that doesn’t end in eternal life.  You can’t have a salvation that doesn’t ultimately end in glory.  You can’t have a salvation that doesn’t ultimately end in the person being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, a part of a redeemed humanity for the purpose of exalting the One who is over and above them.  And the reason they believed was because they were ordained to that.

So we go a step further with foreknowledge then, and we say that it not only has the idea of foresight, that God can see what’s going to happen, but it also has the idea secondly of foreordination.  That He not only sees what’s going to happen, but He ordains what’s going to happen.  He not only sees the faith, but the faith He sees is the faith that He Himself creates.  It’s a clear choice on His part.  And this is indeed what the Bible teaches.

Paul enters into more fundamental Christian doctrine, saying that those whom God predestined, He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified (verse 30).

Henry explains:

II. Whom he did predestinate those he also called, not only with the external call (so many are called that were not chosen, Matt 20 16; 22 14), but with the internal and effectual call. The former comes to the ear only, but this to the heart. All that God did from eternity predestinate to grace and glory he does, in the fulness of time, effectually call. The call is then effectual when we come at the call; and we then come at the call when the Spirit draws us, convinces the conscience of guilt and wrath, enlightens the understanding, bows the will, persuades and enables us to embrace Christ in the promises, makes us willing in the day of his power. It is an effectual call from self and earth to God, and Christ, and heaven, as our end—from sin and vanity to grace, and holiness, and seriousness as our way. This is the gospel call. Them he called, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand: we are called to that to which we were chosen. So that the only way to make our election sure is to make sure our calling, 2 Pet 1 10.

III. Whom he called those he also justified. All that are effectually called are justified, absolved from guilt, and accepted as righteous through Jesus Christ. They are recti in curia—right in court; no sin that ever they have been guilty of shall come against them, to condemn them. The book is crossed, the bond cancelled, the judgment vacated, the attainder reversed; and they are no longer dealt with as criminals, but owned and loved as friends and favourites. Blessed is the man whose iniquity is thus forgiven. None are thus justified but those that are effectually called. Those that stand it out against the gospel call abide under guilt and wrath.

IV. Whom he justified those he also glorified. The power of corruption being broken in effectual calling, and the guilt of sin removed in justification, all that which hinders is taken out of the way, and nothing can come between that soul and glory. Observe, It is spoken of as a thing done: He glorified, because of the certainty of it; he hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling. In the eternal glorification of all the elect, God’s design of love has its full accomplishment. This was what he aimed at all along—to bring them to heaven. Nothing less than that glory would make up the fulness of his covenant relation to them as God; and therefore, in all he does for them, and in them, he has this in his eye. Are they chosen? It is to salvation. Called? It is to his kingdom and glory. Begotten again? It is to an inheritance incorruptible. Afflicted: It is to work for them this exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Observe, The author of all these is the same. It is God himself that predestinated, calleth, justifieth, glorifieth; so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him. Created wills are so very fickle, and created powers so very feeble, that, if any of these did depend upon the creature, the whole would shake. But God himself hath undertaken the doing of it from first to last, that we might abide in a constant dependence upon him and subjection to him, and ascribe all the praise to him—that every crown may be cast before the throne. This is a mighty encouragement to our faith and hope; for, as for God, his way, his work, is perfect. He that hath laid the foundation will build upon it, and the top-stone will at length be brought forth with shoutings, and it will be our eternal work to cry, Grace, grace to it.

MacArthur adds:

You want to know something?  Your glory is so secure God speaks of it in the same breath, in the same tense that He spoke of your salvation.  And your salvation was so secure that He uses the same tense to speak of your calling and your justification as He used to speak of your predestination.  In other words, in one great moment of eternal time, and I know that’s a conundrum, but I can’t think in any other terms, God said it is done.  And in the moment that God predetermined to love you, your glorification was so secure He could speak of it as if it already happened.  Marvelous thought, glorious thought.  You were saved unto glory and all things are working toward that.  That’s His purpose, to make you like Christ, so that you could be a part of a redeemed humanity, over and above whom Jesus Christ would be the prōtotokos, the preeminent one, and to Him you will give your praise and your glory forever and ever.  And the plan worked this way:  Before the world began He predetermined to set His love upon you and foreordained your salvation in time and moved in, called you away from your sin, and lostness, made you right with Himself through Jesus Christ and set you to glory.  Beloved that is our security.  That’s our security.

Paul then asks (verse 31) what are we to say about these things and ‘If God is for us, who is against us?’

Henry elaborates:

The apostle closes this excellent discourse upon the privileges of believers with a holy triumph, in the name of all the saints. Having largely set forth the mystery of God’s love to us in Christ, and the exceedingly great and precious privileges we enjoy by him, he concludes like an orator: What shall we then say to these things? What use shall we make of all that has been said? He speaks as one amazed and swallowed up with the contemplation and admiration of it, wondering at the height and depth, and length and breadth, of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. The more we know of other things the less we wonder at them; but the further we are led into an acquaintance with gospel mysteries the more we are affected with the admiration of them. If Paul was at a loss what to say to these things, no marvel if we be. And what does he say? Why, if ever Paul rode in a triumphant chariot on this side of heaven, here it was: with such a holy height and bravery of spirit, with such a fluency and copiousness of expression, does he here comfort himself and all the people of God, upon the consideration of these privileges. In general, he here makes a challenge, throws down the gauntlet, as it were, dares all the enemies of the saints to do their worst: If God be for us, who can be against us? The ground of the challenge is God’s being for us; in this he sums up all our privileges. This includes all, that God is for us; not only reconciled to us, and so not against us, but in covenant with us, and so engaged for us—all his attributes for us, his promises for us. All that he is, and has, and does, is for his people. He performs all things for them. He is for them, even when he seems to act against them. And, if so, who can be against us, so as to prevail against us, so as to hinder our happiness? Be they ever so great and strong, ever so many, ever so might, ever so malicious, what can they do? While God is for us, and we keep in his love, we may with a holy boldness defy all the powers of darkness. Let Satan do his worst, he is chained; let the world do its worst, it is conquered: principalities and powers are spoiled and disarmed, and triumphed over, in the cross of Christ. Who then dares fight against us, while God himself is fighting for us?

