What Is God's Attitude Towards Jews? Paul's warning to Christians in Romans 11
God still has a plan for His people.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Romans 11:11-24
This passage, known more for the arguments it causes than the heart it reveals, warns Gentile Christians not to get a big head about their own salvation. That error got the Jews into trouble because it revealed that they did not have hearts after God. Instead Christians should be in awe of their salvation and work toward the evangelization of the world.
do not boast that you are better than those branches (11:18)
When We Studied This Passage in 2020
Here are the topics I focused on then:
Mercy (Be Thankful, Be Humble) - A Lesson on Romans 11:17-32
Having a green thumb
Being left out
Grafting
Losing your salvation
The benefits of salvation
Exile
Some of those topics might be of interest to you. Because I find them too important, I cover variations of some of those below.
Getting Started: Things to Think About
When You Tried Too Hard
These days, calling someone a "try hard" is an insult, and I'm not intending this discussion idea to make group members feel bad about themselves. But in essence, I'm suggesting the idea "when was a time you were a 'try hard', and it backfired on you?" Because it's slang, everybody defines it differently, so I'm going with the basic definition of "someone who's trying way too hard". We've all done it. Trying too hard to fit in. Trying too hard to impress a boss. Trying too hard to do well on a test. And you eventually discover that trying too hard actually worked against you. What was that experience for you, and what did you learn from it?
This week, Paul essentially says that the Jews were trying too hard to "be God's people", and it didn't work. (It didn't work because that's not the way to be God's people, but let's save that for the lesson.) Could they learn their lesson in time to be reconciled with God before it would be too late?
The Green Monster!
There's plenty of semantic arguments about what is properly called "jealousy" (fearing that you will lose something you think you already have) and "envy" (wanting what somebody else has), and a lot of people around here use the two terms incorrectly. Set that aside for the moment. My suggestion is something like "what's the worst jealousy you've ever felt, and what happened because of it?"
[The reason I'm not worried about the confusion is because Paul wasn't. In this week's passage, Paul calls the Jews "jealous" over the fact that God was saving Gentiles; but Paul was also explaining that many of those Jews weren't actually saved in the first place, so their feelings weren't jealousy but envy. And Paul wasn't about to get into a dictionary lesson.]
Jealousy is no fun. It's miserable when your kids have it. And it's pretty unpleasant when you have it. How do you deal with it? And how do you encourage others to handle it?
-or- Jealousy at Church
Any topic that involves a church needs to be approached with extreme caution. Sometimes feelings like this are fresh. And while they need to be addressed, doing so in a group Bible study isn't usually the best forum for that.
That disclaimer said, perhaps your group can handle talking about a real-world instance of the kind of jealousy Paul is getting at in his letter -- long-time church members getting jealous over a new member (or group of members). What does that look like? Does that ever go well for the church? What's the right way for a church to handle it?
Paul acknowledges that the Jews have really weird feelings about the Gentiles, some jealousy, some anger. Paul goes so far as to say that maybe God brought these "new people" into their "church" to arouse jealousy so that the Jews would take a harder look at themselves.
Jealousy is never appropriate for Christians, so if we feel ourselves feeling jealousy, our first look needs to be in the mirror.
Gardening and Grafting!
When we covered this passage back in 2020, I admitted how shocked I was about botanical grafting. This is normal! We're talking about sticking a limb onto another thing and it "stick". Again, this is somehow normal!
According to ancient Jewish writings, grafting was commonplace by the 500s BC, so Paul wasn't breaking any ground by mentioning grafting in Romans --
If you or anyone in your group has any experience with this, have them bring in some sort of a sample and describe how the process works. To me, this is basically magic, so I'm not the best messenger.
In this week's passage, Paul talks about grafting natural plants and wild plants onto an olive tree. This is something people still do today! (Again, it may as well be magic to me.) Here's a website that describes different ways to do it:
Paul's point is that if human gardeners can do this, why would anyone be surprised that God chose to do it with His people (note: Israel is sometimes called an olive tree)?
