Verse by Verse

¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”

²⁰ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.

²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.

Gentiles are strangers (Ephesians 2:5).

branches broken off — the nation of Israel

I might be grafted in — Gentile nations

thou standest by faith — there is no personal merit that earned Gentiles their opportunity — faith excludes boasting (Romans 3:27)

fear — Gentiles should fear stumbling as Israel did.

Incalculable harm has been done by those who have attempted to apply our text primarily to individuals. An individual who is once grafted into Christ by faith can never be broken off from Christ. He is not going to be a mutilated trunk in Heaven forever … When it is seen that Paul is speaking of the Jews’ being removed nationally, to be replaced nationally by Gentiles, we are fully prepared for that which will follow in a few verses. — Barnhouse, page 144.

¹⁶ For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,

¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

The quote in verse 16 is from Numbers 15:21 — Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations. Israel was told to offer the first of their dough to God as an heave offering.

firstfruit and root — Abraham, since he was set apart (holy) to God, so is Israel, which came from him

branches broken off — unbelieving Jews

wild olive — Gentiles

grafted in — admitted into God’s favor, which Israel has forfeited for a time.

partaker — Gentiles became Israel’s spiritual descendants

boast not — Gentiles shouldn’t consider themselves better than Jews or hold them in contempt — their salvation comes through Abraham.

¹³ For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

¹⁴ if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.

¹⁵ For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

Paul was specifically given a ministry to Gentiles and pursued it passionately, but he also hoped that ministry would result in the salvation of individual Jews.

In verse 1, “cast away” means to abandon forever. In verse 15, a different Greek word is used, one that means “exclusion from favor.”

reconciling of the world — not the whole world, but all who will. It is available to the whole world.

life from the dead — enjoyment of God’s blessings, reconciliation instead of the current alienation.

In verse 13, Paul answers a hypothetical question by Gentiles: If he’s the apostle to the Gentiles, why is he worrying about Jews? Paul knew that salvation of Israel would bring salvation to even more Gentiles.

¹¹ I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

¹² Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

See Romans 10:19 with the quote from Deuteronomy 32:21.

stumble — over Christ, their stumbling stone (the table in verse 9)

fall — without hope of recovery (first usage)

fall — moral trespass (second usage) as in Romans 5:15

If Israel’s fall brought the riches of the gospel to the world, how much more will the world benefit from Israel’s restoration (fullness)?

fullness — The entire nation will be saved and not just a remnant, as now — full and national prosperity. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him (Psalm 67:7).

diminishing — national importance and spiritual and numerical loss. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God (Deuteronomy 28:62).

While the Apostle’s chief purpose in Chapter 11 is to prove that God is not “through with Israel” as the spiritualizers teach, it is enlightening to consider what he says here regarding the blessing of the Gentiles during this present dispensation of the grace of God. Let us consider this in the light of its background.

According to all covenant and prophecy, the Gentiles were — and are — to be blessed through the rise of Israel. Note only the two following passages so Scripture:

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice (Genesis 22:17-18).

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising (Isaiah 60:1-3).

This will take place at a future time, but surely it is not happening today …

Whereas Israel, according to the prophecy, is to be given supremacy over the nations (Isaiah 60:10-12; 61:6), this is clearly not so today. Israel as a nation has been cast out of God’s favor, as the Gentiles had been many centuries before, but both Jews and Gentiles as individuals are now offered reconciliation by grace through the shed blood of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-21).

According to covenant and prophecy, the Gentiles are to be blessed through Israel’s instrumentality (Genesis 22:17-18; Zechariah 8:13), but today they are being blessed through Israel’s obstinacy (Acts 13:44-46; Romans 11:28-32).

According to prophecy the Gentiles are to be bless through Israel’s rise (Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:22-23). But today the Gentiles are being blessed through her fall (Romans 11:11).

