Summary of Romans 11:1-12

Has God rejected those who were His people? Heavens no! Paul says he too is an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the elite tribe of Benjamin. God once chose His people, and He has not rejected them. (He means that God still invites them to be part of His people. It is most of them who have rejected Him).

We recall the case of Elijah. He prayed to God against Israel saying: "They have killed your prophets and destroyed your altars, and I am the only one of your prophets left, and they want to kill me." But God answered him saying that God had left a remnant, seven thousand men, who had not worshipped Baal.

Similarly now, there is a remnant, chosen by grace. If it depends on grace, it does not depend on works. If it depended on works, then grace would not be grace. (In grace we get things without earning them by works). What then? Israel did not attain what it sought, but the remnant did. Those outside the remnant were hardened, as Scripture says: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, up to this time." Similarly David says: "Let their table be a snare and net and scandal and retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened so as not to see, and always bend their back."

Have then they stumbled in such a way as to stay down? Heavens no! But because of their sin, the gentiles were saved [got into the Church] so the Jews may be envious [and turn to seek salvation in Christ].

But if the sin of the fallen Jews led to riches for the world, and the failure of the Jews is the riches of the gentiles -- how much richer will it be when all Jews accept Christ?

Comments on 11:1-12

Most Jews rejected Christ. What was the consequence? They fell out of the people of God.³⁷ It reminds us of the words of Christ in the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:43):"The kingdom of God will be taken from you, and will be given to a people who will bear fruit" But God has not withdrawn His call to them. He still wants them to be members of His people, whom He chose in advance. But there is only a remnant now who have accepted Christ.

Paul himself is still a descendant of Abraham, of the elite tribe of Benjamin.³⁸ He is part of the remnant.

The case was similar to the days of Elijah when it seemed all had fallen away and gone after Baal. Elijah prayed in anguish, and said they wanted to kill him too, the last prophet of God (1 Kings 19:9-18). God replied that He had made a choice and preserved a remnant. Was the choice made on the basis of merits? No, this is part of the same picture as we saw in chapter 9. God picks members of His people not because of merits. So similarly in Paul's day a remnant was faithful.

What of those outside the remnant? They thought they were seeking justification, but did not reach it. Scripture (a conflated quote from Deuteronomy 29:3 and Isaiah 29:10) said God made them dull, unable to see or hear. This of course is the common Hebrew pattern in which it is said that God directly does a thing when actually He only permits it. We saw this in discussing Philippians 2:13. A strong example of it is in 1 Samuel 4:3 where the Jews, defeated by the Philistines, exclaimed: "Why did God strike us today before the face of the Philistines" (This is a literal version of the Hebrew. Most modern translations soften it). In a similar way the Psalmist (69:22-25) asks retribution on those who afflict him. (This Psalm seems to foretell the sufferings of Christ, especially since the line just before our quote says they put gall in my food and in my thirst gave me vinegar to drink). It is not a cry for vengeance, but for rebalancing of the objective order.³⁹

Paul now takes comfort in the thought that the fall of the Jews is not permanent. For he will foretell in verses 25-27 the conversion of the Jews before the end of the world. He notices: the fact that the Jews rejected his preaching was the occasion of his turning to the gentiles, who entered in great numbers. Then if the fall of the Jews occasioned this benefit, what will it be when they all come to Christ at the end! He expresses a hope -- rather fancifully -- that the fallen Jews would become jealous of the gentiles and so convert to Christ.

Summary of Romans 11:13-27

Paul says he is the Apostle of the gentiles. He pursues his assignment, hoping to provoke the fallen Jews to jealousy of the gentiles so they may seek Christ too and be saved [enter the Church. Paul knows, as in Romans 2:14-16, that they could reach final salvation without formally entering the Church]. If the fact that many Jews rejected Christ was the occasion of the gentiles accepting Him -- what will it be when the fallen Jews accept Christ? It will be like a resurrection of the dead. If the first fruits are holy, the rest of the crop is holy too. If the root is holy, so also are the branches.

Some of the branches broke off from the tame olive tree, and you gentiles, from a wild olive tree, were engrafted in the place of the broken off branches. Then you shared in the rich root of the olive. But you must not boast against the original natural branches. It is still true that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. If you gentiles should boast and say: "Branches were broken off so I could be grafted in," remember that they broke off because of their lack of faith. You stand by faith. Do not be proud, be fearful, for if God did not spare the original natural branches, neither will He spare you if you become unfaithful.

Look then at the kindness and the severity of God -- severity to those who fell; but kindness to you, provided you stay in His kindness. If not, you too will be cut off. But if they do not continue in unbelief they will be grafted back into their own olive true. God can engraft them again.

If you were cut from the wild olive that was your natural place, and then beyond nature were grafted into the tame olive tree -- all the more will those who naturally belonged to the tame olive tree be engrafted in again [if they become faithful and accept Christ].

Brothers, please take note of this mystery and do not be conceited. A blindness has come upon part of Israel until the fullness of the gentiles enter the Church. Then all Israel will be saved [enter the Church] as the prophet says: "The one who delivers shall come from Sion. And he will turn away impiety from the sons of Jacob. This will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

Comments on 11:13-27

Paul continues to follow the call Christ had given him on the road to Damascus. In working for the gentiles he keeps on hoping he may make the fallen Jews jealous so they will turn to Christ. If the fall of these Jews was the occasion of so many conversions of gentiles -- what will it be when they too are converted!