This Week's Big Idea: Cutting Off an Olive Branch Sounds an Awful Lot like Losing Your Salvation
I just want to address this off the top. In Romans 11, Paul says,
20 True enough; they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware, 21 because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Goodness, that sounds like losing your salvation, doesn't it? And indeed some readers have taken it that way.
But we've been very clear over the years that you cannot lose your salvation. (You have no control over earning or losing your salvation. That all belongs to God.) And Paul has just been extremely clear about this as well --
8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing -- not even your own sin -- can separate you from God's love.
So, what gives?
This is where we have to be very careful that we understand an illustration. The "olive tree" is not salvation -- it's the people of Israel. Last week, we talked about Paul's explanation how not every Jew could recognize their own Messiah -- because not every Jew is a "saved Jew". Some Jews, like Paul and the apostles, believed in Jesus, but many did not.
The "broken branches" in Paul's illustration were Jews by birth, but they did not believe in God (because they did not believe in Jesus). They thought they were "saved", and so they were surprised when God "broke them off". (Really, they didn't think they had been broken off.)
The proper way to bring this illustration forward is to replace "Israel" with "church". For that to make sense, we have to acknowledge the difference between the "physical church" and the "spiritual church". In Baptist life, that should not be a thing -- the way Baptist church member is supposed to work is that we only welcome true Christians to membership ("regenerate church membership"). But we all know that's not always the case. We all know people who are members of a Christian church but have no evidence of Christianity in their lives. As far as I'm concerned, that's what Paul is talking about with respect to the Gentiles in this week's passage -- they might be a part of a church, but if they don't have the evidence of being born again (Paul specifically points out humility, graciousness, and faith), God will cut them off.
Does that make sense? Paul isn't talking about someone losing their salvation. Paul is talking about someone who isn't saved being cut off from the blessings of God that they enjoyed from being proximal to God's people.
Where We Are in Romans
Here's the outline I shared last week of this section in Romans:
The Place of Israel in God's Plan (9:1-11:36)
The Tragedy of Israel (9:1-5)
God's Sovereign Freedom (9:6-29)
God works by election (9:6-13)
God's purpose is mercy (9:14-18)
God's wrath and God's mercy (9:19-29)
Human Responsibility to Believe (9:30-10:21)
The "stumbling stone" of faith (9:30-33)
Two ways of righteousness: faith or works (10:1-13)
Worldwide proclamation of salvation by faith (10:14-21)
God's Promises Will Be Fulfilled (11:1-36)
The remnant of Israel (11:1-10)
The restoration of Israel (11:11-24)
The conversion of Israel (11:25-32)
The mercy of God (11:33-36)
Lifeway is giving us two lessons in this section, and this is the second. Last week we focused on "what went wrong" with the Jews -- namely that they thought they could earn salvation and were scandalized by God's plan of "free salvation" through faith in Christ.
This week's passage establishes a very important truth to Paul: God's not done with Israel.
Now, what exactly that means has sparked endless debate. But I'm hoping that we will all agree on these statements from this passage:
God always keeps a "remnant" in His people.
No one is too far gone to be saved.
God's saving Gentiles doesn't mean that He's done with the Jews.
Gentiles shouldn't get a big head about their salvation.
Lifeway chose not to include the most controversial verse -- "26 And in this way all Israel will be saved". I'll give you a few thoughts about it at the end of the post. But the main thing is that all of us should be able to agree on those four bullet points.
And then next week Paul moves on to the next section of Romans -- how Christians should live.
Part 1: God Is Not Done with the Jews (Romans 11:11-16)
11 I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring! 13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Paul sees a steady logic in God's actions -- the failures of the Jews led to the salvation of the Gentiles, and now the Gentiles will bring about the salvation of the Jews.
