John Calvin Commentary Romans 10:20

"And Isaiah is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I became manifest unto them that asked not of me." — Romans 10:20 (ASV)

But Isaiah is bold, and says, etc. Since this prophecy is somewhat clearer, to excite greater attention, he says that it was expressed with great confidence. It is as if he had said, “The Prophet did not speak in figurative language or with hesitation, but declared the calling of the Gentiles in plain and clear words.”

But the things that Paul has separated here, by inserting a few words, are found connected in the prophet Isaiah 65:1. There the Lord declares that the time would come when he would turn his favor to the Gentiles. He immediately adds this reason: he was wearied with the perverseness of Israel, which, having continued for a very long time, had become intolerable to him. He then speaks in this way: “They who did not inquire of me before, and neglected my name, have now sought me” (the perfect tense is used for the future to denote the certainty of the prophecy).

I know that this whole passage is reinterpreted by some Rabbis, as though God promised that he would cause the Jews to repent of their defection. But nothing is clearer than that he speaks of foreigners, for it follows in the same context: “I have said, Behold I come to a people, on whom my name is not called.”

Without doubt, then, the Prophet declares that it would happen that those who were previously foreigners would be received by a new adoption into the family of God. This, then, is the calling of the Gentiles. And in this calling appears a general representation of the calling of all the faithful, for there is no one who takes the initiative before the Lord. Instead, we are all, without exception, delivered by his free mercy from the deepest abyss of death, at a time when there is no knowledge of him, no desire of serving him—in a word, no conviction of his truth.