In his fifth sermon, MacArthur posits that the verse is there to counter objections as to the security of our salvation:

I think the phrase “these things” simply refers to the truths about our eternal security. It could go beyond that and encompass the whole doctrine of justification by faith because that doctrine includes security as well. But I think he’s particularly emphasizing the fact that we are eternally secure once we’re redeemed. How do we respond? Well, in the back of his mind, he knows that some are going to object to that.

Some people are going to say, “No, we’re not secure. We can lose our salvation. We could commit certain sins or God could to certain things or the devil could do certain things or Christ might be upset with us because of the way we’re living. Maybe demons or temptation from the world or the flesh could encroach upon us and we could choose to walk away from the things of God in disobedience. We might even change our mind about things.

We might be tempted to be drawn away. And so the objector will say, “Well, there is a possibility that we could lose, so we object to that doctrine.” And so Paul wants to answer that objector. In fact, the objections that Paul deals with are obvious and very comprehensive. Basically, they could be divided into two categories.

Some people object and say, yes, you can lose your salvation because there are certain persons who could take it away. Secondly, there are certain circumstances that could cause it to be rejected. Or you can only have persons or circumstances. And so in that sense, his argument is rather comprehensive. Let’s talk about persons. Are there any persons anywhere who could remove our salvation under any circumstances? Verses 31 to 34 deals with that. Let’s pick it up again in verse 31. “What shall we say then to these things?” What’s our response? Well somebody might come along and say, “Well, God could always take it back. Or maybe the devil could take it back.”

In other words, if we fall prey to Satan, he would put us in a position where we would forfeit our salvation and God would remove it because we’ve chosen to disobey. And so his response that anticipated objection, without ever stating the objection, he just says, “If God be for us,” what? “Who can be against us?” And that’s the way he deals with that objection. Well somebody might take away our salvation. And so he says, “Well, if God is for us,” here it comes, “who,” just who could do that?

I mean, the who, who did that would have to overcome the God who was for us. Whoever it is that’s against our salvation would have to overcome the God who’s for it, right? You know any person who can overcome God? That’s a tremendous statement. Is there any person anywhere in the universe who can remove our no- condemnation status? Is there anyone who’s stronger than God? Is there anyone who’s greater than God? Is there anyone who’s purer than God? Is there anyone who has a higher standard than God, a more holy obligation than God, a greater law than God?

Is there anyone beyond God who can take away our salvation or cause it to be removed? …

He says, well, if God’s for us, who could possibly successfully be against us? And that’s the idea. Who could possibly, successfully be against us? …

God is for us. And because God is for us, no one, no time, under any circumstance, can successfully be against us. We are ultimately — mark it somewhere, will you? — we are ultimately invincible. We are ultimately invincible.

By way of an answer to verse 31, Paul says (verse 32) that God did not withhold His own Son from us but gave Him up for all of us, therefore, how will He not with Him also give us everything else?

Henry interprets the verse for us:

Who can be against us, to strip us, to deprive us of our comforts? Who can cut off our streams, while we have a fountain to go to? 1. Observe what God has done for us, on which our hopes are built: He spared not his own Son. When he was to undertake our salvation, the Father was willing to part with him, did not think him too precious a gift to bestow for the salvation of poor souls; now we may know that he loves us, in that he hath not withheld his Son, his own Son, his only Son, from us, as he said of Abraham, Gen 22 12. If nothing less will save man, rather than man shall perish let him go, though it were out of his bosom. Thus did he deliver him up for us all, that is, for all the elect; for us all, not only for our good, but in our stead, as a sacrifice of atonement to be a propitiation for sin. When he had undertaken it, he did not spare him. Though he was his own Son, yet, being made sin for us, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. Ouk epheisato—he did not abate him a farthing of that great debt, but charged it home. Awake, O sword. He did not spare his own Son that served him, that he might spare us, though we have done him so much disservice. 2. What we may therefore expect he will do: He will with him freely give us all things. (1.) It is implied that he will give us Christ, for other things are bestowed with him: not only with him given for us, but with him given to us. He that put himself to so much charge to make the purchase for us surely will not hesitate at making the application to us. (2.) He will with him freely give us all things, all things that he sees to be needful and necessary for us, all good things, and more we should not desire, Ps 34 10. And Infinite Wisdom shall be the judge whether it be good for us and needful for us or no. Freely give—freely, without reluctancy; he is ready to give, meets us with his favours;—and freely, without recompence, without money, and without price. How shall he not? Can it be imagined that he should do the greater and not do the less? that he should give so great a gift for us when we were enemies, and should deny us any good thing, now that through him we are friends and children? Thus may we by faith argue against our fears of want. He that hath prepared a crown and kingdom for us will be sure to give us enough to bear our charges in the way to it. He that hath designed us for the inheritance of sons when we come to age will not let us want necessaries in the mean time.

MacArthur says the same thing, adding:

It’s a very typical argument of Paul’s.  It’s an argument from the greater to the lesser.  That’s its essential character, very typical.

And he is saying, if God loved us enough when we were wretched, vile sinners, to give His only Son on the cross to redeem us, won’t He give less things than the gift of His Son to keep us?  I mean, if He would do that to save us, wouldn’t He do whatever it takes to keep us that’s less than that?  That’s Paul’s argument.

Now you have to keep this in mind that the reason God gave His Son for us is very simple, one basic primary over-arching motive.  It is this.  “God so” what? “Loved…that He gave His only begotten Son,” John 3:16.  God gave His Son because He loved.  And He loved us when we were wretched.  He loved us when we hated Him. He loved us so much He gave the greatest thing that He could give.  He gave Himself in the form of His Son on the cross.  His love is so strong.  His love is so far beyond our ability to conceive that He gave His Son to save us.  Will not love that would do that do lesser things to keep us?  Like forgive our sins? You see, the Father having given the most in our salvation, the Father having given the best in our salvation, knows no way to hold back the rest.  He knows no way to hold it back.  Having given the best, how can He give the least?  To do so would defy the character of His love that gave the most to begin with, and also would undo the work which Christ did.