[Important reminder: Paul is speaking about groups, not individuals. Referring to a group does not mean that it will apply to every single individual member of that group.]
I can't summarize this section than Morris does:
"Paul has been arguing that a remnant of Israel will be saved, but only a remnant. What about the sinning majority? Are they lost forever? That is not what Paul is saying. He proceeds now to make three points:
Israel has indeed 'stumbled' but their stumble is not final,
God uses this 'stumble' to bring salvation to the Gentiles, and
in the end the Jews will be brought in.
He sees the purpose of God as worked out through that has happened to the Jews, and precisely because it is the purpose of God that is workout he is fundamentally optimistic. The God who has done so much for his people will see them through to the end."
He's so right. God has already been clear that He wants people to be saved; He does not "want" for anybody to go to hell (Ezek 33:11). So if God "has a plan", we can be sure that that plan is toward more salvation, not less.
God always "leaves the door open", as they say.
This goes back to something Paul said last week:
9:32 They stumbled over the stumbling stone.
I made the point that this wasn't a simple trip-and-fall, this was a real showstopper. They're tumbling down the mountain.
But it's not irrecoverable (the Greek word gives the sense of an "irrevocable fall"). If they deal with what they stumbled over -- if they address the "scandal" of salvation by grace through faith -- they can still be saved!
Paul's logic takes a twist that I wouldn't have expected:
Think about it this way: if God can bring good out of His people rejecting their Messiah, how much more good can God accomplish with an entire nation on fire for Jesus?
Paul is absolutely right. And for that reason alone, we Gentiles should know that God is not done with the Jews.
"Their transgression". This is an understatement. Here, Paul is talking about the entire history of the Jews rejection God and His prophets and ultimately killing Jesus, their Messiah. But that rejection -- leading to the death of Jesus -- is where salvation comes from. Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice, the perfect fulfillment of the entire system that God put in place to explain that sin has a price. Someone had to kill Jesus.
"Their fullness". This is the parallel idea, and it's less clear what Paul means by it. In context, it seems at the very least to mean "the full number of the Jews who will be saved". Paul is likely thinking about the zeal of his people (starting with himself!) -- imagine the progress of Christianity if there were 10,000 Pauls.
This is also how Paul reconciles his role as "apostle to the Gentiles" (see Acts 9:15) with his deep love for his own people. Rather than Jews interpret his focus on the Gentiles as a rejection of the Jews, Paul wants the Jews to see that he hopes his "success" among the Gentiles will result in Jews being saved.
Note: Paul is not saying that his ministry will result in this great spiritual movement among the Jews, nor is he saying that such a movement is imminent. This is his hope and his goal, and he believes that it will happen before "the end".
Verse 16 is probably a reference to Numbers 15:21 "Throughout your generations, you are to give the Lord a contribution from the first batch of your dough."
Lifeway thinks the second part of the verse is a reference to Leviticus 23:10 "When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest." Morris disagrees. In the Old Testament, Israel is called an olive tree (like in Jeremiah 11:16). Its roots are the patriarchs (specifically Abraham) -- the current Israel is still the same "stock" as from Abraham, which means they are a holy people, and God will not discard them. They are still the people of God, even if they aren't "saved". (Yes, I know that's a strange thing to say. I think I understand what Paul means; your wayward son is still your son whom you love, even if you had to write him out of the will.)
Here is a difficult application -- some of your group members are Christian "because of" their families, and some of your group members are Christian "in spite of" their families. (Message me if you don't understand what I'm saying.) Some of those latter members might be resentful of their families or even jealous of group members with strong Christian families. Your encouragement to them is to let their resentment or jealousy go and instead pray for the salvation of their family members. If God was able to bring about your salvation in spite of your family, how much more good could He do with your family on fire for Him?
