Romans 10:16

(16) Applying this condition of the necessity of preaching to the gospel, we nevertheless see that, as a matter of fact, all did not accept it. Just as Isaiah had said.

The argument does not run quite smoothly. The Apostle has two thoughts in his mind: (1) the necessity that the gospel should be preached before it could be believed; (2) the fact that, although it was preached (and accepted by many among the Gentiles), it was not accepted by the Jews. He begins to introduce this second topic before he has quite done with the first. Rom_10:17 goes back to and connects logically with Rom_10:15, while Rom_10:16 anticipates Rom_10:19; Rom_10:21.

Our report.—So Authorised version, rightly. The Greek word means literally, our hearing. Here it is, the message preached by us, but heard by those who listened to it.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_10:16

But they have not all obeyed the gospel.

For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

Obedience to the gospel

1. Paul prevents an objection to that which was said concerning the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, that it was of God. As if some Jew should say, No, Paul, God never sent you to preach to them, for if He had He would have sent you first to us, and have blessed your labours; but the greater part obey you not, either of Jews or Gentiles. This Paul answers by a concession, with a correction annexed, as if he should say, Indeed all do not obey the gospel, yet you Jews are not to be offended, because, as our sending was foretold, so your and their incredulity; and the small fruit and effect was foretold also.

2. All have not obeyed, i.e., believed. So called because obedience is an inseparable effect of faith. So we say of the trees in our orchards, this is a pear, that a plum, when they are the trees that bear such fruit; so faith is the tree that bears the fruit of obedience. The obedience of faith is twofold. First, of reason, when it gives place and way to the gospel, though it conceive it not. For the gospel goes beyond reason, as in the point of the Trinity, incarnation of Christ, justification of a sinner before God, resurrection, etc. Abraham believed (2Co_10:5) above or against reason, and the gospel is said to bring into subjection our reason. That of works is when we observe the law, for faith worketh by love (Gal_5:6), and is to be shown by our works.

3. When the gospel is preached all are not converted by it and believe it (Joh_3:32; Joh_12:37; Mat_20:16; 2Th_3:2).

I. Faith is called obedience. Obey thou in life, and make thy reason obey. No man standing on his own reason ever believed; an unsanctified wit is a great hindrance of faith. The greatest philosophers (Act_17:18) most resisted Paul, as our greatest politicians most scoff at preaching of the Word.

II. All are bound to hear, and nothing so worthy to be heard as the gospel. Let us say of hearing, as Paul speaks of knowing it, viz., that he esteemed to know nothing besides (1Co_2:2). The nurses song doth not so quiet the babe as the preaching of the gospel the conscience. It is the hand of God offering us forgiveness of sins. He, therefore, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. If thou wilt not now hear that which may profit thee, thou shalt hear one day that which will make thy heart to ache, even this, Go, you cursed, etc.

III. Ministers must be affected and grieve when they see the company of reverent hearers so thin, and their labours so fruitless. The prophet here complains of this; so Christ groans for the hardness of the peoples hearts, and weeps over the stubbornness of Jerusalem. The shrewdest turn to be done to a minister is to deprive him of the joy of his labours, and the way to rejoice them is to embrace the gospel they preach.

IV. Isaiah and Paul gave not over, though they had cause to complain. As the physician omits no point of his art, though the recovery of his patient be desperate, so, though we preach to many desperate and scoffing hearers, we must not give over, but rather use the more diligence.

V. Although faith cannot be without preaching going before it, yet preaching may be without faith following it. As that which is to be known may be without the knowledge of it. There are two things required to faith: the determination of that which is to be believed, and the inclination and persuasion of the heart to believe. Preaching determines, but it is God who persuades by preaching. God can do it without preaching, but preaching cannot do it without God. Our voice can say repent, but it is God only that gives repentance. Paul preacheth to Lydias care, but God hath the key of her heart. (Elnathan Parr, B.D.)

Disobedience to the gospel

1. Man is the same disobedient creature under all dispensations. We bemoan his rejection of the gospel, and so did Isaiah, who spoke in the name of the whole company of the prophets.

2. It is one of the greatest proofs of the depravity of mans heart that he will no more obey the gospel than the law, but disobeys his God, whether He speaks to him in love or in law. Men will sooner be lost than trust their God.

3. When any receive the gospel it is a work of grace--the arm of the Lord is revealed; but when they refuse it it is their own sin--they have not obeyed the gospel.

I. The gospel comes to men with the force of a command. It is not optional to men to accept or refuse it at pleasure (Act_17:30; Mar_1:5). To refuse to believe is to incur great sin (Joh_16:8). There is a death penalty attached to disobedience (Mar_16:16). It is so put--

1. To secure the honour of God. It is not the offer of an equal to an equal, but of the great God to a condemned sinner.

2. To embolden the proclaimer of it. The minister now speaks boldly with his Masters authority.

3. To remind him of his obligations. Repentance and faith are natural duties from which the gospel does not exonerate a man, although it blesses him by bestowing them upon him.

4. To encourage the humble seeker. He must be at full liberty to believe in Jesus, since he is commanded to do so, and threatened if he does not do so.

5. To suggest to men the urgent duty of seeing to their souls welfare. Suicide, whether of the body or of the soul, is always a great crime. To neglect the great salvation is a grave offence. The gospel is set forth as a feast, to which men are bound to come, under penalty of the Kings displeasure (Mat_22:1-7). The prodigal was right in returning to his father; and if he was right in doing so, so would each one of us be in doing the same.

II. What, then, are the claims of the gospel to obedience?

1. The authority of the sender. Whatever God commands, man is under bonds to do.

2. The motive of the sender. Love shines in the gospel command, and no man should slight infinite love. To refuse to obey the gospel of salvation is an insult to Divine love.

3. The great gift of the sender: He has given us His only begotten Son. To refuse Jesus is a high affront to measureless love.

4. The reasonableness of the demand of the sender. Should not men believe their God and trust their Saviour?

5. The earnestness of the sender. His whole heart is in the gospel. Note the high position which the scheme of salvation occupies in the esteem of God. Shall we not obey an appeal put before us with such energy of compassion? Ask your own consciences whether you do right to refuse or neglect the gospel of the grace of God. Ask those who are now saved what they think of their long unbelief. Do not incur a world of regrets in after years by long delays. Do not jeopardise your souls by refusing the gospel.

III. What is the obedience required by the gospel? Not mere hearing, crediting, liking, professing, or proclaiming; but a hearty obedience to its commands. It claims--

1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Renunciation of self-righteousness and confession of guilt.

