Romans 11:15-18 (WEL) 15 For if their rejection [means] the reconciliation for the world, what will their acceptance be if not life from the dead? 16 For if the first fruits [are] holy, the whole lump [is] also, and if the root [is] holy, so [are] the branches. 17 If some of the branches are broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, are grafted in among them and partake of the root and richness of the cultivated olive tree with them, [then] 18 Do not brag that you are better than the branches. Now if you do brag, [consider this] you do not sustain the root but the root you.
V15 For if their rejection [means] the reconciliation for the world, what will their acceptance be if not life from the dead?
The Jews’ rejection of Jesus, the Messianic kingdom, and all the promises to Israel that would then flow out from Israel resulted in the New Covenant and the opening of the Gospel to all humans (“reconciliation for the world”). Before the New Covenant, one had to become a Jewish proselyte. The time is coming when all God’s promises for Israel will occur, then the blessings to the world will be awesome. The greatest blessing is the Messiah, Jesus, ruling the world, even the universe, from Jerusalem, the capital of the world.
See Isaiah 59:20-21 (Messiah comes as the redeemer rescuing Israel (Mt Zion) then the whole world). The Jews as a body rejected the Gospel (Acts 28:28) but will accept Messiah as a nation at the end of the Tribulation (Romans 11:26, Psalm 118:26, and Zechariah 14.
Life from the dead is a hyperbole explaining the greatness of Israel under Jesus’s rule.
There are a lot of resources about this verse and the verses of context here:
V16 For if the first fruits [are] holy, the whole lump [is] also, and if the root [is] holy, so [are] the branches.
The first fruits are a required sacrifice for Israel (Exodus 22:29, Exodus 34:26, and Leviticus 23:10-13). It is to honor and thank God (Proverbs 3:9). God is honored by having the first fruits before the farmer enjoys them.
The first fruits in this context refer to Israel’s patriarchs. The root is Abraham (Genesis 12:3, Genesis 22:18, and Galatians 3:8). They were holy (believers in God).
Comments:
JFB: “…the argument of the apostle is, that as the separation unto God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from the rest of mankind, as the parent stem of their race, was as real an offering of first-fruits as that which hallowed the produce of the earth, so, in the divine estimation, it was as real a separation of the mass or “lump” of that nation in all time to God. The figure of the “root” and its “branches” is of like import—the consecration of the one of them extending to the other.”
Tyndale Open Study Notes: “…the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy: This imagery comes from #Nu 15:17-21, where God commanded the Israelites to take part of their first batch of dough and set it aside as a gift. God’s promises to and blessings on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were like a down payment, guaranteeing the completion of God’s work among his people.”
V17 If some of the branches are broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, are grafted in among them and partake of the root and richness of the cultivated olive tree with them, [then]…
Branches refers to individuals. The natural, cultivated olive tree is Israel; the wild olive tree is the Gentiles. When we believe in God, as Abraham did, then we have met God’s conditions for forgiveness, justification, and reconciliation. Faith is what God looks for in order to graft a Gentile believer into the cultivated olive tree. We become part of the Household of Faith (Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 2:19, and Hebrews 3:6).
God the Father wishes to bless those who believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus.
V18 Do not brag that you are better than the branches. Now if you do brag, [consider this] you do not sustain the root but the root you.
We must remember that Israel is the natural, cultivated tree. We Gentiles are from the wild olive tree stock. Pride by thinking we are better than Israel is condemned by God.
We are to abide and draw our life from the Lord Jesus, the vine (John 15:1-5).
We learn:
- It is Israel first (Romans 3:2).
- Not to be proud.
- Ethnic Israel is very important to God.
Questions:
- Are you anti-semitic?
- Do you thank God that He had mercy on the Gentiles?