In our reading today, we have a section of Scripture, Romans 9-11, that is often not preached on, and often not understood how it fits with the rest of the Book of Romans. I believe that in Romans 9-11, Paul is discussing the sticky issue, if Jesus is the long-expected Jewish Messiah, why did most of the ethnic Israelites reject Jesus as the Messiah of God? He also addresses the question whether God has now rejected ethnic Israel, since they have rejected Jesus as their Messiah (note: ‘Messiah’ means ‘Anointed One’, and is translated as ‘Christos’ in the Greek).

Has God’s Word Failed?

The Apostle Paul begins this section of Scripture by sharing the anguish that he has in his heart regarding the unbelief of his Jewish brothers and sisters (Rom. 9:1-3). This unbelief is especially heart-breaking considering the great covenant privileges that God has granted the Jewish people in salvation history (Romans 9:4,5). In order to make sense of this widespread unbelief among the Jews, Paul reminds his readers that if you look more closely at Israel’s history, and God’s working with the people of Israel, biology has never guaranteed a person a place in God’s family.

Instead, the children of God have always been those who have trusted God’s promises, even in Old Testament times (Rom. 9:8). God’s electing grace has always been the basis for a right relationship with Him. Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, but God chose Isaac to be the son through whom His salvation promises would reach the world. Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons, Esau and Jacob, but God again chose the younger son, Jacob, to be the son of His salvation promises (Rom. 9:8-21). Paul shows by these 2 concrete examples from Israel’s history that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Rom. 9:6b).

Paul argues that the present failure of many Jews to believe in Jesus as their Messiah doesn’t mean God’s word has failed. In fact, there have always been only a remnant within ethnic Israel who have been true descendants of Abraham (Rom. 9:7-8; 27-28). In a very real way, Paul is arguing that we shouldn’t be surprised that only a remnant of Jews presently believe in Jesus. And we shouldn’t be surprised that only a remnant of Gentiles believe in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior today. True believers have always been a minority. Remember Jesus’ words in Mathew in Mathew 7:13,14:

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The reason why most Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah and Savior was that they were trying to establish their own righteousness before God, through works, by obeying the Mosaic Law (Rom. 9:30-10:5). They tried to get right with God on the basis of human merit and not faith. This blinded them to the righteousness God was offering them through faith in His Son. Many Israelites, even before Christ, misunderstood the purpose of the Mosaic Law. They were to obey the Law, not to create a proud-filled self-righteousness before God, but as a grateful response to God’s gracious election of making them His people. The Law wasn’t given as a way to salvation.

This propensity to want to establish one’s own righteousness before God is not only characteristic of the Jewish people, but is also true of Gentiles throughout human history. The principle of all man-made religion, even distorted forms of Christianity, is that we try to establish our own righteousness before God. Why is there only a remnant of Gentiles who believe in the Gospel of Jesus for their salvation today? Because human pride wants to establish its own righteousness before God. Faith in Jesus is not only a stumbling block for Jewish people (Rom. 9:32-33), but also for Gentile people.

If you ask people around the world today: “Why should God allow you in heaven when you die?”, the great majority of people would give as their answer some form of human merit ( i.e. “I am a good person“). God has to open our eyes in His grace, and by His Holy Spirit, that we cannot earn our own salvation. We need God’s initiating grace to lead us to conviction of sin, and a repentance and faith in Jesus the Savior.

God Hasn’t Rejected The Jews

After answering the question why only some Jews believed in Jesus as their Messiah, Paul answers the question: “Has God rejected the Jews for rejecting Jesus?” in Romans 11. Paul emphatically answers that God has not rejected the Jewish race. He begins to answer the question by pointing to himself: He is an Israelite and a member of the Jewish race (Rom. 11:1). In fact, all the first Christians were Jews. All the Apostles were Jewish. Jesus, the Messiah, was a Jewish carpenter. God hasn’t rejected the Jewish people.

Paul also appeals to the example of Elijah, who thought he was the only faithful Israelite who had not fallen away into idolatry. The LORD responded to Elijah that He had reserved seven thousand Israelites, who hadn’t bowed the knee to the idol of Baal. They were a part of Israel’s faithful remnant (Rom. 11:2-6). Their has always been a remnant of Jewish people who believe in Jesus.

Paul then reasons that ethnic Israel has experienced a partial hardening, in order to allow the Gentiles to be grafted into the olive tree of God’s people. Believing Jews and believing Gentiles are now together as God’s people, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. Paul’s thought then stretches to Jesus’ Second Coming, when there will be an even larger harvest of Jews turning to Jesus as their Messiah (Rom. 11:25-32). It seems like Paul here connects Jesus’ Second Coming here to the time after the full number of Gentiles are in. This concurs with Jesus’ words in His teaching in Mathew 24:14 – “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”. The upshot of all this is that Paul wants to make it perfectly clear that God has not rejected the Jewish people.

There is remnant of Jews who believed in Jesus in the first century, there is a remnant of Jews who believe in Jesus presently, and there awaits a time, when Christ comes back again, that many Jews will turn to Jesus as their Messianic King and Savior. No wonder Paul closes with the doxology of praise to God in Romans 11:33-36. There is a richness and depth to God’s wisdom and judgments that are beyond human comprehension. To God belongs all glory. Praise Him for the indescribable gift of His Son, our LORD Jesus Christ!

QOTD: Are you grateful of your salvation in Christ?