3. Repentance and practical quittance of sin,

4. Discipleship under the Lord Jesus; and this means obedience both to His teaching and His example.

5. Public confession of His name, in His own way, namely, by baptism. Conclusion: If you refuse to obey the gospel your hearts will harden to a deeper unbelief. Others will obtain the blessing which you refuse; and this will deepen your own condemnation (Rom_10:19). You will die in your sins, with your blood on your own heads. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

An incredible rumour

About 700 B.C. there was a great revival in Israel. The songs of pure worship were heard again in the temple, and the people bowed at the altars of Jehovah. This return to truth and righteousness was, however, merely temporary. It was as the flashing of Northern Lights: the returning darkness was deeper than ever. King and people went back to their abominations, and the prophet disappeared in the gloom of the gathering night, uttering this sad lament, Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Seven hundred years went by, and around the spur of Mount Olivet passed a procession on its way to the Holy City. Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David! cried those that went before and those that followed after. Jesus entered the temple, and from the porch where Isaiah had vainly besought the people to repent and believe He preached the glorious gospel. But in Him there was no form nor comeliness that men should desire Him. The heart of the people was in no wise changed, as Esaias had written, Who hath believed our report? and to whom is Gods arm revealed? When all was over and the glorious work had been verified by the Saviours triumph over death, Paul, writing to the people of Rome, bids them believe that their salvation is near; he would have them rejoice in the good news of deliverance from sin. Yet still the message was rejected, and the apostle finds utterance for his disappointment in the prophets words, Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? And here am I, eighteen hundred years after, preaching the same gospel. Has human nature changed in the meantime? There are multitudes who still reject the offer of redemption in Jesus Christ. What is this report which the people so persistently reject? It is the story of Gods intervention in behalf of our ruined race. The greatest blunder that a human soul can ever make is to refuse the proffer of salvation in Jesus Christ. And pride is at the bottom of it.

I. Pride of intellect. We all know something, and none knows over-much. A little learning is a dangerous thing. The temptation is to reject everything which does not fall within the grasp of reason. Observe some of the fundamental facts of the gospel over which we stumble because they baffle us.

1. The manger. Not for a moment must it be supposed that a finite mind can comprehend the mystery of the Incarnation. That, however, is absolutely no reason at all why we should reject it.

2. The Cross. How can the innocent suffer for the guilty? How can the Infinite God bear the sins of His creatures? How can justice be satisfied by vicarious pain? But the mystery of Gods vicarious death in our behalf is really no more incredible than the lower but like mystery of a mothers love. And a mothers love is the commonest thing in the world.

3. The open sepulchre. He that was dead is alive again. This also is repugnant to our reason. And yet life out of death, the mystery of mysteries, is all around us and ever forcing itself upon us.

II. Moral pride. The worst of us thinks moderately well of himself.

1. The suggestion of sin is abhorrent to us. It disturbs our equanimity; it troubles our sleep. Christ tears away the turf from our assumption of virtue and exposes a graveful of dead mens bones and uncleanness. Little wonder that a sinner will have none of it.

2. We do not like the notion of repentance. We all would kill John the Baptist could we catch him.

3. The doctrine of free grace is repugnant to us. We would cheerfully pay; but Croesus himself could not, with all his generous possessions, buy one of the clusters from the kings vineyard. We would be glad to suffer if suffering could expiate the mis-lived past; but we cannot. Christ has suffered once for all. What then remains? How shall a sinner be saved? By simply accepting the proffer of pardon and life. He that believeth shall be saved. Is this all? Ay; and it is the slightness of it that offends us. We must become nothing in the presence of Christ, to the end that Christ may become everything to us. There are two concluding thoughts.

(1) The report that God has loved us and given Himself for us is true. This is the news, the god-spel, the glorious gospel of the blessed God.

(2) And if it were not true, still let us cherish it. If it be only a fond delusion, let us in any case continue in it. If but a dream, let no rude hand or unkind voice awake us. If there is no God, no Almighty Friend to care for this world and its suffering creatures, still let us dream of a kind Providence and murmur in our sleep, Abba Father. But the gospel is true. We speak that we do know and testify that we have seen. Gods arm hath been made bare for us. (D. J. Burrell, D.D.)

The gospel report

I. The gospel is a report.

1. It is not a new report. It is that which was first heard by our first parents, Thou shalt bruise his head. It is the same which was received by the patriarchs and prophets, of whom it is said, These all died in faith. It is the same which began to be made by Christ, when in the fulness of time He brought life and immortality to light by the gospel. Novelty is sometimes pleaded against the preachers of the gospel. There is, indeed, a sense in which it is new; its excellence can be known only by experience.

2. But, if it be not new, it is full of truth. Your attention might perhaps be excited by a report that is not true, as some of you may have been excited by the mimicry of the stage, or as others may have poured tears of sensibility over a romance. But all is truth, all is reality here.

3. But supposing it to be true, is it interesting? Is this report an important one? Yes, it is as good as it is true, as true as it is good. There is something striking in the scheme of the gospel. Infinite wisdom is displayed in it, infinite grace is manifested in it; it is infinitely glorious in its effects. Drop it in a town, in a village, in a family, its influence will be soon felt. It does more than all the wisdom of the senate--than all the maxims of philosophers--than all the power of armies.

II. This report is connected with faith. Else it is made in vain. The complaint is, Who hath believed our report? I do not mean a family faith, for the exercise of which a man can assign no other reason than that his father believed so before him. Nor do I mean a geographical faith, by which a man makes a profession of Christianity merely because he lives in a Christian country. I speak of genuine faith. This is a Divine principle, and it produces Divine effects. It is of the operation of the Spirit, and it is always accompanied by proper fruits. Wherever the gospel report is carried, it carries the obligation to believe it, for there is--

1. Sufficiency of object. Christ, who was made sin for us, though He knew no sin, and who is as willing as He is able, and as able as He is willing, to save to the uttermost.

2. A sufficiency of authority to warrant all that the sinner expects. The Saviour came to seek and to save sinners. And is not this your character?

3. A sufficiency of invitation. The language of this report is, Come. The Old Testament says Come--Come, and let us reason together, etc. Ho, every one that thirsteth, etc. The Lord Jesus Christ says, Come--If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink--Come unto Me, all that labour, etc. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, etc. (W. Mann, A.M.)

Mans treatment of the gospel

I. This quotation is regarded by Dean Vaughan as the citing of a parallel case. The gospel is sent to all; but (it may be objected} not all obey. It is true. That complaint is as old as Isaiahs time: who believed? This failure did not stop Isaiahs utterance, nor is the same experience any argument against the universal proclamation of Gods message now.

II. Dr. Hodge considers it as a proof. The complaint of the prophet was not confined to the men of his generation. It had reference mainly to the general rejection of the gospel, especially by the theocratical people. Christ came unto His own, and His own received Him not. And this was predicted of old.