In Numbers 15:18-21 the Jews were ordered to set aside the first portion of the dough in a cake for the Lord. The remainder then acquired a legal purity. If the root is holy, so too are the branches that the root feeds. It is hard to work out the details of these two figures of Paul. The first fruits seem to be the converted remnant. He then begins to look forward to the conversion of the others. (Some would rather say the root stands for the ancient patriarchs). He paints a comparison of two olive trees. The tame olive tree is the original people of God; the wild olive tree stands for the gentiles. Many branches broke off from the tame tree, leaving spaces for the branches from the wild tree, the gentiles (The branches that left the tame olive tree, the people of God, are, of course no longer members of the kingdom: see again 9:25-27). His invitation to them to be members till stands (as in verse 2 above and verse 29 below). He warns the gentiles not to be conceited, thinking themselves brighter or better than the fallen Jews. (It reminds us of the conceit of the Corinthians in their factions). Paul tells them that if the branches that naturally belonged to the original people of God could lose out from lack of faith, then the same thing could happen to the gentile converts.

God in a sense showed severity to those who fell -- except that the word for severity in Greek is apotomia -- if we may coin a word, it would be "cutting-off-ness" It does express the thought here. Then Paul again consoles himself with the thought that the broken off branches can be grafted back in. Finally in 25-27 he definitely predicts it. The blindness has struck only part of Israel -- actually, by far the greater part -- but before the end they will be converted. They will be saved. Again, Paul knows well, from his words in 2:14-16, that the fallen Jews if in good faith could reach final salvation without explicitly entering the Church. So here "saved" means entering the Church. Really, entry into the Church is what Paul has been talking about in all three chapters 9-11.

Paul does not say when this conversion will happen, except that the blindness will last, "until the fullness of the gentiles enter." In commenting on 2 Thessalonians 2 we compared this line with Luke 21:24: "Jerusalem will be trodden by the gentiles until the fullness of the gentiles enter." And we had to wonder if we may be near that point, since Jerusalem has again become a Jewish city, after so many centuries since 135 A.D. We noted also in our study of 2 Thessalonians that Elijah is to return. Now we wonder: Is he on his return to be the deliverer from Sion? We do not know.

Paul follows up with a composite quote from Isaiah 59:20-21 and Isaiah 27:9.

Summary of Romans 11:28-36

In regard to the Gospel, the fallen Jews are enemies, resulting in good to you gentiles; in regard to God's call, they are beloved because of the Jewish patriarchs. For the graces and call of God are without repentance. Just as you gentiles were once disobedient to God, but now have received the mercy of His call to the Church, so now they, the fallen Jews have disobeyed, leading to mercy coming to you. And so they will receive the mercy of conversion finally. God has shut up all in disobedience, and so mercy will come to all.

O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways! Who has given advice to Him? Who has first given to Him, and He will be repaid? For from Him, and through Him, and for Him all things exist. To Him be glory forever. Amen.

Comments on 11:18-36

The fallen Jews are hostile to the Gospel, but this has resulted in good for the gentiles. Yet God's call to them to be His people is not taken back -- God does not repent of His call. Just as the gentiles once disobeyed God, but now have been called to the Church, so the fallen Jews have disobeyed, leading to mercy coming to the gentiles. Will the gentiles then be in apostasy, and be brought out by the sight of the conversion of the Jews? We do not know. Paul has been indulging in wishful thinking in this passage, hoping that Jews in his own day would become jealous of the gentiles and so come in -- of course on the whole it did not happen.

And so the Jews will finally receive the mercy of conversion. God has shut up -- declared that all are disobedient -- and so mercy will come to all. The thought is parallel to that of Galatians 3:22 where Paul said that Scripture has locked up all in sin -- that is, has declared all are under sin. Of course, Scripture does not force people to sin. But finally, the fallen Jews will see the light.

Greatly differing views from this have been proposed by Jews in our time. In a public lecture before the Roman Forum in New York,⁴⁰ Achad ha Sh'erit asserted that the vocation of the Jews is to be a blessing to the world. He appealed to Genesis 12:3 (18:18) where God said "all the families of the earth will be blessed in you." But as we saw, Paul explains that it means people are to get blessing by imitating the faith of Abraham (Galatians 3:7-9;Romans 4:13). God's covenant was to give them blessings, not to make them a blessing. Tosefta,Kiddushin 1:14 said: "He [anyone] has committed a transgression. Woe to him! He has tipped the scale to the side of debt for himself and for the world." So the sins of the Jews, not only of those who demanded the crucifixion of Christ, but also of the other Jews who ratified it by persecuting followers of Christ and trying repeatedly to kill St. Paul, show that they were a liability for the world, not a blessing. Their continued rejection of Christ today is objectively gravely wrong. In Leviticus 4, God demands reparation for sins committed in ignorance. Hence reparation is needed for the continuing rejection of Christ. God would not cause for centuries what is objectively wrong.

Elias Friedman, O.C.D., in Jewish Identity⁴¹ thinks God Himself intends them to remain blind for centuries, to prepare for the day when their conversion will bring the gentiles out of apostasy. They had a veil on their hearts in Paul's time (1 Cor 3:14-17) by rejecting Christ -- most of them still do. God who requires sacrifice to make up for even sins of ignorance (Lev 4) surely does not intend them to remain blind. 1 Timothy 2:4: "God wills all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." In Romans 9:1-3 Paul even, emotionally, says he would be willing to be cursed, away from Christ, to bring them to Christ.

At the end, Paul stands back in awe and admiration at the wisdom and knowledge of God, and at His ways, which we cannot fully understand. He quotes Isaiah 40:13 and joins another passage to it -- perhaps Job 41:3. Some think Paul alludes to Job 35:7 and 41:11. But we cannot be sure.

He closes with a doxology, a praise of God, for whom all things exist and from whom all things come. Glory to Him forever!