13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. ~ Romans 11:13-18
Today, we continue in our study of Romans 9-11 where the main theme is the sovereignty of God. Due to the fact that Israel, for the most part, rejected the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, it only makes sense that we would question the will of God. By virtue of the fact that Israel exercised their will seemingly over God's will, it appears that God is not sovereign. But, He has never forced His will on man. This is the nature of love, and at the end of the day, love is demonstrated by our choices.
Whereas Romans 9 is about God's past dealings with the nation of Israel, and Romans 10 is about His present dealings with Israel, Romans 11 is about the future God has in store for that seemingly insignificant country in the Middle East. In the context of today's passage we have seen that Israel's rejection of the gospel resulted in salvation for those Gentiles humble enough to place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. And, as we continue through this chapter, we will see that at the end of time, all of Israel will be saved.
In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them."
God gave the Apostle Paul the primary responsibility to take the gospel to the Gentiles in order to provoke the Jews to jealousy. This is what a personal relationship with the Lord God does to us; it causes us to gain His heart for the lost. Before his conversion on the road to Damascus, the Apostle Paul would have never been caught ministering to the lowly Gentiles. Yet, here he is ministering to us because God had called him to it. Evidence of the Father's heart is often seen in our love for the lost, no matter their pedigree.
In v.15 of today's passage we read, "For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?"
The Greek word translated "being cast away" here is a description of unbelief, and it literally means "to throw away." That’s what Israel has done with the gospel; they have discarded it into the trash. God put the gospel in front of them, they pick it up and just discard it and put it in the trash can.
But, as we see over and over throughout the Bible, a remnant from Israel always returns to the Lord. This verse highlights the fact that even the failure of Israel to believe the Gospel brings about the victory and the triumph of the gospel in greater ways in the world. God’s love turns the enemies of God into sons of God. The word "reconciling" means to bring the two back together so that the worst of the worst could be at peace with God.
Israel's eventual acceptance of the gospel will lead to the reverberation of God's life throughout the world. So, even though Israel has rejected the gospel for now, one day they will believe and they will be used of God to perpetuate the gospel resulting in eternal life for all who will believe. Long before the Lord Jesus walked this earth, this was described for us in Ezekiel 37. When Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime arose the process described in Ezekiel 37 was put into motion. In order to get the Jews out of Europe back into their homeland, God allowed Hitler's Germany to assign the Jews to concentration camps. And, even though they executed literally millions of them, the remaining Jews streamed into their homeland at a rapid rate. This was the beginning of the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy.
Like many Old Testament prophecies, this prophecy has a double fulfillment. The fulfillment of the remainder of this prophecy is yet to come. In a day soon to come the people of Israel, a remnant not all, will come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The remnant is referred to in Revelation 12 where we read in v.10, "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son; and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn."
This passage corresponds with Zechariah 12 where we read of the remnant from Israel who will see the Lord Jesus Christ as He descends from heaven to the Mount of Olives. In Revelation 13:1 we read, "In that day, a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity." Further down in Revelation 13:9 we read, "I’ll bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name; I will answer them. I will say, 'They are My people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'"
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches."
Here Paul quotes Numbers 15:17-21 through which God commanded Israel to give to Him the "firstfruits" of every crop harvest. This practice reminded Israel how everything belongs to Him. The idea of giving the "firstfruits" to God was a way of saying to Him, "Thank you for this provision." The "first fruit" was a subtle indication that just as God has already saved a small remnant of Jews, there will still be the rest of the lump of dough that He would save later.
Then, the Apostle wrote: "if the root is holy, so are the branches." This means there is an inseparable connection between the branches and the root. The "first fruits" in this case were Israel's patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. And since God set apart the first fruits, then He was setting apart the whole lump. And if God set apart the root, who was Abraham, then He's setting apart the branches who are believing Israel.
In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree. 18 Do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you."
In these verse Paul continues with the figure of the previously mentioned olive tree. Here he mentions the grafting process. It was customary in that day to give new life to an old olive tree when it ceased to bear fruit. They would cut off the unproductive old branches and in the process graft in a shoot from a wild olive tree that would end up being productive. The mingling created new life resulting in productivity. The wild olive tree branches represents the gentile believers in the Lord Jesus.
Then the Apostle writes, "Do not boast against the branches." This means don't be proud as if we gentiles are better than the Jewish branches that were cut out. They were cut out due to their unbelief. His point is that the gentiles can't boast because we're not the source of your own blessedness. We are blessed of God through the promises given to Israel through the Abrahamic Covenant. Salvation, said the Lord Jesus in John 4:22, is of the Jews.
In the book Genesis long ago God said to Abraham, "I'm going to redeem all the nations through you." And only through the Lord Jesus who came out of the loins of Abraham, are we blessed of God with salvation. It would be ridiculous if we were to boast because pride is what lured us away from God in the first place. It was the poison of self that enticed us away from the very One who has our best interest at heart. To those who would give pride access into their hearts we say, "If you uproot the idol and fail to plant the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back."
