Today we reach the end of the third major section in Paul’s letter. We have seen that Paul’s objective in Romans 9-11 is to make clear that God’s promises to Israel have not failed. Paul’s primary objective has been to defend the trustworthiness and faithfulness of God. And so, in chapter 9, Paul made clear that God never promised salvation to every single ethnic Israelite. Instead, he chose for himself a remnant throughout their history to be his people. And Paul also made gloriously clear at the end of that chapter that the remnant is made up not only of Jews but also of Gentiles. Then, in chapter 10, we saw Paul make clear that Israel’s problem was their unbelief. The problem lies not with God and his purposes but with Israel and their lack of faith. And we saw Paul take the opportunity to lay out once again the glorious truth of the gospel – the truth that all that is necessary for salvation is faith because everything else has already been done. The message of Jesus Christ crucified and risen again is good news of salvation for all who believe – both Jew and Gentile. And Paul reiterates the message of chapter 9 by making clear that this reality was prophesied about even in the Old Testament by Moses and Isaiah.
That brings us to our text this week: Romans 11:1-36. Having looked at chapters 9 and 10 of this letter to the Romans, we are still left with the question: Then what about Israel? Is God done with them? Have they been entirely replaced by the Gentiles? What is their place now? These are all questions answered in our text today. Furthermore, in Romans 11, God – through Paul – actually provides us a vague glimpse into the future. Though He is under no obligation to do such a thing, and owes us no explanation, God gives us a brief, birds-eye view of salvation history. And he does so, as we will see at the end, for a specific purpose.
The text itself seems to break down into five distinct sections (v.1-10, v.11-16, v.17-24, v. 25-32, and v.33-36) that make three major points. For the purpose of understandability, we will examine the three major themes and look at the appropriate sections of the text as necessary.
Having ended chapter 10 on a fairly hopeless note of Israel’s position as “a disobedient and contrary people,” Paul begins chapter 11 with a very logical question: “I ask, then, has God rejected his people?” (11:1a). By “his people” Paul is referring to the physical nation of Israel. It would be logical for someone who had read Romans 9 and 10 to begin to infer that Israel had forfeited their rights as God’s people and, as a result, had been cast off by God. But Paul’s answer is the exact opposite. He writes, “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!” (11:1a). Paul’s first point is that God has not rejected national Israel. But how can Paul make such a statement? What is his rationale? He provides it in verse 1: “I ask then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.” Paul’s point is that he himself is proof that God has not rejected Israel as a nation because he is a physical Israelite and yet he has been saved. Paul is walking, talking proof of God’s faithfulness to his promises. Paul makes his point further by appealing to a specific event in the Old Testament. He writes: “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ‘Lord they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’ But what is God’s reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (11:2-6). Paul’s point is the same point he made in Romans 9: God never promised to save every single Israelite but only a remnant of them. In Elijah’s day, the vast majority of Israel had forsaken God, and Elijah thought that all of Israel except himself had forsaken God. But God made clear that there was a remnant of 7,000 who had remained faithful. And Paul says that such is the reality in his own day. God has not rejected Israel because there are physical Israelites (Jews) who have repented of their sins and placed their faith in Christ. And this salvation is entirely by grace and not by the works of keeping the law or being perfectly obedient to God.
Paul closes his argument in this section with a reiteration of another theme that was seen in chapter 9 as he writes, “What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.’ And David says, ‘Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever’” (11:7-10). In these verses Paul reiterates again that God “hardens whomever he wills” (9:18b). Even among his chosen people of Israel, it is clear that salvation comes from the Lord. The vast majority of God’s chosen nation had refused to place their faith in Christ. They could not see because God had blinded their eyes. And they could not hear because God had stopped up their ears. Paul’s clear point in this section is that God has not abandoned Israel because a remnant of them are being saved. As for the rest, they have been hardened by God.
At this point in the argument, it becomes a bit difficult to follow the flow of Paul’s logic and thought. For that reason, we are going to look at the specific ideas Paul lays out and point to the various places in his argument where those points are made. Paul essentially lays out truths regarding the future of Israel (11:11-16). He follows these truths with a specific application of them to his readers (11:17-24). He then does the same thing again by laying out truths (11:25-32) followed by application (11:33-36). We will look at the truths together, and then we will look at the applications together.
