Romans 9–11: The Place of Israel in Salvation History (Part 5b): Israel’s Role in God’s Plan

“If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 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” (Rom. 11:16-20, ESV).

A Call for Humility

Comparable figures are employed to illustrate the same point. The “firstfruit” [ἀπαρχή – singular] (cf. 8:23) of the “dough” is an image taken from Num. 15:17-21. Before baking, a portion of the dough was to be set aside to “give to the Lord,” providing a loaf for the priests,¹ so that the entire crop would be consecrated (dedicated to God). The imagery of the “olive tree” and its “root” and “branches” would be based on passages like Neh. 8:15; Jer. 11:16; Hos. 14:7; Zech. 4:11. The original “lump” and “root” represent the people of Israel, the “branches … broken off” are those (“some,” cf. 3:3) who have rejected Christ and forfeited their place among the “holy” people of God (cf. 1:7; 8:27; 12:1). The “you” are Gentiles (v. 13), from “a wild olive shoot,” that have been “grafted in” among the remnant of Israelites who are now in Christ.²

Paul calls for humility (cf. v. 25), “do not be arrogant” or “become proud” toward the Jewish people, because they have played an integral role in God’s plan (9:4-5), laying the foundational “support” upon which all Christians now stand. Since so many of them are now cut off from God, you Gentile believers ought to respectfully “fear” (cf. 13:4) lest you face the same consequence (2:1-3; cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-12).³

God’s Severity and Kindness

“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” (Rom. 11:21-24). 

In these verses we see the dreadful reality of apostasy (cf. 9:3). Also note God’s impartiality, the conditional nature of his promises, and the motivational impact of both his “kindness” and “severity” (cf. 2:4-11). Moreover, even for those who have been “cut off,” there is still hope “if they do not continue in their unbelief.” Verses 17-24 serve as an extended parenthesis, addressing the need for humility among Gentile Christians and hope for Jews who can still be reached with the gospel.⁴ God does not reject all Israel, only those who reject his way through Christ. Receptive Gentiles and receptive Jews are grafted into the same “olive tree,” saved the same way as a result of their faithful obedience. 

Fulfilling God’s Purpose

Paul is bringing this three-chapter discourse to a close, having shown that the rejection of Israel is not averse to God’s promises and justice. The people of Israel are responsible for their own actions, which inadvertently (on their part) and providentially (on God’s part) have enabled non-Jewish people to more readily receive the gospel. As for the nation of Israel’s future, God’s longsuffering and merciful kindness ensure there is still hope. 

“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25). 

Still deterring potential self-conceit and arrogance (cf. v. 18), Paul does not want his readers “to be unaware” (cf. 1:13; 7:1)⁵ of this “mystery” [μυστήριον], something once hidden but now revealed (cf. 16:25). The “partial hardening” (cf. vv. 5-10), applicable to “some” among “Israel” (v. 17) who “were unfaithful” (3:3), alludes back to 9:17-18 and pertains to God’s expectations that soften compliant hearts but harden the stubborn and resistant <see further discussion here>.  

This state of affairs lasts “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Rather than the more limited sense of “Gentiles,” however, opportunity is afforded to unbelievers of all “nations” [ἔθνη] (LSV, YLT; cf. 1:5; 4:16-17) until the “fullness” or “fulfillment” [πλήρωμα] of God’s salvific plan (cf. v. 12), or consummation of all things in the final judgment (cf. 2:4-10; 9:22).⁶ The verbal εἰσέρχομαι (“come in”) is repeatedly used in the NT for entering the divine kingdom, life, or glory.⁷ Note also the future tense of “will be saved” (v. 26; cf. 5:9-10; 9:27; 10:9). Perhaps the best commentary on the “mystery”⁸ of God’s purpose in Christ for “the nations” is at the end of the letter:  

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery [μυστήριον] that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations [ἔθνη], according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith. (16:25-26)

This is being accomplished through “the word of faith that we proclaim” (10:8). 

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ See Josephus, Antiquities 4.4.

     ² Cf. Matt. 16:18; 28:18-20; John 15:1-10; Eph. 2:11-22.

     ³ See also Heb. 3:12-13; 4:1; 6:4-8; 10:35-38; 12:15, 25.

     ⁴ J. Murray, “Romans” 679-80.

     ⁵ Note also 1 Cor. 10:1; 12:1; 2 Cor. 1:8; 1 Thess. 4:13; comparable to “I want you to know” in 1 Cor. 11:3 and Col. 2:1. This is in contrast to what readers already know (1 Cor. 5:6; 6:2-19; 9:13, 24; 12:2; 16:15; etc.).

     ⁶ Disciples are to be made of “all the nations” [πάντα τὰ ἔθνη] until the end of the age (Matt. 28:18-20); “making known to us the mystery [μυστήριον] of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness [πλήρωμα] of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:9-10). “God our Savior … desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4). “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). In Luke 21:24, in the context of Jerusalem’s prophetic destruction by the Romans, Jewish survivors would be led captive “unto all the nations” [εἰς τὰ ἔθνη πάντα] (scattered far away from their sacred land), the city would be destroyed “by [the] Gentiles/nations” [ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν] (the multi-national Roman legions), “until [the] times of [the] nations are fulfilled” [ἄχρι οὗ πληρωθῶσιν καιροὶ ἐθνῶν], i.e., disciples will be made of all nations until the end of the age, so Jerusalem will never again regain its former glory as the center of nationalistic Judaism.

     ⁷ Matt. 5:20; 7:13, 21; 18:3, 8-9; 19:16-17, 23-24; 23:13; 25:10, 21, 23; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; 10:15, 23-25; Luke 13:24; 14:23; 18:17, 25; 24:26; John 3:5; 10:9; Acts 14:22; Heb. 3:11–4:11; 6:19-20; 9:12; Rev. 22:14.

     ⁸ Cf. 1 Cor. 2:7; 4:1; Eph. 1:9; 3:3-9; 5:32; 6:19; Col. 1:24-28; 2:2; 4:3-4; 1 Tim. 3:9, 16.

Related Posts: The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth (Part 4), Rom 11:1-15