Romans 10:14-21

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

“Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

“I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

“I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” 

21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Paul begins by making the point that unless the Gospel is shared with the Jews, then there is no way they could respond to the news:

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” [Romans 10:14–15].

Unfortunately, the Jews just haven’t listened:

16 But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ [Romans 10:16–17].

And they haven’t listened, even though, speaking with hyperbole, Paul says, “everyone has heard about Jesus, so it’s not like it’s a secret:”

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

“Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” [Romans 10:18].

So, did the Jews not understand the Gospel? Why haven’t more Jews accepted Christ?

19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry” [Romans 10:19].

Paul says that God seems to be using the Gentiles to get the attention of Israel—if the Gentiles believe in Jesus as Messiah, shouldn’t this provoke Israel to faith?

And, once again, Paul makes the point that the Old Testament prophets foretold that God was planning all along to bring in the Gentiles:

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
“I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me” [Romans 10:20].28 

But why haven’t more Jews believed? Well, Paul says it is because they are being disobedient and hard-hearted:

21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people” [Romans 10:21].

In our time, many parts of the Muslim world are totally unreached by the Gospel. Pray today that the Lord would raise up missionaries that will go share the good news in those places.