If you can remember back with me, Romans 9 discussed Paul’s deep burden that Israel would acknowledge Christ as the true Messiah that He is. The nation of Israel, almost as a whole, stumbled over Christ and His cross which led to their rejection of Him. Paul addressed their rejection in Romans 10.
So that leaves some questions in the minds of Paul’s readers that he wants to clear up. Questions like: “Well, if Israel has rejected Christ, what about the covenant God made with Israel? Is God a liar? Has Israel been cast away forever?” The answer: Of course not! If He could lie, He would cease to be God for He would not be holy.
God chose Israel way back with Abraham to be a nation set apart for Himself and through this nation, all the nations of the world would be blessed. It was through this nation that the Messiah would break into humanity and it was through this nation that salvation would come to the nations. As Israel rejected their Messiah, the “mystery” as Paul calls it, referring to the church, would be revealed and the church would be started with the completion of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross.
So is God finished with Israel? Did he start a work with Israel and throw them away once He got the church? No! There is a remnant of Jews who still believe in their Messiah, Jesus Christ; and Paul, a Jew, is proof of that until one day, as a nation, they will see Christ (like Paul saw Christ) and realize the error of their unbelief (Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7).
Food for Thought: Read Romans 11:1-12. Is God completely done with Israel? What must the Jewish people do in order for them to see God use them?
Alan ObrienAssistant Pastor | www.libcky.comAlan and his wife, Amy, have been serving the church family of Landmark Baptist Church since 2008. They have a daughter, Allison.
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