Some things you can’t unsee. I can’t unsee this paragraph, Romans 11:11-15. It’s only five verses. But once you get through it, it’s as if you’ve been over Niagara Falls. You will stop thinking about finding the right little barrel to protect yourself, and you’ll realize you are riding waterfalls.

I said somewhere in a sermon when we started Romans 9 that these three chapters frame an entire worldview. There’s theology for sure, studying God’s power and purpose in sovereign election. There is history for sure, as God lifted up a hardened Pharaoh to make a name for Himself as He delivered Israel, and as God prophesied a hardened Israel to make His name known among the nations. But the concept in these five verses contains more application than your lifetime can imagine, than our generation will fulfill. We label these chapters doctrine and say that the practical stuff starts in chapter 12; so be it. But those exhortations, as good and necessary as they are, are examples of what this paragraph presents.

Evangelization? Yes. Eschatology? Yes. But however much men argue over election and reprobation in Romans 9, it is far too much compared to how much more men should adorn the doctrine of our Savior in Romans 11, in particular verses 11-15. Summary: God blesses those who confess Jesus is Lord in order to bless the world. A little longer: God blessed the nations with the gospel of salvation and the riches of Christ by ordaining the rejection of Christ by the Jews, so that the riches of Christ among the Gentiles would make the Jews jealous and turn them to the gospel of salvation so that the glories of God in blessing His people would show His riches for the world. Shorter again: God makes men jealousable with all the blessings of salvation.

This is what Adam and Eve started out to do, it was the project for mankind. God blessed them, having given them an abundance of goods, of riches. God called them to increase their tribe and expand their work and exercise stewardship as rulers, to grow in blessing and riches. Sin ruined it. And the better/last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45) has come to provide forgiveness, and to restore God’s image in us, to renew our ability to receive goods from God with gratitude and to obey Him in hope of joyful fruit. This is not a secret, and this is part of His strategy to spread the blessings.

There are wonders in the story that give new life to our good works by faith. It’s more than lifestyle evangelism, it is salvific jealousability that is life from the dead. We should understand this, embrace it, embody it, enjoy it. We’ll need some definitions, qualifications, implications, and that will take a couple sermons.

The Paragraph

Many modern English translations make a division between verses 16 and 17, and I can see an argument for a subject shift in verse 17 from the glories of Israel’s reconciliation to a warning against Gentile pride. But I think that transition actually starts with verse 16, and verse 16 is where the analogy of the root and branches begins that extends into the next verses.

Plus, there is a parallel format between verse 12 and verse 15. Both of them ask an exclamation, though the ESV punctuates verse 12 with an exclamation mark and verse 15 with a questions mark. But both are rhetorical conditional arguments, both moving from lesser to greater. If this, how much better this?!

Add to that the double-jealousable mention, first in verse 11 and again in verse 14. The jealous pieces hold the paragraph together. The jealous pieces move the world.

So the NKJV has verses 11-12 together, with verses 13-15 together (also sections recognized by Murray and Calvin). The point of this paragraph is that God-given riches make Gentiles jealousable to Jews in order to reconcile the Jews.

The Terms

There are two terms that beg for definition: Jews and jealousable.

The Jews

The first question in verse 11 is about the “they,” and we know from the first part of chapter 11 that this is about Israel. Paul was an Israelite, as a biological descendent of Abraham, specifically from one of the tribes of Jacob’s sons, Benjamin (Romans 11:1). Israel was distinguished by their worship, or they were supposed to be, though priests of Baal had demolished altars for Yahweh and Elijah prophesied against them (Romans 11:2). There was a remnant by God’s grace (Romans 11:5), those elected to faith and faithfulness within the nation, though the elect nation of Israel as a whole failed to obtain righteousness (Romans 11:7).

Did they stumble in order that they might fall? This obviously isn’t a question about the elect, about the remnant, but about the rest of Israel. Based on the answer it can’t be a question about only one generation within Israel’s history, whether in Elijah’s time or David’s time, because all those Jews who died in rebellion did “fall,” they were not saved. So there is still some ongoing question about a group identified as Israel; is it over for them? Has God rejected them (see verse 1)?

They are distinguished from “the Gentiles” (verse 11). They must be distinguished from the Gentiles if, as a people group, they can be made jealous. It’s interesting that English clarifies “Israel” in verse 11 when the Greek has “them.” It’s also valuable to see that in verse 14 the Greek says “to make jealous my flesh (μου τὴν σάρκα),” which English turns into “Jews” (ESV) or “my fellow countrymen” (NASB).

We will eventually get to the bottom line in verse 25: “all Israel will be saved.”

