“19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 21 Timothy, my coworker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen, greet you. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.”
Paul is rejoicing over the good things that he has heard about the church in Rome. Remember in his introduction, Paul describes the Roman church this way:
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world.” — Romans 1:8
Evidently, their obedience and faith are well known among the Christian communities. Perhaps this is why Paul feels he can be so hard on them. He is calling them to greater and fuller obedience! He wants to see them be wise and innocent. When commissioning the twelve disciples and sending them out to the Jews, Jesus desires something very similar for them:
““Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.” — Matthew 10:16
Paul knows that calling on the church to be wise and innocent in a world that is filled with evil is a difficult task that requires much diligence. In verse 20, Paul is reminding the church that this struggle against sin and evil won’t last forever. Soon, the God who has given us peace in Christ Jesus will crush Satan. Notice Paul says that God, “will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (v. 20a) Not only will God bring an end to evil, but the church is actively playing a role in it! Until that day, Paul says, may the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. We will all need the grace that is given to us through Christ Jesus to fight against sin day in and day out. What an encouragement that the grace of the Lord Jesus is with us, even now as we await His second coming. It is when He comes that we will be restored alongside Him as we give our praise and ascribe glory to the Father. May we be encouraged by this saying as we look forward to that day.
Verses 21-23 include greetings from those traveling with Paul, as well as a greeting from Tertius, who we are told penned the letter for Paul. These greetings between Christians and churches again outline the love and care that the saints had for one another, and that many would have known each other by name.
If you are an astute observer, you may have noticed that your Bible may not include verse 24. This is not some oversight, but rather it is just that some Biblical manuscripts do not include verse 24, which reads, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” As such, some Bible translations have elected not to include it.