Hearing and hearkening:--

I. You have all heard. These are the days in which knowledge is increased in the earth, and many run to and fro. The Maories of New Zealand have heard of a Saviours love, and many of them have rejoiced in it believingly. Throughout the world the gospel is winning its widening way, and on the wings of mighty love it flies, scattering its treasures in its flight. But, apart altogether from the condition of the heathen world, the fact remains that all of you have heard the gospel. I talk to one who, though he sits in darkness still, cannot plead that no day-star has arisen. You remember, doubtless, the touching story of the dying gipsy boy who, being visited by a lady who told him of Jesus, the Saviour of sinners, poured this doleful lament into the missionarys ears, Nobody ever told me! Nobody ever told me! He died, muttering words which to his mother were altogether unintelligible, but which the good lady understood; for, as his spirit passed away, he shook his head and wept bitter tears, saying, Nobody ever told me! My friends, you cannot make that excuse before the throne of God, for you have all heard the gospel.

II. Let me try to show you the difference between hearing and obeying. The fact that the apostle laments that they did not all obey, implies that some did. Wherever the gospel is preached some will receive the truth in the love of it. But, alas, I must confess that in New Zealand, as well as in Old England, there are many who, though they hear it, do not hearken to it. I will try to show you the difference. We have in the Colonies a custom in connection with the Fire Brigade which will illustrate my point. The city is divided into numbered wards, and when the alarm has been sounded, the bell tolls out the number of the ward in which the conflagration has occurred. By this arrangement those who are from home, attending a service or visiting their friends, are informed of the locality of the fire. Suppose the system could be amplified, so that every street and house were indicated; what eager listening there would be! When the bell had finished clanging its alarm, would not every householder count the strokes? and he who heard the number of his house sounded out, would have wings to his heels immediately, and rush away to save his children and his goods from the fiery element. Now, it is when the gospel comes home to a man like that--when he hears his number rung out, and feels that his soul is in danger of eternal burning--when the finger of God points at him as Nathans did at David, and a stern voice declares Thou art the man--then it is that he has given up hearing for hearkening, and hearkening becomes equivalent to obeying. Then he hastens to the Saviour, saying, I flee unto Thee to hide me. Perhaps another illustration will make this clearer still. There is a large crowd in the street, and I hear the bellmans ringing, and his stentorian voice crying out, Oh yes! oh yes! oh yes! He proceeds to announce that as the inhabitants of the town are perishing for lack of bread, and shivering for want of clothing, certain friends have opened a soup kitchen yonder, and others in another place are giving blankets and clothes away. The starving, shivering people listen with all-eager interest. Oh, what glad tidings it is to them--bread enough and to spare! Oh, they say, this is just the thing for us. No, they do not stop to say that. Away they go, without comment, to receive the bounty. They listen first, and then they hearken. They no sooner hear than they obey. But, while the crowd was listening to the bellman, a fine lady in a grand carriage said to the coachman, John, what is the matter there? Just pull up a minute. I would like to see what is wrong. Thereupon the splendid equipage neared the crowd, but did not remain, for her ladyship was disgusted as soon as she saw so many poor, hungry, ill-clothed folk, and said, peevishly, Drive on, John; drive home. She did not want any soup and blankets--not she. She could readily have spared half of hers for the poor and needy, so of course she does not obey the bellman. I am persuaded that the great reason why there are so few hearkeners among so many hearers of the glad tidings is that they do not realise their necessities.

III. Now, lastly, let me urge you to obey. You have heard the tidings. You cannot doubt that it is glad tidings. Procrastinate no longer. Accept the joyful tidings and the Saviour of whom the tidings speak. Why do so many remain disobedient to this heavenly vision? Either they do not realise their need, or else they do not recognise the richness of the supply. It must be one or the other. Stretch yourselves in imagination on a couch. You are lying half asleep in a room on the wall of which is a simple picture. At a cottage door a poor wayfarer sits upon a fallen log. He looks hungry and tired; and just in the porchway there stands a kind-looking country woman with a baby in her arms, and a little child beside her with a basin of porridge or of soup in its hands. The little one is being taught by its mother to be good and kind to the poor. How is it that want and weariness do not eagerly accept kindness and refreshment? The answer is found in the fact that it is not real life at all; it is only a picture. The man has no real needs, he is not actually hungry, nor is it a basin of porridge at all, and the smile on the womans face is only pictured. There is nothing real in all of it, or the dinner would soon be demolished, the famished fed, and the giver gratified. There are some who do not accept the offered mercy because its glorious reality has never dawned upon them; nor are they aware of the reality of their need, though they may have a dreamy sense of the fact that something is wanting. (Thos. Spurgeon.)

Mans treatment of the gospel, indifference

How many hear the gospel with unconcern! A telegram on the Exchange--they read it with both their eyes--will there be a rise or fall of stocks? An article from which they may judge of the general current of trade--how they devour it with their minds, they suck in the meaning, and then go and practise what they have gathered from it. A sermon heard, and lo, the minister is judged as to how he preached it--as if a man reading a telegram should say the capital letter was not well inked on the press, or the dot to the i had dropped off the letter; or as if a man reading an article of business should simply criticise the style of the article instead of seeking to get at its meaning, and act upon its advice. Oh, how men will hear and think it to be right, to be the height of perfection to say they liked or disapproved of the sermon! As if the God-sent preacher cared one dolt whether you did or did not like his sermon, his business being not to please your tastes, but to save your souls; not to win your approbation, but to win your hearts for Jesus, and bring you to be reconciled to God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Indifference: the cause of discouragement

Why do I sit as if I were asleep when I play? said Rubinstein, in reply to a question. I will gladly tell you how that is. Some five years ago I gave a concert in London. My audience seemed very interested, and I myself was well disposed. As I was playing Beethovens Appassionata, without thinking I looked around, and there, at the other end of the piano, I saw a lady gossiping as fast as possible! It was like a douche of ice-water. I closed my eyes at once, and since then I have never dared to even cast a glance at an audience.

Indifference no reason for despair

A minister with a large congregation came home one day in great trouble and told his wife that he was almost out of heart, and felt very much like resigning his place and giving up his work. And what makes you feel that way? responded his wife. Well, said the minister, everything seems to be going wrong. It is so difficult to keep people interested in religion, and so many seem to be almost wholly indifferent. So you would like to have everybody and everything just right, would you? said his wife. That is it. Very well, continued the wife, then you could resign; then your work would not be needed. But as things are you should hold firmly your place, for the reason you have given is just why you should work on.

