Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for all Israel to be saved. I followed the LORD Jesus and He took me into a synagague on Sabbath.. it was very interesting from the start! I spoke to the Rabbi, and as I was witnessing he rebuked me saying I can't say "Baruch Atah Adonai" as it is taking the LORD's name in vain... which it absolutely was not, giving praise freely to Jesus is what life is all about hello! Anyway, I witnessed to Him saying I was born again and saved, which he didn't understand I guess.. the whole service he boasted on the "Jews being God's chosen and His true people"..the Holy Spirit discerned pride and ego there and the Bible tells us exactly what is going on. There is no pride in rejecting the Messiah, as they already have. This is a study of Romans, and how salvation has come to US GENTILES to provoke the Jews to jealousy. Little did this Rabbi know, I was there to witness.
Right from the get-go, God knew full well that His people would go astray. But He had a plan to win them back. He was going to make them jealous! Paul asks in Romans 11:11,
“Did they [the people of Israel] 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. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!”
Yes, it was God’s plan that His new covenant would extend the possibility of relationship with God to all the peoples of the earth… and that this would also cause the Jewish people to see what they were missing out on.
There is a difference between jealousy and envy, but we use the words as if they mean the same thing. One is sinful and the other describes God. Envy is coveting—wanting something that doesn’t belong to us. Instead of being thankful for what they have, people ignore the wise adage that “comparison is the thief of joy” and envy eats them up. But sometimes jealousy, which is to do with someone else having what rightly belongs to us, can result in boundless joy! Let me explain what I mean.
When giving the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, God warns that He is a jealous God, who does not tolerate rivals. Israel’s devotion was supposed to be for Him, not anyone or anything else. He wants a committed love relationship with us, and is not prepared to share our affections with any other. He will not tolerate what might be called an “open relationship” in today’s terms—He is strictly monogamous. God has given everything for us and to us, and our hearts should belong to Him. Envy is the wrong response when we are tempted to want something that rightfully belongs to another. It is about discontent and greed. But jealousy is the right response when someone who is rightly yours is intimate with another. It is primarily about relationship.
And here’s another time in Scripture where jealousy is a right response, with great results. In Deuteronomy 32:21, God says;
“They [the people of Israel] have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.”
As Jewish believers, many of us found ourselves jealous of the relationship our Christian friends had with God, and of their knowledge of our own Hebrew Scriptures, which led to wanting to know God like that for ourselves. This is the right of all God’s children, Jew and Gentile, but only through the blood of the Messiah to remove the blockage of sin that stands in the way. Sometimes unbelieving Jewish people can only look on and long for such a relationship, wondering how it is that these gentiles have such a special connection with their God. Because He is precisely that—our God! But now, the good news has gone out from Zion to the ends of the earth!
Today, our God is the God of all nations. So there is a twang of jealousy—wait a minute—isn’t He the God of Israel?
These Psalms are from the Jewish King David to his God – they are Jewish! Song of Songs is a love story between God and Israel, isn’t it? What is this? How are these Gentiles able to enjoy such closeness and love with our God? How come they have it and I don’t?
Some people think that Jewish people will be consumed by fits of jealousy by gentiles who follow the rules of the Torah extremely well, but biblical jealousy has never been about toeing the line and following rules. No. It is a deeply relational phenomenon. It is driven only by love, and the knowledge that your beloved is intimately enjoying another. It is seeing the living relationship with the Father that gentiles enjoy – the peace in his love, the rich connection and two-way communication that Yeshua has bought for us all that provokes the jealousy; seeing gentiles with a close connection with the God of Israel.
This is the jealousy that provokes many Jewish people into finding out more about Yeshua, the One through whom this connection is possible.
This is the jealousy that has led many Jewish people back into the arms of their Father God.
This is the jealousy that results in boundless joy… and in turn, as Jewish people are won back to their God, unimaginable riches for the whole world.
The Ingrafting of the Gentiles
10May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.” 11I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. 12But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!…
A Remnant Chosen by Grace
1I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel: 3“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”a?
4And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”b
5In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.c
7What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, 8as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see,
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”d
9And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
10May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”e
The Ingrafting of the Gentiles
11I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?f Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. 12But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
13I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them. 15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, 18do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly notg spare you either.
22Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come from Zion;
He will remove godlessness from Jacob.
27And this is My covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”h
28Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. 29For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
30Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience, 31so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you.i 32For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.
A Hymn of Praise
(Isaiah 40:9–31)
33O, the depth of the riches
of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments,
34“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been His counselor?”j
35“Who has first given to God,
that God should repay him?”k
36For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
Another Hebrew word often used for those apart from Israel is goy, plural goyim. The word is translated nation(s) or Gentile(s). While this usually refers to non-Jews, it may also refer to Israel, depending on the context. In Genesis 12:1-3 God promised Abraham that He would make him into a goy gadol (great nation).
Yet another word, am, plural ammim, also means nations. In the singular, it can refer to the nation Israel; otherwise it means Gentiles.
Throughout Scripture, many passages indicate that the faithful of all nations will be included in the blessings of God. This theme is seen from Genesis to Revelation. The following passages are just a few samples of the Scriptures that tell how God’s plan of salvation was always to include both Jews and Gentiles.
While we affirm that the Jews are God’s chosen people, it is important to note that God’s plan from the beginning has always been to bless all people through the Jewish people.
Torah
Passage 1
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
All families of the earth were to be blessed through Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-3)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
The promise to Abraham was not only to his descendents, but to all those who would walk by faith. (Romans 4:11-13, Galatians 3:8)
Passage 2
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
God commanded that the ger enter Israel’s Sabbath rest. (Exodus 20:10; 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
Jesus invites all who are weary to come unto Him, and he will give rest. (Matthew 11:28)
God’s rest is for those who believe, whether Jew or Gentile. (Hebrews 4:1-9)
Passage 3
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
There was no distinction in obligation between the ger and Israel. Both shared in the blessings of God; both had responsibilities to God. (Numbers 15:14-15)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
God does not give preference to those who received the law, but will judge according to the gospel. (Romans 2:10-16)
Writings
Passage 1
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
Ruth, a loyal ger, was greatly blessed by God. (Ruth 1:16-18; 4:13, 21, 22)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
Because Ruth was used to bring forth King David, she was also part of the lineage of King Messiah, Jesus. (Matthew 1:6)
Passage 2
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
God’s glory to be declared among the nations, goyim, and His marvelous works among all peoples, ammim. (1 Chronicles 16:24)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
Jesus commanded the gospel be proclaimed to all nations. (Matthew 28:19)
Passage 3
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
Gentiles will have a part in the Kingdom of God. (Psalm 86:9)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
The nations are fellow heirs of God’s promises through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:6)
Passage 4
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
The Psalmist will sing praises with the nations—Jews and Gentiles together. (Psalm 108:3)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
Jews and Gentiles are united by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
Passage 5
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
All the families of the nations will worship before the Lord. (Psalm 22:27-28)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:9-11)
Prophets
Passage 1
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
Gentiles, goyim, will come to thy light. (Isaiah 60:3)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
Simeon recognized Jesus as the light who would lighten the Gentiles. (Luke 2:29,31)
Passage 2
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
God will show mercy upon one who had not obtained mercy and will say to them which were not His people, “’You are my people!’ and they shall say, ‘You are my God.’” (Hosea 2:23)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
Those who were once strangers and aliens, far from God, have now drawn near through the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11-13)
Passage 3
Old Testament promise or principle of blessing to the non-Jew
Jonah preached to Gentile Nineveh, and the city repented and God spared it. (Jonah 3:10)
New Testament Fulfillment or application
In contrast to Jonah, the early “Jews for Jesus” rejoiced because the Gentiles received the word of the Lord. (Acts 15:3)
One of the things Christians are known for is seeking God’s will and calling for our lives. We have books, seminars, conferences, and sermons geared toward helping us find God’s calling for us. Thankfully, the Bible reveals to us several callings that God has given to His people. We are called to love God with everything we are and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:36-40). We are called to love and pray for our enemies (Matt. 5:44). We are called to judge rightly (John 7:24). We are called to share the Gospel with the lost (Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 10:31-11:1). We are called to keep from sexual immorality and pursue holiness (1 Thess. 4:1-8). We are called to enthusiastically attend church (Heb. 10:25). There is a calling however that I believe we as Reformed Christians have neglected in both our communal and individual lives. That calling is one of jealousy.
