The Conversion of Israel (Romans 11:11-36)

Paul has explored the status of Israel from several angles as he explains their participation in the kingdom of God. Like everything else, Israel can be viewed from the past, from the present, and from the future. In the past they were the people who received great blessings from God, in the present they are undergoing his judgement because of their rejection of Jesus, and in the future they will yet have a central role. It is largely with this future role that Paul is concerned in this passage.

The Wealth Promised (vv. 11-15)

At the moment, there are several political and financial crises facing the nations of the world, and it looks as if such problems are always around in one way or another. Nevertheless our rulers talk of the wealth that we should and could possess as a nation. The fact that we do not have it means that we have lost it or are waiting to see if it will yet come our way. Our situation, whichever it is, reminds us that our promised riches are all uncertain. In contrast, the kingdom of God has secure promises about its wealth, and Paul here writes about the riches that God has given and will yet give to his kingdom.

First, Paul says that the Gentile members of the kingdom of God are rich because of the salvation that they have received from God. The apostle has described those riches in the first eight chapters of this letter – justification, adoption, sanctification and glorification. He also says that the way by which the Gentiles came into possession of those riches was through the failure of Israel to realise the privileges they had been given. Israel rejected the Messiah and therefore the blessings of the Messianic kingdom have come to us.

Second, Paul writes that in the future the kingdom will become even wealthier when the Jews as a race are converted. He had mentioned at the beginning of chapter 11 that a remnant of Jews had become believers in Jesus. Here he now writes that a time will come when the race will be converted to Jesus. Paul states that their recovery will be so great it will be as if God’s kingdom experienced a resurrection. He indicates that whatever size of blessing had been known before, there is a truly great one yet to come when the Jewish race is converted to the Messiah.

Briefly, Paul’s words here should remind us of two important outlooks. One is that the future of God’s kingdom is bright, no matter how dismal it may seem in some places. Of course, this wonderful prospect should stimulate our prayer lives and the future conversion of Israel should be a permanent petition in our intercessions. After all, there is nothing to beat praying for what is guaranteed by God, especially petitions that God rejoices to hear. The second detail that Paul’s words here emphasise is that the wealth of the kingdom is all about people. In earthly kingdoms, the wealth is separate from the subjects, but in the kingdom of God, in all its periods, the wealth is converted sinners.

The Warning Pronounced (vv. 16-24)

Paul seems to have been aware of a wrong attitude among some Gentile converts regarding the Jews. Those Gentiles had assumed that God was finished with Israel. So Paul uses the illustration of an olive tree that had natural branches (the Jews) in the past but now had natural and unnatural branches, with the unnatural being Gentile converts. The point that Paul stresses is the necessity of the Gentiles continuing in the faith, that dedication is the only appropriate response to God’s kindness.

We may have to guess why Paul stressed the necessity of ongoing commitment to God here. I am inclined to think that Paul expected hard times were coming for the Christian church, times in which the loyalty and love of the Gentile believers would be tested. Whether Paul thought that or not, we know that fiery persecution came to the church in Rome a few years later.

Of course, the point that Paul is making is that since the Gentiles, although unnatural branches, could be grafted in to the olive tree, even so God could graft in the natural branches in the future. What was needed for that to happen was faith in Jesus. Should the Jews turn to Jesus and trust in him as the Messiah, then they would find themselves in the kingdom of God. We see here the importance of true faith in Jesus.

The Wonder Predicted (vv. 25-32)

In this set of verses we have one of the New Testament mysteries. A mystery in this sense is not something obscure. Instead it is something that has been revealed by God. The mystery is that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. There are some difficult statements here to understand.

One is, whom does Paul mean by Israel? His usage of Israel in verse 25 is different from what he means by Israel in verse 26. In verse 25, Israel includes Jews who have been judged by God whereas in verse 26 Israel is composed only of saved people. Some people think that Israel in verse 26 is used in a spiritual sense and includes as well the Gentiles mentioned in verse 25. But I think that suggestion does not make sense in the passage because all the other references refer to literal Israel. So I would say that what Paul means by Israel in verse 26 is all converted Israelites from throughout history, including those Jews who will be converted in the future.