I mean, do you think really that God would give His Son to die on a cross, to redeem men, and then take away the salvation the Son paid the price to purchase?  Hardly, hardly.  I want you to notice verse 32: “He that spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, will He not also, with Him, give us” the rest?  If He would do that to save us, won’t He do whatever it takes less than that to keep us? …

The Father delivered the Son to Satan, for it was Satan who had in his hand the power of what?  Of death.  And so He was delivered to the power of darkness.  And that is why on the cross He said, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?”  God gave Him over to Satan for Satan to use the weapon that he has, which is death, to execute the Son of God for the sins of the whole world.

Second Corinthians 5 says, “He,” that is God, “made Him,” that is Christ, “to be sin for us.”  You get that?  Why did He do that for us?  Because He what?  ‘Cause he loved us.  Why did He love us?  Don’t ask me.  Only He knows.  Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ was made a curse for us.” And the point is simple.  Galatians 1:4: “Who gave Himself for our sins.”

If He would give Himself for us — if the Father would give Him for us, if He would deliver Him over to the devil to be killed for us, will He not do less than that to keep us saved?  That’s absolutely apparent.  There’s no argument against that kind of thinking.  There is a little kind of a…I suppose you could call it a free verse poem that expresses that thought.  “Who delivered Jesus to die?  Not Judas for money.  Not Pilate for fear.  Not Jews for envy.  The Father for love.”

And it says in verse 32, “He did it for us all.”  Can I be so… so bold in this particular text to say that the prepositions that appear here or the form that appears here “for us all” does not just stop with the idea “for our benefit,” but carries the implication also of “in our place”? So that you see “for us all”, although you can’t really see it in the Greek grammar, it’s inherent in the act of Christ that “for us all” means “in our place.”  And there is vicarious death there.  You say, “Who’s the “us”?”  Well the “us” must be the same “us” in verse 31, “If God be for us,” and the “us” in verse 31 must be the “us” of verse 28, “All things work together for good of them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose.  The ones He foreknew, predestinated, called, justified, and glorified.”

So the “us” is the “us” of those who believe, the redeemed.  He delivered Him for us, for all believers.  And how shall He not also give us all things.  “All things” there at the end of the verse means all spiritual blessings.  Ephesians 1:3, “He’s blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies.”  People miss that verse; that’s a great verse on security, too.

I shall continue tomorrow beginning at verse 33.

May all reading this enjoy a blessed week ahead.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity — Year A — exegesis on the Epistle, Romans 8:26-39, part 1

July 26, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 comments

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity — the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — is July 26, 2026.

Readings for Year A can be found here.

The Epistle is as follows (emphases mine):

Romans 8:26-39

Nothing can separate us from God’s love

8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.

8:27 And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.

8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

8:31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

8:32 He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else?

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

8:34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

8:37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.

8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur (as indicated below).

In Year A, the Lectionary editors take us through a thorough study of Paul’s letter to the Romans.

A fortnight ago, the Epistle reading was from Romans 6:12-23, in which Paul lays out the believer’s transformation from being a slave to sin to becoming a slave to Christ, through grace and the Holy Spirit, helping us to become obedient in all things. The Spirit takes us on a journey through sanctification, which brings us closer to God as we obey His holy and perfect Son.

In 2020, I wrote about the first half of Romans 7 for my Forbidden — Essential — Bible Verses series:

Romans 7:1-3 – God’s law, law belongs to the living, marriage

Romans 7:4-6 – God’s law, sin, fruits of faith, Jesus, Holy Spirit

Romans 7:7-14 – God’s law, sin, conviction, moral commandments, Ten Commandments

Three weeks ago, in Romans 7:15-25a, we heard Paul’s discussion of his — and our individual — daily struggle against sin. While our souls are redeemed, our bodies are still a source of sin. Sanctification, which Paul was deeply experiencing when he wrote these verses, encourages us to loathe our sins. When we die, the souls of the believers go to live in heavenly eternity. The body dies and is at rest until the Second Coming, when it will become glorified and be reunited with the soul in heaven.

In the following week’s Epistle, Romans 8:1-11 (see here and here), Paul described what living in the Spirit is like and told us of the hope to come in bodily resurrection.

Last Sunday’s Epistle was Romans 8:12-25 (see here and here), in which Paul discussed believers’ adoption as children of God, thanks to the Holy Spirit leading us. The latter part of the reading goes into the longing that believers and creation have for the kingdom to come, when both shall be made perfect once again.

Paul continues his discussion of that longing — ‘Likewise’ — by saying that the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought to do, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words (verse 26).

I shall start with the groanings, which Matthew Henry‘s commentary explains in view of prayer:

With groanings that cannot be uttered. The strength and fervency of those desires which the Holy Spirit works are hereby intimated. There may be praying in the Spirit where there is not a word spoken; as Moses prayed (Exod 14 15), and Hannah, 1 Sam 1 13. It is not the rhetoric and eloquence, but the faith and fervency, of our prayers, that the Spirit works, as an intercessor, in us. Cannot be uttered; they are so confused, the soul is in such a hurry with temptations and troubles, we know not what to say, nor how to express ourselves. Here is the Spirit interceding with groans that cannot be uttered. When we can but cry, Abba, Father, and refer ourselves to him with a holy humble boldness, this is the work of the Spirit.

In addressing our ignorance in prayer, Henry points out that Paul humbly includes himself in that category:

We know not what we should pray for as we ought. (1.) As to the matter of our requests, we know not what to ask. We are not competent judges of our own condition. Who knows what is good for a man in this life? Eccl 6 12. We are short-sighted, and very much biassed in favour of the flesh, and apt to separate the end from the way. You know not what you ask, Matt 20 22. We are like foolish children, that are ready to cry for fruit before it is ripe and fit for them; see Luke 9 54, 55. (2.) As to the manner, we know not how to pray as we ought. It is not enough that we do that which is good, but we must do it well, seek in a due order; and here we are often at a loss—graces are weak, affections cold, thoughts wandering, and it is not always easy to find the heart to pray, 2 Sam 7 27. The apostle speaks of this in the first person: We know not. He puts himself among the rest. Folly, and weakness, and distraction in prayer, are what all the saints are complaining of. If so great a saint as Paul knew not what to pray for, what little reason have we to go forth about that duty in our own strength!