Beginning in verse 11, Paul adds a new phase to his argument. In Paul’s mind, the hardening that he has just described in 11:7-10 is not the final word for the nation of Israel. In fact, he writes, “So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means!” (11:11a). Paul’s question is this: Will this hardening of Israel last forever? Does their stumbling (9:33, 11:9) mean that they are forever forsaken? Paul’s answer is an emphatic “No!” He supports this answer by giving us a “behind-the-scenes” look at God’s grand plan of salvation history. It is a plan that has parts with which we are very familiar as well as parts that might be new. But we will go through this grand plan piece-by-piece.
Israel’s hardening has resulted in salvation for the Gentiles (11:11a, 12a, 15a, 28a).
The first thing Paul makes clear is that the hardening of the nation of Israel happened for a specific purpose: in order that the Gentiles might be saved. Paul makes this clear in a few different places. He writes, “…through their [the Jews’] trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles” (11:11a), and he continues by saying, “…their [the Jews’] trespass means riches for the world, and…their failure means riches for the Gentiles” (11:12a). He reiterates this in verse 15 by saying, “…their rejection means the reconciliation of the world” (11:15a). He says again, near the end of his argument, “As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake” (11:28a). In this context, that statement means that the fact that the Jews have rejected the gospel is for the sake of the Gentiles. Israel’s hardening is not without purpose; it is meant to bring the Gentiles to Christ. This truth is not a new truth. God’s plan from the very beginning of time was that Adam would “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion” over it (Gen. 1:28). The same command was given to Noah (Gen. 9:1-2), and the promises to Abraham were given with an eye to the whole world and not just the nation of Israel (Gen. 22:18). No doubt, it comes as a surprise to see that the way blessing flowed through Israel to the nations was through Israel’s hardening, but this was the plan of God. Romans 9 made clear God’s intention all along to bring salvation to the Gentiles by quoting Hosea 2:23 and 1:10. Lee’s text last week made clear the same thing by quoting Deut. 32:21 and Isa. 65:1. God’s plan all along was to bring salvation to the Gentiles and that has been accomplished by the hardening of the nation of Israel.
The salvation of the Gentiles is meant to make Israel jealous (11b, 13-14).
But the story does not stop there. Paul goes on to make clear that the next step in the progress of salvation history is that the salvation of the Gentiles is meant to make Israel jealous. Paul makes this clear as he writes, “So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous” (11:11). Then, Paul drives the point home by pointing out how this is even the goal of his own ministry among the Gentiles: “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them” (11:13-14). Paul is making clear that one intended result of the salvation of the Gentiles is that it will cause many of the ethnic Jews to become jealous. This is the very thing that Lee’s text spoke of last week. In Deuteronomy 32, God declares (through Moses) that Israel has made him jealous by serving what is no god at all. As a result, God declares that he will make Israel jealous by choosing a people that are no people at all. That people is the Gentiles, and the goal of that provocation to jealousy is the salvation of Israel.
There is a day coming in which many ethnic Israelites will be saved (11:12b-15, 20, 23, 25-27, 30-32).
Here, at least in the flow of Paul’s argument is the culmination of salvation history. Paul has made clear that Israel was hardened so that the Gentiles might be saved. And he has made clear that the Gentiles are being saved in order to provoke the nation of Israel to jealousy. And the main point of Paul’s argument in this section is to make clear that their will come a day when a large number of ethnic Israelites will place their faith in Jesus Christ and be saved. Paul is adamant on this point and wants his readers to understand it – for particular purposes that we will see in a moment. Paul makes a number of points regarding this coming day of salvation for Israel, and we will focus on the three main aspects of it.
First, Paul seems to give a general time for this salvation: either just before or at the second coming of Jesus Christ. In verse 12, Paul writes, “Now if their [the Jews’] trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!” Here, it seems that Paul believes something incredible will happen when this great number of Jews believe. In fact, something will happen that surpasses even the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles that came as a result of their rejection. What is it that will happen? In verse 15, Paul writes, “For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” Here, Paul uses the same type of argumentation he used in verse 12, but he is a little more specific about what the “greater thing” that will happen: it is “life from the dead!” In Paul’s language, this seems to be a reference to the great resurrection that will happen at Christ’s second coming (John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:52). This point is made stronger near the end of Paul’s argument in this section as he writes, “Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins’” (11:25-27). The reference in these verses to Israel being hardened “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” seems to point to an end-day when no more Gentiles will be saved. And the quote about the Deliverer from Isaiah 59:20-21 seems to strengthen the idea that this end-day will be the day of Christ’s coming. Paul’s point then goes something like this: wonderful things have happened because Israel was hardened (i.e. the salvation of many Gentiles) and so even greater things will happen when Israel is saved (i.e. the second coming of Christ and all of the glorious things that brings with it).