Indifference: its prevalence

Is earnest faith declining? The tendency seems to be decidedly in this direction. Even in secular affairs, The Times tells us, Nothing is more remarkable than the complete extinction of that keen interest, that intense faith, and that eager hope, which manifestly inspired the politicians of half a century ago, and made their influence felt among all classes of the community. In religious circles it is common to hear comments on the indifference of a large number of persons who go to church, the absence from their minds of anything like powerful convictions, and the easy nonchalance with which they pass by great and solemn inquiries, the importance of which used to be felt by nearly all. Ministers of the gospel, therefore, who have the responsibility of guiding the Church, have need to remember that if they would see an earnest faith on the part of their people, nothing is more necessary than that their own hearts be pervaded by it, and if they would see that faith controlling other mens lives it must very really control their own. (A. M. Fairbairn, D.D.)

Indifference: the prevalent

The grossest form of indifference is cynicism. When one hears certain men talk of Christ and His religion with a half-patronising tone, or reads their writings in which His character and works are subjected to a criticism that is simply insolent, one is appalled by such flagrant indecency. This is an indifference that is not common, however, but yet its infection may quickly spread if ever the poison of a profane irreverence has prepared any section of society for its reception. The indifference that is fashionable is formalist. There are thousands to whom religion is merely the adaptation of a certain conventional habit of respectable observance. They are Christians because they live in Christendom; Protestants because they live in England; Church people because their parents were so. In church there is an indifference about the service, the prayers, the sermon. It is a ceremony performed, not for Gods glory, but for customs sake, as the right thing to do, not because it is a privilege and a joy. And from one Sunday to the next, unless there is a custom of family prayers, the question of religion simply never once strikes them as forming any part of every-day life. The service, the preacher, the doctrine, the style, may be occasionally discussed in intervals between other topics of the day--politics, amusements, the weather--but that is all. About the things of Christ and of God there is the most supreme indifference. Across the smooth surface of that mental and spiritual unconcern not a ripple is ever stirred by any breath of life from above, or any blast of terror from beneath. (R. F. L. Blunt.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. But—St. Paul, in 16, 17, still maintains that preachers must be sent and heard. Even from the fact, noted (16) from Isaiah, that the gospel was not obeyed, he infers (17) that it must still be heard in order to faith.

Report—The word report is in the Greek the same as the word hearing in 17. Mr. Forbes maintains that Isaiah’s words should be rendered, Who of us hath believed our hearing, or that which we have heard. The first clause in Rom_10:16, But… gospel, is used merely to introduce the quotation from Isaiah.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 10:16. Ἀλλʼ, but) Here the fault is at last pointed out.—οὐ παντες, not all) An antithesis to every one, whosoever, Rom 10:11, etc. The fault lies with men, especially with the Jews: not all, i.e. almost nobody, comp. the who? which immediately follows.—ὑπήκουσαν) comp. ὑπὸ in ὑπετάγησαν, Rom 10:3. Those, too, should and might have obeyed, who have not become obedient.—λέγει) says, presently after the words quoted from him in Rom 10:15, [by Paul]. See Joh 12:38, note.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_10:16. Ἀλλʼ] contrast to the prophetic saying of Rom_10:15 : Butnotwithstanding that accordingly the blessed sending forth of messengers of salvation did not fail to take placeall did not obey the message of salvation, all did not submit to the requirement (of faith), which the glad news concerning Messiah and His kingdom placed before them; comp. Rom_1:5, Rom_16:26; 2Th_1:8. With Theodore of. Mopsuestia, who takes ἀλλʼ οὐ κ.τ.λ. as a question (comp. Theodoret), Reiche thinks that ἀλλʼ … εὐαγγ. is an opponents objection, which Paul accordingly repels by the passage from Isaiah. Against this view the presence of the following γάρ would not be decisiveit would rather be quite in its proper place in the reply (Herm. ad Viger. p. 829; Hartung, Partikell. I. p. 473 f.)but Rom_10:18-19 (comp. Rom_11:1; Rom_11:11), to which Reiche appeals, testify directly against it, because there λέγω is found. Fritzsche, following Carpzov, refers οὐ πάντες to the Gentiles, of whom, however, although van Hengel also understands them to be intended in Rom_10:14-15, nothing is said in the whole context; hence it is not to be even taken quite generally (Hofmann), but is to be referred textually to the Jews, of whom so many, notwithstanding that the lovely feet of the messengers of salvation came to tread amongst them, yielded no result. The negative expression for this multitude is a litotes, forbearing, but making it felt quite tragically enough, that the opposite of οὐ πάντες should have been found. Comp. Rom_3:3 ἠπίστησάν τινες.

γάρ] prophetic confirmation of the sad phenomenon (οὐ πάντες κ.τ.λ.), which thus, as already predicted, enters into the connection of divine destiny, and is not an accidental occurrence. This Hofmann misapprehends, extending the reference of the γάρ to the following ἄρα ἡ πίστις κ.τ.λ., which is impossible on account of the ἄρα commencing a new sentence, since Paul has not written εἰ γὰρ Ἡσαΐας λέγει κ.τ.λ.… ἄρα ἡ πίστις κ.τ.λ., whereby to these latter words would fall the definition of the citation, as Hofmann thinks.

In the lament of the author of Isa_53:1 (closely following the LXX., even with the κύριε added by them) over the unbelief of his time in the prophetic preaching (ἀκοή, see on Gal_3:2), Paul seesand on account of the Messianic character of the entire chapter justlya prophecy of the Jewish unbelief of Christian times in the Christian preaching. Comp. Joh_12:38. Following Syr., Calovius, and others, Umbreit and Hengstenberg, Christol. II. p. 307, take ἀκοή as the thing heard, i.e. that which is announced to us through the word of God (by revelation). But the very following ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς shows, that Paul did not wish to be understood as meaning the divine communication which the preacher received, but the preaching of that word heard by the listeners. The historic aorist corresponds closely to ὑπήκουσαν. We may add that Theophylact rightly remarks: τὸ τίς ἀντὶ τοῦ σπάνιοι κεῖται ἐνταῦθα· τουτέστιν ὀλίγοι ἐπίστευσαν.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 10:16 . The fact remains, however, in spite of this universal preaching, that there has not been a universal surrender to the Gospel. οὐ πάντες : the Jews are present to the writer’s mind here, though the words might apply more widely; hence the compassionate mode of statement. Cf. Rom 3:3 : εἰ ἠπίστησάν τινες . Yet this quantum of unbelief does not discomfit the Apostle; for it also, as well as the proclamation of the Gospel, is included in the prophecy. τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν is a lament over practically universal unbelief. ἡ ἀκοὴ ἡμῶν in Isaiah means “that which we heard,” but who the “we” are is not clear. If a representative prophet speaks, ἀκοὴ will mean that which he and other prophets heard from God: = Who hath believed the revelation made to us? Cf. Isa 28:9 ; Isa 28:19 . If a representative of repenting Israel speaks, ἀκοὴ will mean that which he and his countrymen have heard from the prophets: = Who hath believed the message delivered to us? Assuming that Paul as a preacher instinctively used the words to express his own thought and experience in his vocation, they will mean here, Who has believed the message delivered by us Apostles?