In one of his six sermons from 1983 on these verses, John MacArthur addresses the security that the believer should have in the three Persons of the Trinity:

… the Trinity secures the believer.  That’s a great theological truth.

The Trinity — that is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, are all involved in securing the believer.  Now first of all, the Bible teaches us that God the Father secures us.  Many texts — one that you’re perhaps unfamiliar with is 2 Corinthians 1:21.  “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” …

God, the Father knows who belongs to Him.  And whoever belongs to Him, belongs to Him forever.  Great truth.  So we are secured in the security of God the Father.  Secondly, we are secured in the security of God the Son.  God the Son is involved in that.

Look at 1 Corinthians 1.  Not 2 Corinthians this time, but 1 Corinthians 1.  And listen to this.  It says in verse 6 that “The testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.”  The testimony of Christ confirmed in you.  Now follow this.  “So that you come behind in no gift,” listen now, “waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now, we have received the testimony of Christ.  It was confirmed in us.  We now wait for His coming.  We have already been justified.  We wait to be glorified.  And it says, “The Lord Jesus Christ who shall also confirm you unto the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Isn’t that great?

Christ Himself confirms us, that we may be held blameless until the day of Jesus Christ.  You say, “What if I sin?”  Your sin is immediately covered and you’re held blameless.  Your sin is paid for by Christ.  You’re held blameless.  So we are sealed by the Father, we are confirmed by the Son.  Just a marvelous, marvelous truth.

And then God the Holy Spirit gets involved also.  Ephesians 1 says in verse 13, “We are sealed with the Holy Spirit.”  God seals our security by the agency of the Holy Spirit.  But note this, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “And the God of peace sanctify you holy.  And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

MacArthur discusses the groanings of the Holy Spirit:

The creation groans. The believer groans. And the Holy Spirit groans. And here we find the Holy Spirit who is involved in this groaning process, sighing over the undesirable fallenness of man and the earth and the universe, longing for the glorious liberation of the children of God, as verse 21 calls it, longing for the manifestation of the sons of God, as verse 19 labels it.

And we come, then, to verses 26 and 27 to finish up our look at the inexpressible groans for glory, the groaning of the Holy Spirit. Now this section is profound. It’s so profound that we really don’t understand it ultimately. We can sort of play around on the surface. But we don’t really understand these groanings. We’ll do the best we can. It is a deep passage. It is a profound one. It is a rich one …

The Holy Spirit is there groaning the same groan because He understands …

Look at the verse 26 and we’ll start there, the word “likewise,” “likewise.” Just like creation and believers, just like we groan, the Spirit, also.

… our fallenness and our humanness is as much a concern of the Spirit of God as it is our concern. And that when we groan and say, “Oh God, this is a debilitating way to live. I long that my spirit should be set free and that I should ascend to the full capability of the redeemed soul. I want to get rid of this flesh, this humanness that binds me down and trips me up,” the Spirit is no less groaning the same groan. That’s wonderfully comforting to me …

So listen, our security is not simply something that was planned sometime and just happens because it was planned. It was planned. And a salvation that is secure was given us by Christ. God planned the secure salvation. Christ gave a secure salvation. And the Holy Spirit works it out.

In other words, you’re secure not just because of a plan, and not just because of a gift, but because of a plan, because of a gift, and because the Spirit of God maintains that. If for one moment, the Spirit of God took His hand off my life, I would lose my security no matter what the plan of God was. There is an ongoing work of the Spirit of God that fits in here. And we don’t want to miss that …

God makes the plan and the Son and the Spirit carry the plan out. And there is no plan if They don’t do Their work. You understand that? I mean if for one moment Jesus stopped cleansing you from your sin, you’d go to hell even though you had made a faith commitment to Christ.

That’s why 1 John 1:9 says that we are the ones confessing our sins and He is still faithful to keep on, what?  Cleansing us from sin.  You see, there has to be a constant cleansing work.  There has to be a constant intercession on our behalf.  There has to be a constant groaning of the Spirit of God.  So we are being kept saved.  It isn’t just in the plan.  It’s worked out by the Son and the Spirit.

MacArthur tells us that we do not know how to pray as we ought because, as Henry says, we lack the right content but also we cannot discern the future:

We don’t know what to pray for. We’re going through suffering. We’ve got struggles with sin and the weakness of our flesh. We don’t know the future. We can’t know what to pray for. “Lord, don’t let me do this. Don’t let me do that.” We don’t know. We can’t see an hour ahead, a minute ahead. We don’t know how to pray. We don’t have the right content. It doesn’t mean we don’t know how to get on our knees or hold our hands. It doesn’t mean we don’t know how to say, “Dear Lord,” and “Amen.” It’s not talking about form. It’s talking about content.

We know now what we should pray for. We don’t know how to pray to keep ourselves safe. We don’t know how to defend ourselves. We don’t know how to pray, ’cause we don’t know what’s coming …

The Spirit helps our infirmities. That’s a comprehensive word. It simply means our weaknesses, our weaknesses. That’s our fallenness. Not just our weak prayers, but our whole weak existence. Our whole human problem of being in this flesh, this mortal body, this sinful state. How can we keep ourselves saved? We can’t, because we don’t even know what to pray for. That’s such an important truth. And I don’t know that Christians really understand that. You see, this is the problem. When we have taught in years past eternal security, we sort of say, “Well, if you’re saved here it’s in the plan, you’re okay forever.” And we have agreed that that is, in fact, true. But we have missed, somehow, the marvelous corresponding truths that the reason that is so is because of the continual intercessory work of the Son and the Spirit.

And so we should be offering praise to the Son who intercedes on our behalf and prays for us when Satan would have us. And we should also be grateful that the Spirit of God also helps our weakness …

How does the Holy Spirit intercede for us?  This is tremendous.  He makes intercession.

