Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 14:2

"One man hath faith to eat all things: but he that is weak eateth herbs." — Romans 14:2 (ASV)

1. For one believeth. This was the case with the Gentiles in general, who had none of the scruples of the Jew about the propriety of eating certain kinds of meat. Many of the converts who had been Jews might also have had the same view—as the apostle Paul evidently had—while the great mass of Jewish converts might have cherished these scruples.

   May eat all things. That is, he will not be restrained by any scruples about the lawfulness of certain meats, and so on.

   Another, who is weak. There is reference here, undoubtedly, to the Jewish convert. The apostle admits that he was weak, that is, not fully established in the views of Christian liberty. The question for the Jew, undoubtedly, was whether it was lawful to eat the meat that was offered in sacrifice to idols.

   In those sacrifices, only a part of the animal was offered, and the remainder was eaten by the worshipers or offered for sale in the market like other meat. It became an inquiry whether it was lawful to eat this meat, and the question in the mind of a Jew would arise from the express command of his law (Exodus 34:15).

   The apostle discussed and settled this question in 1 Corinthians 10:20–32 (which should be consulted). In that passage, the general principle is laid down that it was lawful to partake of that meat as one would of any other, unless it was expressly pointed out to him as having been sacrificed to idols, and unless his partaking of it would be considered as countenancing the idolaters in their worship (1 Corinthians 10:28). However, many Jewish converts might not have been familiar with this principle, or, just as probably, they might not have been inclined to accept its appropriateness.

   Eateth herbs. This means herbs or vegetables only; he does not partake of meat at all, for fear of unintentionally eating that which had been offered to idols. The Romans had abundant sacrifices to idols, and it would not be easy to be certain that meat offered in the market, or on a friend's table, had not been offered in this manner. To avoid the possibility of partaking of it, even unknowingly, they chose to eat no meat at all. The scruples of the Jews on this subject might have arisen partly from the fact that sins of ignorance among them incurred certain penalties (Leviticus 4:2–3 and following; Leviticus 5:15; Numbers 15:24, 27-29).

   Josephus says (Life, section 3) that in his time there were certain priests of his acquaintance who "supported themselves with figs and nuts." These priests had been sent to Rome to be tried on some charge before Caesar, and it is probable that they abstained from meat because it might have been offered to idols. It is expressly declared of Daniel when in Babylon that he lived on pulse and water, so that he might not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank (Daniel 1:8–16).