Or, The Blessed Option
Scripture: Romans 11:11-15
Date: May 7, 2023
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Paul builds a rhetorical argument, repeatedly and emphatically, that God has purposed to bless the world through the kind of salvation that is jealousable. This paragraph makes a verbal argument for jealousability, but it is jealousability embodied, an argument lived out, that God will use to save the Jews.
What are we doing here? We’re in the Reserved section of the Romans letter (chapters 9-11), the section not as heavily trafficked; it’s often reserved for the theology professors who nerd out on doctrine or Bible commentators who signed a contract to get through these pages, as much as they may have wanted to skip from chapter 8 to 12.
But in these chapters we’re near the nucleus of God’s work in the world. When you remember that everything is from Him and through Him and to Him for His glory (per Romans 11:36), think about how Israel’s calling was from-through-to Him, how Israel’s rejection of Christ was from-through-to Him, how the salvation of the nations is from-through-to Him, in such a from-through-to Him way that will provoke Israel to return to Christ, for the blessing of riches for the world that are from-through-to Him. To Him be glory forever, Amen!
The relevance of this world history, of the purpose of God in election and His particular promises to Israel, is that God’s Word is worth everything. Our peace with God is as certain as the reconciliation of a coming generation of the Jews with God. Our inseparable state of being loved by God in Christ no matter the groan-levels of suffering is as certain as the irrevocable gifts and calling of God in showing mercy to Israel in Christ. The gospel is the power of God to salvation for the Jew first and also for the Greek, a gospel revealed by His word, and the word of God does not fail.
What sort of lives do from-through-to Him people live? When we understand this, we can be the kind of living sacrifices that stay conscious while staying on the altar. Usually sacrifices are dead, but we present our bodies (not just our precious Bible-thought moments) as living sacrifices. When we confess that Christ is Lord, and we learn about how He rules, we boast that He leads and lords us with jealousable blessings.
Here we are again in Romans 11:11-15. It is a waterfall of strength and beauty and motivation. In the previous message I defined a couple terms: Jews and jealousable. The Jews are those Israelites, identified by blood and culture, not spiritually or allegorically interpreted. The jealousable are those to whom God gives great blessings in order to provoke great desire among the Jews for the blessing Giver. God will use a no-covenant people to fulfill His new covenant with the house of Israel. Who would have thought?! Not the Jews, and not the idolator-demonic-darkened-mind Gentiles.
When I say argumentative I don’t mean that Paul is being cantankerous or combative but that he is systematically reasoning through the issue.
So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! (Romans 11:11a ESV)
Stumble and fall are two-steps that don’t always go together. You can trip and lose your footing without plummeting off a cliff, without finding yourself on the ground unable to get up again. The fall Paul has in mind is not only down but destroyed. God had not rejected His people entirely because He chose a remnant by grace (11:1, 5). But were the “rest” hardened permanently?
We’re talking about multiple generations of Jews who stumbled, and keep stumbling, over the stumbling Stone (Romans 9:32-33); Paul himself couldn’t know how many. But what Paul did know is that there was no way the stumbling of Israel would be final. “Absolutely not!” (NET) “Not at all!” (NIV) “May it never be!” (NASB).
Who needs to hear this? The Jew first, especially those paying attention to God’s promises, and also the Greek, those tempted to arrogance thinking Israel was out. Paul denies that their denial was/is final.
There are five movements, all connected to each other. They are not like houses built side by side in a row, they are like dominoes toppling one after the other.
Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. (Romans 11:11b ESV)
The first movement is trespass, it is the moral wrong of the non-remnant Jews, the religious offense pictured by stumbling. This stumbling was sin, the false step of refusing Christ as Lord.
The second movement is salvation, the deliverance from the consequences of sin, for the Gentiles. But note that this came through Israel’s sin. In Acts 28:24-28, Paul had called together the leaders of the Jews in Rome, and most of them left after he quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 about the dull hearts and deaf ears and closed eyes, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” (Acts 28:28)
The third movement is so as to make [them] jealous. Again, this is the purpose of the second part; Gentile salvation provokes Jewish jealousy. They will feel a desire to have what others have, especially what they thought should be for them in the first place.