Second, Paul seems to give a reason for this salvation of many Israelites: because of God’s gracious election of, and promises to, the patriarchs. In verse 16, Paul writes, “If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” In context, the dough offered as firstfruits and the root seem to refer to the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Paul goes on to say: “As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (11:28-29). Here Paul makes clear that the reason God will save these many Israelites is because of the promises that he made to their forefathers. Again, Paul is holding out that God is faithful to his promises. On first glance, this might cause us some confusion. Did Paul not say in Romans 4 that the promises that were made to Abraham come to people of faith rather than his physical descendants? Has Paul not been making the point all along that it does not matter if a person is a physical Israelite when it comes to God’s grace and salvation (2:28-29)? Did Paul not call Gentiles “heirs” of the promises? The answer to all of these questions comes in the third main point that Paul makes about this salvation of the Israelites: it will come about by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul makes clear in verse 20 – speaking of Jews who were broken off of the olive tree – “They were broken off because of their unbelief.” Paul does not specify an object of this faith, but having gone through Romans and knowing the gospel, the right object can only be Jesus Christ. Paul wants his readers to understand that the hardening that has come upon Israel is taken away when they believe. He writes, “…if they do not continue in their unbelief, [they] will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again” (11:23). Indeed, as we have already seen, the Deliverer spoken about in the Isaiah quote in verses 26-27 is none other than Jesus Christ. It seems that the way this great number of Jews will be saved is through their repentance and belief in Christ. They will be saved the same way all of the Gentiles throughout time have been saved. This is Paul’s point in 11:30-32: “Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.” The same mercy that has been shown to the Gentiles – that is, mercy by grace through faith in Jesus Christ – will be shown to many Jews who will be saved at Christ’s second coming. So, to sum up Paul’s argument in this text, he is making the point that God has not abandoned his people, Israel, because there is a remnant that is being saved. Those who are not part of this remnant have been hardened by God. But this hardening has an explicit purpose: the salvation of the Gentiles. And the salvation of the Gentiles, likewise, has an explicit purpose: to make the Jews jealous. And the end result of that jealousy will be the salvation of a great number of ethnic Jews at Christ’s second coming. Before moving on to Paul’s practical exhortations, I want to make clear what Paul is not saying. There are some who claim that Paul is just flat-out contradicting himself by saying throughout this letter that being a physical Jew means nothing only to hold out hope for the future salvation of physical Jews. We must be clear that no such contradiction exists. Paul makes very clear with his imagery of the olive tree that there are not two peoples of God. There is one people and Jesus Christ died to break down any dividing walls that might separate the various groups that make up the people of God (Eph. 2:11-22). As we have seen throughout the letter to the Romans, the promises that God made to Abraham come to all of those who are in Christ whether they are Jew or Gentile. God’s purpose is to create a people for himself from every people, tongue, tribe and nation. This means that every nation is included. But we must also be careful to point out that it does not mean that the nation of Israel is excluded. The people of God will most certainly include a great number of ethnic Israelites. It will not include them simply because they are ethnic Israelites. It will include them because they are part of God’s elect just like you and me as Gentiles. Jews have no claim or right or merit when it comes to eternal life. Gentiles have no claim or right or merit when it comes to eternal life. This eternal life is a gift that comes to all who believe – Jew or Gentile. Since Christ’s coming, God has hardened the vast majority of Jews while ha has saved vast numbers of Gentiles by his grace. At Christ’s second coming, God will save vast numbers of physical Jews who are still alive by his grace.
Having laid out these truths about the future destiny of Israel and their place in salvation history as a whole, we come to Paul’s final major point. Paul lays out these difficult and somewhat perplexing truths for the express purpose of bringing about a particular heart and response in his readers. Specifically, Paul holds out two things he wants to see these truths elicit from his readers: 1) a heart of humility and 2) a heart of worship. We will look at each in turn.
These truths should make us humble people (11:17-24).
