Jesus lives to serve on behalf of the truth of God

Romans 15:8-12 For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your name.” Again He says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.” Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.” These verses are so encouraging! They show us God’s character and give us, and especially the Jews, a basis for trusting in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord. If God doesn’t keep His promises to the fathers, meaning Abraham and on, then He is not The Truth. When Jesus accepts the Gentile on the basis of the mercy of God, He is serving the Jews who were promised that they would become the channel through whom God would bless the nations. Abraham was promised that all the nations of the earth would be blessed in his seed. That seed was Jesus, the Christ. Instead of using Jesus’ name, Paul called Him, “Christ.” This highlighted His relationship with the Jews, the circumcision. “Christ” means “anointed one.” One who is appointed for a specific service by God, in the case of Jesus, He was the one appointed by God to be the savior of the world, the Redeemer, God’s servant. Paul declared to the Romans that Jesus, in accepting both Jew and Gentile, serves the faith of the Jews in God’s Word. His death and resurrection confirm God’s character. Paul, like every dependable Bible teacher, proved his point from the Scriptures. Remember what he wrote in vs. 4? “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” These verses instruct us to glorify God for His mercies. My guess is that most of you who are listening are Gentiles. You have experienced God’s love because of His promises made to the fathers, the Jewish fathers. He had us in mind all along as He worked to bring Jesus Christ into the world. He continues His faithfulness to His word through us as we persevere and encourage one another to live to love with Jesus.