Intercession?  What does that mean?  Let me see if I can give you just a basic understanding of the Greek term.  It’s a compound…multiple compound word. It starts with two prepositions and then you have a word, a verb.  It basically means — if I can put it in simple terms — to rescue someone who finds himself in trouble and has no resources to escape it.  It is to rescue someone who finds himself in trouble and has no resource to escape.  Now this gives you a whole different understanding of the heavenly conflict.

This is why Satan continues to work so furiously on believers and to attack so furiously those who name the name of Christ.  And this is why Satan doesn’t just back off and say, “Well, the plan is settled.  I mean, the person’s a Christian.  Leave him alone.  We can’t do a thing about it.”  But even Satan knows that we are being kept by the power of Christ.  We are being kept by the power of the Spirit.  And so he wars against the Spirit.  And he wars against the living Christ.

Every way he can with all the hosts of hell that are available so that he may at some point debilitate their keeping work, you see.  And so Christ is not just having died on the cross now in heaven kicking back and watching everything sort of fall into line.  He is working to uphold all things, including redemptive things.  And the Spirit of God is not finished.  He didn’t all of a sudden stop doing things when the age of miracles ended at the apostolic era.  No, no, no.

He continues in marvelous, miraculous, supernatural ways to carry on the keeping ministry. How does He do it?  He makes intercession.  He makes intercession.  He pleads the power of God.  He comes to us with power to rescue us when we would have no resource for rescue.  And would you notice there’s an emphasis in verse 26, “The Spirit Himself,” autos.  “The Spirit Himself.  The Spirit Himself.”  It’s His work.  Bless the Spirit.  Blessed Spirit.  The Spirit Himself.  That’s important in interpreting this.

Paul continues his Trinitarian thought, adding — ‘And’ — God, who searches hearts, knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (verse 27).

Henry tells us that this should be a source of comfort to the believer:

To a hypocrite, all whose religion lies in his tongue, nothing is more dreadful than that God searches the heart and sees through all his disguises. To a sincere Christian, who makes heart-work of his duty, nothing is more comfortable than that God searches the heart, for then he will hear and answer those desires which we want words to express. He knows what we have need of before we ask, Matt 6 8. He knows what is the mind of his own Spirit in us. And, as he always hears the Son interceding for us, so he always hears the Spirit interceding in us, because his intercession is according to the will of God. What could have been done more for the comfort of the Lord’s people, in all their addresses to God? Christ had said, “Whatever you ask the Father according to his will he will give it you.” But how shall we learn to ask according to his will? Why, the Spirit will teach us that. Therefore it is that the seed of Jacob never seek in vain.

MacArthur shows us how verse 27 ties in with verse 26:

Now let’s go to verse 27.  This is absolutely thrilling.  Verse 26, we have the Spirit interceding for us.  Verse 27, we find out what happens.  “And He that searcheth the hearts.”  Who’s that?  Want to know who it is?  Listen.  First Samuel 16:7, “Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord,” what?  “Looks at the heart” …

Verse 27: “God hears.” “And He that searches the hearts,” that’s God. That’s just a name for God, the heart searcher. “He knows what is the mind of the Spirit.” You say, “Does God hear the Spirit?” That’s what it’s saying. Yeah. In the inter-Trinitarian communion, God hears the Spirit. Nothing’s lost.

It would be one thing for the Spirit to be interceding for us. It’d be another thing if God wasn’t listening. But He is. He hears everything. And then this, “Because the Spirit makes intercession for the saints according to,” what? “The will of God.” Great thought. You may not know the will of God. He does. You may not know how to pray. He does. Comforting, isn’t it?

You ever read in the Bible, “Pray in the Spirit”? You know what that means? That doesn’t mean flip out. You know what pray in the Spirit means? Learn to pray according to the will of God like the Spirit prays; that’s what it means. Pray in the Spirit. The Spirit always prays according to the will of God. God always knows what the Spirit’s praying, ’cause He’s always praying in accord with His will. Why? Because in the Trinity there is perfect harmony.

So the Spirit intercedes according to God’s will. The Son intercedes according to God’s will. And God hears and understands all their intercession; therefore, responds and by their interceding ministries, we are kept.

Paul says we (believers) know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose (verse 28).

Both our commentators recognise that each of us suffers in this life and we sometimes wonder why and how what we are going through can end up being good.

Henry tells us:

II. The concurrence of all providences for the good of those that are Christ’s, v. 28. It might be objected that, notwithstanding all these privileges, we see believers compassed about with manifold afflictions; though the Spirit makes intercession for them, yet their troubles are continued. It is very true; but in this the Spirit’s intercession is always effectual, that, however it goes with them, all this is working together for their good. Observe here.

1. The character of the saints, who are interested in this privilege; they are here described by such properties as are common to all that are truly sanctified. (1.) They love God. This includes all the out-goings of the soul’s affections towards God as the chief good and highest end. It is our love to God that makes every providence sweet, and therefore profitable. Those that love God make the best of all he does, and take all in good part. (2.) They are the called according to his purpose, effectually called according to the eternal purpose. The call is effectual, not according to any merit or desert of ours, but according to God’s own gracious purpose.

2. The privilege of the saints, that all things work together for good to them, that is, all the providences of God that concern them. All that God performs he performs for them, Ps 57 2. Their sins are not of his performing, therefore not intended here, though his permitting sin is made to work for their good, 2 Chron 32 31. But all the providences of God are theirs—merciful providences, afflicting providences, personal, public. They are all for good; perhaps for temporal good, as Joseph’s troubles; at least, for spiritual and eternal good. That is good for them which does their souls good. Either directly or indirectly, every providence has a tendency to the spiritual good of those that love God, breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning them from the world, fitting them for heaven. Work together. They work, as physic works upon the body, various ways, according to the intention of the physician; but all for the patient’s good. They work together, as several ingredients in a medicine concur to answer the intention. God hath set the one over against the other (Eccl 7 14): synergei, a very singular, with a noun plural, denoting the harmony of Providence and its uniform designs, all the wheels as one wheel, Ezek 10 13. He worketh all things together for good; so some read it. It is not from any specific quality in the providences themselves, but from the power and grace of God working in, with, and by, these providences. All this we know—know it for a certainty, from the word of God, from our own experience, and from the experience of all the saints.