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_10:16

But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? This verse may be viewed as an objection to the apostles doctrine, confirmed by the quotation of a passage from Isaiah. You say the gospel ought to be preached to all men, but if God had intended that it should be preached to them, they would obey it; which they have not done. This view of the passage would have some plausibility if Calvins representation of Pauls argument were correct. Did the apostle reason from the fact that the Gentiles believed that it was Gods intention they should have the gospel preached to them, it would be very natural to object, that as only a few have obeyed, it was evidently not designed for them. But even on the supposition of the correctness of this view of the argument, this interpretation of Rom_10:16 is barely possible, for the quotation from Isaiah cannot be understood otherwise than as the language of the apostle, or as intended to confirm what he himself had said. There is no necessity for the assumption that this verse is the language of an objection. Paul had said that the preaching of the gospel to all men, whether Jews or Gentiles, was according to the will of God. This is true although (ἀλλά) all have not obeyed. This disobedience was foreseen and predicted, for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? The complaint of the prophet was not confined to the men of his generation. It had reference mainly to the general rejection of the gospel, especially by the theocratical people. Christ came to his own and his own received him not. And this was predicted of old. Our report, or message. The word is ἀκοή, literally the faculty or act of hearing; then metonymically, what is heard, i.e. a message, preaching, or teaching. The message of the prophet concerning the servant of the Lord, and what he was to do and suffer for his people, as recorded in Isa_53:1-12, it was predicted would be believed by the great majority of those to whom it was addressed.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He speaketh this because of the Jews.

Wheresover faith is, there is also the word, but not contrariwise, wheresoever the word is, there is faith also: for many refuse and reject the word.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel--that is, the Scripture hath prepared us to expect this sad result.

For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?--that is,"Where shall one find a believer?" The prophet speaks as if next to none would believe: The apostle softens this into "They have not all believed."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. But they have not all obeyed the Gospel.] This seems to be the objection of a Jew; as if he had said: A Divine mission would be attended with success; whereas there are numbers who pay no attention to the glad tidings you preach. To this the apostle answers, that the Spirit of God, by Isaiah, Isa 53:1, foretold it would be so, even in the case of the Jews themselves, where he said, Lord, who hath believed our report? For although God brings the message of salvation to men, he does not oblige them to embrace it.

It is proposed to their understanding and conscience; but it does not become the means of salvation unless it be affectionately credited.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. But all have not obeyed the gospel, etc. This belongs not to the argument, which Paul designed to follow in the gradation he lays down; nor does he refer to it in the conclusion which immediately follows. It was yet expedient for Paul to introduce the sentence here, in order to anticipate an objection, lest any one should build an argument on what he had said, — that the word in order always precedes faith, as the seed the corn, — and draw this inference, that faith everywhere follows the word: for Israel, who had never been without the word, might have made a boast of this kind. It was therefore necessary, that, in passing, he should give them this intimation, — that many are called, who are yet not chosen.

He also quotes a passage from Isaiah 53:1; where the Prophet, before he proceeds to announce a remarkable prediction respecting the death and the kingdom of Christ, speaks with astonishment of the few number of believers, who appeared to him in the Spirit to be so few, that he was constrained to exclaim, “O Lord, who has believed our report?” that is, the word which we preach. For though in Hebrew the term שמועה, shimuoe, means passively a word, yet the Greeks have rendered it, ἀκοὴν — hearing, and the Latins, auditum — hearing; incorrectly indeed, but with no ambiguity in the meaning.

We now see why this exception was by the way introduced; it was, that no one might suppose that faith necessarily follows where there is preaching. He however does afterwards point out the reason, by saying, “To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” by which he intimates that there is no benefit from the word, except when God shines in us by the light of his Spirit; and thus the inward calling, which alone is efficacious and peculiar to the elect, is distinguished from the outward voice of men. It is hence evident, how foolishly some maintain, that all are indiscriminately the elect, because the doctrine of salvation is universal, and because God invites all indiscriminately to himself. But the generality of the promises does not alone and by itself make salvation common to all: on the contrary, the peculiar revelation, mentioned by the Prophet, confines it to the elect.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel] i.e. the gospel, or good tidings, just specified; that of “peace.”—Here St Paul meets from prophecy the supposed objection that the message had only partially succeeded. Innumerable Gentiles had rejected it: was not this an indication that the messengers had no commission? No: Isaiah himself had prophetically deplored just such seeming scantiness of acceptance for Messiah’s message.

have not obeyed] Better, did not obey. The apostolic evangelization of the Gentiles is viewed as ideally past.

Esaias saith] Isa_53:1; quoted also, with special reference to Jewish unbelief, Joh_12:38.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But they have not all obeyed the Gospel,.... Who hear it, and to whom it is preached; for though ministers may be regularly sent forth, and rightly preach the Gospel in the purity of it, yet there is no success without the power of God attending it: ministers may preach, and men may hear, and yet not obey the Gospel; that is, cordially embrace the doctrines, and sincerely submit to the ordinances of it:

for Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report; or "our hearing", agreeably to the Hebrew word in Isa 53:1, and which designs not the "hearing" with which the apostles heard Christ, though what they heard from him, they made known to men; but the hearing, or the word heard, which others had from them, namely, the report they made in their ministry, of the person and grace of Christ, which was disregarded, when the arm and power of the Lord were not, revealed and exerted: this was the case of the Jews in Isaiah's time, and the same in the times of Christ and his apostles, and is always the case, when divine power does not attend the preaching of the Gospel.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

Ver. 16. Who hath believed our report?] Gr. ακοην, our hearing, passively taken. So Caesar and Cicero use auditio for report and rumour. Some sit before a preacher as senseless as the seats they sit on, pillars they lean to, dead bodies they tread on. Others rage, Tange montes et famigabunt, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel - It is not easy to see the connection of this; and it has been made a question whether this is to be regarded as a continuation of the objection of the Jew, or as a part of the answer of the apostle. After all the attention which I have been able to give it, I am inclined to regard it as an admission of the apostle, as if he had said, “It must be admitted that all have not obeyed the gospel. So far as the objection of the Jew arises from that fact, and so far as that fact can bear on the case, it is to be conceded that all have not yielded obedience to the gospel. For this was clearly declared even by the prophet;” compare Act 28:24; Heb 4:2.

For Esaias saith - Isa 53:1.