Jewish Jealousy
Jealousy?! Isn’t jealousy a sin? Well, yes and no. The Bible defines certain types of jealousy as sin (1 Cor. 3:3; Gal. 5:26). There are other types of jealousy that are not sin, being the jealousy God feels for His people (Ex. 34:14) and the jealousy a husband or wife would feel for their straying spouse (Prov. 6:32-35). However, there is another type of jealousy that God prompts according to Romans 11.
This jealousy is one that occurs in the physical sons of Abraham by God’s gathering of the Gentiles into His eternal Kingdom. This act of God in saving non-Jewish men and women throughout the world incites an anger in the Jewish people as we see clearly in Acts 13:13-52 which then turns into a jealousy that those who were formerly “not a people…are God’s people” (1 Peter 2:10). We know Romans 9-10 as the passages that teach of God’s sovereign choice of individuals unto salvation and the importance of evangelistic preaching in the outworking of God’s plan of redemption. However, we usually don’t hear of chapter 11 as connected to Romans 9-10 which deals with ethnic Israel and their place in God’s overall plan.
After explaining that God is not done with national Israel, in Romans 11:11 Paul 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.” In other versions (BLB and KJV) the word “provoke” is used. To “provoke” is “to cause the occurrence of a feeling or action” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). Since it is God who is the One who provokes Israel to jealousy, does that mean that we Gentile Christians have no responsibility in this particular work of God?
This is the same type of question as “If God is sovereign, why pray?” or “If God has already elected people to be saved, then why preach the Gospel?” It is a good question and the answer is that not only does God ordain the ends but also ordains the means by which to accomplish His ends. We are the vessels He has chosen to use in the provocation of the Jewish people and that means that we do play an active part which will be dealt with in a bit. But why is God in the business of making the Jewish people jealous in the first place?
The Purpose of Jewish Jealousy
God calls us as non-Jewish Christians to participate in this journey with Him and the purpose of God calling us to help make the Jewish people jealous is for their “full inclusion” (Romans 11:12c) into the Kingdom of God which will be a rich blessing to the world (Romans 11:12)! It is so that ultimately “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26a). God uses us, partners with us, to bring the natural branches of the olive tree (Romans 11:17-24) back home and what an honor and privilege that is! Why did God call us to this task however? Are there any advantages that we as Gentile Christians have?
When the Holy Spirit first came upon the house of Cornelius, those in attendance were amazed. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also” (Acts 10:44-45). Why were “those of the circumcision” amazed? What made this event astonishing? As it turns out, the inclusion of the Gentiles in the calling of God is something that many in the early New Testament times did not believe would happen. However, as we will find out, it has always been God’s plan to offer the gift of the Holy Spirit and salvation to all men, Jews and Gentiles alike.
The reference to those of the circumcision applies primarily to the Jews who had become Christians, and now received the Holy Spirit. The fact that these people were Jewish by heritage helps to explain their astonishment. Until this moment, the Holy Spirit was primarily received under very special circumstances by others written about in the Bible before Christ. Since the establishment of the ancient Houses of Israel and Judah, most, but not all, of the people who received the Holy Spirit in Old Testament times were of the House of Israel, but now the Holy Spirit was offered on a larger scale to those outside the Houses of Israel and Judah. For this reason the Jews were amazed – other than circumcised Gentiles who had become Proselytes and part of the community of Judah, they didn’t think that people with a non-Israelite heritage would be given the Holy Spirit. This event was a revelation of one of the mysteries of the Bible, that salvation will be offered to the Gentile, just as it is to the Jew and the Israelite.
In another Q&A about the presence of Arabs in Jerusalem at the Day of Pentecost, we learn that until the moment when Cornelius received the Holy Spirit, only Jews, Proselytes who had converted to Judaism, and Samaritans (compare Acts 8) had received it. We stated: “It is… NOT correct to conclude that only native Jews were present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D, when the New Testament Church of God began. There were also Proselytes in attendance, including Arabs… Paul, after his conversion, went to Arabia (Galatians 1:17) and stayed there for a while, perhaps, as Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible suggests, to associate with those Arabs who had been converted on the Day of Pentecost.”
