August 25, 2020
God Chooses "Olive" the Branches in His Family Tree
Romans 11:1-24
Dana Rubenstein
Central Truth
Our God is merciful toward those who put their faith in Him, but severe toward those who reject Him. Our inclusion in God's family is by His grace and His grace alone. It's a gift we should never take for granted.
Key Verse | Romans 11:21-22
For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
Romans 11:1-24
The Remnant of Israel
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, 1 11:1 Or one of the offspring of Abraham a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion 2 11:12 Greek their fullness mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root 3 11:17 Greek root of richness; some manuscripts richness of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
Dive Deeper | Romans 11:1-24
I need to confess that I picked this passage for my devotional out of pride. I thought because I was born and raised a Jew, I could speak with authority about being the remnant of Israel. I hoped I could come up with some clever Jedi mind trick for witnessing to Jews. Instead, God convicted me with the metaphor of the olive branches.
For most of my life, I was one of those natural branches who were "broken off because of their unbelief" (Romans 11:20). I took pride in being one of God's "chosen people"; but the truth was that, even though I said I knew God, I was living in complete rejection of Him.
Not only did I not deserve Christ's payment for my sin, but I didn't deserve for God to pursue me as persistently as He did. I didn't deserve for Him to open my eyes to my need for a Savior, to graft me back to the Root, and to bring me into His family, but He did! And so I never want to lose the awe I have for His mercy and kindness. I never want to forget to be grateful because every day I have with Christ is a precious gift.
Friend, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you have that gift, too! I pray you can recognize that and never lose your awe of His mercy either. Live in fear and humility before your God, your gracious, merciful, faithful, just Father who does not spare even original members of His family, but still chose YOU as His adopted child and knows you by name.
What a miracle that is! What a gift! We forget that far too easily. If you have given your life to Christ, do you consider each day a gift? Are you living out of gratitude and humility? This is what Romans 11:1-24 reminds us to do.
Discussion Questions
1. In Romans 11:18, Paul tells us to not be arrogant toward the branches that were broken off, meaning those who have not put their faith in Christ. Are you ever prideful toward those who are not Christians or who have strayed away from their faith? How can you model Christ to them instead?
2. If you have trusted in Christ as your savior, you are grafted to the tree of everlasting life because of God's grace toward you, regardless of your current circumstances. Every day you have is a gift! What is one way you can show gratitude to God today?
3. Romans 11:11 says, "So I ask, did they [the Jews] stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." God can use human sins and mistakes for His good and glory. What is a negative situation from your past that God used for good? Is there a situation in your life now that God could redeem the same way?