Rom. 15:30-33 - Strive with Me

30 Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,
31 that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;
32 so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.
33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Pray for Me. Pray With Me.

V. 30 - “strive together with me in your prayers to God for me“ - Not asking for prayer telegrams. He asking for a dedicated commitment of prayer. Founded in the power of Jesus, and fueled by the Holy Spirit - prayer that lifts Paul and encourages him.

V. 31 - “I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea” - Ironic isn’t it - the Christian church (Side note: don’t know if synagogues were ever called ‘churches’, nor if any pagan religion has groups of believers called churches) was started in Jerusalem, and the epicenter of hatred against the church of a Jesus Christ was also Jerusalem. Paul knew he was going to the worst possible place for him to be. The Jewish high priests and leaders must have felt betrayed, that Paul was a traitor. They must have felt scorned, and they were seeking revenge.

“my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints” - Paul, risking his life to bring alms to the believers in Jerusalem - how could that not be acceptable?

V. 32 - “I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest“ - Just get through this one task, then he could come to Rome. He would be refreshed by their faith and joy in Christ. What a blessing they would be to him. Paul has been on the road for about 25 years, preaching the gospel, building up the faithful, and dodging ‘bullets’.

V. 33 - “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” - I suspect this verse should have been included in chapter 16 (see note 1). This blessing fits nicely with the greetings and acknowledgements making up most of chapter 16.

Note 1: Chapter numbers/divisions were identified in the 1200s AD. Verse numbers came about 1555 AD.

End of Chapter Romans 15:1-33 (NASB)