Romans 11 explained: Has God Given Up on Israel?

God keeps a remnant (vv. 1-6)

Paul, himself a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, firmly denies that God has rejected his people. In Elijah's day the prophet felt utterly alone, yet God had kept seven thousand who refused to worship the god Baal, and Paul says there is likewise now a 'remnant' of Jews who trust Jesus, chosen as a free gift rather than earned.

Most of Israel hardened (vv. 7-10)

Paul says most of Israel did not find the right standing with God they were seeking, while a chosen few did and everyone else was hardened, made unable to take the message in. He backs this with harsh lines from Deuteronomy, Isaiah and Psalm 69 about eyes that cannot see; later Christians sometimes misused these words to scorn Jewish people, though Paul goes straight on to say the hardening is not final.

A stumble, not a fall (vv. 11-16)

Israel's stumble opened the way for non-Jews (Gentiles) to receive the good news, and Paul hopes this will make his own people want it too, which he says would be like 'life from the dead.' The first piece of dough offered to God made the whole batch holy, and a holy root makes holy branches; many take these to mean Israel's ancestors such as Abraham, so the people as a whole still belong to God, though some read them as the first Jewish believers.

The olive tree warning (vv. 17-24)

Paul pictures God's people as a cultivated olive tree: some natural branches (Jews who did not believe) were broken off, and wild branches (non-Jewish believers) were grafted in, which he admits is 'contrary to nature.' He warns the newcomers not to feel superior, since the root holds them up and they too could be cut off, and says God can readily graft the natural branches back in.

Hardened only for a time (vv. 25-32)

Paul shares what he calls a 'mystery,' meaning something once hidden: part of Israel is hardened only until the full number of non-Jews has come in, and then 'all Israel' will be saved, a phrase Christians understand in different ways. Even now they are loved for their ancestors' sake, because God never takes back his gifts and his call. God has shut up Jews and non-Jews alike together in disobedience so that he can show mercy to all.

A burst of praise (vv. 33-36)

Unable to fully explain God's plan, Paul breaks into praise, borrowing lines from Isaiah and Job: no one has advised God or put God in their debt. Everything comes from God, exists through God and leads back to God.

Key verse: Romans 11:29

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over what Paul means by 'all Israel' being saved in verse 26: many expect a future turning of the Jewish people as a whole to Jesus, others (especially in parts of the Reformed tradition) take 'all Israel' to mean the whole people of God, Jews and non-Jews together, or every chosen Jew across history, and since the 1960s many Christians, including official Catholic teaching, have stressed from verse 29 that God's covenant with the Jewish people has never been revoked.

Something to think about

Can a person feel secure in where they belong without looking down on those who seem to be outside?