Righteousness shared with others
So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
The task Paul intends to complete is not merely that of handing over the collection; he especially wants to make it clearly understood that this gift is a “fruit” of faith on the part of the gentile Christians. Paul has gone through great pains to emphasize in this letter, and throughout his ministry, that gentile Christians are perfectly united with their Jewish brothers and sisters.
After the important business of the collection has been taken care of, Paul can set out for Spain, stopping off at Rome en route. Incidentally, this is the last direct reference we have of Paul’s going to Spain. The apostle may have accomplished that goal in the period between the release from his first Roman imprisonment (about A.D. 63) and his death (mid to late years of that decade). The time frame would seem to allow it, but we have no specific information from Scripture to confirm such a mission journey to the west.