1 Brethren, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saued.
2 For I beare them record, that they haue a zeale of God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of Gods righteousnesse, and going about to establish their owne righteousnesse, haue not submitted themselues vnto the righteousnesse of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousnes to euery one that beleeueth.
5 For Moses describeth the righteousnesse which is of the Law, that the man which doeth those things shall liue by them.
6 But the righteousnesse which is of faith, speaketh on this wise: Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heauen? That is to bring Christ down from aboue.
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deepe? That is to bring vp Christ againe from the dead.
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, euen in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach,
9 That if thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Iesus, and shalt beleeue in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saued.
10 For with the heart man beleeueth vnto righteousnesse, and with the mouth confession is made vnto saluation.
11 For the Scripture saith, Whosoeuer beleeueth on him, shall not bee ashamed.
12 For there is no difference betweene the Iew and the Greeke: for the same Lord ouer all, is rich vnto all, that call vpon him.
13 For whosoeuer shall call vpon the Name of the Lord, shall be saued.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they haue not beleeued? and how shal they beleeue in him, of whom they haue not heard? and how shall they heare without a Preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written: How beautifull are the feete of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they haue not all obeyed the Gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath beleeued our report?
17 So then, faith commeth by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, haue they not heard? yes verely, their sound went into all the earth, and their words vnto the ends of the world.
19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will prouoke you to iealousie by them that are no people, & by a foolish nation I will anger you.
20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not: I was made manifest vnto them, that asked not after me.
21 But to Israel he sayth, All day long I haue stretched foorth my hands vnto a disobedient and gainesaying people.
The apostle's earnest desire for the salvation of the Jews. (1-4) The difference between the righteousness of the law, and the righteousness of faith. (5-11) The Gentiles stand on a level with the Jews, in justification and salvation. (12-17) The Jews might know this from Old Testament prophecies. (18-21)1-4 The Jews built on a false foundation, and refused to come to Christ for free salvation by faith, and numbers in every age do the same in various ways. The strictness of the law showed men their need of salvation by grace, through faith. And the ceremonies shadowed forth Christ as fulfilling the righteousness, and bearing the curse of the law. So that even under the law, all who were justified before God, obtained that blessing by faith, whereby they were made partakers of the perfect righteousness of the promised Redeemer. The law is not destroyed, nor the intention of the Lawgiver disappointed; but full satisfaction being made by the death of Christ for our breach of the law, the end is gained. That is, Christ has fulfilled the whole law, therefore whoever believeth in him, is counted just before God, as much as though he had fulfilled the whole law himself. Sinners never could go on in vain fancies of their own righteousness, if they knew the justice of God as a Governor, or his righteousness as a Saviour.
5-11 The self-condemned sinner need not perplex himself how this righteousness may be found. When we speak of looking upon Christ, and receiving, and feeding upon him, it is not Christ in heaven, nor Christ in the deep, that we mean; but Christ in the promise, Christ offered in the word. Justification by faith in Christ is a plain doctrine. It is brought before the mind and heart of every one, thus leaving him without excuse for unbelief. If a man confessed faith in Jesus, as the Lord and Saviour of lost sinners, and really believed in his heart that God had raised him from the dead, thus showing that he had accepted the atonement, he should be saved by the righteousness of Christ, imputed to him through faith. But no faith is justifying which is not powerful in sanctifying the heart, and regulating all its affections by the love of Christ. We must devote and give up to God our souls and our bodies: our souls in believing with the heart, and our bodies in confessing with the mouth. The believer shall never have cause to repent his confident trust in the Lord Jesus. Of such faith no sinner shall be ashamed before God; and he ought to glory in it before men.
12-17 There is not one God to the Jews, more kind, and another to the Gentiles, who is less kind; the Lord is a Father to all men. The promise is the same to all, who call on the name of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, as God manifest in the flesh. All believers thus call upon the Lord Jesus, and none else will do so humbly or sincerely. But how should any call on the Lord Jesus, the Divine Saviour, who had not heard of him? And what is the life of a Christian but a life of prayer? It shows that we feel our dependence on him, and are ready to give up ourselves to him, and have a believing expectation of our all from him. It was necessary that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles. Somebody must show them what they are to believe. How welcome the gospel ought to be to those to whom it was preached! The gospel is given, not only to be known and believed, but to be obeyed. It is not a system of notions, but a rule of practice. The beginning, progress, and strength of faith is by hearing. But it is only hearing the word, as the word of God that will strengthen faith.
18-21 Did not the Jews know that the Gentiles were to be called in? They might have known it from Moses and Isaiah. Isaiah speaks plainly of the grace and favour of God, as going before in the receiving of the Gentiles. Was not this our own case? Did not God begin in love, and make himself known to us when we did not ask after him? The patience of God towards provoking sinners is wonderful. The time of God's patience is called a day, light as day, and fit for work and business; but limited as a day, and there is a night at the end of it. God's patience makes man's disobedience worse, and renders that the more sinful. We may wonder at the mercy of God, that his goodness is not overcome by man's badness; we may wonder at the wickedness of man, that his badness is not overcome by God's goodness. And it is a matter of joy to think that God has sent the message of grace to so many millions, by the wide spread of his gospel.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.