Romans 2:17

But if thou bearest the name of the Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, a corrector oy the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth.

"But if you call yourself a Jew" (RSV) would indicate that Paul did not consider the persons here addressed as worthy of so honorable and worthy a name as that of "Jew." He made the same distinction at the end of this chapter where he denied them any right to be so called. It is as though Paul had said, "I do not associate myself with you in your usurpation of this honored name."

The name "Jew" first occurs in 2 Kings 16:6; but after the Babylonian exile, it was used frequently. It is thought to be derived from "Judah," the name of the principal tribe of Israel, especially of the southern kingdom, after the division. It was an honored and sacred name. Murray said,

It was a name associated in the mind of the Jew with all upon which he prided himself.[13]

"Judah" means "praised," being the name given by Leah to her fourth son, because, as she said, "Now will I praise the Lord" (Genesis 29:35). The same meaning of "praise" is therefore attached to the name Jew. The name had the highest status among the Hebrews. Even upon his death-bed, Jacob said, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise" (Genesis 49:8), which is an evident reference to the glorious name of the fourth son, which came, in time, to be adopted by all the Hebrews in the abbreviated form. This is an appropriate place to note that the noblest of those who wore that name deserved it in every sense of the word. Antiquity reveals no more noble persons than those great Jews whose names adorn the pages of the Old Testament. All of the patriarchs and prophets, some of the kings, and many God-fearing members of this chosen nation must be reckoned among the noblest ever to live on earth and surely met Paul's specifications for persons worthy to be called Jews (Romans 2:28-29). To be sure, none of those ancient worthies was perfect; but their lives as a whole established new bench-marks of character in an age when virtue itself had been almost banished from the earth. Thus, it is clear that Paul thought that some who called themselves Jews were utterly unworthy to wear the name.

And restest upon the law ... Here Paul began to list the prerogatives that surely pertained to the honorable but were falsely claimed by those whom Paul addressed. They rested in the law, not by keeping its teachings but by glorying in it as a national possession ministering to their pride and conceit, and as having nothing at all to do with their behavior.

And gloriest in God ... Paul did not mean that any of the things in this list were wrong in themselves, but that they were, like a jewel in a swine's snout, wrong by circumstance, that circumstance being the wickedness of those glorying in God, etc. Of course, they were not actually glorying in God in the sense that it was lawful and commendable to do so. True glorying in God is right and proper, as the scriptures teach:

He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercises lovingkindness, judgment, righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 9:23,24 KJV).

What kind of glorying was it then which Paul enumerated here as reprehensible? It was a vain and empty glorying of wicked men which nourished their conceit that they were something special in God's sight, and in which they attributed to God an attitude of indifference, or even approval of their sins.

And knowest his will ... Just as above, knowing God's will is very well indeed; and it is the solemn duty of every man ever born to know God's will as perfectly as possible; but it is a mark of honor to know God's will, only if the knowledge is accompanied by a sincere intention to do it. On the other hand, when mere knowledge is made to support human conceit and causes the possessor to fancy that such knowledge endows him with some kind of superiority over his fellow man, or when it may be supposed that the mere possession of the knowledge of God, apart from the true obedience to God's will, conveys any eternal merit - then occurs the condition reproved here.

Approvest the things that are excellent ... A glance at the English Revised Version (1885) margin shows an alternate translation of this clause as "dost distinguish the things that differ"; and Murray stated that it was impossible to decide exactly what Paul means.[14] A probable meaning of both clauses taken together might be expressed thus: "You have the ability to make accurate moral judgments and to distinguish and appreciate moral values." That ability was derived from God's law in which those people had been instructed. Every Jew, through parental training and weekly attendance of the sabbath worship, was instructed in the law, at least to the extent of hearing it repeatedly read, and of hearing the public discussion of it.

And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind ... These men were precisely the same kind of persons of whom Jesus said,

They are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into a pit (Matthew 15:14).

There was a certain superficial sense in which those people might indeed have led the blind and served as the light of the world; but the moral cancer within them negated such an ability completely. Moreover, their minds had already been darkened in the manner Paul described in Romans 1:21; and the mere fact of their clinging to the external and superficial glories of the old covenant and conceitedly glorying in it could not take away their essential blindness in spiritual things.

A corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes ...

Here Paul completed the list of Jewish prerogatives begun in Romans 2:17. The things listed here are synonymous with some already mentioned. Collectively, the expressions listed provide an excellent picture of the way Gentiles were regarded by the enlightened Jews of Paul's day. Tragically, the picture is accurate. The Gentiles were indeed blind, ignorant, babes, walking in darkness, an extremely foolish people who desperately needed the wisdom and guidance which properly instructed Jews might have given them. These covenant people detested the ridiculous idolatry of the Gentiles and were in full possession of the most wonderful revelation that ever came from God until Christ appeared upon Calvary.

Having in the law the form of knowledge ... identifies the source of all Jewish knowledge and superiority as the law of Moses. The words strongly suggest Paul's words to Timothy,

For men shall be lovers of self, etc. ... holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away (2 Timothy 3:2,5).

Greathouse thought that Paul's use of "form" is the same in both references;[15] but Murray wrote,

"Form" in this instance does not have the same meaning as in Timothy. There is no suggestion of semblance or unreality. In the law the Jew had in his possession the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth in well-defined and articulated form.[16]

Nevertheless, a comparison of Paul's words in the two places leaves a strong impression that Greathouse was right. Certainly, as Murray said, the law was absolutely genuine; but when the power of that law had been negated by the sinful rebellion of them that knew it, it was only a mere shadow of the real thing that they had left. Jesus said of the temple itself, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matthew 23:38). The same principle holds with regard to the gospel itself, wherein is mighty power to save; but when sin corrodes the life of Christians, they are invariably left holding to a mere form, a feeble shadow of reality.

[13] Ibid., p. 82.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Wm. M. Greathouse, op. cit., p. 71.

[16] John Murray, op. cit., p. 83.