Second, what does Paul mean by the fullness of the Gentiles (v. 25)? He says that this fullness will be completed during the same period when literal Israel is partially hardened. Some say that this means that the conversion of Israel as a race in the future must therefore be the final saving act of God before Jesus returns, and they would say that ‘fullness’ here means all converted Gentiles. They would claim support for this interpretation from verse 15, which they read as indicating the conversion of Israel as a race is followed by the resurrection.

The problem with this interpretation is that it contradicts what Paul says in verse 12 where he writes that the ingathering of Israel will bring about greater blessings for Gentiles than the cutting off of Israel did. So I would suggest that ‘fullness of the Gentiles’ in verse 25 means that a large number of Gentiles will be converted before Israel is restored. Perhaps some readers would have assumed that nothing much would happen until Israel would be changed. Paul writes that great things will happen when Israel is restored, and he also says that great things will happen before they are restored.

Third, how will Israel be restored? Paul answers this question in verses 26 and 27 by citing some Old Testament statements. He first quotes from Isaiah 59:20-21: ‘“And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.’ We can see that Paul makes some changes. One is that Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would come to Zion whereas Paul says that Jesus will come from Zion. This is an important change, because Paul is telling his readers that Zion is no longer in the land of Canaan. Instead Zion is now heaven, where Jesus is, and that Jesus will come from heaven to bless them. Paul also says that God will make a covenant with them when he removes their sins – he promises that he will ‘banish ungodliness from Jacob’. So Paul tells his Roman readers that a wonderful day is coming when Jesus from heaven will bring the Jewish people to repentance and enable them to become a holy people. And that day will be a great time of gospel blessing for the nations as well.

Samuel Rutherford in one of his letters writes: ‘O to see the sight, next to Christ's coming in the clouds, the most joyful! Our elder brethren the Jews and Christ fall upon one another; they will be kind to one another when they meet. O day! O longed for and lovely day – dawn! O sweet Jesus, let me see that sight which will be as life from the dead, thee and thy ancient people in mutual embraces.’

Fourth, God shows grace to the disobedient (vv. 28-32). Paul reminds his Gentile readers that they should regard Israel from two perspectives. One is that with regard to the gospel, Israel is an enemy of God in order that blessings would come to the Gentiles. The other is that God has elected Israel to have a special role in his plan of salvation. He made unchangeable promises about them to their forefathers concerning their seed being a source of blessing for the world. They are a cause of blessing in their disobedience because salvation has come to the Gentiles and they will be a source of blessing in the future for Gentiles when as a race they return to God and embrace their Messiah. God works to a plan and central to that plan is that he will show mercy to undeserving, disobedient Gentiles and to undeserving, disobedient Jews. And nothing, says Paul, can prevent God doing this.

The Worship Presented

Paul, having explained the amazing intentions of God, bursts out in doxology and proclaims the greatness of the Lord. This doxology is the apostle’s conclusion to all that he has written so far in this great letter in which he explains the various elements of salvation provided for unworthy sinners, a salvation that has individual, national, global and cosmic deliverances.

Paul’s statement of praise has at least four features. First, there is God’s transcendence above all his creatures, in particular with regard to the riches of his wisdom, a reminder that he always knows what he is doing and that no creature can discover his plans unless he reveals them. Take a simple example. Who is God going to save next? We don’t know, no creature knows, but God has been at work in all kinds of ways to bring it about.

Second, there is God’s independence from all his creatures, stated in the Old Testament quotations mentioned in verses 34 and 35, a reminder that we cannot enhance God. God uses his creatures in the furtherance of his kingdom, but none of them are giving him a helping hand.

Third, there is God’s permanent sovereignty over everything – he creates everything, he enables everything, and he is the goal for everything. We live in ungodly times, yet we must remember that God is as sovereign today as he was when Christianity was strong. Given that his plan includes saving people we should remind ourselves that none of the opponents of God today are able to stop him showing mercy to the disobedient whenever he wishes to do so.

Fourth, there is Paul’s heartfelt desire, that God would be glorified throughout eternity, with this desire being the expression of astonishment, gladness and love, accompanied by the knowledge that his servant would participate in it in ways that he could not even imagine as he wrote his doxology.