What is the passage?

My pericope is Romans 10:5-21

What does Romans 10:5-21 say?

Romans 10:5-21 says:

"Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.”

Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;

I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”

And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;

I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”

But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands

to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

Context

Now, that passage may not make much sense on its own. It needs context, just as most passages tend to. Romans 9, being the chapter that comes before my pericope, gives the necessary context. If you'd like to read the chapter instead of my summary, click here. Here's a summary if you don't feel like reading it though:

Paul begins by stating that he has great sorrow and anguish in his heart. He says that he wished that he would be cut of from Jesus if it meant that they other Jews would be saved. He then proceeds to explain that God’s children aren’t just the descendants of Abraham, as many of the Jews believed. It is, instead, that the people who follow God who are his children. Paul then explains that God’s judgement is based on his will, not human desire or effort. He explains that God has mercy upon whomever He wants to have mercy. Paul quotes Isaiah saying, “‘Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.’” The next and final section is very important and I think it's better if it's just quoted instead of summarized. That part of Romans 9 says, “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written: ‘See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.’” This part shows what Paul was trying to get across to the Israelites. He was trying to tell that that they’d been following God wrong. They had spent so much time trying to interpret the Bible that they basically changed it to just laws. Paul was trying to tell them that following just those laws isn’t going to get them anywhere, even though that's what they thought would make them holy.