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Author:
Dr. George Gunn

theWord Version:
3.x - 4.x

Tab Name:
Exegesis of Romans11 11-24

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Exegesis of Romans11 11-24 - George Gunn.gbk.twm

Preparation

A Preparation

a. Historical Background

• Author: Paul, Romans 1:1. Though some nineteenth century liberal scholars questioned the Pauline authorship,^[1] today, unlike many other Pauline letters, the Epistle to the Romans is almost universally held to be Pauline.^[2]
  
• Historical Setting:
  
  • Paul’s traveling plans included a stop in Rome on his way from Jerusalem to Spain, Romans 15:22–29. He writes this epistle in anticipation of this visit to Rome.
    
  • Paul had never yet visited the church in Rome, Romans 1:10-13 and

15:22, this despite the fact that about A.D. 180, Irenaeus identified

Peter and Paul together as founders of the Roman church (Adv. Haer.

125]3.1.2).^[3]

15]3. The epistle was written from Corinth during Paul’s third missionary journey, probably during the winter of AD 56-57.

7]iii. The Church at Rome

• According to Ambrosiaster (4^th century) the church was not founded by an apostle, but rather by a group of Jewish Christians.
  
• By the time Paul wrote his epistle, there appear to have been many believers of both Jewish and Gentile background (Rom. 16).

b. Outline of Romans:

• Salutation, 1:1-7
  
• Paul’s Purpose in Visiting Rome, 1:8-15
  
• God’s two-fold revelation, 1:16-20
  
  • In the gospel (special revelation), 1:16-17
    
  • In nature (general revelation), 1:18-20 iv. Man’s universal condemnation, 1:21-3:21
    
  • The Gentiles, 1:21-32
    
  • The Jews, 2:1-3:21
• Justification by faith, 3:22-5:21
  
• Sanctification, 6-8
  
• God’s plan for Israel, 9-11 [a resumption of 3:1-2]
  
• Living Sacrifices, 12
  
• Responsible Citizens, 13
  
• Christian Liberty, 14:1-15:13
  
• Closing remarks, 15:14-16:27

c. Contextual Setting of Romans 11:11-24

This paragraph occurs near the end of an extended section of Romans dealing with God’s plan for Israel. Chapters 9-11 actually constitute a resumption of a subject that had been introduced at the beginning of chapter 3. Having established the equal guilt of both Jews and Gentiles in chapters 1 and 2, Paul asked the question, “What, then, is the advantage of the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?” (Rom. 3:1). Paul began to answer this question by enumerating a list. In Romans 3:2 he began the list by writing, “First, the oracles of God were entrusted to them.”^[4] But right away this list is interrupted by a discussion of righteousness by faith. This “digression” continues for the next six chapters. Chapter 9 opens with a resumption of the enumerated list. The list is actually resumed in Romans 9:4, “Whose are the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, from whom came the fathers, and from whom came the Messiah according to the flesh.” Thus, in all (including Rom. 3:2), Paul enumerated 9 items which describe “the advantage of the Jew.” In light of this exalted and privileged position of Israel, it seems an enigma that the Jews had rejected the Messiah at His first advent. Chapters 9-11 offer an explanation to this enigma. Chapter 9 explains that God’s election of Israel guarantees that they will eventually acknowledge that Yeshu‘a is their Messiah. Chapter 10 explains the means by which elect Israel will come to acknowledge that Yeshu‘a is their Messiah, namely through the preaching of the Gospel. Chapter 11 explains how present day Israel’s unbelief relates to the present age and what the believing Gentiles’ attitude toward national Israel should be.
Chapter 11 begins by discussing the doctrine of the remnant. Though Israel has often known periods in her history that were dominated by unbelief, there have always been, and will always be, some individual Israelites who will walk by faith in Yahweh (vv. 1-10). The existence of such a believing remnant is evidence that the entire nation will one day be brought to faith. That being the case, how should present day Gentile believers view national Israel in their time of unbelief? This is the primary question addressed in Romans 11:11-24. The chapter concludes (vv. 25-36) with a description of the restoration of Israel at the Messiah’s Second Advent (when “The deliverer will come out of Zion and will turn away ungodliness out of Yakov,” v. 26) and the bringing of Israel into the New Covenant (“And this is my covenant with them, when I forgive their sins,” v. 27). As Stifler noted, “When God’s purpose in breaking them off is served their blindness will be removed (II Cor. 3:14-16), and they will come into the blessed ‘advantage’ mentioned in 3:2.”^[5]



[1] Such as Evanson, Bauer, Loman and Steck. See C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans 1 – 8 International Critical Commentary Series (London: T&T Clark, 1975), 1.

[2] Ibid., D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 393.

[3] Carson and Moo, 395.

[4] The ordinal numeral πρῶτος assumes that it will be followed by at least one more item. There is no second item listed in chapter 9. The remaining items are not mentioned until chapter 11. Chapter 11 is further tied together with this verse by the repetition of the term ἀπιστία which occurs both in 3:3 and in 11:20, 23.

[5] James M. Stifler, The Epistle to the Romans (Chicago: Moody Press, 1960), 193.