Because of these facts, it is easy to see how Jews of that time might come to the conclusion that only Jews and Proselytes might receive the Holy Spirit. That is why the event of Cornelius receiving the Holy Spirit is so momentous.
Even Peter was confused and amazed by this revelation. He received a vision about it, showing him that “‘What God has cleansed you must not call common’” (Acts 10:9-16). Initially, Peter did not understand the meaning of this vision and was perplexed by it. Shortly after receiving the vision, Peter traveled to meet Cornelius, who wished to hear the Gospel preached. Being Jewish, Peter knew that affiliating with Gentiles was condemned by Jewish tradition (compare a later event in Galatians 2:11-12), and to be in this situation with Cornelius must have put him out of his comfort zone. Regardless, after witnessing the Holy Spirit coming upon the house of Cornelius, he understood that the salvation offered to man extended to those who historically had been considered unclean.
When the Jews at Jerusalem heard of this event, they were outraged. However, after explaining the revelation of the mystery to them, they too were enlightened to the depth of the plan of God. “When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life’” (Acts 11:18). The mystery of the inclusion of Gentiles in the plan of salvation was being revealed. No longer was it limited to the Jew, Israelite, and Proselytes, but it was now made available to all those willing to repent of sin, and become baptized. It still took some time for this young Church to come to the realization that physical circumcision was not a requirement to become part of the Body of Christ, but the process of accepting Gentiles as fellow brethren had begun.
Peter began revealing the mystery, and Paul continued. As he wrote letters to the churches and delivered his ministry, Paul revealed the mystery that the gift of salvation is extended to Gentiles as well as Jews, Israelites, and Proselytes. To the Church of Ephesus he wrote about how this mystery, “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6), was not made known to the sons of men in other ages, but was now revealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:5). The fact that now Gentiles could become part of the same spiritual body had immense significance then and it is just as significant now.
We explain this as follows in our free booklet, “The Mysteries of the Bible,” chapter 4:
“… the mystery of Christ not only relates to who and what Christ was and is, but also, what Christ does… God must reveal this mystery to us in His Word, and He does reveal it.
“Ephesians 3:1–7 explains: ‘For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.’
“The mystery of Christ includes the fact that Jesus Christ is selecting people from all nations to be placed in His spiritual body, His Church, to become fellow heirs of God’s promise—the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. God the Father gives the Spirit of His Son to all those whom He wants (Galatians 4:6)—not just to those who are physical descendants of the tribes of Israel and Judah (and even the modern identity of Israel and Judah is a mystery to most people).
“In Colossians 1:24–28, Paul sheds further light on the mystery of Christ—that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, lives in all whom God the Father has called, and that He is making us perfect to attain to His glory in God’s Kingdom.
“He tells us: ‘I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints [‘the initiated’]. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Jesus Christ.’”
Paul explains the analogous mechanics of this mystery to the Romans as well. He writes about salvation of the Jews and the Gentiles, “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:11). He then proceeds to explain how Gentiles have been figuratively grafted onto a growing root and thereby becoming partakers of the gift of salvation offered to spiritual Israel (compare Romans 11:13-26). It is clear in reading this explanation that God intended for all mankind to be saved.
It is also interesting to note that even though the apostles revealed this mystery that Gentiles are included in the gift of salvation, it is referenced by Jesus Christ. He was aware of the wide-ranging effect of His inevitable sacrifice extending to the Gentiles. “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Jesus reveals the inclusiveness of the plan of God to include other followers in His plan, referring to the Gentiles, and bring everyone together into one spiritual body. (Compare Ephesians 2:11-18 ), “Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians,” explaining this passage.) Even though this was a mystery to the early Christian churches, Jesus Christ knew that this was part of the plan from the beginning.
