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Even When People Repeat Their Mistakes…
Romans 11:25-36
Mari Ikeda
Today we finally come to the last part of Romans 11, the last of the difficult parts of the book of Romans. Scholars have different opinions on how to interpret this passage, and what I am going to share with you today is just one interpretation. But one thing is certain: Paul believed in the salvation of the Jews. Paul believed that no matter how many times man repeats the same mistakes, God’s mercy is poured out on man without ever changing.
To find out why Paul was so convinced, we shall read a lot from the Old Testament today. As usual, we will read a little at a time. First, verses 25-27.
A. “All Israel” will be saved (25-27)
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
Here Paul quotes the Old Testament as the basis for “all Israel” being saved, but as has often been the case in the past, he has modified the original words quite freely. Isaiah 59:20-21a reads.
“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the LORD.
“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 59:20-21a)
The major difference is that in the original book of Isaiah, the return from sin is a condition for the coming of the Redeemer, whereas Paul says that the Savior who takes away sin is coming.
The reason Paul phrased it that way is because the Redeemer, Jesus, has already come. Jesus died for all before we even realized our sins. He did this so that we could be saved not by repenting of our sins through our own efforts, but by trusting in Jesus.
But this salvation that Jesus gave us is not yet complete. It will be completed when Jesus returns to this world one more time and this world comes to an end. At that time, “all Israel will be saved” will be realized. I believe that “all Israel” includes many people who left this world without believing in Jesus.
Isaiah 27, which is closely related to this passage, says
2 In that day —“Sing about a fruitful vineyard:3 I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night, so that no one may harm it.4 I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
God has always wanted our salvation, not our destruction. All we can do is to trust Him and keep walking until the end of time.
Go on to the next verses, verses 28-29.
B. God’s promise will not be cancelled (28-29)
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Paul says that although many Jews have not accepted the gospel, they are still loved by God because of their forefathers. This is not a reversion to nationalism or blood lineage. Rather, it means that the promises God gave to Abraham and Isaac, the fathers of the Israelites, will not be revoked by God, even if people forget those promises. That promise is that Abraham and his descendants will be chosen to carry God’s blessing to this world, and that God will remain their God forever.
In Genesis 12, has a scene where God speaks to Abraham for the first time.
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Also, in Genesis 17:7, God tells Abraham that
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Humans, not just the Israelites, often do not respond to God’s love, even when God loves them. But even when humans forget God, He never forsakes us. God desires to be our God throughout the ages and forever, and He has not forgotten His promise to bring blessings to this world through us.
Let’s continue to Verses 30-32.
C. A history of human disobedience and divine mercy (30-32)
30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
There are many values that have been radically overturned by Jesus, one of which is that he revealed that God’s mercy is not only for the Jews, but is poured out on everyone, regardless of ethnicity. And that was one of the reasons why many Jews rejected Jesus.
Humans fail to understand the magnitude of God’s mercy and try to exclude others from it. And those who are excluded misunderstand God. It is always man, not God, who is wrong!
God’s mercy chooses those who were not supposed to be chosen and welcomes those who were excluded. It was a human misunderstanding to think that God was a God only for the Israelites. The exclusion of sinners, the sick, the handicapped, women, and children was also a human mistake. It was also a human mistake to exclude sexual minorities. God’s mercy seeks to reveal and break prejudices and discrimination against others that we do not see ourselves. Do we accept that our values will be shaken and renewed accordingly? This is the history of man and God over time, and even if it has been a slow process, God has certainly changed us compared to 2,000 years ago.
The final verses 33-36.
D. God’s glory is not affected by human evil (33-36)
23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” 36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
In last week’s message, we were told that we tend to imagine God Himself as being like us, misunderstanding that we were created in His image. And as a result, it was mentioned that we sometimes equate God’s love and mercy with our own little love and mercy and despair of God or think that there is no God. And this passage is similar.
God, who came to this world as Jesus, is close to us, but He is never the same as us. He does not make mistakes like us, He is not weak and small, and this is even more evident when we read the original passage from Job that Paul quotes in verses 34-35. Job 35:5-8.
5 Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.
6 If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.
At first glance, these words sound very dismissive, as if they are saying that humans have nothing to do with God, but that is not the case. It means that no matter how much evil man has done or how much righteousness man has done, God Himself remains the same, only He continues to be God. God’s love, mercy, and righteousness in creating mankind in His own image has not changed at all from the beginning. And He wants us to just stop doing evil to each other and do what is right.
This is what was at the beginning of today’s reading:
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: …all Israel will be saved.
God’s mercy is poured out on all people. It is a fact, and no amount of human denial or repeated evil that contradicts that fact will change it. Although we realize how small we are, we continue to hope by God. God never gives up on us who repeat our mistakes, and He is still trying to bring blessings to this world today.
(Prayer)
Dear God, please show your presence in our hearts now. Show that you are indeed leading each of our lives, and that you want hope, not sadness, in this world. Widen our narrow vision by your Spirit and help us to look up to you and know your love and your righteousness. Show us the path we should take. Lord Jesus, who gave his life for us and taught us what love is, we pray in your name. Amen.
Summary
From ancient times to the present, human beings have repeated the same mistakes and have rejected God’s justice and mercy. God’s desire is that we bless one another with the grace that he gives, and yet we have created a cycle of curses and evil. Even so, God’s promise of blessing has not changed since the beginning of the world and his mercy will continue to light our way until the end of the world even as we repeat our mistakes.
For Discussion
1. Was “all Israel” saved (vs. 26)? Will this come to pass in the future?
2. What proof is there that God will not abandon human beings despite their repeated mistakes?
For Children
Paul never cut off the Jews, even though many of them did not believe in Jesus and would rather persecute him as a heretic as well. And instead of saying, “They too will be saved if they have faith,” he kept saying, “They will surely come to faith and be saved. His confidence came from his trust in God, that God had never abandoned them and had not forgotten the promises he had made to their fathers. It was because Paul understood well the love of the cross of Jesus, who forgave and loved sinners, and God’s mercy and justice, which had been repeatedly spoken of in the Old Testament. We, too, are almost disillusioned by the reality of human beings repeating the same mistakes in a world where war has not ceased, but let us not forget that God has not given up on us and still wants His justice and mercy to be realized through us.