Rom 11:13-24 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Rom 11:13-14: 11:13-14 you Gentiles: Paul addresses the Gentile Christians in Rome with the practical goal of rebuking them for thinking too highly of themselves (11:20 ), especially in relation to their Jewish brothers and sisters. He shows that their enjoyment of salvation depends entirely on God’s kindness (11:22 ) and that God’s final goal is to stimulate repentance among the Jews (11:23 ). • I stress this: Paul devoted himself to the conversion of Gentiles because he knew that their salvation would ultimately lead to salvation for Jews as well.

Summary for Rom 11:13-14: 11:13-14 ^a you Gentiles: Paul addresses the Gentile Christians in Rome with the practical goal of rebuking them for thinking too highly of themselves (11:20 ^b), especially in relation to their Jewish brothers and sisters. He shows that their enjoyment of salvation depends entirely on God’s kindness (11:22 ^c) and that God’s final goal is to stimulate repentance among the Jews (11:23 ^d).

• I stress this: Paul devoted himself to the conversion of Gentiles because he knew that their salvation would ultimately lead to salvation for Jews as well.
11:15 ^e The context emphasizes God’s role in hardening many Jews (11:7-10 ^f), so the phrase their rejection likely means God’s rejection of the unbelieving Jews.

• Their acceptance then refers to God’s acceptance of Jews into his Kingdom (see also 14:3 ^g and 15:7 ^h).

• While the phrase life for those who were dead could refer to the new spiritual life that comes to the Jews as a result of their conversion to Christ (see 6:13 ⁱ), the language more naturally suggests the physical resurrection from the dead that occurs when Christ returns in glory (see, e.g., 1 Thes 4:13-18 ^j).
11:16 ^k the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy: This imagery comes from Num 15:17-21 ^l, where God commanded the Israelites to take part of their first batch of dough and set it aside as a gift. God’s promises to and blessings on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were like a down payment, guaranteeing the completion of God’s work among his people.
Summary for Rom 11:17-24: 11:17-24 ^m In Paul’s extended metaphor, God’s special olive tree refers to the people of God. The image is a natural one, because the olive tree is the most widely cultivated fruit tree in the Mediterranean basin, and it was already used as a symbol of Israel in the Old Testament (Jer 11:16 ⁿ; Hos 14:5-6 ^o). Paul refers to the Gentile Christians as branches from a wild olive tree because they were not originally included among the people of God.
11:18 ^p You are just a branch, not the root: By the time Paul wrote to the church in Rome, it was composed mainly of Gentiles, a common situation in the early Christian communities. This dominant role led many Gentile Christians to brag about their status, while treating Jews and their religious heritage with disdain. Paul reminds the Gentile believers that they enjoy God’s blessings only because they have been included in the one people of God, who are rooted in God’s promises to Israel.
11:20 ^q fear what could happen: In Scripture, fear often means a reverential awe of God that includes the recognition that we must one day stand before him in judgment (see 2 Cor 5:11 ^r; 7:1 ^s, 11 ^t, 15 ^u; Phil 2:12 ^v; Col 3:22 ^w).
11:22 ^x if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off: Scripture consistently emphasizes that only believers who persevere to the end will be saved. However, Paul’s warning leads to debate over the theological implications of his statement. Some think that it implies that genuine believers can stop believing and therefore not be saved in the end. Others argue that we should not press the metaphor so far and that Paul is referring to people who appear to be believers but whose lack of real faith ultimately reveals itself.
11:24 ^y by nature ... contrary to nature: The usual method of enhancing the yield of olive trees involved grafting a shoot from a cultivated tree onto a wild olive tree to benefit from the wild tree’s vigor. By grafting wild olive branches (Gentiles) into the cultivated olive tree (the people of God), God has done what is contrary to nature.