Product Overview
Step into the profound world of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, where renowned Pauline scholar and pastor Susan Eastman brings the text to life with rich pastoral and theological insights. This commentary doesn’t just analyze Scripture but invites readers into an encounter with the transformative power of the gospel that shaped Paul’s original audience and continues to resonate today.
With preaching and teaching at its heart, Susan Eastman explores Romans as a dynamic proclamation of God’s faithfulness—a message that warms hearts, fires wills, and calls humanity into liberated service to God and one another. Through her keen attention to the letter’s historical context, literary artistry, and theological urgency, Eastman reveals the living presence of a God who keeps promises, remains faithful to Israel, and, through Jesus Christ, sets creation free with abundant grace.
Readers are guided through the contexts of the early Roman house churches and Paul’s urgent call for unity and solidarity across cultural and class divides. Close attention to Paul’s rhetoric highlights his use of Scripture and his audience-involving writing style. Eastman also unpacks the deeper purpose behind Paul’s writing—his desire to strengthen his audience spiritually and prepare them to embody the gospel in their lives and ministries.
Designed to inspire and equip preachers and teachers, this commentary highlights the enduring relevance of Romans’ many-layered theological message. At its core lies a singular truth: the good news of Jesus Christ, God’s Son in the flesh, who unites all people in revealing God’s righteousness and boundless grace to the world.
About Interpretation Bible Commentary Series
Emphasizing sound critical exegesis with strong theological sensibilities, the new Interpretation Bible Commentary series features innovative interpretive approaches that help readers engage the biblical text as a source for participating in the larger social world. These new volumes, written by an array of new and diverse authors, are designed to meet the needs of clergy, teachers, and students by inviting readers into the lively work of careful biblical interpretation for the purpose of faithful exposition. Through its engagement with Scripture, the Interpretation Bible Commentary series illumines our relationship with God, one another, and creation so that readers are propelled with new understanding and energy for fulfilling God’s claims on us in our rapidly changing contexts.
Reviews
"Susan Eastman has done it again. In this learned and provocative
commentary, which integrates rigorous exegesis with pastoral and
theological reflections, readers will find a riveting analysis of Paul’s
gospel to the Romans. Building upon years of teaching, preaching, and
writing about Romans, Eastman leads the reader through the epistle,
lifting up the power and beauty of Paul's words for his day and for our
own contemporary moment. In this excellent commentary, Eastman
delineates the literary, rhetorical, and theological features of the
missive, enabling readers to 'enliven [their] imagination' and to hear
the 'living voice of Paul.' She invites us to take a seat among the
members of the Roman house churches and to listen to the letter’s
message afresh. Scholars, students, church leaders, laity, and all those
interested in Paul's most famous letter would do well to accept this
invitation." —Lisa Bowens, Associate Professor of New Testament,
Princeton Theological Seminary
"For two thousand years, Paul's
Epistle to the Romans has been a remarkable treasure chest by which
Jesus has been encountered, lives have been changed, and deep
theological truths have been grounded. Now, in this wonderful addition
to the Interpretation Bible Commentary series, Susan Eastman provides
fresh learnings for all who want to hear the apostle Paul's voice anew
and deepen their own relationship with the living God." —Bishop Michael
Curry, XXVII Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love Is the Way
"With pacey momentum, Susan Eastman's Romans
offers a dynamic interpretation of that powerful text, with a resolute
determination to benefit today’s interpreters. Drawing on deep wells of
academic experience and pastoral wisdom, Eastman displays theological
proficiency at every turn, without a wasted word. For those in the
trenches of theological interpretation and pastoral exposition,
Eastman's passionate presentation of Paul's discourse in Romans will
prove to be a welcome, insightful, and stimulating companion." —Bruce
Longenecker, W. W. Melton Chair of Religion, Baylor University
"Susan
Eastman loves preaching, and she loves preachers. Her commentary on
Romans holds treasures for both. Her exposition of the gospel through
the text of Romans provides sure-footed guidance and breathtaking views.
But I particularly appreciate her pastoral wisdom for preachers
themselves. This is a commentary that does more than teach the steps of
grace’s dance; it draws preachers into its sway. Whether engaging the
weight of broken nations or whispers of broken hearts, Eastman points
her readers to Romans's trust in a saving God." —Jerusha Matsen Neal,
Associate Professor of Homiletics, Duke University Divinity School
"In
this very readable commentary on Romans, Susan Eastman has produced a
pitch-perfect voicing of the main goal of the Interpretation series: to
express the best, most exacting biblical scholarship in ways that
energize the work of preachers and teachers. Time and again she taps the
tuning fork of a profound passage in Romans and allows it to resonate
with the needs and hungers of the church and the world. Eastman shows
powerfully why this great text once mattered and still matters today.
Those who preach and teach Romans will treasure this commentary."
—Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Candler School
of Theology, Emory University
"Romans is an enactment in writing of Paul's desire ‘to preach the gospel also to those who are in Rome' (Rom. 1:15). Susan Eastman's commentary on this letter attends to and participates in this proclamation. At once historically informed, theologically engaged, and pastorally wise, this reading of Romans hears Paul's declaration of the gospel, joins the apostle in the apocalypse of both human bondage and divine mercy, and gives the reader this same good news so that they can speak again (and again) 'the gospel of [God's] Son' that is 'the power of God unto salvation'" (1:9, 16). —Jonathan A. Linebaugh, Anglican Chair of Divinity and Professor of New Testament and Christian Theology at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
"In the crowded landscape of literally hundreds of Romans commentaries, Eastman's work is a standout. Drawing from a distinguished career of Pauline scholarship, she deftly exposits Paul's magisterial text, identifies its theological riches, and offers wise counsel for preaching and teaching Romans as a powerful word of God for the present. For pastors and students who are put off by dull, esoteric, and jargon-laden academic commentaries, this will be a breath of fresh air." —Nijay K. Gupta, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary
"Few contemporary Pauline scholars can match Eastman's breathtaking range. In this volume of a much-loved (and now reimagined) series, her unique combination of historical and literary insight, theological vision, and pastoral sensitivity are all on display in her dynamic reading of Romans. Preachers, teachers, scholars, and students are all in Eastman's debt for this fresh encounter with the scope and power of Paul’s gospel." —Jamie Davies, Tutor in New Testament and Director of Postgraduate Research, Trinity College Bristol