The mystery of the salvation of the Gentiles was a huge revelation to the early Church. The impact is massive in that all of mankind is included. It is amazing to reflect on the absolute mercy offered. God does not show partiality to man (Acts 10:34), and making the gift of His Holy Spirit and the gift of salvation available to all who turn to God is proof of God’s grace.
Resistance to the Gospel is not a Jewish problem
It should not surprise us that Jewish people reject Yeshua (Jesus). Doesn’t the Bible teach that all of us, men and women, Jew and Gentile alike, resist the Gospel for the same reason – our sin and the pride that refuses to acknowledge our need for a Messiah or his forgiveness? In this there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. Resistance to the Gospel is common amongst all peoples, and there will always be few who are willing to enter the narrow gate and live by the teachings of Yeshua.
The Messiah himself even when we walked this earth and was seen by men was rejected. But was he surprised by that? Did he ask the Jews, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you read what’s in the Bible?” Yeshua knew that the deeper, more difficult problem of Jewish resistance to his message was in the hearts, not heads, of men. Faith in God or the Messiah is never just a matter of Bible knowledge. There must always be a willing spirit to submit and obey, and in this matter, Gentiles are no more able than Jews. Yeshua understood this well, and for this reason he has endless compassion for his people (He wept over Jerusalem). Indeed, it was to change our hearts that the Messiah came in the first place.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. John 15:5-6.
Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches, good branches can be grafted in, bad branches can be pruned and burnt. Jesus as the Vine is a good representation as to how we all can be saved through Him. If your ancestry is Abraham, the Jewish people, then you are part of God’s Promise to Abraham:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3
This promise, given to Abraham was to stand forever, God does not back out on His promises, but the children of Abraham did not stay true to their part of the bargain, they continued to be a hard-headed, stubborn people and often strayed from God’s protection, so God had to send His only Son to bring them salvation. When Christ was not accepted as the promised Messiah, many of the Jews were cut off from God, and God allowed the Gentiles to gain Abraham’s promise, in part to cause jealousy from the Jews: “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them (the Jews) to jealousy” (Romans 11:11).
All that remains for the Jews is to believe and accept Christ as their savior. If you are not of Jewish decent, you can only be saved through adoption, or by being grafted into the vine, chosen by God to receive salvation. As a Jew who refuses to accept Christ, you will be pruned from the vine and cast into a fire to be burned up, but anyone who turns away from their unbelief can once again be grafted back into the vine.
That does not make the Jews inferior to the Gentiles, it simply illustrates that even the Gentiles who choose to believe in the salvation brought through Christ’s sacrifice, can become children of God. In the same token, that does not make the Gentiles any better, but opens the chance for anyone to be saved and reconciled to God, otherwise God would destroy us all. Once we accept Jesus into our lives, we are grafted into the vine and we can live forever as God’s chosen people. Once grafted, in we will be nourished by God through the Vine. We didn’t earn the right to be grafted in; it is God’s grace that gives us that privilege.
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 fear. 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. 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? Romans 11: 17-24 (ESV)
As a child of God have you ever realized that the unbelief of the Jewish people is what earned you the chance for salvation? How thankful are you that God’s will always works out for the best?
Romans 11:11
"Stumbled"=tripped; "fall"=fall into ruin, to fall in such a way as to not recover, "to fall beyond recovery". The second word for "fall" is a different word meaning "a false step, transgression, sin" (namely unbelief). This same word is found in Rom. 5:20 "offence". The nation Israel sinned and fell and rejected Christ, but it was not a fatal fall. The nation has not been ruined without any hope of recovery. A better day is coming! The nation shall rise again! When Christ came the first time the nation "received Him not" (John 1:10-12). When Christ shall come the second time the nation will bless their Messiah just prior to His return (Matt. 23:39). Today the nation is blinded and God has given them "a spirit of slumber (stupor)" (Rom. 11:8). In the future the nation will be made to see (Zech. 12:10) and God will pour upon His people "the spirit of grace and supplications." The present rejection will be followed by a future reception.
