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Romans

About this book
Chapter 10

1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. 2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth. 3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”⁠ 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”⁠ (that is, to bring Christ down)⁠ 7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?”⁠ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.⁠ 14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.” 16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. 18 But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. 19 But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.” 20 And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became well known to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 30:13 and Romans 10:7 and Gospel of Thomas 3

Hebrew Bible · New Testament · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

In Deuteronomy, people need not search heaven or sea for God's command. In Romans, Paul uses this language for faith in Jesus; in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus uses it to challenge leaders who place the kingdom far away.

Passages

Deuteronomy 30:13

Hebrew Bible
11 “This commandment I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it too remote. 12 It is not in heaven, as though one must say, ‘Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ 13 And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, ‘Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ 14 For the thing is very near you—it is in your mouth and in your mind so that you can do it.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Romans 10:7

New Testament
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

Gospel of Thomas 3

Nag Hammadi
2 Jesus said, “Let the seeker keep seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will be troubled. When he is troubled, he will be astonished, and he will reign over the All. And once he has reigned, he will rest.” 3 Jesus said, “If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you dwell in poverty, and you are that poverty.” 4 Jesus said, “The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

References

“... If the ones who lead you say, "There is the kingdom, in heaven," then the birds will go first before you into heaven. If they say to you, "It is in the sea," then the fish shall go before you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and outside you. [...] This logion has a long and complex history in Jewish written tradition. It is, in effect, a midrash on Deut. 30:10-15 which reads as follows: This commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. [...] The enigmatic reference in Thomas to something "within you" ultimately derives from this source. In Deuteronomy the "commandment" is within one's heart as well as upon one's [...]. Paul wrote a midrash on this passage in Rom. 10:5-10. Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it. But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "Who will descend into the abyss?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). [...] Although the Pauline interpretation here is utterly distinct from the interpretation in Thomas, Paul's midrash is evidence for very early Christian interest in this passage. [...] The passage in Thomas 3a does not stem directly from a reading of Deut. 30.10-15. Rather, the logion in Thomas derives from a midrashic tradition already well developed in Wisdom circles. ...”
Stevan L. Davies, The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom (New York: Seabury, 1983), 41–42.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 30:13 and Romans 10:7 and Gospel of Thomas 3

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