\A verse that is easy to read and miss the tremendous depth of is Romans 15:16. In this verse Paul calls his ministry to the Gentiles as priestly duty and an offering to God. Five key terms will repay expanded study in providing background for Paul’s meaning here (summarized from Stott, p. 379):
1. leitourgos. “Minister” can mean a public servant (Rom. 13:6), but both the noun and its cognate verb, leitougeo, are used in the New Testament to refer to the Jewish priesthood and also to Christ as our high priest (Heb. 8:2).
2. heirourgeo. “Priestly duty” refers to the service of the priests (hiereus) in the temple and suggests the entire background of the priestly ministry as detailed in Leviticus. Hebrews 4:14–10:39 provides background on the Aaronic priesthood and Christ’s role as high priest
3. prosphora. “Offering” or “sacrificial offering” is used in the New Testament nine times, all in the context of offerings as sacrifice to God.
4. euprosdektos. “Acceptable to God” refers to sacrifices that please the one to whom they are offered.
5. hagiazo. “Sanctified” refers to setting something aside for holy use. As the Jews were set aside as God’s holy people in the Old Testament, now the Gentiles are being offered as holy to the Lord as well.
Besides the Levitical background of Paul’s words in verse 16, there is also an eschatological (end times) reference to his actions of bringing Gentiles as an offering to God. Paul clearly knew and used the book of Isaiah often in his ministry and writings. Perhaps he was thinking of Isaiah 66:19–20: “I will set a sign among them [the sign of the Son of Man? cf. Matt. 24:30 with Isa. 5:26; 11:10–12], and I will send some of those who survive [God’s judgment] to the nations—to Tarshish [likely Spain], to the Libyans and Lydians … to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD … as the Israelites bring their grain offerings” (emphasis added; cf. also Zech. 8:23). Did Paul see his proclaiming of the gospel of Jesus Christ as part of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy about the Son of Man becoming a banner to the nations?
This verse in Paul’s letter is a good example of how a deep knowledge of the Old Testament enlightens understanding of the New Testament. If the above considerations concerning Paul’s use of Isaiah 66:19–20 are correct (in addition to all his other many uses of the Old Testament), one can only imagine his response of awe as his apostolic role was revealed to him by the Lord in the period following his conversion. (Much of these thoughts come from a few commentaries: Boa, Stott, and Fee, can’t remember who, kind of doing some of this from memory, I’m at camp this week.)
