Grafted In Among Them

“GRAFTED IN AMONG THEM”

Romans 11.11-24

The Gospel was likely carried to the city of Rome by men who had been in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and were converted under the preaching of Simon Peter. Paul did not plant Churches in that city, and there is no evidence that convinces me Simon Peter was ever in the city of Rome.[1] Rather, the Roman Catholic Church placed him there so they could pretend the Apostle Peter was the first pope, which required that he be in Rome to suit their purposes. So, they placed him there who had never been there. But when the Gospel reached Rome, it flourished in that city’s Jewish community. A considerable number of Jewish people recognized the Lord Jesus to be the Messiah of Israel and repented of their sins. They were justified in the sight of the God of Israel through faith in Christ. Even some Gentiles, probably those inquirers who had attended the Roman synagogues, became believers as well.

Things were going well in Rome. The faith was flourishing. Both Jewish and Gentile believers were meeting in synagogues, and everyone got along well. But then persecution came, and every single Jewish person was expelled from the city of Rome, and their properties were confiscated.[2] This left the Gentile believers in a terrible fix: First, their congregations were without spiritual leadership, since the Jewish believers, with their lifetime of training in the Old Testament Scriptures, were now all gone. Second, with the Jewish synagogues now confiscated by the Roman government the relatively immature Gentile believers had no place to meet for their worship. But God blessed, raised up Gentile men to assume leadership positions in the different congregations, and provided homes for the congregations to meet in. Thus, perhaps without anyone realizing what was happening, Christianity in Rome was altered from being primarily Jewish in its cultural expression to being primarily Gentile in its cultural expression.

Imagine what things must have been like in Rome, then, when the ban was lifted, and Jewish people were allowed to return to the city. In addition to the horror of seeing other people living in your home (and there is nothing you can do about it; you will never get your house back) and occupying what had been your place of business, Jewish pastors came back to see men they had brought to Christ pastoring the Churches they had once led. And the Churches were now meeting in homes, rather than synagogues, and everything about their worship culture had become so much more Gentile, and so much less Jewish.

Though we usually try to imagine what it must have been like for the Jewish believers returning to Rome, let us also remember what it must have been like for the Gentile believers who stayed in Rome. It is to these Christians, Jews who have experienced what they have experienced and Gentiles who have experienced what they have experienced, that Paul writes. And what does he write about? The future of Israel. Imagine how the two groups among the Christian population of Rome must have felt in response to Paul’s declarations that God has set the nation of Israel aside. The Jewish believers could see that what Paul wrote lined up with everything they had seen happen among their countrymen, but they still recoiled in shock and amazement. And the Gentile believers? Being spiritually less mature, if they were not careful, they could easily misinterpret what God was doing, completely misunderstand what was going on. And I am persuaded that many theologians today have done precisely that. As we examine the second assurance that Paul gave his readers that God has not permanently cast away the Israelites, let us notice the attention that Paul gave to making sure that Gentiles, believers and non-believers alike, did not misunderstand what God was doing.

Turning to Romans 11.11-24, I would like you to stand and read along with me, this passage in which we are told that the rejection of the majority of Jewish people is a temporary set aside:

11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Notice the three ways Paul showed that the rejection of the majority of the Jewish people by God is temporary, because of their refusal to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah to the saving of their souls:

First, THE DECLARATION TO THAT EFFECT

11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

If you think Paul is simply serving us leftovers here, that he is saying here what he wrote back in 11.1-2, I beg your patience for just a moment.

Notice the form of the question that is asked in verse 11:

“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall?”

