I’ll post on all of Romans 15 tomorrow.

Below is the handout I gave at last night’s Bible study.

The Key to Understanding Romans

Reason for the Letter: to bring unity to fractured house churches in Rome.

·      In the early chapters of the letter, Paul explains that it’s always been God’s plan to unite all peoples into one family (that’s what the stuff about Abraham and faith is about in chapter 4, e.g.)

·      In the later chapters of the letter, Paul builds on his theological foundation to urge the divided Roman churches to be unified in Messiah Jesus.

Important Historical Background

The Emperor Claudius expelled “the Jews” from Rome around AD 41.

“Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.”  (From the ancient Roman historian Suetonius)

Claudius died in AD 54, and some time around then Jews returned to Rome.

When the Jewish Christians returned, they encounter Gentile Christians in the Romans churches, and this caused divisions in the church.

To Really Understand Romans, You Need to Start at the End

Paul mentions more people by name in chapter 16 than in any other letter he wrote.  Most likely, he is greeting the leaders of the various house churches.

• Jewish names: Mary, Andronicus, Junia, Aquila, Prisca, Herodian, Rufus and his mother (of Mark 15:21)

• Latin names: Ampliatus, Julia, Urbanus

• Greek names: Remaining names

The Roman Church is divided along ethnic lines, and Paul writes his great letter to urge them to be unified.