God Has Sent Out His Messianic Messengers To The World But Israel Have Not Listened (10:14-21).
Having established that salvation is to be found through faith in Jesus the Messiah, and that it is being offered to ‘whoever', the question would now arise as to how the ‘whoever' would hear. So Paul now stresses that the necessary means for reception of the message are in place. God has sent out His Messianic messengers both to Israel and to the world in order to arouse faith in the Messiah, just as the Scriptures foretold (Romans 10:14-15). On the other hand the Scriptures also make clear that not all would respond, ‘Lord who has believed what we have reported?', a question which was asked concerning Israel (Romans 10:16). So the principle is that for those who do believe, their faith comes through hearing God's messengers who are bringing to them the word of the Messiah (Romans 10:17). The unbelieving part of Israel have, however, not believed because they would not hear, as the prophets had made clear would happen.
Thus no one has any excuse. Were there any who had not heard? No. All had heard. For the fact that they had ‘heard the message' is evidenced by the fact that the sound of God's messengers ‘has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world' (Romans 10:18). All must therefore have heard, both Jew and Gentile. But if that is so what about Israel particularly? Why have they not believed? Did they not know? Of course they knew about the message for those who did not believe within Israel were provoked to jealousy over, and made angry by, those who did receive it, as Moses had said would happen. That could not have happened had they not known about it.
Indeed Isaiah had also prophesied that this would happen, for while he had declared that the message was being received, he had also declared that it was being received by those who were no nation (they were not of the chosen nation) and were void of understanding (they did not fully observe, or did not even have, the Law and the prophets), that is, it was being received by the kind of Jews who were despised by the leadership, and it was being received by Gentiles. Thus, in accordance with Scripture, God was being found by, and manifested to, the Gentiles, in spite of their previous lack of seeking (Romans 10:20), whilst the same Scriptures said concerning Israel that He would hold out His hands all day without response, because they were a disobedient and gainsaying people (Romans 10:21). Thus the Scriptures had prophesied both the reception of the Gentiles and the unbelief of Israel. Israel's unbelief was therefore not unexpected, for the Scriptures had declared that they would not believe.
So a regular pattern reveals itself, considering on the one hand those who would hear and believe (believing Jews and Gentiles) and those who would not believe, (unbelieving Israel). Thus:
· Messianic messengers have gone out into the world that all men, both Jew and Greek (Romans 10:12), might hear and believe through the word of Christ (the Messiah) (Romans 10:14-15). Unbelieving Jews have refused to listen to their message, and to the word of the Messiah, because they ‘would not hear', as the Scriptures had made clear would happen concerning God's Servant (Romans 10:16).
· All, both Jew and Greek, have heard because the word has gone out into ‘the whole world' (Romans 10:18). But why then does Israel not believe? Can it be that they do not know? The fact that Israel do know of it, in spite of their being in a state of unbelief, is evidenced by their jealousy and anger over Christianity, as Moses had prophesied (Romans 10:19). (The contrast between ‘did they not hear?' and ‘did not Israel know' suggests that the ‘they' refers back to Romans 10:11-15, and thus refers to all men not just Israel. Compare Romans 10:20-21 where this contrast is clear).
· Isaiah says that those who did not seek God, or pray to Him, have found Him (Romans 10:20), whilst Israel, to whom He has constantly held out His hands, are disobedient and speak against Him, as the Scriptures have made clear (Romans 10:21).
Thus Israel have refused to listen to Isaiah when he speaks (Romans 10:16), Moses when he speaks (Romans 10:19), and God when He speaks through Isaiah (Romans 10:21). They thus reject the word of the prophets, the word of Moses, and the word of God. Believing Jews and Gentiles, however, receive the word with joy (Romans 10:15), have all heard it (Romans 10:18), and have all found Him (Romans 10:20).