In his second sermon on these verses, MacArthur continues the theme of eternal security, our assurance of salvation:

And so we’re secure because of all that the Spirit of God does for us. And because of that, listen, beloved, because of that, “we know that all things work together” for what?  For good … It’s because God said so, and the Spirit of God makes it so.

Now, this great text is a promise.  It is the most glorious promise imaginable.  I mean it’s breathtaking, staggering, and it needs our close and careful attention.  It is brief, but it is heavy laden with the gold of divine truth.  It is so precious.  It is so valuable that its price is absolutely incalculable.  This one promise is absolutely unbelievable.  You would never believe it to be true. And as we talk about it, you’ll stagger your way through a comprehension of its vastness.

Now, I want to share with you four elements of the promise of security in verse 28: The extent of it, the recipients of it, the source of it, and the certainty of it.  Let’s talk about the extent of our security.  By the way, verse 28, really, in a way, sums up the whole chapter.  It boils it down to one incredible promise; and I want you to see the extent of this promise.  Now, listen.  I’m gonna pull a phrase out.  “All things work together for good.”  That’s the extent.  That’s how far reaching our security is.  That is a comforting statement.  There could never be, in my mind, a more reassuring statement than that to a believer.  There is nothing that I could imagine that could bring more hope and more joy and more trust and more confidence and more happiness and more freedom to a Christian than to know that, no matter what the pain, what the problem, what the trial, what the tribulation, what the anxiety, it all works together for good.

It’s a staggering thought.  The extent of this thing is beyond our ability to grasp.  It is comprehensive.  The context, by the way, puts no limits on the all things.  None.  There are no confining factors.  It doesn’t say, “all suffering” or “all trouble” or “all good things” or “all righteousness.”  It says, “all things.”  It is unqualified in its comprehension.  It’s the same all things, for example, of 2 Corinthians 4:15, which says, “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God” …

And then look at Romans 8:32, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us (What?) all things?”  Same all things.  Yeah, all things, whatever the extent of our life situation, whatever the extremity, whatever the difficulty, whatever…whatever the pain, the problem, the intensity, whatever the overwhelming character of our trouble, whatever, whatever, whatever it is, it all works together for good.

The word “work together” is an interesting word.  It’s the word sunerge.  We get the word “synergism” from it.  “Synergism” is to bring all things together for a common goal or purpose, function.  Everything in life is brought in a marvelously divine synergism to come together to accomplish an ultimate end.

Thomas Watson, the wonderful Puritan, suggested that the term can refer to medicine. And he likened it to a person who was a pharmacist or an apothecary who would take several poisonous ingredients, put them together, temper by the skill that he had learned, and out of that would come medicine to heal the sick. And so it is that God can take all the various poisons, all the various good and bad things of life, and bring them together in a divine, medicinal synergism, and cause them to be for the ultimate healing and wholeness of the soul …

Now you say, “Are you telling me, John, that all things are in themselves good?”  No, it doesn’t say that.  Doesn’t say all things are in themselves good.  It says, “All things (What?) work together for good.”  No, all things in themselves are not good.  Many things are bad, but even those work together for good.  Boy, that is just, in my heart, the greatest thrill imaginable.  Doesn’t matter what happens.  Doesn’t matter what happens.

Now, what do we mean by good?  What kind of good is this?  Well, interestingly enough, it’s a very important Greek word,  agathon.  We get Agatha from it, which is a name, means goodness.  Agathon basically means “that which is morally or inherently good,” that which is, in and of itself, good qualitatively.  The other Greek word most common for good is kalos. Kalos means good on the outside, nice to look at. And so on the one hand you have outward goodness.  On the other, you have that inward goodness, and the word here is agathos, which is to say it is ultimately and intrinsically and morally good, not just superficially good.

In fact, the truth is, it may be superficially bad.  On the surface, it may not look good at all; but, ultimately, there will be inherent in it good. So this is the truest kind of goodness.  Paul chooses the right term.  It is the purest, truest kind of goodness.  Now let me give you a thought.  When he says, “All things work together for good,” I think he has two things in mind.  Good, now follow very carefully my thinking, good here and now, first of all; and good ultimately in glory, second of all.

Now what does that say?  It says that no matter what happens in my life now, God will work it together in a divine synergism to produce something immediately, temporally, in this world for my benefit; and, more than that, it’ll ultimately work together for my good …

God dragged Israel through 40 years of destitution, 40 years of deprivation, 40 years of difficulty, 40 years of wandering to do them evil? To do them what? Good. To refine them. Everything ultimately comes together for the good of those who are the children of God …

Second Corinthians 4:15 we read earlier.  Let me read it again and follow on with the succeeding verses.  It says, “All things are for your sakes.”  Everything is.  “So because of this,” verse 16 says, “we faint not, for though our outward man perish,” though we be in great difficulty outwardly, “the inward man is renewed (What?) day by day” … We never drift away. There’s a constant renewal, and so we consider, then, that, “Our light affliction, which is only for a moment, is working for us a far greater and exceeding weight…eternal weight of glory.”

God makes everything good. Now, it isn’t automatic. Go back to Romans 8. It is not automatic, doesn’t just happen because God says so. It happens because the Holy Spirit is working it out. It happens because the Holy Spirit is constantly interceding on our behalf. Because the Son of God is constantly interceding as Hebrews says. Romans 8 deals with the Holy Spirit’s intercession, and Hebrews 7 and other places deals with the intercession of the Son of God. It doesn’t just happen because of the decree of God. That’s where it’s initiated, but it’s carried out by the intercessory work of both the Holy Spirit and the Son Himself.

Ultimately:

If everything works together for good, then nothing can work for our bad. Nothing can ultimately harm us. There can never be any condemnation. There can never be any loss of salvation, or that verse is a lie.

