Welcome!
You are correct: The first roll, the one that you look up on the RR column, defines the target number for success. So in the example, the 127 is the first roll: It gets looked up to the 130, which the opponent must beat. The reason the rolls are looked up on the chart, instead of directly opposed might make more sense if you look at other results.
Let's say our initial skill roll was really bad, and was only 27. On the RR column, this becomes 70. In fact the lowest possible RR target is 65. In most cases, a 65 target would be easy for any character with any amount of skill, but is still high enough that there's still dramatic tension. Additionally, the higher rolls on the table end of with results LOWER than their roll (a roll of 221 becomes a RR target of 200). This is to help keep the opposing rolls within reasonable limits, so that on a really great roll, the opponent might have some hope of combating it.
I think the example the book uses doesn't really highlight this element of the RR column, but it's there to maintain balance between conflicts and keep the dramatic tension of the game.
For example, as a player, if I have a spell that requires a Resistance Roll, I would absolutely hate it if my roll result was the enemy's target number, since most likely than not I'm going to have a result under 100 early on while I'm still new with the spell. And an enemy with a decent Resistance skill would easily be able to overcome my attacks: It would discourage all those spells.
I thought it was weird at first too, but when you find yourself in combat, and have modifiers and are trying to cast a spell, there's nothing more frustrating than watching enemies resist nearly every attempt: There are more possible penalties for the spell caster roll than there are for the resisting roll.
Hope that helps!