This morning, we transition to the last thought in the book of Romans, and that is Paul’s hope for his mission to the Gentiles. That hope begins with something he has already introduced: the ultimate act of sacrificial love displayed in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Specifically, here, Paul answers the question of why it was that Jesus made himself nothing and died for our sins. I mean, could he not have saved us by some other means? In short, the answer is no, and there are good reasons why. Paul gives us two reasons why in this passage, so let’s read Rom. 15:8-13 together. I want to consider just three verses from this passage, and from those we will draw three points: Jesus became a servant for the sake of truth, mercy, and hope.
First, Jesus became a servant for the sake of truth. In verse 8, Paul says that Jesus became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness. That’s a very complex statement, so let’s unpack it by rewinding all the way back to Genesis 11 and the story of the tower of Babel. Remember there that the people were all gathered into one place, and they began to build a tower to reach into heaven and make a name for themselves. God saw what they were doing and why, so he came down to confuse their language. The result of that confusion was that they were dispersed into all the world. It’s a tragic story, but I think we often miss just how tragic it is. God’s confusion and scattering doesn’t just represent judgment on their endeavor, but it also represents a major turning point in the story of Genesis. You’ll notice, if you read it, that up until chapter 11, God seems to be concerned with all of humanity. You’ll also notice that before chapter 11, there is no discussion of the worship of other gods. Yet, with the tower of Babel, all of that changes. God is no longer concerned with the totality of humanity. Instead, he fixes his favor on one man: Abram of the land of Ur.
In that fixation, God makes a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. There he promises that he will make him into a great nation and through him, all nations of the earth will be blessed. From Isaac to Jacob to the twelve sons of Jacob, God continued this covenant and favor. He even went to war against the greatest nation of the time – Egypt – so that he might win them out of slavery. He gave them his laws. He provided them with priests and sacrifices of atonement. He led them to a promised land and established them there. Then, he called them to be a light to the world. They were to be different, to exemplify holiness and forgiveness and justice. They were the elect people of God, so if salvation was going to come, it would have to come through them.
And yet, they were a fickle, hardhearted people. They couldn’t keep his laws from the heart, and as soon as they inhabited the promised land, they turned to the gods of the land. They rebelled to the point that God judged them with conquest and exile. It was very apparent, as Psalm 14 would recognize, that there was none righteous, no not one. Jeremiah would pass judgment on the nations of Israel and Judah by declaring in Jer. 17:9, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?”
Yet, God had made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would bless them and through them all the world would be blessed. Had God lied? Was he unable to do what he promised? Surely, he knew that the heart of humanity is sick? In fact, he even said as much in Gen. 6, right before he judged the world with a flood. So was he not telling the truth when he promised to bless Abraham and the world? Paul says that God has given his answer to those questions through Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus was born a Jew. He was circumcised on the eighth day. He knew the Law so well, that by the age of 12, the religious scholars marveled at him. When tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he used the Word of God to resist him. When questioned by religious leaders, he left them dumfounded with his wisdom. When tried by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, no fault was found with him. And yet, he was crucified on Passover Friday. While the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in remembrance of God’s faithful deliverance of Israel, the Son of God bled and died on the cross of calvary.
But, his death was not a defeat. His death was victory, and this was proven three days later when Jesus rose from the dead. In his death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the law and defeated its punishment. Gal. 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” So, Jesus is the one who has fulfilled toe promise of Abraham. Jesus is the one who redeemed the people of Israel by doing what they could not do. So, God has proven himself to be true. He has proven himself to be the promise keeper by giving his Son for the redemption of his people.
But, there is still a problem. Jesus came as a Jew and fulfilled the covenant of Abraham, and that’s great for the Jews. But, what about the rest of the world? Is there any hope for a Scotch-Irish descendent in Greenville, AL, or am I just doomed to die and face Hell because I am not a part of this covenant that God made with the house of Israel? That brings me to my second point: Jesus became a servant for the sake of mercy. In verse 9, Paul says that there is another reason that Jesus became a servant. He became a servant “in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” In his death and resurrection, Jesus opened the door for Gentiles to enter the covenant family. How does this happen? It happens by a means that we’ve already studied. It happens through faith. And, this was all promised beforehand. Paul shows us that by quoting from every major section of the OT (the Law, Wisdom, and Prophets) to show that God had intended to bring the Gentiles into the covenant. And notice why God would do this: “that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” God was merciful to us when we were in darkness. He shown the light of the gospel into the darkest parts of this world, places where human sacrifice was common, places were cannibalism was the norm, places with cruel laws of revenge and torture, places with vile sexual practices. When he did this, those places changed, and the world is radically different because of it.
So, I want to end by understanding the last reason that Jesus became a servant: he became a servant for the sake of hope. By fulfilling the promises of God to Israel and by showing mercy to the Gentiles, Jesus has joined together all people into one family. This family of God is family of joy and peace because we are at peace with God and with each other. And, this is a family of power, because the Holy Spirit is with us and gives us the strength to live righteously in this fallen world. Because of that, we live in hope. We do not live in meaningless nihilism, with no aim in this world. We do not live without morality or truth. We live by faith and hope in what Christ has done, knowing that one day he will return to make all things new.
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