Who hath believed our report? - That is, Isaiah complains that his declarations respecting the Messiah had been rejected by his countrymen. The form of expression, “Who hath believed?” is a mode of saying emphatically that few or none had done it. The great mass of his countrymen had rejected it. This was an example to the purpose of the apostle. In the time of Isaiah this fact existed; and it was not a new thing that it existed in the time of the gospel. “Our report.” Our message; or what is delivered to be heard and believed. It originally means the doctrine which Isaiah delivered about the Messiah; and implies that the same thing would occur when the Messiah should actually come. Hence, in the fifty-third chapter he proceeds to give the reasons why the report would not be credited. and why the Messiah would be rejected. It would be because he was a root out of a dry ground; because he was a man of sorrows. etc. And this actually took place. Because he did not come with splendor and pomp, as a temporal prince, he was rejected, and put to death. On substantially the same grounds he is even yet rejected by thousands. The force of this verse, perhaps, may be best seen by including it in a parenthesis, “How beautiful are the feet, etc.” how important is the gospel ministry - (although it must be admitted, that all have not obeyed, for this was predicted also by Isaiah, etc.)

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Quis credidit auditui nostro? Greek: te akoe emon?

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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

But they have not all obeyed the gospel: he here preventeth a cavil of the Jews. Thus they might reason: If the apostles and preachers of the gospel are sent with so great authority from God, and bring such a welcome message, how comes it to pass that so few receive it, and yield obedience thereunto? To this he answers, that it need not seem strange, because it was foretold long ago by the prophet, Isa 53:1. It is not to be understood as if this was the cause of their unbelief, because Isaiah said thus. The particle for doth not show the cause, but the consequence: it was not because the prophet so said, that they did not believe; but because they believed not, the prophet so foretold.

Lord; this is added by the Seventy for explanation.

Who hath believed our report? i.e. Very few, none in comparison. Compare this with Joh 3:32.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 16-18. But not all obeyed (or, hearkened to) the gospel (or, good tidings). This means, apparently, that in the prophet"s representation of the proclamation of the good tidings all were said to hear, but not all to hearken, For Esaias saith, Lord, who Believed our report? (The Greek word here is akoh , the same as in ver. 17, there rendered "hearing," and corresponding to the verb akouein in vers. 14, 18) So then faith cometh of hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (rhmatov Yeou , God"s own Word, committed to, and spoken by, preachers duly sent). But I say, Did they not hear? The previous aorist, uphkousan , in ver. 16 having been understood as referring to the prophetic representations rather than to present known facts, the aorist hkousan here must, for consistency, be similarly understood, though with a view also to the actual universality of the gospel message. The unexpressed nominative to hkousan appears from the context to be men in general, not the Jews in particular. Israel is not specified till ver. 19. Yea, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Psa_19:4) The "sound" and the "words" in the psalm are those of the heavens and the firmament. But in the second part of the psalm, beginning at ver. 7, the psalmist passes from God"s revelation of himself in nature to his revelation of himself in his Word. Still the psalm itself cannot well be understood as intimating the universal proclamation of the gospel. Nor is it necessary to suppose that St. Paul so understood it. Enough for him that the words he quotes express admirably what he desires to say.

Vers. 16-21. Israel"s unbelief.

The more highly the apostle prized the gospel, the more sincerely and compassionately did he lament the folly and the guilt of those who deliberately or carelessly rejected it. Especially was his heart stirred to sorrow, when he observed how generally the glad tidings of life in Christ were rejected by his "kinsmen according to the flesh." Both upon the personal ground of relationship and association, and upon the general ground that Israel"s greater privileges involved greater responsibilities, Paul grieved over the want of faith in Christ manifested by so many of his countrymen.

I THE FACT OF ISRAEL"S UNBELIEF.

1. It had been predicted. In that remarkable anticipation of the sufferings and the glory of the Messiah which has won for Isaiah the designation "the evangelical prophet," there occurs an intimation that the Messiah should himself be despised and rejected of men, and that the news of his salvation should be disregarded by many for whose benefit it was intended.

2. Fact agreed with prophecy. Many sons of Abraham manifested Abraham"s faith. Of the early professors and preachers of Christianity, a large proportion were Hebrews. Yet, although individuals welcomed the gospel, the nation as a whole, who by their leaders and representatives had crucified and slain the Lord Jesus, certainly turned away from the message of salvation, which, after his ascension, his apostles urgently and faithfully proclaimed. They did not all hearken to the report and obey its summons.

II THE INEXCUSABLE GUILT OF ISRAEL"S UNBELIEF. This is made apparent by several considerations. It appears:

1. From the terms of salvation. "Belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." No terms could be more righteous, more reasonable, more in accordance with the character of God or the necessities of men. Compliance with them involves no mental or social eminence, and is equally possible to those of all nations among men.

2. From the general diffusion of the tidings. Like the very light of the sun, like the voiceless witness of the heavens, the good news of salvation soon penetrated into the remotest and darkest places. Even the distant "sons of the dispersion" could not complain that they had been neglected. For the disciples of Christ, so far from keeping the good news to themselves, made it a point of conscience and religion to communicate to their neighbours the tidings of the advent and the mediation of the Son of God; whilst many, devoting themselves to the work of evangelization, deemed no journey too long to undertake and no perils too formidable to endure in the fulfilment of this sacred commission.

3. Even from the fact that many of the less-favoured Gentiles came to believe. It had been foretold by Moses and by the prophet Isaiah that the privileges which the Jews would despise and refuse should be offered to and accepted by the Gentiles. This came to pass, And it cut the apostle to the heart to remark that his kinsmen were rejecting blessings which the heathen to whom he preached were eagerly welcoming and receiving.

4. From the forbearance and gracious invitations of a heavenly Father. Again the apostle has recourse to the language of prophecy. How affecting is the representation here given of the patience, long-suffering, and kindness of God! He "willeth not that any should perish." Although the people oppose themselves, he does not soon weary of his invitations. He spreads forth his arms, as willing to welcome those who will return from their wanderings and be reconciled to him. So he stands, as it were, all the day long. Still, though he has long proffered grace in vain, the hands which might have been raised to smite are extended to rescue and to bless.

Vers. 16-21. The lesson of neglected opportunities.

I IT IS GOD"S PART TO PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITIES. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (ver. 17). The apostle recognizes that men cannot be condemned for unbelief, if they have not had the opportunity-of hearing the gospel, No person will be condemned in the day of judgment who has not had the opportunity of salvation. And lest any one, applying this rule to the case of Israel, should suggest that they had not such an opportunity, he asks the question, "But I say, Have they not heard?" Can the plea of ignorance be put in on their behalf? Nay. "Their sound" (that is, the voice of God"s messengers, referred to in ver. 15) "went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." God has done his part for the enlightenment and salvation of men. He has revealed himself in his works of nature. He has revealed himself in his Word. He has revealed himself in his Son. Jesus is the Emmanuel, "God with us.