Part 2: Don't Get Bigheaded (Romans 11:17-22)
17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, 18 do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 True enough; they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware, 21 because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 22 Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you—if you remain in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
Aside on Antisemitism
Your group members may not think that antisemitism is a problem. They may think it ended with the Crusades. Or with the Holocaust. I challenge you to come prepared with a few stories about antisemitism "alive and well" among professing Christians in America. This is certainly a talking point as we watch the election results in Israel this week (we're supposed to know more about that on our Thursday afternoon).
If I'm reading this correctly, antisemitism goes back to the beginning of the church. Some of these Gentile Christians had bad attitudes toward the Jews. And I can certainly understand! The book of Acts is filled with stories of discrimination and persecution against Christians by Jews. It would be easy for those Christians to claim that God was giving the Jews their comeuppance.
But that's the wrong attitude for any Christian to have.
I suggest you read from the Sermon on the Mount in group time:
Matt 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Note how Jesus describes the behavior of the Gentiles (He's speaking to Jews here) -- they love their friends and hate their enemies. Then in Romans 11, Paul is warning Gentiles not to behave like Gentiles. Matthew 5 applies to them.
If you look at a person outside the faith with a "I hope you get what you deserve" rather than a "I hope you repent and trust Jesus for salvation", that's a red flag to Paul.
Let's bring in another of Paul's writing:
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
The attitude that Paul is warning the Gentile Christians about in Romans 11 is one of arrogance and a lack of compassion. Those are not characteristic of a Christian who has been saved by grace. Paul is warning his readers that if they persist in such an attitude, they'll find themselves on the outside looking in on the day of judgment.
Why? Not because they lost their salvation, but because they clearly never trusted in Jesus in the first place -- there is no evidence of their regeneration.
If you can keep this discussion from spiraling into unhelpful places, I think you want to help your group identify how this can still happen today. How can professing Christians and church members display this kind of arrogance today?
Yes, this is the new person who believes they are "God's gift to the church". But it's also the long-time member who looks down on the "new people" and their "new ideas" with the attitude that "my era was the best era of this church". Those attitudes are very dangerous.
Paul explains why:
you're only saved because of God's grace
God is so serious about salvation by grace that everyone who rejects it spends an eternity in hell
If salvation is by grace, then every Christian should always be extremely humble.
Every Christian should fear the Lord -- because God has the power of heaven and hell. Yes, He is our Abba Father, but He is also the Lord God Almighty.
In other words, don't get too big for your britches.
Another quote from the Sermon on the Mount helps:
Matt 6:14 For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.
God hates arrogance and self-dependence.
Part 3: The Future of Israel (Romans 11:23-24)
23 And even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from your native wild olive tree and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be grafted into their own olive tree?
Again, Lifeway cut the lesson off before the most controversial of Paul's verses, but we can't avoid the obvious questions.
Verse 23 should mostly make sense -- it's directly related to verse 20:
Salvation is related to belief
Those who don't believe are not saved
Those who do believe are saved
Right? This is exactly what Paul said in last week's lesson:
10:9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Now let's combine this with my "Big Idea" above -- Paul's illustration is not that these Jews were "saved" but that they were part of "the olive tree" (physical Israel):
Jews were a part of physical Israel by birth
Some Jews did not believe in Jesus as their Messiah
The Jews who did not believe were cut off from "spiritual Israel" (i.e., salvation and being a part of God's "new" people the church)
But if those Jews do believe, they will become part of "spiritual Israel"
This is where Christians need to humbly acknowledge that the first Christians started as Jews. The foundation of Christianity is Judaism! We are not truly "new" but the fulfillment of what God began in Abraham -- Abraham's "spiritual children" rather than his "physical children".
Why is that important? Because if salvation were dependent on being a physical descendant of Abraham, that immediately limits the "pool" of humanity that can be saved. But God intended salvation to be available to every human, regardless of forefather.
That said, we're supposed to remember that God did begin with the Jews. They should be consistent "targets for evangelism" because they have all the foundational knowledge necessary. All they need to do is take the step of acknowledging Jesus as their promised Messiah.