Thus the salvation of Gentiles — and Jews — today is not based on any covenant but only on God’s grace; not on the fulfillment of any prophecy, but upon His eternal purpose, the mystery … kept secret since the world began, but made known in due time through the Apostle Paul (Romans 11:25; Ephesians 3:1-4). — Stam, pages 276-277.

⁹ And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them.

¹⁰ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”

The quote is from Psalm 69:22 — Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.

table — symbolic of the special privileges given to the nation of Israel that pointed to Christ.

Verse 10 is quoted from the Septuagint — the Hebrew says “make their loins continually to shake.” Both translations paint a picture of weakness, fear and rejection.

God turned Israel’s privileges into curses as judgment for their self-righteousness.

⁷ What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

⁸ Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.”

not obtained — tense indicates a crisis

what it seeks — righteousness

election — the remnant from verse 5.

blinded = hardened, as Pharaoh (Romans 9:18) — God’s retribution

spirit of slumber (stupor) from Isaiah 29:10 — For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath He covered. The rest of the verse is from Deuteronomy 29:4 — Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Israel wasn’t blind. They knew they weren’t following God but were seeking their own righteousness. As a result, they were blinded.

First, we are told that Israel failed to obtain that for which it was seeking. We are told elsewhere that Israel was seeking after righteousness. We have already seen that they had a zeal for God but that it was not according to knowledge. They were ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God and, as they were trying to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God (10:2-3). We have seen that their own Scriptures showed the way of righteousness but that they were not willing to accept it. If they had called on the name of the Lord, they would have been saved, but they were so proud of their own efforts that they would not stoop to take things in God’s way. — Barnhouse, pages 115-116.

⁵ Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

⁶ And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

There were still some Jews saved by grace. Paul offers this as further evidence that God hasn’t forsaken the nation of Israel.

Grace is not grace if mixed with works. The two principles are mutually exclusive (Romans 4:4-5). Thus in salvation there is no “your part” to perform; it is the gift of God’s love, to be received in simple faith (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9) — Stam, page 266

² God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,

³ “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?

⁴ But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

Answer 2 — God has foreknowledge and knew how Israel would respond, but He still made promises.

Answer 3 — God always preserves a remnant of believers (1 Kings 19:10, 14, 18).

“for Myself” — added to the original quote by Paul to emphasize God’s power and will in election.

cast away — Rejected, thrust from ones self.

I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Paul was a Jew, so his salvation proves God has not cast off Israel

Seed of Abraham — the man God made promises to

Tribe of Benjamin — the tribe, with Judah, that was saved from destruction (Deuteronomy 21) and remained faithful after the captivity (Ezra 4:1, 10:9).

To the opening question, “Did God cast off His people?” there are three replies, which cover the ground of the whole chapter. Israel is not utterly given up, for (1) Paul himself is an Israelite, and therefore a spiritual remnant exists (vs.1-10); (2) one of the reasons why God is calling Gentiles into His favor is in order that He may show mercy to Israel; so He could not have rejected His people (vs. 11-24); (3) God will fulfill His promise to the nation on the coming of their Deliverer (vs. 25 to the end). — Vine, pages 161-162.

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We object to this whole system of interpretation [that Israel has lost her chance forever]. It is as illegitimate as if a man should promise to give his son a gold watch on his birthday but, grieved with his son before the birthday arrives, he “keeps his promise” by giving a grandfather clock to another person altogether! — Stam, page 260.

²⁰ But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

²¹ But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Verse 20 — Isaiah 65:1 — I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.

Isaiah is very bold. He prophesied at the risk of his life.

“to Israel” — should be “with reference to Israel”

Verse 21 — Isaiah 65:2 — I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts.

disobedient — refuse to be persuaded

God was patient and entreated Israel, and they heard and understood, but responded with willful ignorance.

all day long — the dispensation of Law

The four “buts” (vs. 18, 19, 20, 21) are for answers to Israel’s possible objections

Isaiah 65:1-2 is referring to Israel, so Romans 10:20-21 must also be referring to Israel and to to Gentiles.

The last part of Isaiah 65:1 refers to Jewish leaders who crucified Christ.