There are two nuances to this question that Paul asks himself that distinguish this verse from what Paul wrote back in verse 1: First, “Have they stumbled?” In verse 1 the question was “Hath God cast away his people?” The responsibility in verse 1 was God’s and God’s alone. Did God do something? But in this verse, Paul is laying responsibility at the feet of the Jewish people. They stumbled at the stumblingblock, which was the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, Paul described the current state of unsaved Israel as a spiritual “stumble,” and then asked his readers the rhetorical question whether they will stay down, having fallen. That is, they have “stumbled.” But will they remain in the spiritual state they are presently in, with the word “fall” here translating a form of the Greek word piptoo, which refers to a fall that leads to irreversible ruin?[3]

Notice the form of the answer that is given:

11 ... God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

First, there is Paul’s characteristic “God forbid.” We’ve come to expect this response from Paul, Romans. It’s the response he uses whenever a question is asked that, when you think on it awhile, can only be answered “Yes” by attacking God’s integrity. So, Paul’s response is always “God forbid.” Then, there are the clarifying remarks that follow. Let’s look at the two of them: #1 As to the opportunities presented as a result of Jewish unbelief:

“Through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”

The Jewish rejection of the Gospel, described in this phrase as a “fall,” from the Greek word paraptooma (meaning a trespass),[4] actually opened up an opportunity to reach the Gentiles with the truth. When the Jews fell then the Apostle Paul had the opportunity to preach the Gospel to other people. And it was used by God to bring about good for many Gentiles. Do you remember the kind of legalizing impediments the Jewish believers tended to throw in front of Gentiles who came to Christ in the book of Acts? They always wanted people to be circumcised and then to obey the Law of Moses. They wanted to make proselyte Jews out of them to them make Christians out of them. Those that we refer to in the New Testament as Judaizers misunderstood cultural options as being Scriptural imperatives. And their zeal for their culture interfered with God’s work, rather than helping to advance God’s work. Yes, sometimes a believer’s improper zeal for his ethnic identity can be an impediment to the advance of the Gospel among those of other cultures. There was a lot of this going on in missions in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. I am wondering if half the believers in South Korea and half the believers in the Philippines thought that they had to become an American to become a Christian. So, Paul and the others went to the Gentiles when the Jews rejected their message. And the result? Jealousy on the part of the Christ-rejecting Jews, because they rejected the Gospel and the Gentiles turned to Christ. And they observed these people exhibiting what to them appeared to be a wonderful relationship with God that they did not have. The Jews envied the Christians’ successes in winning Gentile converts; converts they had been unable to proselytize to Judaism. Jealousy, of course, leads to curiosity. And curiosity leads to an investigation. And when you begin to investigate the faith, you will see the validity of the faith. Amen? If you can get somebody to investigate Christianity, they will then see the validity of Christianity because this faith once delivered to the saints holds up under scrutiny.

#2 As to the possibilities presented as a result of Jewish unbelief, verse 12:

“Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”

The thrust of this verse is quite straightforward. God always wanted the Israelites to be a shining light to the sin-darkened Gentile world. So, just imagine. If God can accomplish what is currently being done among the Gentiles with the Jewish people in an unsaved state of rebellion, by and large, imagine what great things will happen when the Jewish people respond to the Gospel, and they begin to function as God had always intended them to function? Therefore, based on Paul’s answer to this question he has posed in verse 11, he has declared quite clearly that the Jewish resistance to the Gospel is temporary.

Next, THE EXPLANATION TO THAT EFFECT

13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

This portion of our text sometimes spooks people into thinking that it is more difficult to interpret than it is. If we will take Paul at what he wrote, and pay attention to the words he used, we can understand very clearly what he wanted his audience to understand. Consider five things:

First, consider Paul’s audience, verse 13:

“For I speak to you Gentiles.”

The key to understanding these next four verses is found in this single word, Gentiles, translating the Greek word ethnos, the word that gives us our word ethnic. Paul has now broadened the audience that he is addressing to include Gentiles, as well as Gentile believers. So, he is not writing to Gentiles who have trusted Christ; he is addressing all Gentiles, believers and non-believers alike. And this is important since Christendom has historically been comprised of Gentile believers as well as Gentiles who are not genuinely born again, along with some Jewish believers. That he is writing to Gentiles, in general, is important to note in this passage.

Second, consider Paul’s authority, continuing in verse 13:

“Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.”

Apostle means sent one. He was called, commissioned, and sent by the Savior, Himself. Paul is the personal envoy of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He is the chosen messenger of God’s goodness and God’s greatness through Jesus Christ, the Lord. Here he declares his desire to elevate people’s estimation of his ministry. Why is that? In part, so people will recognize that what he said is true.

Third, consider Paul’s auxiliary, verse 14:

“If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.”

