Romans (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture)

Scott W. Hahn, Curtis Mitch, Williamson, Peter S., Healy, Mary, Peter S. Williamson, Mary Healy

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780801036781
• eBook ISBN: 9781493411368
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Commentaire biblique

Examine the New Testament from within the living tradition of the Catholic Church

In this addition to the successful Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS) series, Scott Hahn, a bestselling author and a leading Catholic interpreter of Scripture, and Curtis Mitch examine Romans from within the living tradition of the Church.

The CCSS relates Scripture to Christian life today, is faithfully Catholic, and is supplemented by features designed to help pastoral ministers, lay readers, and students better comprehend the Bible and use it more effectively.

Commentary features include:
● Biblical text from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE)
● References to the Catechism, the Lectionary, and related biblical texts
● Theological insights from Church fathers, saints, and popes
● Reflection and application sections for daily Christian living
● Suggested resources and an index of pastoral subjects

Attractively packaged and accessibly written, the CCSS aims to help readers understand their faith more deeply, nourish their spiritual life, and share the good news with others.

The Messiah and the Gospel of Salvation

Romans 1:1–32

Romans begins with an unusually full introduction. This should not be surprising, since Paul is introducing himself to a Christian community that, for the most part, he does not know personally. The Apostle sets forth his credentials, recites a confession of faith, and is generous with compliments for the Roman believers. He concludes these formalities with a word of thanksgiving, and then begins the theological exposition of his gospel.

The Opening Address (1:1–7)

1Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, 4but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, 6among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

OT: 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7

NT: Acts 2:29–33; 13:32–33; 2 Tim 2:8; Heb 1:2–5

Catechism: slaves of Christ, 876; risen glory of Christ, 445, 648; son of David, Son of God, 496; obedience of faith, 143, 2087

Lectionary: 4th Sunday of Advent (Year A)

Paul leads off with a salutation typical of those found in Greco-Roman letters: he names the sender, identifies the addressee, and expresses a greeting along with a wish of well-being for the recipient(s). But he adapts and expands the conventional format with Christian elements. To his name, Paul attaches titles and qualifications intended to resonate with believers in Rome; and instead of wishing readers good health or a windfall of material prosperity, he prays for an outpouring of grace and peace in their lives.

[1:1]

Paul introduces himself as a slave whose entire life is dedicated to serving Jesus. In a secular context the Greek term doulos might insinuate something degrading; but here Paul is using a term given to those many “servants” of the Lord whose faithfulness is celebrated in the Old Testament, figures such as Moses (Josh 1:1), Joshua (Josh 24:29), David (Ps 89:4), and the prophets (2 Kings 17:23).

But more than a servant, Paul is an apostle. He has seen the risen Jesus (1 Cor 9:1) and has received a personal commission from him to preach the gospel (Gal 1:1, 11–12). This makes Paul a royal messenger, an ambassador vested with the authority of the one who sent him.

Paul was called and set apart for this service by the Lord. He uses nearly identical language in Gal 1:15 to say that God consecrated him from his mother’s womb to be a minister of the Word, much as God had done for the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 1:5) and for the †Servant of the Lord who appears in Isaiah (Isa 49:1). Paul is aware, in other words, that apostleship is not volunteer work—something one does out of personal interest or a magnanimous desire to make the world a better place. Apostolic ministry is a vocation, a calling from the Lord that brings with it a solemn responsibility. Paul was “a chosen vessel” handpicked by the Lord to be a missionary for the Messiah (Acts 9:15 KJV).

Paul’s task was first and foremost to proclaim the gospel. Here the word “gospel” does not refer to the written Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Rather, the Greek term euangelion is a single-word summary for “the good news of salvation” accomplished by Jesus. In the ancient world, a euangelion was the announcement of a world-changing event, often a spectacular military triumph or the accession of a new ruler—the kind of screaming headline that would get wall-to-wall coverage in today’s media. Beyond that, the word evokes a prominent theme from the book of Isaiah (expressed by the related verb euangelizō) that speaks of the Lord redeeming his people Israel and extending his salvation to the ends of the earth (see the †Septuagint version of Isa 40:9; 52:7; 60:6; 61:1). These associations add dimension and depth to the good news announced by Paul.

But to understand Paul’s mission in life, one must ultimately consider the focus of his life, which is Jesus. And the first thing the Apostle tells us about Jesus is that he is the Christ. This word is familiar to us—maybe too familiar. We tend to think of it as a second name and forget, perhaps, what it signifies. “Christ” is a title meaning the “Anointed One” or “Messiah” of Jewish expectation, a title heavy with theological significance, as the texts and traditions of the Old Testament manifest. Although there was some variety in Jewish thinking, most of the messianic hopes in Paul’s day clustered around the promise of a future Davidic ruler, an ideal king from the dynastic line of David and Solomon.1 Verses 3–4 will show that Paul attaches this messianic title to Jesus with a full awareness of its royal Davidic overtones.