After laying out the first part of his argument, Paul seems to almost break off his flow of thought in order to exhort his Gentile readers to humility. He begins by saying, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe” (11:17-20). Paul wants to make clear from the very beginning that Gentiles were not grafted in because of their worthiness. Likewise, other branches were not broken off simply because God could not live without certain Gentile branches. Rather, branches were broken off because of their unbelief – irregardless of us. Likewise, we were grafted in (notice as well that this was not something we did, it was done to us) because of faith! Partaking in the nourishment of the olive tree, in Paul’s mind, has nothing at all to do with worthiness and everything to do with faith. For those of us who are believers, we must never forget this. As Lee mentioned last week, we do not change paradigms once we begin a Christian. It is not as if we are saved by grace apart from works and persevere by works apart from grace. Salvation is by grace through faith from beginning to end. This is the reason that Jesus makes clear to his disciples, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers” (John 15:6a). Salvation comes by being connected to the vine, and we are connected to the vine by faith and not by works. And the same holds true for everyone else. Paul goes on to make clear that if we do not continue in faith, we will be broken off just like many of the Jewish branches were broken off. He writes, “For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off” (11:21-22). Again, Paul’s point is that we as Gentile branches are no better than the original Jewish branches. They did not belief and so they were broken off. If we fail to believe, at any point, we will be broken off as well. It must be said here that this is not teaching that salvation can be lost. Rather, in this world – as seen in the nation of Israel and acknowledge by the Lord’s parable regarding wheat and tares – it is impossible for us as human beings to ascertain with 100% accuracy who is saved and who is not. We do have sharper means than those given to Israel in the Old Testament, but we still are not absolutely perfect. This text is one of many that makes clear that the Lord is not fooled about who belongs to him. Those who belief will bear much fruit. But those who do not believe, though in this life they seem to be a vital branch of the olive tree, will be broken off and burned. They were never true branches. Having made clear that Gentiles who do not continue in the faith will be broken off, Paul also makes clear that Jews who believe will be grafted back in to the olive tree. He writes, “And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree” (11:23-24). Again, Paul wants to make clear that the ultimate issue is faith. No individual branch (i.e. believer) is superior in any way to any other branch. If a person believes, they are grafted in, irrespective of the other branches. And if a person does not believe, they are cut off, irrespective of the other branches.
The point of this section of Paul’s letter is that Christians of every race should be the most humble people in the world because they recognize that they are no different from anyone else apart from God’s grace to them. The only thing that makes them any different is what they have received from God and the reason they have received anything from God lies not in themselves but in God. And so, as we live our lives this week, let us be earnest about living lives of humility. May it be demonstrated in every second of our lives. We do not exist to serve ourselves but to serve others. We are not above serving anyone – and we are commanded to serve the least of these. Root out arrogance in your life because you understand the gospel rightly.
These truths should make us people who worship (11:33-36).
Paul closes this chapter, and this section of the letter (9:1-11:36) with a glorious doxology of praise. He writes, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (11:33). Paul first praises the Lord for his infinite wisdom and knowledge – it is far deeper and greater than we can ever imagine. He continues, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” (11:34-35). Paul continues his praise by pointing out the sheer self-sustaining nature of our God. The Lord needs no one else – he does not need counsel or wisdom or smarts or gifts. The Lord needs nothing from us and this fact should elicit unending praise from us. And Paul closes by writing, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (11:36). Paul closes his spontaneous moment of worship by pointing again to the fact that the reason all things exist is to glorify God. Paul praises the Lord because it is the reason he was made. As we read these final words of Paul, we cannot help but see in his example an exhortation. Like Paul, these deep truths that we have seen this morning should cause us to fall on our faces before God in worship. Just as we said in Romans 9, if we put God on the witness stand and act as if he must explain himself to us, then we overstep our bounds. God’s thoughts are far beyond our thoughts and his ways are far above our ways. The end result of everything we learn about God and his workings in the world should be praise. It is the reason we exist and we have every reason to praise because our God is more powerful than we can even imagine. Our God is wiser than we can even imagine. And our God is more gracious and merciful and compassionate than we can even imagine. May we praise him as Paul does for his glorious works in our lives and the lives of those around us. It is fitting on that note that we come to the table to take communion. The wisest thing that God has ever done is send his Son to die on the cross so that he might be both just and the justifier of the one who believes. The most gracious thing God has ever done is send his Son to die for us while we were still sinners and enemies of him. The most powerful thing God has ever done is raise his Son from the dead in order to justify guilty sinners like us. In remembering the sacrifice of Christ, we remember the incredible God we serve. And as we remember, we worship. Amen.