Israel’s present rejection and fall is a curse to Israel but a blessing to Gentiles because "through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles." During this present church age, the great majority of those who are members of the body of Christ are Gentiles (though we thank God for the Jewish exceptions!). God is visiting the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His Name (Acts 15:14). This is illustrated in John 1:11-12 (the Jews did not receive Christ, so God offers His salvation to ANYONE who will receive Him!). God has a purpose in Israel’s fall: to bring salvation to the Gentiles. God has a purpose in bringing salvation to the Gentiles: to provoke Israel to jealousy, to make Israel envious (see Romans 10:19 and also Romans 11:14). When the Jews rejected their Messiah, God had the good of the Gentiles in mind and salvation was brought to them (Rom. 11:11). God, in dealing with the Gentiles during this present age, has the good of the Jews in mind, in seeking through the Gentiles to provoke them to jealousy.
Three times Paul speaks about God’s purpose in using the Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy (see Romans 10:19; 11:11 and 11:14, and compare Deut.32:21). When a person is jealous or envious he is saying, "You have something that I want. You have something very good which I don’t have!" Let us now consider some of those things which the saved Gentiles now have which ought to make the Jewish people envious. These are blessings which the Jewish people should possess but they forfeited these things because of unbelief, and these are blessings which the church (made up mostly of Gentiles) now possesses and enjoys in Christ. Consider the following:
What the Jews had or what the Jews had been promised | What the Church (made up of mostly Gentiles) now enjoys | |
SALVATION | "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22) | "Through their (Israel’s) fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles" (Rom. 11:11) "Be it know unto you (Israel), that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it" (Acts 28:28; cf. 13:46). |
BLESSING | "I will bless thee and make thy name great" (Genesis 12:2) "I (the LORD) will bless them" (Num. 6:27) | "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3; cf. Gal. 3:14) |
A SPECIAL PEOPLE | "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD God; the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people who are upon the face of the earth" (Deut. 7:6) | "Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people (a special people of His own), zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14 and cf. 1Pet.2:9). |
A CHOSEN PEOPLE | "The LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself. The LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people" (Deut. 7:6-7) | But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation" (2 Thess. 2:13) "He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4) |
REDEEMED | "And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, Israel, whom God went to redeem to be His own people" (1 Chron. 17:21) | "In whom (Christ) we have redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1:7) "For ye are bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:20) |
REST | "To whom he said, This is the rest by which ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing; yet they would not hear" (Isaiah 28:12; cf. 30:15) | "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29) |
THE KINGDOM | "Behold the days come saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper… in His days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely" (Jeremiah 23:5-6; cf. Lk.1:32-33) | "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). |
NEARNESS OF GOD | "For what nation is there so great, who hath God as nigh (near) unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? (Deut. 4:7) | "But now in Christ Jesus ye who were once far off are made nigh (near) by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13) |
CIRCUMCISED
| Physical Circumcision was a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant--"and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you" (Gen. 17:11). | Spiritual Circumcision is a present blessing of those in Christ: "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" (Col. 2:11; see Phil. 3:3). |
POSSESSING GOD'S HOLY WORD | "And what nation is there so great, who hath statutes and ordinances as righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?" (Deut.4:8) | "For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me . . . I have given them thy Word" (John 17:8,14) |
THE BLESSING OF FORGIVENESS | "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psalm 32:1) "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel...for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:31,34) | "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:7) "Having forgiven you all trespasses" (Col. 2:13; cf. Rom. 4:6-9). "And their sins and iniquities I will remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17). |
THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT | "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes" (Ezekiel 36:26-27) "And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land" (Ezekiel 37:14; compare Isaiah 32:15; 44:3) | "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?" (1 Cor. 6:19) "Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (Romans 8:9) |
ACCESS TO THE HOLY OF HOLIES | "But into the second (the most holy place) went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood" (Heb. 9:7) | "Having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus... let us be drawing near" (Heb.10:19-22; 4:16) |
CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM | "I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me... They answered, and said unto Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham" (John 8:37,39; cf. Matt. 3:9) | "They who are of faith are the sons of Abraham...and if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed" (Galatians 3:7,9,29) "That he (Abraham) might be the father of all them that believe" Note: The fact that true believers living today are spiritual children of Abraham does not mean that the church is "spiritual Israel." See the following article: The Use of the Term "Israel" in the N.T. |
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