True Heart of Worship
Church of God (Seventh Day) Independent
Church of God (Seventh Day) Independent
With the world so antagonistic toward Israel right now, it's good for us to know why we support Israel. We've all heard verses like Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse." But there are people who say that was the Old Testament and things changed after the Jews killed Jesus. They believe either that Christians are a replacement for Israel or that God has given up on Israel. Therefore what Genesis 12:3 says doesn't apply any more.
In this lesson we will look at an extended passage where the Apostle Paul, writing to the Church of Rome, speaks very clearly about God's post-crucifixion relationship with the Jews. This passage has more to it than that though. It contains a reference to one of the feast days which can't be understood without understanding that day. It also contains a prophetic reference. If we ask the question "why is Paul saying these things to the Roman church" and "does this relate to what we know the church will become" we will also see that Paul is addressing a problem in that church.
To better understand that aspect of this passage it's important to understand the cultural context of that church. The Church of Rome, which would become the Roman Catholic Church,was located in Rome, obviously. The Roman population did not like the Jews because they saw them as trouble makers and malcontents among the conquered peoples. Jerusalem was frequently a problem that required the Roman Army to step in.
The frequent revolts in Jerusalem and Israel were seen by Roman citizens as rejection of not just the power, authority and greatness of Rome but also the gifts of Roman technology and civilization. They took it as a slap in the face.
Romans also saw the Jews, and in fact all Semitic people from the Aramean region, as a lesser people and not very civilized.
Anti-Semitic feelings1 became so bad in Rome that from about 30 - 40 AD all the Jews were kicked out of Rome by Claudius Caesar. We see this in Acts 18:2 where Paul meets Christianized Jews who had been kicked out of Rome. This Anti-Semitic feeling crept into the Church of Rome and can be seen in the writings and rulings of the early church fathers in Rome. This feeling continued on for hundreds of years.
We can't be sure why Paul felt compelled to discuss God's continuing relationship with the Jews in this epistle. When we look at the Book of Romans, the largest of the epistles, we see two themes:
Prior to this chapter Paul has repeatedly mentioned particular aspects of how the Jews fit in to Christianity. In this chapter he really gets to the point.
Paul begins by presenting the case as an argument between him and the church where he voices the questions and objections they would be asking. He uses words like "Has God thrust away his people?" and "Doubtless you will say."
1 But I say, "Has God thrust away his people?" God forbid! I am also from Israel, from the seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Paul begins this discourse by asking a question. He often uses that style and does this in other epistles as well. He is certainly echoing questions that the Church of Rome are asking. Their questions, though, tells us something about their attitude toward the Jews. In what follows he will continue to refute their questions and objections.
The central question for this chapter is, "Has God permanently rejected his people". Paul's response is one of shock. He is surprised that the question even needs to be asked. His first point is "Look at me. I'm a Jew. Has God rejected me?"
2 God has not thrust away his people, who were known to him from the first, or do you not know the Scriptures in which Elijah spoke when he complained to God about Israel and he said: 3 "My Lord, they have murdered your Prophets and they have toppled your altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life"? 4 It was said to him by revelation, "Behold, I have left for myself 7000 men who have not bowed their knees and worshiped Baal." 5 In the same way also at this time there is a remnant left in the election of grace.
Paul says that God has not rejected his people and he goes on to make the point that they have been a special people to him from the beginning. Then he goes on to explain what has happened. Paul cites Elijah to show that many times in the past, God has allowed his people to go into sin but he has always preserved a remnant. Sometimes the remnant are the ones who survive the attacks by other nations such as the Assyrians and Babylonians. But in some cases the remnant are the ones who continue to be loyal and become the instrument God uses to bring his people back to him.
Paul summarizes by saying that there is, in his time, also a remnant. This remnant is those who are among the elect, the church, the body of the Messiah, chosen by the grace of God. This term, "the elect", is commonly used as a name for the people God has chosen.
6 But if it is by grace, it is not from works, or else grace is not grace. But if it is by works, it is not from grace, or else work is not work.
