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A further reason for Paul's desire to come:
v. 13. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
v. 14. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.
v. 15. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also.
To the reason given above, that he wanted to impart to the brethren at Rome some spiritual gift and be strengthened with them, Paul here adds an explanation from the standpoint of his office as apostle to the Gentiles. He does not want them to be ignorant of the fact that he had often had the earnest intention to come to them, Act_19:21. Up to the present time he had been prevented from carrying out his purpose, chap. 15:20-22. It had not been lack of interest in them, indifference to the work carried on in their midst, which had kept him away, for he was fully aware of his position as the apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He was anxious to have some fruit among the Romans also, to see some people added to the congregation as a result of his evangelical labors, just as he had seen such results among other Gentile nations; he wanted to gather fruit unto eternal life, Joh_4:36. The souls which a preacher of the Gospel gains by his testimony are looked upon by the Lord as fruit, as sheaves of the harvest, and for that reason Paul desired to labor in the midst of the world's capital, to win more souls for the great spiritual harvest.
All this anxiety and desire, therefore, Paul bases upon the obligation which he feels resting upon him, so far as the preaching of the Gospel is concerned. To the Greeks, those that were familiar with the Greek language and the highest culture of the Romans, as well as to the barbarians, the people not conversant with these advantages; to the wise according to the standard of this world as well as to the unlearned and ignorant, he was debtor, he considered himself indebted. He felt that he owed them the Gospel of Jesus Christ; he could not rest content until he had discharged this debt. For that reason his willingness was directed toward the accomplishing of this end: he, on his part, was altogether prepared and ready, his readiness was a fact, he wanted to preach the Gospel in Rome also. This assurance, so fully substantiated, was undoubtedly sufficient to take away any scruples or doubts which the brethren at Rome might have entertained as to the great apostle's personal feeling toward them. Note: The Gospel of Christ is intended for the uncivilized nations as well as for the civilized; barbarism is as little a hindrance to the spread of the Gospel as worldly culture and learning is an aid to its propagation. Mark also: Christians should at all times feel the obligation to preach the Gospel resting upon them; so long as there is even one individual in the world in whose case no effort has been made to make him acquainted with the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, so long there is a debt scored against the Christians; it is time that we hurry with the discharge of this indebtedness.