The fourth movement is implied from the question and answer at the beginning of verse 11. Jealousy, in and of itself, could be a punishment rather than a provocation to something better. When Paul quoted Deuteronomy 32:21 in Romans 10:19, God’s warning sounded as if jealousy and anger would be the end of the line, the last purpose. But now Paul makes it clear that jealousy would not be the fall! And there is more to say about their “full inclusion” (verse 12) and their salvation (verse 13) and their acceptance (verse 15).
Our salvation as non-Jews is subordinate to the salvation of the Jews. We do not get a lesser grace, we do not get a lesser salvation, we are not part of a lesser body, but we are “partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). And “yet it does not follow that Israel no longer fulfills any particular design in the realization of God’s worldwide saving purpose” (Murray).
And what about a fifth movement? That’s Paul’s argument in verse 12: greater riches for the world.
The argument is from the lesser to the greater, and there is full expectation that the greater will be gotten to.
Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! (Romans 11:12 ESV)
This is a conditional expectation, and there are two “if”s. But note that the two are really one; it’s the same basic reality presented from different angles. The format also assumes that the “if”s are true, the “then” is also true. “If this, then that. This is, so that will be.”
The distinction continues between Israel, three times “their,” and the world, also considered as the Gentiles, just mentioned in verse 11. The Jews have trespass and failure, or loss, synonyms for stumbling.
In verse 11 Paul said that through the Jews’ trespass “salvation” came to the Gentiles, he goes further here. Salvation is also considered as riches for the world, and said again, riches for the Gentiles. “World” probably describes the recipients comprehensively as the world’s population, while “Gentiles” characterizes their ethnicity or religion.
And what are these riches? Paul writes about God’s riches a lot, but he usually follows it with a specific: riches of God’s kindness (Romans 2:4), riches of His glory (Romans 9:23), His riches and wisdom and knowledge (11:33), riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7). In Romans 11:12 Paul doesn’t specify the type of riches but emphasizes the extent of them. That he doesn’t narrow the riches into a list encourages us to think broadly. These riches are all the blessings of salvation.
Salvation blessings include, but are not limited to: personal humility before God, honesty before men, and hope in the word of Christ. Families that have fathers with hearts for their sons and sons with hearts turned to their fathers, mothers gladly birthing and nursing babies and raising generations. Churches of loud singing, faithful praying, strategic feasting. Cultures faithful and fruitful in art, business, education, economics, government. Group rejoicing with those who rejoice, group weeping with those who weep. Christians not conformed to this world, abhorring evil, holding fast to what is good, outdoing one another in showing honor, overcoming evil with good.
And the logic of the argument here is that the blessing and riches that will come to the Gentiles at the time of Israel’s “fulfillment” will be even greater. This is an upgrade, a windfall, a snowball, a riches multiplier. How much more, more surely, and more richly. Gentile blessings will be amplified by Jews being blessed. We ain’t seen nothing yet.
The word πλήρωμα denotes “full measure” or “completeness.” The ESV has full inclusion, or we could say “full restoration” (NET). Though one of Paul’s intentions is to show that Israel will again receive full blessing, the higher aim is to show that ALL Israel will receive those blessings (see also Romans 11:26). Israel’s obedience of faith will be even more obvious than Israel’s stumbling. Their privileges are promised, not in part, but the whole.
This is optimistic. Paul argues—he expects—that Israel’s stumbling will not be a final fall, that Gentiles will provoke Jews to jealousy, that a full inclusion of the Jews will happen, that the riches for the world will be greater. How can he, and we, be so confident? Because that is God’s covenant word to Israel (see especially Jeremiah 31:31-37). What does Paul, and should we, do with this confidence? Magnify our blessings of salvation in front of them!
As obviously bad as ethnic prejudice and antisemitism is, it is a different sort of bad (pathetic, as in miserably inadequate) how much salt has lost its taste among Gentiles who profess that Jesus is Lord. Unsalty salt is not good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet (Matthew 5:13).
Our lives of salvation blessings are rhetoric. God blesses men with persuasive and provocative lives as they confess that Jesus is Lord.
Nothing is more important for you to meditate on than the Lord Jesus Christ. All things are from-through-to Him. Mediate on the Lord day and night. Mind your business with Him in mind. He is true, honorable, just, lovely, excellent, and worthy of praise. Think with His mind, think with Him in mind, and you will be blessed in the from-through-to Lord.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Philippians 4:19–20, 23, ESV)