This verse appears to be a little side note by Paul. He is emphasizing that the Christianized Jews also entered by the grace of God, just as the Gentiles had entered, and not because of who they are or what they had done.
What he says specifically is interesting as well. His point is that grace and works cannot coexist. Therefore the covenant cannot be entered by some people by their works and some people by God's grace. He means that the Gentiles entered by grace but if the Jews entered by being who they are (by works), then this covenant is not by grace. Neither can it be a covenant of works if some enter by grace.
7 Why therefore has not Israel found that which it was seeking, but the election has found it and the rest of them were blinded in their hearts, 8 According to what is written: "God gave them a spirit of frustration, and eyes that will not observe and ears that will not hear", even until today? 9 And again David said, "Their table shall be a trap before them and their reward, a stumbling block. 10 Let their eyes be darkened, lest they see, and may their back always be bent over."
Paul now asks how it was that Israel missed the Messiah whom they had waited for for so long. His answer is that it was God's intent that this should happen. The majority of them would be unable to hear and see and understand him for who he was.
What they had, their table (the law, their status as God's chosen people), would be a trap for them. The reward they were seeking, the Messiah, would appear to them as a stone in the road that tripped them as they went about their lives.
It's important to understand what is meant by "God gave them a spirit of frustration". God did not addle their minds so they could not function correctly. What is meant here is the same process that was seen with the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. God allows a series of tests to come upon a person that he knows the person will fail, with the final result of this succession of bad choices being that the person is "blinded in his heart".
11 But I say, "Did they stumble so that they would fall? God forbid! But by their offense, life came to the Gentiles, to their envy.
Paul continues on with his argument by asking if God caused them to stumble just for the giggles of seeing them fall, or to discard them. Did God setup everything just so they would fail and kill their own Messiah and be rejected and replaced?
This is also likely a question the Church of Rome is asking. We know from history that they decided the Jews were discarded and the New Covenant church was built on Peter, not on Judaism. They had no interest in seeing Christianity as a continuation of the Old Covenant.
He answers that question by saying essentially "Of course not. How ridiculous." It was done to purge his people, leaving a remnant who would continue on into the New Covenant. Also, because they rejected and killed their Messiah, the gospel message and salvation was made available to a world full of Gentiles. Now the Gentiles are the envy of the Jews.
Until that time the only path to salvation was through Judaism. A Gentile could only achieve salvation by becoming a Jew and so coming under the Old Covenant.
12 And if their offense was wealth to the world, and their condemnation is wealth to the Gentiles, how much more therefore, their fullness?"
By killing their promised Messiah the Jews brought wealth to the world and to Gentiles. But when they become complete again by returning to the Messiah the world and Gentiles become even wealthier.
Paul may have been refuting an idea that he hasn't specifically identified, one that we see in the recent past and even somewhat today. That is the idea expressed in the statement, "I hate the Jews because they killed Jesus".
13 But I say to you Gentiles, I who am an Apostle of the Gentiles, I honor my ministry. 14 Perhaps I may make my kindred jealous, and I may save some of them.
Paul returns to his statement in verse 11 that the Jews are now envious of the Gentiles by saying that it is his goal, even though his ministry is to the Gentiles, to make the Jews envious and jealous so that they may come to the Messiah.
15 For if their rejection was the reconciliation for the world, how much greater therefore is their return, if not life from the dead?
Paul returns to his statement in verse 12 saying that the Jews rejection of their Messiah was great because it resulted in reconciliation with God for the Gentiles and that, when the Jews return to the Messiah, it is an even greater thing. By this he means that the combination of making reconciliation available and returning to the Messiah is better than reconciliation alone. It is as great as bringing the dead back to life.
16 But if the first fruits are holy, so is the substance. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Paul engages in a complex metaphor here. To understand all of it you need to understand that First Fruits is the name of the Jewish holy day or feast day that came three days after the Passover when Jesus was crucified. That makes it the day the Messiah was resurrected. Therefore that feast day was a shadow or fore-shadowing of the Messiah's resurrection and he is the first fruits of the Old Covenant.