It is obvious that Paul’s calling by the Lord Jesus Christ was to reach the Gentiles with the Gospel. But we know from Paul’s writings that he never lost his burden to bring as many Jewish people to Christ as he could. From this verse, we see that Paul viewed his ministry to the Gentiles as an asset in winning Jewish people to Christ, as well. Not a great many Jewish people will come to know Christ during this present era in which we live, but some will. And Paul rightly realized that it’s always better to bring some to the Savior than none.

Fourth, consider Paul’s anticipation, verse 15:

“For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?”

Here Paul enlarged on what he touched on in verse 12. If the number of Gentiles then being reached with the Gospel seemed to be impressive, just imagine what the harvest will be like once the Jewish people are received into the fold and begin to fulfill the purpose God has for them.

Then, consider Paul’s assertion, in verse 16:

“For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

Here he made a single assertion, but he did so using two illustrations: First, the illustration of the lump. Let’s say you have dough that you are going to make bread from. But to honor the Lord you give to Him the first part of your dough. That makes the rest of the lump holy. Not better. Not superior. Not even better tasting, necessarily. But set apart for God, and then this portion set apart for me. That is the point of the first half of the verse. Then came the illustration of the tree. If the root is holy, which is to say, if the root is set apart to God, then the branches which spring from the root are also set apart to God. What is Paul accomplishing with these two illustrations? He is preparing his readers for the next 8 verses and concluding his explanation that the setting aside of the Jews is temporary. Paul is making a statement about Israel. Liken the lump to Israel and also the tree to Israel. Now, liken the firstfruit to represent the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Consider the root to be the patriarchs, as well. That those patriarchs were holy unto God means that the nation that proceeded from them must have, even in their unbelief, a special relationship with God. And they do. All of this points toward the future salvation of the entire nation of Israel. But nothing points to their future salvation more, with regard to the passage that we’re looking at today, than this next point.

Finally, THE EXHORTATION TO THAT EFFECT

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

Paul wrote three statements of exhortation to his Gentile target audience that show the setting aside of Israel to be temporary:

First, Paul referred to the work of God:

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

He started out by once more using the analogy of a tree. Assume that the nation of Israel is a domestic olive tree, and the Gentiles are represented by a wild and relatively unproductive olive tree. What God has done, by setting aside the nation of Israel and calling Gentiles to salvation, can be likened to cutting branches off the domestic olive tree and grafting in their place the branches of a wild olive tree. You agronomists among us need to recognize how unusual is Paul’s analogy. Usually, it’s domestic branches that are grafted to wild and hardy roots. But Paul’s analogy is opposite what is usually done in orchards. And the two points he made to his Gentile readers was this: First, you are the wild and unproductive branches that have been grafted onto the root, so don’t think otherwise. Second, you are benefiting from the root you are grafted to, which is the Old Testament patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not benefiting from you. You are benefitting from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this grafting work is solely the work of God. In verse 18 he commented about appropriate talk by the Gentiles:

“Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.”

In other words, don’t you brag to the branches that were cut off so you could be grafted onto the roots, the unsaved Jewish people. Gentile Christians are not superior to unsaved Jewish people, and should never display a condescending attitude toward them. If you are going to boast you should boast of the roots, from whom you derive great benefit. Brag on the magnificent way God blessed the patriarchs, upon whose faith our faith is built.

Second, Paul referred to the words of the Gentiles, verse 19:

“Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.”

This is a prophecy that has been fulfilled. Throughout Church history nominal Christendom has declared that the branches were broken off that they, Gentiles, might be grafted in. This is the basic theology of the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline denominations when it comes to prophecy. They think that Israel’s rejection of Christ resulted in the nullification of all of God’s promises to the patriarchs. Further, they believe that the so-called universal Church now occupies the position, in God’s plan, that Israel would have occupied. This is the theology behind infant baptism. Catholics, Orthodox Churches, and most Protestant denominations maintain that infant baptism is the New Testament replacement for Old Testament circumcision of infants, in their minds symbolizing the universal Church replacing Israel in God’s plan. There’s only one problem with that notion. It isn’t true. How can we be sure it isn’t true? Because Israel’s rejection is only temporary.

