“Lord Jesus, we thank You that You are bringing both Jews and Gentiles to stand before You. In Your name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 3:25-26 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ (26) To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
The Jews were to be a light to the Gentiles. Isaiah 49:5-6 “And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), (6) Indeed He says, ‘*It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ “
We have seen that the Jews rejected Jesus, The Chief Cornerstone. They pursued the law of righteousness by the works of the law but not by faith in Jesus. Let us consider how God is working out His purpose of reconciling man and all of creation to Himself.
Romans 11:11 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. The Lord God was provoking the Jews to jealousy, to return to Him. For their rejection of Jesus resulted in the salvation of the Gentiles.
Romans 11:12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! We await and long to see the Jews returning to God through faith in Jesus.
Romans 11:16-18 For if the first fruit 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.
As Gentiles, who have come into the salvation of God through faith in Jesus, we ought not to boast against the Jews. It is not the branches that support the root but it is the root that gives life to the branches. We are indebted to the Jews.
Romans 11:21-22 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. (22) Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. The Jews have been temporarily cut off because of their unbelief. Therefore, as Gentiles, who have been grafted into the household of God, we must continue in simple faith in Jesus. If we don’t, we too can be cut off. This is the goodness and strictness of God.
Romans 11:23-24 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. (24) For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? The Lord is longing for the Jews to return to Him by faith. We, Gentiles, were aliens of the revelations of God, but God by His grace and because the Jews rejected Jesus, were grafted into the household of God. The Lord is able to graft the Jews back into His kingdom.
Romans 11:26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB;
God is bringing the Jews into the faith. This will take place in His time. Romans 11:28-29 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. (29) For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Consider this scene in heaven. Revelation 5:6-10 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (7) Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. (8) Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (9) And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, (10) And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!