Bible Commentaries
Romans 16

Verses 1-24

28 During Paul's first three ministries the nations were dependent on Israel, and received of their spiritual things. Hence they were indebted to them and sought to pay by sending them relief in time of famine. But after this Paul makes known the present secret economy, in which the nations are no longer guests of Israel ( Eph_2:12 ; Eph_2:19 ) , but receive their own spiritual blessings direct from God. Their destiny is a celestial one, where Israel has no possessions. At the close of the book of Acts the pre-eminence of the Jew vanished, and since then there is a new humanity in which all physical distinctions are done away.

29 The blessing of Christ which fills doubtless is an intimation of the transcendent truths which were made public by Paul after his arrival at Rome. None of the blessings before bestowed filled, in the sense of completing and perfecting. The full-orbed presentation of truth in the Ephesian epistle, written at Rome, fully meets the anticipation here expressed by the apostle.

30 Paul's apprehension lest he should not be well received in Judea was well founded, as events proved. Though he came bringing gifts to his people, his later teaching seemed to them to be directed against the people and the law and Jerusalem. Indeed, he did teach that God would be worshiped in any place, and he did lead out from under the bondage of the law ( Act_21:28 ). Tens of thousands of Jews believed, yet they were all zealous of the law ( Act_21:20 ). They would not hear of blessing to the nations apart from the law. Later, when

Paul spoke to them, they did not object to his own call, but could not bear to hear of his commission to the nations ( Act_22:22 ).

3 The best manuscripts read Prisca here as in 2Ti_4:19 . Elsewhere she is given the fuller form Priscilla. This is common in Roman names. She and her husband (who is usually mentioned last) were banished from Rome a few years before ( Act_18:2 ). Paul met them in Corinth and joined them in their business of tentmaking. They traveled with the apostle ( Act_18:18 ) and must have returned to Rome before the writing of this epistle.

7 The term "relative" is an elastic expression, used sometimes in a broad sense of all Israelites ( Rom_9:3 ) yet more usually in a restricted sense of a closer blood relation ( Joh_18:26 ). Paul mentions six of his relatives in the course of these greetings ( Rom_16:7 ; Rom_16:11 ; Rom_16:21 ), besides his mother. Very few of them are ever spoken of again in the Scriptures. Some of them, notably Andronicus and Junius, seem to have been very prominent and faithful. They were in Christ before him and suffered imprisonment with him. Indeed, it is not at all improbable that we are to understand them to be apostles, not indeed of the twelve, but such as Barnabas ( Act_14:14 ).

10 "Of Aristobulus" seems to denote those associated with his establishment. Perhaps this is the grandson of Herod the Great who was later given the government of Lesser Armenia.

11 Narcissus is probably one of Nero's favorites, for even Nero's household was invaded by the power of the evangel ( Php_4:22 ).

13 Rufus is probably the same one whose father Simon was compelled to bear the cross ( Mat_15:21 ). If so, he must have been of some prominence among early believers, for Mark is content to identify his father by referring to him and his brother Alexander. It is touching to see the apostle especially single out his mother, the wife of him who had the honor of bearing our Saviour's cross.

17 How soon dissension and division crept in among the saints! Even before they had received the truth in its fullness, men came with smooth words to draw them from it. Hence the necessity for some authoritative written standard, as this epistle, to which appeal could be made when the truth was in danger.

21 Lucius o f Cyrene ( Act_13:1 ) was probably a different person. Jason was prominent in Corinth ( Act_17:5-9 ). Sosipater is probably the same one who is called Sopater ( Act_20:4 ), who, together with Gaius, left Corinth with Paul.

22 Tertius was probably a professional scribe, such as to this day are employed to write letters in the East. Paul, however, usually penned the concluding words of his epistles.

Verses 25-27

25 The importance of this closing benediction is apparent from the fact that it was written by the apostle with his own hand after Tertius had finished the epistle. Paul characterizes the great themes of his epistle, my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ in accord with the revelation of a secret hushed in times eonian (conciliation), in contrast with the gospel of God ( Rom_1:1 ) which He promised before. The conciliation was not made known through the ancient prophets, but through prophetic writings, such as this epistle and 2 Corinthians. It is of principal importance that we see the point the apostle makes here, for otherwise we shall not appreciate the unique, distinctive character of the conciliation, which is first set forth in this epistle. The teaching of the fifth to the eighth chapters and especially the eleventh chapter is absolutely unknown in the prophets. In the latter all blessing comes to the nations through Israel as the channel. The conciliation comes because Israel is thrust aside. The prophets would lead us to infer that Israel's apostasy would bar all possibility of blessing to the nations. The conciliation was a secret likely knew nothing of, for it makes Israel's defection the ground of worldwide, unbounded blessing to the nations until Israel is again in God's reckoning.