theology — Bible — Andrew Forrest

Romans 11:25-36

25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: 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 banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

For the past three chapters, Paul has been making one long, technical argument, and in today’s reading he finally brings it to fulfillment by recapping the main themes he has been emphasizing in chapters 9–11.

Remember: The Roman church to which Paul is writing was made up of both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, and most likely the Gentile Christians were in the majority. Throughout this whole long, complicated section, filled with Old Testament allusions and quotations, Paul has been examining and answering four related questions:

Why did so many of the Jews refuse to accept Jesus as Messiah?
In light of Jewish rejection of Jesus and Gentile acceptance of Jesus, has God replaced the Jews with the Gentiles as His chosen people?
Is there any hope that the Jews who previously rejected Jesus as Messiah might one day turn back and believe?
In light of all of the above, what is God up to?

25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in [Romans 11:25].

Paul says that God has allowed Israel—His chosen people—to have hard hearts toward the Messiah so that the Gentiles have a chance to believe. “The fullness of the Gentiles” implies completion—whatever the actual number of Gentiles who become Christians, Paul says that God is going to keep going until every possible person is saved. As Paul has been arguing in previous verses, the closed doors of the Jews have caused the Gospel to be shared with the Gentiles, who seem to have opened their doors to Christ.

But then Paul makes this startling claim:

26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins” [Romans 11:26–27].

How or when “all Israel” will be saved, he doesn’t say, but the clear implication that what was once only a minority of the Jews putting faith in Jesus will become, in God’s timing, the vast majority.

28 As regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all [Romans 11:28–32].

Paul uses strong language to make the point that God is now using the Jews to provoke the Gentiles to faith, and then God will use the Gentiles to provoke the Jews to faith, because He is committed to the Jews as His chosen people, and because God uses bad things for good. And all along God’s goal has been to show mercy to as many people as possible!

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” [Romans 11:33–35].

The issues involved in chapters 9–11 are profound, and Paul (and us) is forced to acknowledge that God’s ways are deep and mysterious.

But the depth of God’s wisdom and mercy causes him to close this section of the letter with a doxology—a “word of glory.”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen [Romans 11:36].

What a good way to wrap up today’s commentary!