The Feast of First Fruits celebrated the beginning of the fruit harvest by an offering to God of the first ripe fruit from the trees and crops. Olive trees were one of the fruit trees.
The principal behind it is that, if the first sample of the crop is good then that shows the tree was good right down to its root. It also showed that the rest of the crop would be good because it was fed from that same root.
This goes hand-in-hand with what Jesus had said about bad trees producing bad fruit and good trees producing good fruit.
In this metaphor Paul ties all of this together. He will be talking about both a physical tree and the spiritual tree it represents. God began growing that spiritual tree when mankind were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. In Jesus' time the tips of the branches that had grown were the godly people of Israel.
When Paul says that the first fruits were holy, or dedicated to God, he is referring to the Messiah as being the holy fruit that had come from the tree (the only fruit). Jesus' holiness shows that the spiritual tree is holy right down to its root. And if the root is holy so are the branches.
He will continue on in this metaphor, calling the tree an olive tree.
17 And if some of the branches were cut off and you, a wild olive tree, were grafted in their place, and you have become a partaker of the roots and of the fat of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches; but if you boast, were you not supported by the roots, rather than the root being supported by you?
Grafting is a practice that is still very common today but most of us are unaware of it. I have an ornamental peach tree in my yard. Its root is grown from a hardy kind of peach tree that can take Texas weather. At some point before I bought it a branch from another less hardy but more productive peach tree was grafted into that root stock. This would have been done by making a slice into the root stock, usually where a branch had been, and inserting a branch sliced from the more productive tree. Then the two would have been tied together until they grew into each other.
So Paul is saying that we Gentiles were grafted into the tree which was founded by God and grew to be Israel. As such we live off what the root makes available through the larger branches of the tree up to us. He also makes the point that we, as branches, are not natural to this tree - we are from a different type of that tree.
Paul now makes a statement directed at what appears to be Roman arrogance. Do not boast against the branches, or do not think of yourself as better than the branches. Gentiles are supported by the root and other branches. They are not the root of the tree nor are they a new tree planted in the place of the old tree.
It seems to me that Paul often goes after small easily fixed things with an axe and gets it done. But with more delicate topics he uses a much more deft and subtle touch. In those time his words are sometimes so subtle that they are missed by readers. With super-power Romans it is necessary to be delicate when speaking of their arrogance.
19 Doubtless you will say, "The branches were cut off that I might be grafted in their place."
Again Paul uses a statement that the Romans might have used to justify their arrogance, but it really speaks to their arrogance - the branches needed to be cut off so there would be room for us, the more fruitful branches.
20 Fine, these were cut off because they did not believe, but you have stood by faith. Do not be lifted up in your mind, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not show pity upon the natural branches, surely he will not show pity upon you.
Paul's response is "Fine!" Sure they were cut off because of their lack of faith. But don't think that you are somehow better because of your faith. Instead stand in awe that God would cut off his own people and know that if you lose faith he will surely do the same to you.
22 Behold therefore, the sweetness and the hardness of God; on those who fell, hardness, and on you, sweetness, if you abide in his sweetness, but if not, you will also be cut off.
Paul hammers home the point by restating it in a different way. God can be hard or sweet, hard toward those who do not believe, Jew or Gentile, and sweet to those who do believe, Jew or Gentile. If you do not continue in his sweetness, by faith, you will be cut off just as they were.
23 And if they do not continue in their utter lack of faith, they will also be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you who are from a wild olive tree, which is your natural condition, were cut off and are grafted into the good olive tree apart from your natural condition, how much more will those surely be grafted into the olive tree of their own nature?
He continues by saying that the Jews can certainly be grafted into the tree again. That is done easily because it is the tree of their own nature. With real trees, sometimes a graft of one kind of tree into another does not work. But a graft of its own kind is much more likely to succeed.
In fact this grafting in again of God's people is strongly associated with an event that will happen leading up to the second coming of the Messiah. Israel will realize they killed their Messiah and will return to him.
Paul continues on in this same vein, the Second Coming.
