“Becoming a Holy Branch”

Scripture: Romans 11:1-21

For the past two weeks, we have read of Paul’s “fear” that Israel has placed all too much faith in the law, and not nearly enough in trust and love of the Lord. Faith must be in the salvation that comes by faith in Jesus, and not in how well they could live by doing all the right things. His writing tells us that the Jews, because of their refusal to accept Jesus as Messiah, have sacrificed their salvation, and that the gentiles have picked up the pieces that Israel has strewn all over the face of the earth.

Does this mean that God, in response to Israel’s rejection of him, has rejected them? Has the Lord decided that the Jews just aren’t worth caring for and about any longer? Has he withdrawn the title of “chosen” from the people who he chose to lead out of Egypt so many years before? As we read of the frustrations that Paul reveals, that would seem to be his struggle. But is our God the type of Being who changes his mind?

In Genesis 17:1-8, the Lord tells Abraham “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you, and your descendants after you, for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” (v.7) And yet in John 5:24, Jesus told us “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Israel may believe in “the one who sent” Jesus, but have they truly “heard” his words? And in John 14:6, he told the people that “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Is the first covenant sufficient, or must Israel, in addition to the covenant, look to Jesus as the long awaited Messiah?

Let’s see what Paul tells us in Romans 11.

Read Romans 11:1-10

As this chapter begins, Paul asks the rhetorical question “Did God reject his people?” And he then answers his own question with the words “By no means!” So in Chapter 10:1, Paul implies that Israel is not saved, but here, he quotes a portion of 1 Samuel 12:20-22, and tells us that Israel has not been rejected by God! So we still don’t have a definitive answer to the question of Israel’s salvation, but we do know that for those Jews who have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Messiah, their salvation is assured. As for the rest, at least for me, the answer is still God’s to know, and ours to wonder!

But Israel’s salvation is not actually the focus of this passage, but rather the point found in verses 5 & 6, in that salvation comes by accepting God’s grace, and not by good works, which actually lessens the importance of adhering to the Law of Moses. Paul had always been a zealous man – first, as Saul the Pharisee, and now as the Paul the follower of Jesus Christ. Saul was more closely attuned to the “zeal” of Elijah that came as a terror directed against the prophets of Baal, but now, while he still is identifying with Elijah, Paul is seeing himself as the one who stands alone for the Lord as a true and persecuted prophet, the one who is praying and acting on behalf of his people Israel. He still holds out hope that God’s grace might still, somehow, save his brothers and sisters, and he sees the “hardening” of Israel’s heart, and the “darkening” of their eyes, as a means, not so much of rejection, as a way to open the door to glory for the rest of humanity.

Read Romans 11:11-16

Does the Lord work thought the lives of people to bring others into his salvation? Of course he does! He worked through the Persian King Cyrus to free the people from captivity in Babylon, and allowed them to return to their homeland to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem proper. (Ezra 1:1-4) He worked in the life of the ostracized Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well to bring many of the people in her village to Jesus. (John 4:1-42) And he changed the heart of Saul who hated the followers of Jesus, to the point that he became one of the greatest proponents of Christ as Messiah and Savior. (Acts 9:1-19)

Could the Lord have hardened Israel’s hearts, so that the gentile world could be brought into the family of God? Absolutely! And Paul says that their fall from grace did not take them beyond recovery from their fall – but the question is whether “recovery” will be by divine promise or by faith! But again, that is the Lord to answer, and not us.

So regardless of how or why the door to heaven was opened to the gentile world, no one any longer has an excuse for being closed out of the heavenly realm – except, that is, for their own foolish pride. And Paul writes that the hardening and darkening has brought great riches to all the people of earth, and because of this, Israel will also know the Lord’s bounty.

So now, he sees his task in reaching out to the gentiles as a means to reach his Israelite brothers and sisters. He sees this opportunity as one that may make Israel jealous, or envious, of the gentiles, and will, themselves, come to Jesus. And even today, there is that holy remnant, known as Messianic Jews, who do know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Perhaps Paul was right – that his reaching out to the part of the world that Israel saw as sinful and lost was the means for some to come to the Lord!

And he offers two analogies to describe the Holiness that will come to Israel – the first is that the offering of bread made to God will not only bring holiness to itself, but will make that entire bowl of dough holy as well. The second example is the root, and the branches that are fed from it. The lump of first-fruit dough may very well be describing the part that believing Jews – the first believers in Christ - will take in the salvation of Israel. And the “root” that he writes about is, certainly, God as evidenced in Jesus Christ. And God the Father will never stand for anything that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit would rebel against.

But is the entire batch of dough, as well as the branches that are supported by the holy root – are these Israel, or the entire world, including Israel and gentiles alike?

Read Romans 11:17-21

And now the unanswerable question may be addressed in both the branches that were broken off, and the branches that were grafted on. The Jews can no longer boast of their being chosen by God, and being made superior to the rest of the world, and the gentiles cannot boast that they have become members of the household of God, because they have come, not by their own means, but by God’s grace. Salvation is never gained by anything that we have ever done, except that we accept Jesus as the Redemption for our sinfulness, and the Savior or our souls.

Everyone must accept the fact that no one has any right to gloat over their position in life – not for being within God’s life and certainly for being outside of the holy existence - and the current epidemic of violent actions and rhetoric in our own nation is nothing less than a denial of this fact. Hatred, racial unrest, supremacist thought, political inaction and social denial – it is all about claiming a preferential position, in both society and in faith, over that of someone else. “I know better than you, and you are condemned!” Galatians 3:28-29 reminds us that no one is above anyone else – “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” And today, we must add a few more comparisons to this list – that God never plays any favorites – not for liberals or conservatives, rich or poor, Christian or not, sinner or righteous, black or white – the Lord offers his salvation to everyone, and desires to see us as one in him, and we had better do the same. No one is better than anyone else because of who they are – our position in faith is a gift of grace, and it has no bearing whatsoever on who we are as people of flesh. The riots and arrogant talk is nothing more than worldly attitudes taking precedence over the love of Christ, and we had better be working to overcome it, and not to contribute toward its growth.

Christians are not to stand in judgement over others; we are not to oppose or even question the salvation of others; we hold no place in the kingdom that has been earned or obtained – we are saved simply by accepting the gracious gift of God that comes by faith and acceptance of Jesus, and nothing else. Our only responsibility in this life is to present the face of God, the heart of God, to use the hands of God and the love of God to reach out to those who have yet to know the grace and glory of the Lord for themselves.

Paul was warning against the arrogance that seems to have existed on both sides – in the synagogues against Christ’s followers, as well as in the Church against the Jews - and he wanted them to know that it was a very un-God like attitude in both. Jesus brought us heavenly peace, even in the midst of the hatred and unbelief that was directed toward him, and that is how he wants the people of today to live.

Are we that kind of Christian – the kind who is welcoming and loving of all, regardless of how they view us? Maybe it’s time we all tried to do that very thing, maybe it’s time that we offered the Lord’s grace to all of the people of earth. Might that work better than arrogance and hostility and judgment? Maybe it’s time that we acted like a holy branch of the united family of God.

What do you think?