II IT IS MAN"S PART TO AVAIL HIMSELF OF THEM. The mere possession of gospel privileges is no guarantee of salvation, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel (ver. 16). Israel had the Law, with its types and ceremonies, pointing to Christ; their prophets, who spoke of him. Yet, with all their privileges, they rejected Christ. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." It will not profit us that we have been brought up in a Christian home, in a Christian Church, or that we have had the Bible in our hands, unless we ourselves "obey the gospel," accept its invitations, respect its precepts, and submit ourselves to Jesus as our Saviour and our King. Yet there are many who are resting entirely upon their privileges, without exercising that living personal faith in Jesus Christ for which these privileges afford the opportunity and the help.

III OPPORTUNITIES NEGLECTED WILL BE TAKEN AWAY. Israel had been from the beginning forewarned of this. So long ago as the time of Moses it had been said to them, "I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you" (ver. 19). Then Isaiah repeated a similar warning," I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me" (ver. 20). The same lesson in the history of Israel is repeated by Christ more than once in his parables. In the parable of the wicked husbandmen, the lord of the vineyard is represented as letting out his vineyard "unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons". (Mat_21:41) The same lesson is taught in the parable of the wedding-feast, where the invitation, rejected by the regularly invited guests, is sent out to the highways and hedges. We have the same truth in the parable of the talents. "Unto every one that hath shall be given... but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath". (Mat_25:29) The history of the Jews is a solemn warning against the neglect of opportunities. It is a solemn warning to all those who, though brought up in Christian homes and in a Christian land, make light of the blessings of the gospel, resist its invitations, and set at naught its counsels. C.H.I.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isaiah liii, 1.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Faith and unbelief in their relation to the Gospel:

v. 16. But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

v. 17. So, then, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

v. 18. But I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world.

v. 19. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

v. 20. But Esaias is very bold and saith, I was found of them that sought Me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after Me.

v. 21. But to Israel He saith, All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

Paul had stated that the preaching of the Gospel to both the Jews and the Gentiles was in accordance with the will of God. Since He wants all men to be saved, He also wants the Gospel preached to all men. And this remains true, although not all men (with special reference to the Jews) have given obedience to the Gospel; many have rejected its beautiful message. And this behavior has also been foretold by Isa 53:1: Lord, who will believe our report, the message we communicate? The report, or message. of Isaiah, the evangelist of the Old Testament, is identical with the Gospel-preaching of all times; and his experience agrees with that of the apostles and preachers of the New Testament. Few, very few, are found that are willing to give ear to the message of their salvation. It is a bitter lament to which the prophet gives voice and at the same time a grievous accusation.

The apostle now draws a conclusion from the words of the prophet: So, then, faith comes through the message of preaching. There the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, one may well expect faith to be kindled; for this preaching is the prerequisite of faith, faith depends upon the preaching of the Gospel. And preaching, in turn, is through the Word of Christ. Preaching is done by virtue of, on the basis of, the word and command of Christ, who as the Lord of the Church sends out apostles and preachers of the Gospel. The message brought by these men is thus a sure foundation of faith. All the greater, then, is the culpability of the Jews and of all unbelievers in resisting the order of salvation as fixed by God, in frustrating God’s design and preparation for their everlasting happiness.

But the apostle here himself raises an objection: But I say, have they not heard? It surely is not possible that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has never reached their ears. The apostle wants to correct the impression as though he had said too much, as though his supposition that all the Jews, even those outside of Palestine, had had a chance to hear the Gospel was wrong. But he immediately denies that such an excuse for the unbelief of the Jews may be asserted. Nay, rather: Into every land is gone forth their sound, and to the ends of the earth their words. The apostle here clothes his argument in the words of Psa 19:5. The sound of the Gospel, the voice of the preachers of the Gospel, has gone forth into all the world; even at the time when Paul was writing, it had been carried out into practically all parts of the great Roman Empire, especially to those countries where Jews were living. The name of Christ was known throughout the civilized world. And therefore the Jews cannot excuse their unbelief with the pretext that they had had no opportunity to hear the message of the Gospel.

The apostle having thus anticipated all objections and rejected all excuses in advance, continues: But I say, did Israel not know? Surely no one will want to assume the incredible, in saying that Israel, the chosen people of God, to whom God had entrusted His Word and promises of old, did not know them, refused to acknowledge and accept them, willfully ignored and rejected them! The question is one not only of astonishment and surprise, but also of indignation over the fact that Israel did not want to know, did not want to believe. But this behavior agrees with the prophecy of Scriptures, not only in one, but in several instances. As the first one, Moses says, Deu 32:21: I will incite you to jealousy with a nation which is not a nation, with a foolish nation I will provoke you to anger. This the Lord had spoken even through Moses. Just as the children of Israel, even in those early days, had provoked God by worshiping idols, that were not gods, He would, in turn, provoke them. In the eyes of God there was only one nation, His chosen people, the children of Israel. All the nations of the heathen did not merit that honoring title. But God would deliberately receive the people from those non-nations as His own, to the great chagrin and indignation of the Jews. Because they had shown themselves lacking in understanding, therefore the Lord would choose as His own people whom they considered foolish. See Act 13:42 ff.

And Moses was not the only one that predicted the rebellion and the apostasy of the Jews. Isaiah makes a very bold statement, (Isa 65:1 - I have been found by those that did not seek Me, I have been revealed to them that did not ask for Me. The Lord, according to this prophecy, has manifested Himself and has permitted Himself to be found by strangers, by people that were in no communication with Him before. The heathen, originally strangers to the covenant of promise, were converted and turned to God as the message of the Gospel was brought to them. All the greater, then, is the contrast as represented by the Jews, to whom the Lord says, in the same passage: The entire day I have extended My hands toward a people that is disobedient and gainsaying. God had stretched forth His hands in a gesture of invitation, of appeal, even of supplication; He had urged the Jews time and again to return to Him, but they had willfully spurned all His efforts in their behalf. See Mat 23:37. And the same holds true of the unbelievers of all times. God’s earnest invitation and appeal goes forth again and again: Be ye reconciled to God, and yet they reject His offers of love and eternal salvation. And therefore they have but themselves to blame when the inevitable punishment descends upon their guilty heads.

Summary

The apostle bitterly laments the fact that, while the Gentiles have accepted the righteousness of faith, Israel refused obedience to the Gospel and rejected the salvation offered to all men.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here an objection is tacitly implied and answered: some might say, "If the gospel be thus excellent, and the feet of them that preach it is so beautiful, whence was it that the Jews, to whom it was first preached, did not receive and yield obedience to it?"