MacArthur then discusses what happens when bad things occur in our lives, citing Joseph of the many coloured coat as an example:

Now, I…I tried to think of how to divide up bad things; and I found basically three categories, three areas where bad things work for our good. First one is suffering, suffering. Now, in and of itself, suffering is a bad thing. I mean it is a result of the curse, right? If there had never been sin, there would never be suffering. There would never be pain and death and sorrow and crying and all that. So we must attach that to evil. Although, in itself, the suffering may not be evil, it is a result of an evil world, a fallen world. So the first bad thing that works for our good is suffering …

Now, let me just say this. Sometimes our suffering is brought on because we’re being chastened by sin. Sometimes it’s not. Every time you suffer, it isn’t because you’ve been sinning, and you’re getting chastened. Sometimes you’re just suffering so He can refine you in general. I mean it may not necessarily be dealing with some specific sin. It’s just that He’s refining you in general. He’s testing you. He’s building your strength. He’s proving you, so you’ll come out after you’ve been tried, like gold. So some…some suffering is directly due to the fact that you’re sinning. Some is directly due to the fact that God is refining…is refining.

But we know that all suffering basically exists because of sin. Now, some suffering, some suffering may be God’s way of simply opening you up to Himself, turning your attention, turning your focus. Suffering has many purposes, many purposes; but through it all, God works a good result. You can read James 1, and you find it there. I’m not gonna go into all of the Scriptures. They’re myriad. Where it says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” and so forth and so on …

Many biblical instances of that can be pointed out, for example, Joseph, perhaps a classic illustration. His brothers threw him in a pit. His brothers sold him. He was thrown into prison, but the end of the story of Joseph is it all worked out for good. I mean if Joseph had never come to Egypt, if Joseph had never got thrown into the prison, if Joseph had never interpreted the dreams, then Joseph never would’ve been in…been there to tell those people there was a famine that they could’ve prepared for, and their civilization would’ve been wiped out. And if Joseph had never been put in the pit and sold into slavery and gone down there and gone through that and been made prime minister, when the famine did come and his brothers came down there and wanted to get some grain, they never would’ve been able to get it had he not been the prime minister. Their own brother who sympathetically gave them everything they needed. You see, God took all those evil things, all that suffering that he went through, and worked it ultimately to his own good and the good of people around him …

Let me just see if I can categorize some of the things I’ve said in general, some reasons why suffering works for our good. Number one, it teaches us to hate sin. It teaches us to hate sin. Luther… Luther said he never understood the imprecatory psalms until he suffered. In other words, he never understood why David cried out vengeance on his enemies until he, himself, had suffered from those who hated God …

Secondly, suffering is good because it teaches us to see the evil in us. It teaches us to see the evil in us. Boy, when you start to suffer, you’re gonna find out what’s really going on inside, aren’t you? …

But you begin to see impatience, don’t you? Begin to see doubt. You find out whether you really trust God when you’re being wheeled in there to have that cancer surgery or that triple bypass. You say to yourself, “Ah, I don’t know I believe God for this or not.” You see, when you go through suffering, you’re gonna see the evil in your heart. That’s very good to learn, isn’t it? Whenever you’re taken through suffering, you find out how short your fuse is, where your temper is, how much you trust God, how strong your faith.

Thirdly, suffering works for our good, because it drives our souls to God. It drives our souls to God. In prosperity, the heart is easily divided. That’s what Deuteronomy 6 was saying. You get into the land. You got all you want and you forget God. When you’re prosperous, your heart is divided. Listen, suffering immediately drives out the world and sends a child of God right into God’s presence …

Another thing, suffering works for our good, because it conforms us to Christ. It conforms us to Christ. I believe, in suffering, we, in a small way, enter into the fellowship of His suffering. I understand just a little bit, just a small bit of the meaning of the suffering of Christ, because I’ve suffered. You may understand more, because you’ve suffered more; but suffering brings us into identification … It helps us to understanding better His own heart and His own pain and His own suffering; and that draws us into a deeper intimacy with Him who suffered so supremely for us.

And may I suggest another thing?  Suffering works together for good also because it drives out sin.  Suffering drives out sin.  Suffering is a fire that burns the dross.  Suffering is a fire that reveals the pure gold, the pure silver. It refines us.  Job 23:10, Job had it right.  He said, “Look, when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold.”  Suffering drives out sin. You know, when you enter into suffering, you enter into the pain of suffering, and you’re forced to pursue God, and your soul cries out to God, and you begin to see the evil in your heart unmasked as you struggle with your suffering. There’s a marvelous purifying process that goes on …

Another thing, I believe also suffering works together for good because it reveals to us that we are sons of God. It is a confirming thing. In Hebrews, you might turn to it for just a brief moment, Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 7, and you will recall, I’m sure, this wonderful passage. It says this, “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons.” What do you mean by that? Back up to verse 6, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” Verse 8, “If you be without chastening, of which all are partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons at all.”

In addition to suffering, another bad thing is struggling. MacArthur explains how struggling — temptation — works for our good:

Second, not only is suffering working together for good, but struggling. Let’s use another word with an S, struggling. That’s just my S word for temptation, the battle with sin. You say, “You mean the evil of temptation works together for good?” Yeah, it does. Really does. Everything does. I mean we gotta put it in there. Everything does. That’s what it says. You say, “You mean when I’m tempted, it’s working together for my good?” That’s right. Let me tell you why. First of all, temptation sends us to our knees to pray. Is that good? It’s good, isn’t it? See how God overrules that? Temptation sends us to our knees to pray. You know how it is when the animal sees the hunter. He runs all the faster to safety. And when the believer sees the devil come and the roaring lion, he just takes off as fast as he can, hopefully into the presence of God. So even when you’re being driven by Satan and you’re being assaulted by temptation, God overrules that to good very often by driving you into His presence by the very temptation itself.

Another reason why temptation can be worked for our good is that it devastates our spiritual pride. It devastates our spiritual pride. In effect, it slays our false justification, the idea that we’re okay. Now, when you’re struggling with sin and temptation, you’re facing the fact of who you really are, and you have no place for pride. It shows how really weak you are.

