In Romans 11, Paul wraps up his argument of Romans 9-11. Remember, Romans 9-11 is all focused on the issue regarding why Paul’s fellow Jews missed out and rejected their own Messiah.
Final Question (Romans 11:1-6)
And so, the final question in Romans 9-11 Paul addresses concerning Israel is, “Has God rejected His people, because they rejected Him?” Given all that Paul has said, his response might shock you: “No way!” After all, Paul himself was an Israelite! No, God hasn’t rejected Israel…ah but there’s the rub! Paul needs to illuminate his readers on who exactly Israel is.
Paul proceeds to explain what the real situation is with Israel by referring to the story in I Kings 19 about Elijah fleeing to Mount Sinai after his initial victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. In 11:3-4, therefore, Paul points out that when Elijah complained to God about how unfaithful Israel was (I Kings 19:10), God told Elijah that there were 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed down to Baal (I Kings 19:17).
So what does that story have to do with Paul talking about Israel? It’s simple: the nation of ethnic Israel was never the real people of God; it was always a remnant. Just as in Elijah’s day, so it was for Paul: there was always a remnant of ethnic Israel that was part of true Israel, and that remnant was according to election by grace (11:5). And so, as Paul says, since it is based on grace, then it isn’t based on Torah. After all, if grace comes by the works of Torah, then grace really isn’t grace! (11:6).
Remnants and Non-Remnants/People and Idolatry ( Romans 11:7-10)
Okay, so if remnant Israel was elected by grace (and therefore part of true Israel), what about non-remnant Israel (i.e. the rest of Israel)? Paul now makes a shocking accusation in 11:7-10 against non-remnant Israel: he equates them with pagan idolaters! That’s what he means when he says that non-remnant Israel became “hardened.” That’s what he’s referring to when he cites Deuteronomy 29:3 and Isaiah 29:10. Those verses are about the judgment for idolaters: people become like what they worship, and therefore they become like their lifeless, deaf, dumb, and blind idols. By contrast, the same principle ends up being a blessing for worshippers of God: people become like what they worship, so therefore, they become like God, and are made into the full image of God.
Paul then cites Psalm 69:22-23: “Their table has become a snare…” Why? Because the Jews’ “table” consisted of all that God had given them (covenants, promises, etc.), and they began to essentially worship the gifts, and not the Giver. Ironically then, the ultimate “idol” of the Jews is the Torah! And so, instead of worshipping Christ, who fulfills the Torah, the Jews ended up bowing their knee to the Torah, thus making it their idol.
Paul Still is Holding Out Hope (Romans 11:11-16)
In 11:11-16, though, Paul shows that he’s remaining optimistic about his fellow Jews: Israel has only stumbled. So if 11:1-10 focuses on the fact that Israel’s fall isn’t total (i.e. there still is a remnant), 11:11-12 declares (at least hopes!) that Israel’s fall isn’t final—it only happened so that the Gospel could go out to the Gentiles and bring the Gentiles into the people of God.
Paul’s hope thus becomes that, since Israel’s transgression meant salvation for the Gentiles, that Israel would become so jealous of the Gentiles, they would end up choosing to accept Christ. Paul thinks, “How great would that be!” That is precisely why Paul says he’s “glorifying” his ministry by going out to as many Gentiles as he can—he’s trying to make his fellow Jews so jealous, that perhaps some of them will end up making a decision for Christ (11:13-14)! For, as Paul sees it, if their rejection of Christ means the reconciliation of the world, then if they end up accepting Christ, that would mean “life from the dead” for the nation of Israel, a clear allusion to Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones (11:15-16).
As it turned out, though, the Israel as a nation never did accept Christ. We have to conclude, therefore, that Paul’s hope as expressed in 11:11-16 was never realized. We need to be clear: Paul is expressing his personal hope that his fellow Jews would one day accept Christ as their Messiah; he’s not making a prophetic declaration that they would.
Conclusion: Roots and Branches (Romans 11:17-36)
In 11:17-24 Paul concludes Romans 9-11 with a stern warning to Gentile believers, by means of the elaborate metaphor of roots and branches introduced in 11:16. The metaphor is pretty obvious: (a) the tree and its roots are the people of God, (b) the “natural” branches that are broken off are unfaithful Jews, and (c) the “wild” olive branches are Gentile believers. So what’s Paul’s point? “If some of the ‘natural’ branches were broken off so that ‘you wild olive branches’ (i.e. Gentiles) could be grafted in among the other ‘natural’ branches (i.e. the remnant of Jews), then don’t get cocky, you Gentiles!” After all, if God didn’t spare some of the natural branches because they got arrogant and unfaithful, then He certainly won’t spare some of the wild olive branches if they get arrogant and unfaithful either (11:21)! In fact, if some of those unfaithful Jews repent, they’ll certainly be “grafted back in” (11:22-24)!
Paul ends Romans 9-11 with a something that often gets misunderstood: “A hardening has come upon Israel until the full number of the Gentiles comes in; and so all Israel will be saved” (11:25-26). Paul is not saying that eventually ethnic Israel (i.e. “all Israel”) will turn to Christ. What Paul is saying can best be explained with somewhat of a mathematical formula:
Remnant Israel + Full Number of Gentiles = ALL ISRAEL
“All Israel,” “True Israel” are the Jews and Gentiles together in Christ. This idea can be seen in Revelation 7 in the passage about the 144,000. In that chapter, John hears the number 144,000 from the tribes of Israel, but then sees a “great multitude from all nations.” What is the point? True Israel consists of believers from all nations. The number 144,000 is derived from another “mathematical formula”: 12 (representing the 12 tribes of Israel) x 12 (representing the 12 apostles to the Gentiles) x 1,000 (God’s number of completion) = 144,000. Therefore, the concept of the remnant of Israel + Gentile believers equaling True Israel is a concept that is fundamental to a New Testament/New Messianic Age/Kingdom of God worldview.
In Romans 11:27-32, Paul essentially “sums up” his point: just as Gentiles were disobedient and were shown grace, so too does the present situation with the Jews show that the Jews are disobedient, and can now be shown—and possibly accept—that same grace. And that leads to…
Romans 11:33-36. I think this is pretty straightforward. After you read this passage, you can easily sum it up as follows: “Wow! What a plan! Who could have ever guessed it? Only God could have pulled this off! YEAH GOD!” Does that sum it up pretty well?
