At the time Paul was writing this letter, many Jews had rejected Christ and were therefore showing themselves as rejected by God. And yet Paul warns the Gentiles who have been saved not to become arrogant towards those Jews who currently rejected the gospel. For God could and would save many of those Jews who were at that time rejecting the gospel. For it is more natural for God to save a "cultivated olive branch" (one who is of Jewish decent and heritage) than it is for Him to save "wild olive branch" (a Gentile)!
| 11:11 | Again I ask: Did they [the Jewish people] stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! [The inclusion of the Gentiles as God's people will not result in the final rejection of the Jews, but rather the inclusion of the Gentiles was designed by God to be the means by which the Jews would be won to the gospel out of envy over what the Gentiles had]: Rather, because of
their
[the Jews'] [Indeed this was the case, the gospel was preached to the Gentiles because the Jews had first rejected it. Paul himself (along with Barnabas) on one occasion said to a group of Jews who rejected the gospel: "We had to speak the word of God to You [Jews] first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, now we turn to the Gentiles. . . When the Gentiles heard this they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed". (Acts 13:46-48)]: [Paul now shows by contrast that the acceptance of the gospel by the Jewish people is a desirable event. For if their rejection of the gospel brought great benefit to the Gentiles, how much more will their acceptance of the gospel bring]: |
| 11:12 | But if their
transgression
[the Jews' sin in rejecting the gospel] means riches [blessings] for the [Gentile] world, and their [spiritual] loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! [Paul does not want his readers to think that because he is the "apostle to the Gentiles" that he is not working towards the conversion of Jews. For his labor among the Gentiles is done with an eye towards winning the Jews through envy of what the Gentiles have received]: |
| 11:13 | I am talking to
you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of [or speak highly of] my ministry |
| 11:14 | in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. |
| 11:15 | For if their
[the Jews'] rejection is the reconciliation of the [Gentile] world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead [a change from misery to joy]? ["Not only in scripture, but also in [other] literature, the transition from a state of depression and misery to one of prosperity, is expressed by the natural figure of passing from death to life" (Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans p.365)] [Paul now uses two parallel illustrations to show that the conversion of the people of ethnic Israel is desirable and natural.] [The first illustration is taken from the Jewish practice of setting aside the first portion of their harvest (Deuteronomy 18:4; Nehemiah 10:37) by which the harvest would be (symbolically) considered as set apart to God]: |
| 11:16 | If the part of
the dough offered as firstfruits [symbolic of the patriarchs] is holy, [set apart for sacred use] then the whole batch [symbolic of the descendants of the patriarchs, i.e., the Jews] is holy [set apart for sacred use];
[The holiness of the patriarchs [The second illustration if the root
[symbolic of the patriarchs] [Paul now uses the illustration of a tree to warn against those Gentiles who might look down on the Jews thinking that the Gentiles are now better than the Jews] |
| 11:17 | If some of the
branches [Jews descended from Abraham] have been broken off [rejected by God], and you [a Gentile], though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in [made part of God's people] among the others [elect Jews] and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root [benefits of the Jewish heritage], |
| 11:18 | do not boast over those
branches [Jews].
If you [Gentiles] do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. ["Whenever Gentile Christians feel a disposition to boast with respect to Jews, let them remember not only that the Jews were the first people of God, but that the first Christians were also Jews. The Jews received no advantage from the Gentiles; but on the contrary the Gentiles received much from the Jews, from whom the gospel sounded out - its first preachers being Jews, and of whom Christ Himself, as concerning the flesh, came." (Haldane, An Exposition of Romans, p.538)] |
| 11:19 |
You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." |
| 11:20 | Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith [and have no right to boast]. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. |
| 11:21 | For if God did not
spare the natural branches, [because of unbelief] He will not spare you either [if you are found in unbelief]. |
| 11:22 | Consider therefore the
kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. [thus proving the genuiness of your faith] Otherwise, [if your faith is not genuine] you also will be cut off. |
| 11:23 | And if they
[the
Jews] do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in [saved], for God is able to graft them in again. |
| 11:24 | After all, if you
[as a Gentile] were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches [Jews], be grafted into their own olive tree! [If one can believe that God saves Gentiles (and He does) then it is much easier to believe that He will save Jews, who are the "natural" branches.] |