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Advent · Second Sunday in Advent · Year A

Romans 15:4-13

May the God of Hope Fill

December 7, 2025

Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, Valentin de Boulogne
Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, Valentin de Boulogne, c. 1618–1620Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
A French follower of Caravaggio working in Rome. Paul is lit from one side at a table strewn with paper, caught mid-thought with the pen stopped.For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope … Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.Valentin de BoulogneA French painter in Rome and the most committed of Caravaggio's followers, who died at thirty-eight after a night out in the cold.Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonThe oldest art museum in Texas, grown very large on oil money, and free on Thursdays.Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 3:1-12Mt 3:1-12
EpistleRom. 15:4-13Rom 15:4-13
Old TestamentIsa. 11:1-10Is 11:1-10
PsalterPs. 72:1-7Ps 72:1-7

Overview & Insights

“Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that… we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

Paul is closing the long argument about the strong and the weak (14:1 to 15:6), and he ends it not with a ruling but with a chain of four scripture citations in vv. 9-12, drawn from the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, each containing the word for nations or peoples. The rhetorical point is that Gentile praise was written into Israel’s own hymnbook, so a mixed congregation at Rome is not an anomaly requiring management. The chain ends on the root of Jesse from Isaiah 11:10, which is precisely why this epistle stands beside Isaiah 11 on this Sunday: the shoot from a cut stump becomes something the nations hope in. The practical weight falls on v. 7, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, with the criterion supplied by Christ’s own service to the circumcised (v. 8). Verse 13 then blesses a divided community with the word the chapter began on, naming hope twice as something abounded in rather than achieved.

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Take it further: Romans 15:4-13

Commentary

Commentary on Romans 15:4-13Commentary on Rom 15:4-13 Working Preacher

Argues Paul relocates 'steadfastness and encouragement' from Scripture onto God himself, so Advent hope for Christ's return rests on the same God who already kept his first promise.

Romans 15:4-13 CommentaryRom 15:4-13 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Reformed commentary on the December 7, 2025 (Advent 2A) reading tracing Paul's argument that Christ became 'a servant of the Jews' so that the promises to the patriarchs would be confirmed and the Gentiles could join in hope.

Romans 15 Commentary: The Root and Offspring of JesseRom 15 Commentary: The Root and Offspring of Jesse Enduring Word (David Guzik)

Verse-by-verse commentary on Paul's call to bear with the weak and welcome one another, tying Romans 15:12 directly back to the 'root of Jesse' in Isaiah 11.

Romans 15 ResourcesRom 15 Resources Precept Austin

Reference hub of devotional and expository resources on Romans 15, including material on Christ's example of welcoming others for the sake of unity.

Romans 15 CommentariesRom 15 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic verse-by-verse commentaries (Barnes, Ellicott, Meyer and others) on Romans 15:4, giving multiple older readings of Paul's appeal to Scripture's steadfastness.

Background & Word Study

Welcoming - Living Peacefully with Different Values and Opinions (Romans 14:1-15:13)Welcoming - Living Peacefully with Different Values and Opinions (Rom 14:1-15:13) Theology of Work

Explains Paul's Greek term proslambano ('welcome one another') as reconciliation-in-practice, applying the passage's call for unity across disagreement to real community life.

Book of Romans Summary: Romans 5-16Book of Rom Summary: Rom 5-16 BibleProject

Second of BibleProject's two Romans overview videos, tracing how Paul's argument builds toward chapter 15's vision of Jew and Gentile praising God together.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Romans 15Catena on Rom 15 Catena Bible

Assembles patristic commentary on Paul's charge to welcome one another and on the catena of Old Testament citations (including Isaiah 11:10) Paul strings together in this chapter.

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