Engrafted branches
Unrepentant and unregenerate humans cannot reject God’s grace with impunity. Judgment will follow upon such a course of action. Scripture clearly warns, “Whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). But is that God’s choice? Is it God’s preferred option that the sinner be lost? Paul now addresses that question in detail.
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery*? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
* In the translation “fall beyond recovery,” beyond recovery is not in the original Greek. Its addition by the NIV translators is acceptable as long as the idea is not inferred that numerically every member of Israel as a nation will eventually be “recovered.” Paul always speaks in terms of a “remnant” being saved. Additional discussion follows at verses 14 and 25.
Paul asks, Was it God’s intent to get rid of stubborn and disobedient Israel? Was it in his plans that they should fall?*
With its stubborn resistance to the gospel, Israel had made itself grievously guilty. Paul flatly calls their rejection of the gospel a “transgression.” It was an offense that should once and for all have canceled them out of God’s book of life. But marvel of marvels, God can use even human sinfulness and perversity to advance his gracious cause! Paul points to two positive results of Israel’s disobedience when he says that “because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.”
The first great blessing God brought about through Israel’s spurning of the gospel is that “salvation has come to the Gentiles.” Recall how that truth is illustrated by an incident from Paul’s first missionary journey as recorded in Acts chapter 13. Paul preached the gospel of Christ to a mixed audience of Jews and Gentile converts in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch. This receptive audience invited Paul and Barnabas to speak to them again on the next Sabbath. Luke records the response: “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: ‘We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles’” (Acts 13:44-46; see Acts 18:6 for a parallel incident in Corinth).
Picking up the concept of envy previously brought into the picture by the allusion to Deuteronomy 32:21 in 10:19, Paul now calls his readers’ attention to an astounding thing. God’s intention, he tells them, is that when Israelites see the blessings of the gospel that have come to believing Gentiles, they should become “envious.” That is, they should stop to reassess the situation and hopefully accept the gospel, so that in this way they also might share in the great blessings of life and salvation that by default have become the Gentiles’ possession by faith in Christ.
A bit later, in verses 33 to 36, Paul will break into a fullblown doxology, or song of praise, marveling at God’s grace and wisdom in devising a plan so creative and ingenious. For the moment he simply wonders aloud: If God can get such blessings from Israel’s “transgression,” what more will he be able to accomplish through an obedient and believing Israel! In awe he exclaims, “But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!”