Finally, Paul’s warning verses 20-24:

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

There are five parts to Paul’s warning: First, warning about Gentiles’ attitudes, verse 20:

“Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear.”

Gentiles had better not think we are superior to Jews. Better not get arrogant. Rather, fear God. The only difference between any Gentile believer in Christ and a lost person, even if he is Jewish, is faith in Christ. Nothing else. And that’s by grace. Second, warning about God’s actions, verse 21:

“For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”

What God did with the natural branches He will do to anyone. If He removed Israel for unbelief, He would remove any Gentile. And this is not referring to losing your salvation. This is referring to losing your place of privilege to hear the Gospel message presented effectively. Third, warning about God’s attributes, verse 22:

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

The attribute of God that you see is related to your relationship with Him. To people who rejected the Gospel God’s severity will be seen. But to people who responded in faith believing God’s goodness is seen. For that reason, don’t be proud and don’t be presumptuous. Don’t think that because it goes well with your group now that it will always go well with your group, insofar as God is concerned. Fourth, warning about God’s ability, verse 23:

“And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.”

Those who do not remain in unbelief will be grafted into the root again by God. This lets us know that God can save the Jewish people who turn to Christ by faith. They are not beyond the reach of God’s power. And, in closing, Paul’s words warning about Jews’ accretion, verse 24:

“For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?"

Here we see our familiar first class conditional statement. If such and such is true, which it is, then such and such is true. If you, a wild olive tree branch, were successfully grafted contrary to nature onto a domestic olive tree, how much easier it is to graft the natural branches back to the olive tree they originally came from? The Waldrip paraphrase: If God can save Gentiles by spiritually attaching them to the faith delivered to the patriarchs, do you think God will have any trouble bringing the Jews back and saving them who will so much more easily attach to the faith of their forefathers? No.

The remnant according to the election of grace shows us that God has not cast away His people, which He foreknew. We observed that in verses 1-10. In verses 11-24 we see that the rejection of the majority of the Jews being temporary also shows that God has not cast away His people which He foreknew. Let us not mistake what is going on in God’s plan. Some Jewish people received Jesus Christ. The majority rejected Him as their Messiah. Their refusal to repent of their sins resulted in God judicially setting them aside and sending the Gospel to the Gentiles. This resulted in the tables now being turned. Instead of many Jews turning to Christ along with a few Gentiles, now it’s primarily Gentiles coming to Christ with a few Jewish people.

What does that mean? Does that mean God tore those branches from His tree to make room for us? No. There’s plenty of room for them and us. But He will use their rebellion to accomplish His purpose. You remember how, when Joseph was sold into bondage by his brothers in the book of Genesis, he later characterized what happened by saying to his brothers, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” He will save Gentiles and use their relationship with God to provoke Jewish people to jealousy.

Eventually, many Jewish people will be saved. Will Gentile evangelism, therefore, come to an end when many Jewish people turn to Christ? Oh, no. With the Jewish people becoming believers someday, even more Gentiles will come to know Christ as the then believing Jewish Christians fulfill their God-given role of being a light to the Gentiles.

Recognize what is often misunderstood here. The danger Paul warns his readers of in verse 21 is not the danger of salvation being lost. Rather, it is the danger of lost opportunities for unsaved Gentiles to hear the Gospel and be saved. Thus, we now know why God judicially blinded the Jews, according to verse 7. It was to set the stage for Gentile evangelism, which would in turn eventually help to reach the rebellious Jewish people. This shows that not even the rebellion of God’s chosen people can thwart His purposes.

Beloved, is it not wonderful to see that God has everything worked out? He has a plan that is unfolding. What we must do is stay where God wants us personally to be so we don’t miss the great blessings that God wants us to share in. I am so thrilled that not only does God keep His covenant promises with the Jewish people, but that He goes to great lengths to show us that He is reliable and faithful to His promises how that ought to comfort every child of God.

__________

[1] Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle To The Romans - NICNT, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), page 4.

[2] Ibid., pages 4-5.

[3] John D. Harvey, Romans - EGGNT, (Nashville: B & H Academic, 2017), page 273.

[4] Ibid.

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