I emphasize this for a few reasons. First, too many Christians play loosey-goosey with the terms “Israel” and the “church.” They use the word “church” for Israel in the Old Testament, and they use the word “Israel” or “spiritual Israel” or “true Israel” as another word for church in the New Testament. This is not just sloppy, it’s nonsense. It guts the argument of meaning.

If the non-elect Israelites rejected Jesus so that elect Gentiles would receive Jesus, but the elect Gentiles are just “spiritual Israel,” then we’re done as soon as Gentiles believe because they make up New Testament “Israel.” But it’s physical, national Israel that matters in this sequence.

Second, how does Paul know that there will be a full inclusion of Israel? He’s stating it, adamantly, because this is what God promised to Israel in the Old Testament. Paul has quoted more OT in Romans 9-11 than the first eight chapters. Their rejection was prophesied, so is their salvation. The King’s kingdom is coming to earth, as it is in heaven, and the King will reign from His throne in Jerusalem.

A few years ago I had a conversation about this with a brother in Christ who is a self-confessed Reformed type who told me that no one cares what happens to Israel. He told me that God’s program is the church, and while Jews can believe, like any other people, there is nothing unique or remaining for them because of being Jews.

A good term to summarize this is Supersessionism. It goes by other names as well, such as Replacement Theology or Fulfillment Theology. It includes:

the belief that Christianity is the fulfillment of Biblical Judaism…. Israel has been superseded in the sense that the Church has been entrusted with the fulfillment of the promises of which Jewish Israel is the trustee. (Source)

Many of the guys I learn a lot of other things from go to great lengths of squirming to say that they’re not replacing Israel with the church, but it still stinks. It is ironic, it is wrong, even in light of Romans 11:16-24, especially verse 18 where Paul urges the Gentiles not to be arrogant or proud toward the “natural branches.”

Also, none of this means that Israel’s current spiritual state is anything but apostate. There is a remnant who have received the Messiah by faith. But until Israel confesses Jesus is Lord, we are not bound to support every political decision they make nor back them in every conflict.

The Jealousable

A Defense of Jealousy. Because of God’s Word we rightly regard jealousy as a sin. Joseph’s brothers did horrible things to him because they were jealous (Genesis 37:11). Jealousy is more consuming and overpowering than anger (Proverbs 27:4). We often see it as a synonym with envy, a resentment from a desire to possess what someone else has.

And yet we also read in the Scriptures that the LORD revealed His name as “Jealous.” He commanded that no other god be worshiped because He “is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14). “The LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24). And the Lord recognized a good jealousy among spouses, if one suspected the other of cheating it was “the spirit of jealousy” (Numbers 5:14-30). So jealousy includes the idea of being “fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions” (New Oxford American Dictionary).

In Romans 10:19 Paul quoted only the second half of Deuteronomy 32:21, here is the full verse.

They have made me jealous with what is no god;
they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. (Deuteronomy 32:21 ESV)

Romans 11 clarifies, in a way that Deuteronomy 32 doesn’t, that the jealously is only a subordinate end; there is another step. God will make Israel jealous to re-include them (verse 12). Paul made them jealous for sake of their salvation (verse 14). It’s a when, not an if, they will receive God’s mercy (verse 31).

A Demonstration of Jealousy. In other words, what are the Jews jealous over? This demands more time. Just skimming the paragraph again, it must include “salvation” (verse 11) and “reconciliation” (verse 15). But note the breadth: “riches for the world…riches for the Gentiles” (verse 12), and even “life from the dead” (verse 15).

The things the provoke the Jews to jealousy are the kinds of things God promised to them, the kinds of things that are spiritual and material, eternal and earthly, individual and corporate. It is every part of life over death. It is “blessings all mine, and ten thousand beside.” And in light of Paul’s argument from lesser to greater, if God’s blessings are so good to us from Israel’s failure, how much greater will God’s blessings be to all of us when Israel is fully included?!

And more needs to be said about the fact that jealousability cuts two ways. The Jewish chief priests delivered Jesus to be killed because of envy (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10), and the Jews “were filled with jealousy” against Paul and stirred up persecution (Acts 13:44-50). God’s blessings lead to rejoicing for some, and resentment for others.

Conclusion

You are here. You are in this, a part of it. You might not be doing it well, you might doing it amazingly but not intentionally. But we are blessed. We continue to receive blessings from God that make us jealousable, and He purposes for those jealousable blessings to bring even greater blessings to the world.

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Charge

Count your blessings, give thanks to God for every one. Show off your blessings, boast in a way that points others to God. Seek the God of blessings, let Him make you jealousable for the good of the nations.

Benediction:

The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24–26, ESV)