Romans 11:16-36
Key Verse: 11:33 ... “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

      In the previous passage we learned that God continues his salvation work through his remnant chosen by grace.  Today’s passage reveals Israel’s relationship with the Gentiles in the context of God’s salvation plan. Though the Israelites went through the process of hardening, they would be saved after the full number of the Gentiles has come in. As God allowed the Gentiles, the wild olive branches, to be grafted into the cultivated olive tree, so he will allow the natural branches to be grafted in again. Paul has hope for the salvation of Israel people in spite of their unbelief and rejection at the present time. When Paul thought about God’s salvation plan, he only praised his wisdom and knowledge. God’s wisdom and knowledge are beyond human comprehension. When he reached to this conclusion, he was thankful that God has mercy on all people. He saved the Gentiles and will save his own people Israel in due time. May the Lord bless us to praise his infinite wisdom and knowledge to include us in his redemptive history.

Part 1. INGRAFTED BRANCHES (16-24)

 In this part Paul expresses his confidence that Israel people will return to God through the remnant. He used the analogy of the first dough and the whole batch to explain God’s salvation plan for Israel. Look at verse 16a. “If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy…” Paul used Numbers to explain God’s way of salvation for his own people. Numbers 15:18-20 says, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the LORD. Present a cake from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.” God regarded the whole batch as holy when they offered their first fruit to him. If the first batch offered to God is holy, the whole batch is holy. Here the first batch refers to the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He draws a picture of God’s salvation from this analogy. He applies this logic to the remnant.  If the remnant is holy, the whole nation is holy. If the patriarchs are holy, the whole Israel is holy. Was Paul using a fuzzy math or was he exaggerating like one of our presidential candidates. Not at all. For example, God was using Paul as his remnant to evangelize the Gentiles. God was using the Jerusalem Church as the world mission headquarters. Twelve Apostles became founding fathers of the Jerusalem Church. They were the remnant of God among the Jews. Paul’s point was that God regarded Israel as holy because they were holy. His point was that the consecration of a remnant like him resulted in making the whole nation holy. What Paul is saying is that Israel is still holy because they have fathers of faith like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David as their ancestors. If God found ten righteous people in the city of Sodom, he would have spared the whole place for their sake. (Gen 18:32) We can see the powerful influence of the holy remnant. If Jennifer is holy in her family, the whole family is holy. Why? She can bring her whole family back to God. If the remnant of our center is holy, the whole chapter is holy. There are holy remnants in America. God regards the whole nation as a holy nation because of them. Though they may be small in number, their faith and prayer may allow American to come back to God.  Verse 16b says, “If the root is holy, so are the branches.” Here the root refers to Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham and David. Jesus said in John 15:5a, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” Jesus is holy and so are those who belong to him. As long as the root is holy, there is hope for the branches to be restored. Paul’s hope for Israel people hinges upon Jesus, the Root of Jesse. As Jesus saved the Gentiles who had faith in him, so he can save the Jews who have faith in him in the same way.

