Romans Chapter 15 Vs. 12

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Rom 15:12

There shall be... The 18th Old Testament prophecy fulfilled in Romans (Rom. 15:12; Isa. 11:10). Next, Rom. 15:21.

rise to reign... Greek: archo, rule. Here; Mar. 10:42. All these prophecies (Rom. 15:9-12) prove that both the Jews and the Gentiles were to become one in the worship of God, being equal in His mercies and grace (1Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11). The Jews could not deny such arguments from their own prophets.

shall be a... Root of Jesse is a way of referring to Jesus as the descendant of David, and thus of David’s father Jesse.

Isa. 11:1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:”

Isa. 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”

in him shall... This promise of the Branch is promising that Jesus will come to save all of us.

Jer. 16:19 “O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.”

The plan of God from the beginning of the earth was to make the way open for salvation to whosoever will.

A progression of thought can be traced through the four quotations. In the first, David praised God among the Gentiles (Rom. 15:9); in the second, Moses exhorted the Gentiles, Rejoice… with His people (Rom. 15:10); in the third the psalmist commanded the Gentiles to praise the Lord (Rom. 15:11; cf. Rom. 15:7); and in the fourth, Isaiah predicted that the Gentiles will live under the rule of the Root of Jesse (the Messiah) and they will hope in Him (Rom. 15:12). The Old Testament never presented the Gentiles as “heirs together with Israel, members together… in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 3:6), but it certainly did see them as receiving blessing from God’s fulfilling His covenantal promises to His people Israel.