The apostle answers, that this infidelity and obstinacy of the Jews was foretold by the prophets of old, particularly by Isaiah, who complains, Lord, who hath believed our report? Isa 53:1

Learn hence, 1. That the faith of the gospel is not common to all that hear the gospel. True, the hearing of the word is necessary unto faith, but faith doth not necessarily follow the hearing of the word.

Learn, 2. That the prophets of God did foresee, and by the spirit of prophesy foretold, what small success the preaching of the gospel would have to and amongst the Jews.

Learn, 3. That yet the prophets’ prediction was not the cause, but the consequence, of the Jews’ rejection of the gospel. It was not because the prophet said so, that they did not believe; but because they believed not, therefore the prophet said so, They have not obeyed the gospel: for so Isaiah saith of them.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But they did not all hearken to [Hupakouoo: a word derived from the verb akouoo, which is translated "heard," and "hear" in Rom_10:14 . It means to hear attentively, to give heed to, to obey] the glad tidings. For Isaiah saith [predicted], Lord, who hath believed our report? [Akoe; also a word derived from akouoo of Rom_10:14 ; meaning the thing that is caused to be heard]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16–18. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. All had not yet heard it, and hence could not obey it. To those who receive the gospel it is glad tidings. These fulfill the prediction of the prophets. But many are in unbelief, and hence do not obey the gospel. (Note that the gospel is to be obeyed.) This need not surprise us, for Isaiah predicted this also, when he said (Isa. 53:1), Lord, who hath believed our report?

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

But they did not all listen

Here "they" refers to the Jews. "But not all Jews listened"

Lord, who has believed our message?

Paul is using this question to emphasize that Isaiah prophesied in the Scriptures that many Jews would not believe in Jesus. You can translate this as a statement. AT: "Lord, so many of them do not believe our message" (See: Rhetorical Question)

our message

Here, "our" refers to God and Isaiah.

faith comes from hearing

Here "faith" refers to "believing in Christ"

hearing by the word of Christ

"hearing by listening to the message about Christ"

translationWords

good news

Isaiah

believe

faith

word

Christ

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

16–21. The quotations show that the refusal of the Jews to respond to the Gospel and the consequent call of Gentiles was anticipated by prophets, from Moses to Isaiah, and typified by the experience of the prophets themselves.

16. ἀλλ’ οὐ πάντες κ.τ.λ. An objection taken by an imagined interlocutor: yon say ‘all’; but all did not respond to the appeal of the Gospel.

Ἠσαίας γὰρ κ.τ.λ. Isa 53:1.

γὰρ = that was to be expected; for it was also the experience of the prophets.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16.] In this preaching of the Gospel some have been found obedient, others disobedient: and this was before announced by Isaiah. The persons here meant are as yet kept indefinite,—but evidently the Apostle has in his mind the unbelieving Jews, about whom his main discourse is employed.

But not all hearkened to (historic: during the preaching) the glad tidings (οὐ πάντες, because πάντες, see vv. 11-13, were the objects of the preaching, and must hearken to it if they would be saved):—(and this too was no unlooked-for thing, but predetermined in the divine counsel) for Esaias saith, Lord (κύριε is not in the Heb.), who believed the hearing of us [(i.e. as in our Version,] our report)?

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. ἀλλʼ οὐ πάντες. An objection suggested. ‘Yet, in spite of the fact that this message was sent, all did not obey the Gospel.’ οὐ πάντες is a meiosis; cf. τί γὰρ εἰ ἠπίστησάν τινες; (3:3).

ὑπήκουσαν, like ὑπετάγησαν (ver. 3), seems to imply the idea of voluntary submission: cf. 6:16, 17 δοῦλοί ἐστε ᾧ ὑπακούετε … ὑπηκούσατε δὲ ἐκ καρδίας εἰς ὃν παρεδόθητε.

τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ. The word is of course suggested by the quotation of the previous verse.

Ἡσαΐας γὰρ λέγει κ.τ.λ. ‘But this fact does not prove that no message had been sent; it is indeed equally in accordance with prophecy, for Isaiah, in a passage immediately following that in which he describes the messengers, describes also the failure of the people to receive the message.’ With γάρ cf. Mat 1:20 ff. The quotation is from the LXX of Isa 53:1. Κύριε, as Origen pointed out, does not occur in the Hebrew.

ἀκοῇ: means (1) ‘hearing,’ ‘the faculty by which a thing is heard’; (2) ‘the substance of what is heard,’ ‘a report, message.’ In this verse it is used in the second meaning, ‘who hath believed our report?’ In ver. 17, it shades off into the first, ‘faith comes by hearing.’ It is quite possible of course to translate ‘report’ or ‘message’ there also, but then the connexion of idea with ver. 18 μὴ οὐκ ἤκουσαν is obscured.

It has been questioned to whom St. Paul is referring in this and the preceding verses—the Gentiles or the Jews. The language is quite general and equally applicable to either, but the whole drift of the argument shows that it is of the Jews the Apostle is thinking. Grotius makes vv. 14 and 15 the objection of an opponent to which St. Paul replies in ver. 16 ff.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 16, 17. “But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our message (prédication)? So then faith cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The word ἀλλά, but, contrasts strongly what has been produced (by the fact of Jewish unbelief) with with what should have been the result, faith and the salvation of Israel first of all.—Πάντες, all, denotes the totality of those who hear the word; and the exception indicated by the οὐ πάντες, not all, applies in the context to the mass of the Jewish people who have formed an exception to the general faith which the gospel was finding in the world. The term: have not obeyed, reminds us of that in Rom 10:3: have not submitted themselves. There is disobedience in not accepting what God offers. The term gospel (evangel) reproduces the word evangelizing (publishing good tidings), Rom 10:15.

But that was to be expected (for). This disobedience was in fact foreseen and proclaimed, Isa 53:1, without, however, the guilt of Israel being thereby diminished, divine foreknowledge not annulling human liberty.

Isaiah in this passage proclaims the unbelief of the people of Israel in regard to the Messiah, giving a description of His entire appearance in His state of humiliation and pain. He well knew that such a Messiah would not answer to the ambitious views of the people, and would be rejected by them. The subject of the unbelief thus proclaimed is not his prophecy only, but above all the fact in which it is to be realized.

The word ἀκοή, which we translated by our message signifies: our hearing, and may denote either: what we (prophets) hear from the mouth of God, and proclaim to you, Jews; or: what you (Jews) hear from us (by our mouth). The second meaning is certainly more natural, and agrees better with the meaning of the same word in Rom 10:17.

In quoting this saying, the apostle has in mind not only the unbelief of the Jewish people in Palestine in regard to the preaching of the apostles, but also that of the synagogues of the whole world in relation to his own.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.