Now let’s look at the parable of the grafting branches. Look at verses 17-21. “If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.” We find a very interesting analogy here. Paul compared all nations to olive trees. There are two kinds of olive trees-one is the cultivated olive tree and the other the wild one. Paul explains the salvation of the world through the grafting of the wild branches to the cultivated olive tree. For example, some branches of the cultivated olive tree were broken off. This means that some of descendants of Israel were cut off from God’s salvation due to their unbelief. The main cause of their fall was their unbelief. God can not save anyone who is unholy. The unholy branches cannot stay in the holy root. The Jews stumbled due to their unbelief.  This created a room for the wild branches to be grafted into the cultivated olive tree. Here the wild branches refer to the Gentiles who were ignorant of God’s law. The stumbling of the Jews provided the opportunity for the Gentiles to share the nourishing sap from the olive root. People thought that Gore would win the presidential debates because he used to win many debates. But he stumbled because he sighed a lot during the first debate. His stumbling gave George Bush the opportunity to catch up. The nourishing sap is a lifeline for the branches to grow and bear fruits. Without the nourishing sap the branches will be dry and be withered and be dead soon. The Jews monopolized the nourishing sap in the past. They did not want to share it with the Gentiles. As you know, the babies love their milk bottle and do not want to share the bottle with anyone else. If we try to do that, they will cry loudly. We discover the importance of the nourishing sap. It provides the nutrition to all the branches. Jesus is our nourishing sap. He feeds us with delicious word of life. He nourishes our soul so that we can be happy. The source of salvation comes from Jesus. If we remain in Jesus, we will bear much fruit and will be happy because we receive abundance of life. But if we do not remain in Jesus, we will be cut off from the nourishing sap and withered and thrown into the fire and will be burned. Remaining in Jesus is not a light matter but a serious matter. How can we remain in Jesus. We have to be connected to our Bible teachers who are praying for our spiritual growth with the love of God. Then we have to commit our life to Jesus through the word of God.

What was Paul’s conclusion in his parable of the grafting? Look at verse 24. “ After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!” His conclusion was that as long as the Jews do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in again. It will be very natural for the natural branches to be grafted into their own olive tree. It is like the homecoming of the prodigal son after a rebellious wild life in the foreign country in Luke 15. The natural branches are easier to be grafted in again because they were there before. In the same token the Jews are very close to the Christian faith. Why? They know the Old Testament very well. They know the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and King David. It is a matter of accepting Jesus as the promised Messiah from God. They are very near to God’s salvation. They can come back to the cultivated olive tree much more readily than the Gentiles if they do not persist in unbelief. The Jews are in the future plan of God’s salvation. God did not alter his salvation plan because of their unbelief. That’s the reason why Paul was optimistic about their future salvation.

 Paul’s parable is a double-edged sword. He delivers a message of warning to the Gentile Christians. His message is crystal clear. “Do not boast over those branches. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. He will not spare you either. You also will be cut off .” Paul discourages the Gentile Christians to be arrogant. There is no room for them to boast over the Jews. Why? The answer is clear: “You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” If we become proud, we will fail. God cannot use the proud people. Jesus could not use Peter when he was proud. But when he became humble, Jesus used him to be a founding father of his Church. So, Peter said in 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” Humbleness is a key to be a servant of God. The Gentile Christians cannot stand alone without the root. They have to remember the fact that they were grafted in by the grace of Jesus alone. They were saved by faith in Jesus. They have to remember the grace of God which allowed them to share the nourishing sap from the olive root. Instead of being arrogant, the Gentile Christians must be humble and be thankful for God’s grace to include them in his salvation work. It is easy to forget God’s grace. One time Jesus healed ten lepers but one leper came back and gave thanks to him and the other nine forgot to give thanks to him. In addition, they must continue to remain in faith. They were grafted in by faith. Therefore, it is important for us to live by faith. Think about how God saved us while we were wild olive branches.  Little Maria Park was a wild girl in the past but she is saved by God’s grace and serves music team by faith. This is purely by God’s grace. Though we were unworthy, God blessed us to share his glory and gave us privileges to call him “Abba Father.”

Part II.  GOD’S HOPE FOR ISRAEL (25-32)

