Paul declares Israel’s Rejection is not Final Part 2
Romans
11:12-15 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure
is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am
speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles,
I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen
and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? NKJV
Paul now looks forward to the time when many Jews
will be convinced by God the Holy Spirit of sin, righteousness, and judgment
and have their understanding enlightened, leading to their believing the gospel
of Christ and receiving Him as Lord and Savior. Paul concludes that God has
shown great mercy to us Gentiles by blinding the majority of the Nation Israel
to the truth of Christ Jesus our Lord, but He will certainly consummate His
Covenant Promises made to Abraham and King David. As we stated in the last
study, Israel is God the Father’s firstfruit of humanity that He has poured out
His loving-kindness upon. Paul being himself a Hebrew of Hebrews in his days as
a Pharisee knows all about the Jewish history and the miraculous works the Lord
God displayed on behalf of His people Israel to prepare them to battle their
enemies, to protect them in the battle against their enemies, and to preserve
them from enemy destruction and now that Paul belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ
he knows even with more certainty that our Lord Jesus will bring Israel as a
Nation to a state or condition of complete satisfaction. Paul declares that
Israel’s current and present rejection of our Lord Jesus Christ is not going to
be their final condition.
The Prophet Zechariah wrote about this future time
and future generation in Israel when the Jewish people would finally see our
Lord Jesus Christ for the true Messiah that He is and will mourn and wail and
weep over what was done to Him on Calvary at the persistent provocation of the
Jewish religious leaders. This is what the Prophet Zechariah wrote sometime
between 538-500 B.C., Zechariah 12:10 “I
will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they
have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and
they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”
NKJV Paul is here speaking of what Zechariah prophesied that would take
place in the hearts of every individual Jew when they are confronted with the gospel
and convicted of its truth by God the Holy Spirit as they are made alive from
being dead in their trespasses and sins just like everyone of us Gentiles (Ephesians 2:1). Only those Jews who
remain in their state or condition of unbelief will continue under the “spirit
of slumber or stupor” as Isaiah prophesied in verse 8 of this same chapter, but
there is coming a time when many in the Nation Israel will have their spiritual
eyes opened.
Paul knows this to be the heart of our Lord Jesus
Christ to not be willing that any should perish but that they might come to
repentance, for Paul was once under the very same “spirit of stupor” until he
was knocked over by our Lord Jesus and blinded and then given not only his
physical sight back but his spiritual stupor was destroyed and he was
regenerated and born again of incorruptible seed by the Word of God that lives
forever. Paul sees the new life he has now in Christ first hand proof that
Israel’s rejection is not and never will be final and so he makes it well known
everywhere he goes (especially in the midst of his Jewish brethren) that he is
now an Apostle (a sent one) of our Lord Jesus Christ sent to the Gentile world,
praying that many Jews (even the stubborn ones like himself) will be provoked
to jealousy and in so doing have their very own personal encounter with our
Lord Jesus Christ just as Paul did (1
Corinthians 9:22). Paul had a deep
gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ and held his office as an Apostle of Christ
in such high regard and wanted to be so faithful in carrying out his duties for
our Lord Jesus for His Glory that Paul said these words speaking of himself, 1 Corinthians 9:26-27
Therefore I do not run
uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and
striking without an adversary. But [like a boxer] I buffet my
body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear
that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it,
I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as
a counterfeit]. Amplified Bible
Paul now sums up the greatness of God and His
Infinite Wisdom in the redeeming and salvation of men and women of every tribe,
kindred, and tongue upon the earth by allowing Israel His Firstborn Son among
Nations to be blinded in unbelief for such a long time (it has been now 2,000
years) in order that He might with long-suffering patience that no human being
knows personally or understands, draw unto Christ Jesus our Lord all of the
elect Gentiles. Question surely many have asked over the centuries gone by (I
ask it even today), What about all of those Jews who have died during the 2,000
years since Christ death, burial, and resurrection from the dead still rejected
Him as their Messiah and in so doing rejected the Gospel? Answer is not from my
finite mind and understanding, but instead from the Word of God as it is
written by Paul here, Romans 2:28-29 For
he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward
in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that
which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not
from men, but from God. NKJV This might not seem right or fair to the heart
of men and women, but what is fair for any sinful human being because every
human being deserves hell for the wages or payment of their sin and it is only
by the grace and mercy of God the Father that anyone is saved. Salvation is not
man’s right from God neither Jew or Gentile and all who are saved will be saved
by Christ and will be in Christ Jew or Gentile (Ephesians 1:10). We can be sure of this truth that Paul says to
brother Timothy here, 2 Timothy 2:20 Nevertheless,
the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who
are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from
wickedness.” NKJV
God the Father knows every Jew over the past 2,000
years that belong to Christ (even those who died under the hand of Hitler) and
not one will perish or be separated from Him, this you can be certain of. However, Paul looks forward to that time when
the Jewish Nation will undergo its own resurrection from spiritual slumber and
stupor and they will come alive to God the Father through Christ Jesus our Lord
as Prophesied by Ezekiel 37:10-14 So I
prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to
life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son
of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones
are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ “Therefore
prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will open your
graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring
you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have
opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I
will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you
on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,”
declares the LORD.’” NKJV
“The permanence of God’s character guarantees the
fulfillment of His promises.” A.
W. Pink
“Faith...involves trusting in the future promises of God and waiting for their
fulfillment.” R. C. Sproul
“And as the circumcised in the flesh, and not in the
heart, have no part in God’s good promises;
even so they that be baptized in the flesh, and not in heart, have no part in
Christ’s blood. William Tyndale
“Every Jew who has lived from Christ death, burial,
and resurrection from the dead has been surely given many opportunities by God
the Father to hear the gospel, believe the gospel, and receive Christ and the
ones who continued in their unbelief will perish just as the Gentiles who
persist in unbelief, for with God there is no partiality (Romans 2:11).” Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
If
you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this
from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear
Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I
believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from
the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn
from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control
of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