25 I want you to know my brethren, this mystery, lest you would be wise in your own opinion, that blindness of heart has for a little time come to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles will come in. 26 And then all Israel shall have life, according to what is written: "The Savior shall come from Zion and he shall turn away evil from Jacob, 27 and then they shall have the covenant which comes from my presence, whenever I shall have forgiven their sins."
Paul's phrase "wise in your own opinion" means conceited. That makes the third time in these verses that Paul has used a phrase that associates the Church of Rome with arrogance or conceit.
Paul says this blindness they suffer from will not last forever. There is a purpose to it. When all of the Gentiles who will turn to the Messiah have done so, the Jews that are still around will turn to the Messiah. They will be forgiven and be under the New Covenant (grafted back in).
28 But they are enemies in the Gospel for your sake, and in the election they are beloved because of the Patriarchs.
The New Living Translation does a good job of expanding on this verse so I've quoted it below
28 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (NLT)
This makes it quite clear that God still considers them a special people and as we see in the prophetic writings they still are the focus of his plan and the instrument with which to bring it about.
Paul also says that the people of Israel who are not in the elect are enemies of the Gospel. In his time, persecution of Christians was mostly coming from Jews. Near the end of his life, the Romans were motivated by the Jews to declare Christianity an invalid religion in the Roman Empire. Then persecution came from both sides.
In our time, the Jews are the enemies of the Gospel in more of a psychological / spiritual way. Some churches have adopted Jewish traditions and some have gone so far that they have turned away from the Messiah, as Paul said of the Galatians.
There is very much that can be learned from the Jews, just as Paul said about the Patriarchs above. The Bible is written in their language and it is their culture (a tree of their nature). But there are many things they are wrong about because they have not accepted the Messiah. God wants us to be obedient to him but it does not please him for us to obey man-made traditions, Jewish or otherwise.
29 For God does not change in his gifts and in his callings.
Think about this. It is something God cannot say. "Boy, this turned out to be a bad idea." Going into anything God knows the outcome. He cannot be surprised by it. He knows his purpose in it and what it will accomplish. Sometimes the Bible says God regretted doing something or that he was shocked at something. This is just the Bible putting things into terms we can understand. So God has no need to change his callings.
The NLT again does a good job in rendering this as "For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn." Others render it as "never be revoked." Paul is saying God is not fickle. He does not choose a people and then give them up.
30 Just as you also were not obeying God from the first and now you have been favored because of their disobedience, 31 so also these have not obeyed, now mercy is upon you so that there shall be mercy upon them also. 32 For God has shut every person into disobedience so that he shall have mercy upon every person.
Their disobedience has resulted in God's mercy coming on us. So, mercy will be shown to them as well. God's plan is that everyone will be disobedient so God can show himself a merciful God, even to those who killed his son.
Here is a summary of the arguments
| The case | The defense |
| God has rejected his people because they rejected him | I, Paul, am a Jew and I have not been rejected. A remnant of God's people continues into the elect, entering by faith as all must enter |
|
But God sent the Messiah intentionally to make them fall. Surely that shows his rejection of them. (They killed Jesus) |
No, God caused them to fall so that salvation would be made available to the entire Gentile world Their offense has brought wealth to you It is of great benefit to the elect when the Jews return to God. Don't forget, the elect exist because of them |
| But they were cut out of the elect so that we could be added in. |
No, they were cut out because of their lack of faith You should not be so puffed up with yourselves. If God cut them out he will surely cut you out if you lose faith But if they come back they can be easily added back into the elect because they know the foundation Don't be conceited. They will continue in blindness for a time but in the future God will bring them back to him. In the meantime, though their fall was to your advantage, those outside the elect are your enemies in spreading the gospel; those inside the elect are your blessing God does not change. They are still a special part of his plan and through them he plans to show the greatness of his mercy |
1 Do a web-search for "anti-semitism early church fathers"
2 http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Manual-Of-Horticulture/Exercise-XXXVIII-The-Study-Of-Veneer-Grafting.html#.Vke15narSCg
