Grafted-in, Pt 6: Israel made jealous.

Romans 11:11-21                   11Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?  Not at all!  Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.  12But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!  13I am talking to you Gentiles.  Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.  15For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?  16If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.  17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches.  If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.  19You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20Granted.  But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.  Do not be arrogant, but tremble.  21For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

The Word of God often refers to the line of Abraham, which eventually resulted in the nation of Israel, as God’s own people.  God used the Israelites as the means by which he brought the good news of salvation to the world.  The immediate problem is that there are many, many other kinds of people in the world.  Are they excluded from salvation because they are not Jewish?  This is what the Jews thought, and in fact they considered the nations, that is everyone other than themselves, to be ignorable people, even anathema.  So strong was their adherence to this belief that everyone inquiring about worshipping the One True God had to first become Jewish.

Paul considered himself the apostle to the Gentiles, but this is kind of an oxymoron because Paul in the beginning Paul generally taught in synagogues.  But he received only lukewarm response there and received more criticism than affirmation.  The Gentiles overtly welcomed Paul’s message and were eager to learn more, and over time Paul began establishing churches, not synagogues, in generally Gentile communities.

Make Israel envious

This was God’s way of spreading his message beyond the narrow focus of the synagogue so that the entire world could hear.  By hardening their hearts against the expanded Messianic message, God forced Paul and others into the wider community.  This was not a response to an unexpected stubbornness but foreseen from early times.

21They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols.  I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.  (Deuteronomy 32:21)

The natural conclusion is that God has rejected Israel because of her idolatry and rebellion, but this is not the case.  God has expanded the offer of salvation through his Son to all the peoples of the world, not just the Jews.  Enviousness, the desire to have something one does not have, but others do, is a powerful motivator. 

Jealousy is often seen as a negative emotion, but in this case, it serves a positive result.  When one sees a good thing another has and wants it for oneself, and if the attaining of it is through wholesome and Godly means, then both parties are served.  Paul hopes that in the seeing of blessings accruing to the Gentiles, the Jews will accept Jesus as their Savior also.  Two things are in play here, one that the message will reach the unreachable because of Israel’s rejection, and the other that Israel will be brought back to the fold through the jealousy of the other’s success.

Life from the dead

And what a return that will be!  Great blessing has come to the entire world because salvation has been offered where no human thought it would.  While it seems God has moved on, he has not abandoned the Jews but has simply expanded his view.  The Jews are not excluded from the Kingdom, their inclusion just delayed. 

God manifests himself in the hearts of his people through his Son, and even today Jews are coming to know Jesus as their Savior.  But they are the minority, as the bulk of the Jewish people do not accept Jesus.  But Paul asks a fair question— “If so many good things have happened to us because they rejected Jesus, what will it be like when they accept him?”  The Jews were hardened against change; they were unable to look beyond the Law toward personal relationship with God.  Jesus described their condition when he addressed the Pharisees—

27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. (Matthew 23:27)

For many of us, accepting Jesus as our Savior is like coming into life from death.  At the end of the age the Jewish nation, en masse, seeing the Cloudrider (Jesus) in the sky, will have the veil of misunderstanding lifted and understand Jesus to be God.  The entire family of God, Jew and Gentile will be united then in worship.

The root is holy

In the meantime, we must understand from where we spiritually come.  God did choose Israel to be the initial means by which the Word of God came to the world.  Theirs was the history of God’s interaction with the world, theirs was the Law and the prophets.  Though they have temporarily missed the opportunity to move beyond the Law to the intimacy of relationship, we who have Christ must not condemn or criticize the Jews.  They are still God’s people.  Gentiles have been grafted into this holy family tree, but we have not replaced that tree.  We have been added to it, and that is a privilege.

After all, Gentiles have not earned the right to be brought into the family of God.  Out inclusion is thoroughly and exclusively through God’s grace.

What about me?

If anything is to be learned from the concept of grafting-in it is that the idea that the church has replaced Israel as the family of God is completely wrong.  Believer, you are part of a new era in salvation history.  You have been accepted into God’s family which was begun with the nation of Israel.  Almost all of the original kings, teachers, and prophets whom God used to call his children to himself were from the nation of Israel.  And here you and I are, millennia later, enjoying the beauty of the word, both written and Living, because God chose to work through those people.

We have been greatly blessed, and we should recognize that because of them, particularly One of them, we have come to intimate relationship with the Father.  Certainly, the Jews are not our source of salvation, but through them did come that Source and we should be grateful.  If there is any animosity between you and a Jewish acquaintance, then that break in relationship must be repaired.