Romans 9:30-11:36

What’s Happening? 

Paul spent the first eight chapters of his letter to the Romans explaining how all the promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament have also been given to non-Jewish people by faith in Jesus. But as the non-Jewish world begins to accept Jesus' message, many of Paul’s fellow Jews have also rejected it. Some even wonder if God has broken his promises to the Jews by including non-Jewish people. But Paul says this is absolutely not the case. God’s promises were never just for Jews. God’s plan since Abraham was to bless the world (Romans 9:6-9). The reason non-Jews are finally experiencing God’s promises isn’t because God has broken his promises but because they are trusting God as Israel was always meant to (Romans 9:30-31).

God wanted Israel to trust him. But instead of trusting God, over and over again, Israel trusted themselves. Instead of believing that God would fulfill his promises because of his faithfulness, they looked to their own efforts (Romans 9:33-10:4). They thought their good works could give them good standing before God and obligate him to keep his promises (Romans 9:31-32). All the way back in the book of Deuteronomy, God told his people that receiving his promises of blessing was not a matter of actions but a matter of confession and faith (Romans 10:5-8; Deuteronomy 30:14). That’s why when someone believes in Jesus and confesses that he is their God they will be given everything God promised, whether they’re Jewish or not (Romans 10:9-13). Throughout the Jewish Scriptures, it has always been faith that releases God’s promises, not the effort or obedience of God’s people.

God hasn’t forgotten Israel. Rather, he is inviting all people to become true Israelites by trusting Jesus. The non-Jewish world is already responding the way Israel should. So Paul begs his fellow Jews to abandon their transactional relationship with God and recover their ancestor's faith. God has fulfilled all his promises to his people in Jesus (Romans 10:14-21). Paul then says he, as a fellow Jew who believes in Jesus, is proof that God has not abandoned his promises to Israel but is still preserving them (Romans 11:1-6). For the time being, the majority of Israelites have rejected Jesus and so are genuinely outside of God’s promises for his people (Romans 11:7-10). But this will not be a permanent state of affairs (Romans 11:11-12). Paul believes that the inclusion of non-Jewish people into God’s promises will provoke envy among his Jewish brothers and sisters and cause them to be reconciled to their ancestor's faith (Romans 11:13-16). While many Jews are currently outside of God’s promises, Paul is insistent that God has not forgotten his promises to his people and is hopeful of their future repentance and faith.

Where is the Gospel?

Paul is hopeful that because the world has accepted Israel’s God by faith, eventually, Jews around the world will follow their example. However, Paul is also quick to address any spiritual pride Gentiles might feel based on their current position in Israel’s history. Using the metaphor of an olive tree, he tells his non-Jewish readers that they are like wild branches grafted into the ancient trunk of belief in the God of Israel (Romans 11:17-18). While it’s true that God has made room for them by chopping off unbelieving branches, that isn’t a reason for arrogance. If God removed natural branches, he can certainly cut unnatural branches off, too. Non-Jews must humbly recognize that they not only stand on the shoulders of Jewish saints but will remain part of God’s family tree only by faith in Israel’s God (Romans 11:19-24). 

Paul goes on to say that there is a great mystery at work that both Jews and Gentiles must understand. The only way God can show mercy to everyone is if everyone rejects him (Romans 11:32). At first, the Gentile world rejected God, but God chose the Jews so that the rest of the world could receive God’s promises (Genesis 12:1-3). But since the Jewish world now rejects God, God has now chosen non-Jews to be the means by which Jewish believers are reconciled to the promises of their ancestors. Mysteriously, God is subverting the disobedience of both Jews and non-Jews so that all God’s people will be included in God’s promises and family (Romans 11:25-27). Jewish disbelief in Jesus is not a threat to God’s promises to his people. It’s precisely the opposite. Disobedience is the only way God can finally give his people all that he has promised, not based on what they’ve done, but by his mercy alone (Romans 11:28-32). Paul then ends this argument with a song that celebrates that God can use everything, even obstinate rejection and disobedience, to keep his promises to the world (Romans 11:33-36). 

The whole history of God’s people, from Abraham to you, is one of God subverting evil with mercy. If you have disobeyed or rejected God…good. That means you are in the perfect place to experience his mercy.  

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who keeps his promises. And may you see Jesus as the one who made God’s promises come true for all who believe in him.