In this part Paul shares the mystery of God’s salvation plan. What was the secret Paul wanted to share? Look at verse 25b. “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And all Israel will be saved.” His interpretation of Israel’s hardening is incredible. He saw the hardening experience of Israel as a part of God’s salvation plan. The hardening process of the Jews will continue until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. We don’t know what number will be the full number of the Gentiles. But in any case God will save Israel people chosen by grace when he saves the full number of the Gentiles. Here all Israel refers to Israel as God’s chosen people as Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen people.” Paul is taking about Israel as a chosen people. From this passage we can draw God’s salvation cycle-God’s calling of Abraham- forming a kingdom of priests and a holy nation-Hardening experience of Israel-Grafting the Gentiles-Salvation of all Israel. We call it God’s overall five-point salvation plan. What was Paul’s basis for this hope?  It is a quotation from Isaiah. Look at verses 26b-27  “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” The word of God was his basis. Isaiah 59:20says,  “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declared the Lord.” Here the deliver from Zion refers to Jesus, the promised Messiah. This will happen when Jesus makes a new covenant with them after he forgives their sins. The salvation of all Israel is the fulfillment of his promise to the patriarchs. Look at verses 28-29. “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” The salvation of Israel is based on God’s gifts and his call. God is gracious and he never regrets his call. God’s promise cannot be canceled due to man’s disobedience. God will find the way to save Israel. God will never withdraw his salvation plan. God did not alter his salvation plan because he is consistent in keeping his promises. We see the assurance of God’s salvation. Once he saved us, he will not cancel our salvation. God will not cancel our salvation due to our poor performance. I am still a missionary though I have a poor report card. Our salvation is God’s gift. He will not take away his gift from us though we sometimes make mistakes. No parents will take away their Christmas gifts from their children because their children do not listen to them for a while. They will allow them to keep their gifts and believe that they will come back and listen to them. Here we can see that God’s calling is not changeable. What an assurance we have in Jesus. Jesus said in John 10:29, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” Once we come into God’s call by his grace, we are secure in God’s hand and no one will snatch us out of God’s hand. In the same way Paul was sure that God would not abandon his own people Israel but will save them when the full number of the Gentiles has come into salvation. It is a part of God’s salvation to save all people of the earth.

How did the Gentiles receive God’s mercy (30)? Look at verses 30-31. “Just as you who were at one time disobedience to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive as a result of God’s mercy to you.” The Gentiles received God’s mercy as the result of their disobedience.
In the same way the Jews too have now become disobedient in order that they too now receive mercy as the result of God’s mercy to you. Did God encourage us to become disobedient so that he could show his mercy on us? It seems to be contradictory. It is paradoxical. Why did God make people disobedient and then show his mercy on them? Through disobedience God leads people to his salvation. I think there is truth behind this. Until we experience the outcome of disobedience, it is very difficult to accept God’s mercy on us. Apostle Paul experienced the misery of disobedience and he accepted Jesus’ mercy right away when Jesus called him to become an apostle to the Gentiles. Through disobedience of Israel God saved the Gentiles. That means God is using the Jews to save the world. When he saves enough number of the Gentiles, he will show his mercy on his own people as he did to the Gentiles. Look at verse 32. “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” Here we learn God’s universal salvation plan for all people on the earth. God made both the Jews and the Gentiles to the disobedience so that he can save them all according to his mercy.

Part III. DOXOLOGY (33-36)

Look at verse 33. “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” When Paul thought about the mystery of God’s salvation for Israel people, suddenly his sorrow and anguish turned into his praise to God. God has deeper plan beyond our understanding! God’s wisdom and knowledge exceeds our human understanding. Wow! God sacrificed his own son to save the world and then he was holding his own people to allow the Gentiles to be grafted into the kingdom of God as God’s people. After that, he will save his own people to complete his salvation plan. Truly, God is God of all nations. He is too big for any human being to understand. Look at verses 34 and 35. “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?” Since nobody can be a counselor to God, we human beings has nothing but to praise God. God’s salvation plan is perfect and he will save all people of the world chosen by his grace. Look at verse 36. “ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Life is like flowers. It blooms in the spring and prospers in the summer. But there will be fall and winter season. It goes away. All things of this world is temporary but God is eternal. God is alpha and omega and he is the beginning and the end. God is the origin of all things and he is the destination of all things. He is the cause of all things. At the end of our journey of faith we will meet God in his eternal dwelling and live with him forever. Let’s give our glory to him forever! Let’s read the key verse 33.