The problem of the Jews

"In the eighth chapter, the apostle had declared the glorious and exalted privileges of the people of God. But it was impossible for one so ardently attached to his own nation, and so zealously concerned for the welfare of his countrymen, not to be touched with the melancholy contrast which naturally arose to his mind, as he turned from these lofty and cheering contemplations to consider the deplorable state of apostate Israel. If there was a people upon earth to whom, more than to another, the blessings of the gospel belonged as a birthright, it was assuredly to the descendants, according to the flesh, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. But they had willfully rebelled against their God; they had rejected the Messiah, and consequently forfeited the rights and immunities secured to their forefathers by covenant. Their condition was therefore itself well calculated to awaken the sympathies of Paul; while at the same time it was necessary to vindicate the faithfulness of God, and to prove that the rejection of the Jews was by no means opposed to the absolute security of God's elect, on which he had been so largely [writing]. This subject is therefore discussed in the three following chapters" (Haldane).

The abrupt shift described by Haldane is confirmed by a note of Douglas Moo: "No conjunction or particle connects the two chapters, and the tone shifts dramatically from celebration (Rom 8:31-39) to lamentation (Rom 9:1-3)."

This section (Romans 9-11) contains unfinished business. Paul has insisted on the priority of the Jew (Rom 1:16), and has noted in part his advantages (Rom 3:1,2). Nevertheless, he has also been obliged to expose the Jews' failure and guilt, despite their being the chosen people of God. Those who have been under divine training for centuries, in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, have at the crucial time failed to receive him.

Has the purpose of God been frustrated? What does the future hold for this people? The problem faced here was underscored in Paul's own ministry. He had been faithful in going to the Jew first, but in place after place he had been rejected by Jewish unbelief. In Rome itself his strenuous effort to win a favorable verdict for the Lord Jesus Christ was to prove largely unsuccessful (Acts 28). Was his earlier statement about the power of the gospel (Rom 1:16) too hasty, too optimistic? Or were his own labors among his people inadequate? Paul could not accept either conclusion. He had to face the problem from the standpoint of God's purposes and ways.

Jew and Gentile are distinguished in the first three chapters, and are still distinguished as the circumcised and the uncircumcised in Romans 4. In Romans 5-8 the Jew/Gentile tension drops out of sight, but it is renewed in Romans 9-11 and brought under searching examination.

So was Paul, this former champion of Judaism, now an enemy of his nation and people? By no means! Here he states his willingness to die for them if they would accept Christ. His own feelings are especially strong: "There were ties of blood and the bonds of early days, which to a man of large sympathies were productive of much distress" (Carter, p. 99).

Outline:

  • Romans 9: Israel's past election
  • Romans 10: Israel's present rejection
  • Romans 11: Israel's future salvation