Simple applications for this passage are:
No one is beyond salvation
God wants us to share the gospel with every people group
But I know that your group will have questions about the next verses, so let's move on.
Bonus: "All Israel Will Be Saved"?
25 I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." 28 Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs, 29 since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable.
Because there's not firm agreement about what Paul means by this (or what Paul wants us to do with this information), there's lots of confusion-spreading.
There are two common interpretations of these verses:
Jewish Revival in the Tribulation
A lot of dispensationalists (the "Left Behind"-believing crowd) believe this to mean that there is coming a day when the nation of Israel (or the Jewish people) will experience a complete revival. They interpret "the fullness of the Gentiles" to mean that every Gentile who will be saved has been saved, so this must take place right before the rapture and will be a sign of the end times.
Jewish Christians Will Be Saved
Other scholars believe that Paul wouldn't say "all Israel" if he was only talking about the small number of Jews alive before the Second Coming of Christ. Therefore, "all Israel" refers to "spiritual Israel". In essence, Paul is simply saying that every Jew who is a believer in Christ will be saved.
Those two camps are rather dug in. So lets dig into the text.
For starters, Paul calls this a "mystery" -- that means it is a truth revealed by God, not something that people can figure out on their own. In other words, if we try to apply our own logic to the interpretation, we very well might lead ourselves astray.
"Not be conceited" suggests that some of Paul's readers will be tempted to turn their own thoughts about the Jews into an entire belief system that's only loosely based on the Bible. Yes, this makes me nervous about professing Christians who have an entire socio-political approach to "the Jewish nation" that can't be backed up from the Bible.
The word "fullness" could refer to a "number", but it doesn't have to. We read verse 12, in which Paul uses the same word "fullness" in a similar context. I don't read that context to mean "number of Jews" because Paul uses it in parallel with "transgression" and "loss"; it's about completion, not number. It's the same use in verse 25 -- the complete (blessing?) of the Jews, and the complete (blessing?) of the Gentiles.
"All Israel" does not mean "every individual citizen of Israel". Remember, we've established many times that Paul is speaking in generalities of groups, not individuals. Pretty much every scholar is in agreement about this. Paul is talking about the "nation of Israel".
The problem with the argument for "Israel" here referring to "saved Israel" ("spiritual Israel") is that Paul just spoke about the hardening of Israel in verse 25 -- clearly a reference to "physical Israel". And it's not a "mystery" that saved people will be saved!
Paul quotes Isaiah (59:20-21, 27:9), where the focus is more on the covenant God made with His people.
That leads me to this conclusion (and I know you'll be disappointed) -- I think both of the standard interpretations are wrong. And I don't have an alternative.
The dispensationalists are wrong for creating an entire paradigm for studying the end times based on reading things into these verses that are not clearly there. That's failing to appreciate the mystery of what Paul is saying! But the tautologists are wrong in saying that Paul is merely claiming that saved Jews will be saved. That's not a mystery!
Rather, we should stick to Paul's point. God made a promise to His people with Abraham, and God always keeps His promises. We don't know what that will look like, and we shouldn't speculate. But we should join Paul in praying for and working toward the evangelization of the Jews, just as we should for every people group.
In conclusion, yes, it's a tricky passage, and Christians get hung up on it. As always, I recommend focusing on what we know to be true and leave the rest to God. For me personally, I am comfortable with leaving things at "God still has a plan for His people" (as vague as that is) because that does not change the way I am to treat Jews. I should treat them the same way I treat every human being -- the way I would hope that they treat me. And I should pursue them with the gospel as I would any human being.
But don't stop there! Paul didn't!
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? 35 And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
Paul was never bothered by not fully understanding God's plan, and neither should we be. In fact, I get very nervous around Christians who claim to be able to explain and predict all of God's actions, particularly when it comes to the end times. That's not the humble spirit Paul spoke of, and it's not the awe Paul has toward God's unfathomable plans.
Comments