And, thirdly, we could say that even struggling can work together for good, because it teaches us lessons to use in helping others, doesn’t it? You know, when the Lord was tempted, three times Satan came to Him in Matthew 4 and Luke 4; and when Satan came to Him, he tempted Him, and the Lord responded, and the Bible recorded that whole thing; and I think the reason is so that the Lord could show us how He handled Satan’s attacks; and when we go through those same things, we’re able to help others. It’s the same thing that Hebrews tells us about Christ, that He, being tempted in all points like as we are, and yet without sin, is able to nurture us in our temptations, in our struggles.

So even our temptations can work together for good, because they teach us lessons we can use in helping others. And then another thing, struggling can lead to good, because it causes us to lean on the strength of Christ …

And then one other thought. I love this. The struggle of temptation works together for our good because it makes us desire Heaven. Did you ever just feel like you’d like to get out of here altogether? Sure you do. Sure you do. And when, especially, you get into some of kind of horrible struggle with temptation, like Paul cry out, “O wretched man that I am. I…I can’t do the things I want to do. I do the things I don’t want to do,” and you begin to desire heaven. You begin to long for heaven. You begin to reach out for the glory.

The third ‘S’ in the main list of bad things used for good is sin:

… and here’s the third thing, sin …

All I’m saying is God overrules it in the case of a believer. That’s all. He overrules it.

Let me see if I can’t illustrate that to you just very briefly. The sins of other people work for our good. The sins of other people work for our good. You say, “How?” Let me tell you how. For example, they generate holy wrath, and that’s good. When I see sin in other people, I sense in my own heart a holy indigna[tion] against that sin, don’t you? That’s good. So sin in others can generate a holy wrath, and they also cause us to be stronger in our opposition to sin. When I see what sin does to other people, I…and I begin to become holy in a…in a holy anger set against that sin, then I also strongly oppose that sin.

And then one other simple truth; I become more thankful that the Lord has delivered me from it. And so I believe that the sins of the others work for our good by bringing about, not only a holy hatred of sin and a strong aversion to it, but a deep thankfulness for salvation, for salvation, that we’ve been delivered from the things to which others are captive.

But let’s go to the main point of the whole thing. I believe our own sins work ultimately for our own good … And instead of sin leading to our damnation, God, by the grace of Jesus Christ given to us, and because he already paid the penalty for our sin and bore all the punishment, ceases with the ultimate consequence of that sin; and in its place overrules it and puts our good.

For example, sins can work for our good, because they make us look upward to glory. We’ve been reading that in Romans 8, how the whole creation does what? Groans, cries out for redemption, the redemption of the body. When we see sin in our lives, we cry out for deliverance. That’s good. Something else, sin in the life of a Christian will drive ’em to God. When you see sin in your life, where do you go? To the Lord to confess, to repent. Is that good? Yes, it’s good. It’s good to be in communion with Him.

Furthermore, sins in our own lives, God overrules, and they wind up being great lessons to teach us humility, to take away any false pride or false self-righteousness. So they make us look to heaven. They drive us to God. They take away our false pi[e]ty, and they humble us. They fill us with praise for forgiveness. So even sin, God overrules.

I shall continue tomorrow with verse 29.

May all reading this enjoy a blessed Sunday.

Readings for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity — Year A

July 25, 2026 in Catholic, Protestant | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 comments

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity — the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — is July 26, 2026.

Readings for Year A follow, emphases mine.

First Reading

Readings from Genesis continue. Today’s passage is about Jacob’s father-in-law Laban tricking him into marrying Leah before his true love Rachel.

Genesis 29:15-28

Leah and Rachel, Jacob’s wives

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”

29:16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

29:17 Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was graceful and beautiful.

29:18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

29:19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”

29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.

29:21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.”

29:22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.

29:23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.

29:24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.)

29:25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”

29:26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country–giving the younger before the firstborn.

29:27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”

29:28 Jacob did so and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

Psalm

The first 11 verses of this Psalm were used in daily worship once David had the Ark of the Covenant installed in the sanctuary.

Psalm 105:1-11, 45b

Give thanks to God

105:1 O give thanks to the LORD; call on his name; make known his deeds among the peoples.

105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.

105:3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

105:4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.

105:5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered,

105:6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

105:7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

105:8 He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,

105:9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,

105:10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

105:11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”

105:45b Praise the LORD!

Alternative Psalm 1

This family-oriented Psalm points us towards dependence upon and obedience to God for His many blessings.

Psalm 128

It shall be well with you

128:1 Happy is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways.

128:2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

128:4 Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.

128:5 The LORD bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

128:6 May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

Alternative First Reading

King Solomon asks the Lord for the gift of wisdom rather than a long life or great riches.

1 Kings 3:5-12

Solomon’s prayer for wisdom

3:5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I should give you.”

3:6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you, and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.

3:7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

3:8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.

3:9 Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil, for who can govern this great people of yours?”

3:10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

3:11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or for the life of your enemies but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,

3:12 I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you, and no one like you shall arise after you.

Alternative Psalm 2

In this most magnificent of Psalms, David yearns to more fully obey God’s statutes.

Psalm 119:129-136

Light and understanding

119:129 Your decrees are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.

119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

119:131 With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.

119:132 Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your custom toward those who love your name.

119:133 Keep my steps steady according to your promise, and never let iniquity have dominion over me.

119:134 Redeem me from human oppression, that I may keep your precepts.

119:135 Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.

119:136 My eyes shed streams of tears because your law is not kept.

Epistle

Readings from Paul’s letter to the Romans continue. My exegesis on this passage will appear in separate posts.

Romans 8:26-39

Nothing can separate us from God’s love

8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.

8:27 And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.

8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

8:31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

8:32 He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else?

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

8:34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

8:37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.

8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel

Jesus delivers short parables describing the Kingdom of Heaven. My exegesis can be found in the following posts: Readings for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Year A — exegesis on the Gospel, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, part 1, part 2 and part 3 (July 30, 2023).

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Parables of the reign of heaven

13:31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;

13:32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;

13:46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;

13:48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.

13:49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous

13:50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

13:51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.”

13:52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

These Bible passages give us much to consider when contemplating the sovereignty of the Triune God. May all reading them be blessed.

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