I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.This question, if asked in the language we use in our culture today, would sound something like this: “Well then doesn’t that mean that the Jewish people have lost their status and position as God’s chosen people?” You see, the church at Rome was a diverse church that contained both Jews and Gentiles. So some within the church were wondering if the Jewish people still had the status of being God’s chosen people, or were the Gentiles now God’s chosen people. We see Paul respond to this question with the strongest negative response possible and explain that “by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.” But what does that mean?
Paul’s point here is that the selfishness and rebellion of the Jewish nation did not exclude them from receiving God’s promises so that the Gentiles were now God’s chosen people. Instead God would use His grace to the Gentiles as the vehicle to bring Jewish people to faith. Here we see Paul revealing for us the reality that God’s sovereign choice results in the opportunity of rescue for all nations. Throughout the book of Acts, we see Paul and other early church leaders first proclaim the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the Jewish people, where it was rejected by the vast majority of the Jewish people. The early church responded to this rejection by proclaiming the message of the gospel to the Gentiles, where many responded to the message by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.
And as these Gentile followers of Jesus experienced God’s transformational activity in their lives, God used their transformation to advance His kingdom mission to the Jewish people. You see, while the Jewish people could easily reject the message, they could not deny the transformation that they were seeing. And it was God’s activity through the lives of the Gentiles that God would use to bring forgiveness and rescue to those Jewish people who became followers of Jesus.
Paul then explains that if the Jewish nation’s selfishness and rebellion resulted in the rescue and the advancement of God’s kingdom mission throughout the nations, then how much more will God’s reputation be advanced and God’s kingdom mission be advanced then when God fulfills His promises to the Jewish nation. Paul recognized that the mission that God had given him was to be the primary missionary to first bring the claims of Christ and message of the gospel to the non-Jewish world. But Paul recognized that God was going to use Paul to not only reach Gentiles, for Christ, but that God was going to use Gentiles to reach Jews for Christ. As Paul continues, however, we see him address a potential response by Gentile members of the church at Rome to this reality, beginning in verse 17:
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?
Here we see Paul use an improbable farming metaphor to drive home a timeless truth when it comes to God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. In this metaphor, the natural Olive Tree refers to the Jewish people, while the wild olive tree refers to Gentile followers of Jesus. The root refers to God’s promises that were made to Abraham and the forefathers of the Jewish people. As with most plants, the plant begins with the root and then spreads out as it grows. Now, in Paul’s day, a wild olive tree was notoriously unfruitful. So it would be contrary to nature to graft a wild olive branch into a natural olive tree.
Now with this information in mind, let’s look at why Paul would use this metaphor. At the church in Rome, some Gentile Christians had become boastful and proud, believing that they were now God’ chosen people and were better than Jewish people. If Paul’s response to the spiritual pride of the Gentile members of the church at Rome was expressed in the language we use today, his response would sound something like this: “just because many Jewish people were separated from God as a result of their selfish rebellion against God and the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel; and just because Gentiles now had the opportunity to be united and become a partner and participant in God’s promises that were made to Abraham as the forefather of the Jewish nation; that does not mean that you can become boastful at the expense of the Jewish people. You should not be arrogant and boastful because God’s promises did not come through the Gentiles. Instead God’s promises came to the Jewish people and flow through the Jewish people to you.”
Paul then anticipates and attacks a potential push back to his response by explaining that just because the Jewish people were separated from God because of their failure to trust God and the promises of God that should not result in spiritual pride. Instead, since your relationship with God is based on your confident trust in God and not what you did for God, you should have a reverent respect for God. Because if God had no problem separating unbelieving Jewish people who revealed their unbelief through their unfruitfulness from Him, then He would have no problem separating you Gentiles as a result of the unfruitfulness of spiritual pride that could be a sign that you are trusting in what you did for God instead of what God did for you through Jesus.
Now a natural question that arises involves Paul’s words in verse 22-23, specifically the phrase “if you continue in His kindness”. So does that mean we can lose our salvation? I do not believe that is that case, based on his metaphor here. You see, while the olive tree represents the true spiritual people of God, those who are said to belong to this tree are not only those who, through their faith, are actually a part of the tree but also those who only appear to belong to the tree. This is evident because Paul talks about unbelieving Jews, who never believed, being “broken off” from the tree in verse 17. In the same way then, those who are Gentiles within the church at Rome, who appear to be a part of God’s people, yet do not continue to live a life of confident trust in Jesus that bears witness and fruit of God’s activity in their lives, may never have been a part of that tree at all.
Paul here is revealing for us the reality that God’s sovereign choice should result in reverence, not arrogance, because we are responsible for our response to God. Whether Jew or Gentile, the person who refuses to place their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel will be held responsible for their response of unbelief. Whether Jew or Gentile, the person who places their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader is united and participates in the promises of God that had their beginnings with Abraham, who is the forefather of the Jewish people. And just as it is easier for natural plants to be grafted together, God is easily able to bring Jewish people to faith, because God’s promises began with the Jewish people. Paul then gives us a glimpse into God’s master plan for all history, which we will look at tomorrow.
In the meantime, how have you responded to the opportunity that God has provided to all nations? With arrogance? Or with reverence?
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