[1:2]

Paul affirms that the gospel was promised previously in the texts of the holy scriptures, what Christians call the Old Testament. The good news about Jesus is not a new story: he is the glorious realization of a divine plan set in place from the beginning. In fact, one of Paul’s aims in Romans is to show that his preaching is fully in line with the Scriptures of Israel, all of which prepare for this climax of history in some way or another. Roughly sixty times in Romans the Apostle will reference texts of the Old Testament, and in numerous other instances he will allude to their message or adopt their wording in more subtle ways.2 Paul hopes that by the time he reaches the end of the letter, he will have shown how the mystery of salvation in Christ is “manifested through the prophetic writings” of the Bible (16:26).

[1:3–4]

Scholars frequently contend that verses 3–4 are taken from an ancient Christian hymn or confession of faith. This is a possibility but not a certainty. Whatever their origin, Paul is strumming a chord of great theological importance. He makes two assertions about Jesus that constitute his messianic credentials: according to human genealogy, Jesus is a royal descendant of David; and since rising from death to new life, he has been designated Son of God in power.

Paul’s point is not that Jesus became the divine Son of God at his resurrection, a theological error known as “adoptionism.” Nor is he summarizing the Church’s faith in the human and divine natures of Christ, a theological truth known as “the hypostatic union.” Rather, Paul is centering his thoughts on the messiahship of Jesus in relation to the miracle of Easter.3 In his mortal humanity, Jesus fulfilled the expectation that God’s Anointed would come from the royal line of David (2 Tim 2:8); and in his risen humanity, now rendered immortal by the glory of God, Jesus actually became the king that God swore would rule upon David’s throne “forever” (Ps 89:4–5, 30–38; see Luke 1:31–33). Death had prevented every other Davidic successor from fulfilling this seemingly impossible oath. But ever since the dawn of the third day, “Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him” (Rom 6:9).

The title “Son of God” thus has a messianic significance anchored in the Lord’s covenant of kingship with David. Especially relevant are two passages, 2 Sam 7:14 and Ps 2:7, which describe David’s anointed heir as a “son” adopted by God on the day of his coronation as king of Israel.4 Paul contends that Jesus, raised and enthroned in his Davidic humanity, has come to occupy this permanent kingly office in fulfillment of the Lord’s oath.5 He now reigns forever “at the right hand of God” (Rom 8:34). Peter made precisely this point in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:29–36, and Paul himself touched on it in his inaugural preaching in Acts 13:30–37.

None of this means that the divinity of Jesus is unimportant to Paul or irrelevant to his remarks. On the contrary, the two assertions that delineate the status of Christ’s humanity before and after the resurrection are both affirmations about the divine Son. One can therefore say that the risen humanity of Jesus has blossomed into a more perfect image of his divine Sonship and become a more perfect instrument of his divine sovereignty. From now on the splendor of the eternal Son of God is manifest in and through Christ the risen man.6

Paul further relates the Son’s resurrection to the spirit of holiness, which is a Semitic way of saying “the Holy Spirit” (the Hebrew equivalent occurs in Ps 51:13; Isa 63:10–11; and multiple times in the Dead Sea Scrolls). Paul will explain in chapter 8 how the miracle of the resurrection will be replicated when the “Spirit” of the Father imparts glory and life to the “mortal bodies” (Rom 8:11) of all who are sons and daughters of God by adoption (8:15).7

[1:5]

Paul returns briefly to his accreditation as an apostle. This is not an office that one merits or earns; it is a grace that God freely bestows. And the words we have received indicate that Paul is conscious of being part of a larger group. Others are apostles as well, such as the Twelve (Luke 6:13–16), along with a wider circle of individuals (1 Cor 15:5–7), some of whom were sent forth as representatives from local congregations in the earliest days (Acts 14:14; 2 Cor 8:23). As an evangelist and founder of churches, Paul holds an apostleship with plenary authority, on the level of the original Twelve.

His mission is to promote the obedience of faith throughout the world (see Rom 15:18). The expression forms a literary inclusio—a thematic statement that stands like two bookends at the beginning (1:5) and end of the letter (16...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Endorsements
• Dedication
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Editors’ Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction to Romans
• Structure and Outline
• The Messiah and the Gospel of Salvation (1:1-32)
• The Judgment and the Law of God (2:1-29)
• Judgment on Sin and Justification in Christ (3:1-31)
• The Faith and Fatherhood of Abraham (4:1-25)
• Reconciliation in Christ the New Adam (5:1-21)
• New Life and Liberation in the Messiah (6:1-23)
• The Law of Moses and the Law of Sin (7:1-25)
• The Law of the Spirit and the Love of God (8:1-39)
• God’s Faithfulness to Israel (9:1-33)
• Israel’s Response to the Gospel (10:1-21)
• God’s Mercy for All (11:1-36)
• A New Way of Worship and Life in Christ (12:1-21)
• Faithful Citizenship and Fulfillment of the Law (13:1-14)
• The Weak and the Strong in Rome (14:1-23)
• Paul’s Final Appeal and Future Plans (15:1-33)
• The Conclusion to Romans (16:1-27)
• Suggested Resources
• Glossary
• Index of Pastoral Topics
• Index of Sidebars
• Back Cover