“The Jews: Bane Or Blessing?”

"I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous." Romans 11:11

No other nation in the history of the world has endured more hatred and hostility than Israel. Ever since God set the Jewish people apart for Himself, they have been despised and considered the scourge of the earth. Even Christians have viewed the Jews as enemies of God who deserve to suffer and die because they killed Jesus. However, Israel’s rejection of Christ was all part of God’s sovereign plan to extend the offer of salvation to the Gentiles. If the Jews had never rejected Christ, Gentiles could not have received Christ as their Savior. Consequently, we as Gentile believers should not look down on Jews as the bane of the earth but as the source and channel of all God’s blessing to us and the rest of the world. What’s more, God desires to use us to make the Jews jealous and woo them to repent and receive Jesus as their Messiah. And as soon as the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and the nation of Israel had been made sufficiently jealous by seeing God focus His attention on saving non-Jews and seeing them enjoying the blessings that were originally intended and reserved for them, there will be wide-spread repentance and regeneration among the Jews at Christ’s second coming. In other words, Israel’s rejection of God and God’s retribution of Israel is not total nor is it final. Here in vv. 11-24, Paul provided THREE PROOFS that God has not permanently rejected the Jews.

1. The Purpose of Israel’s Transgression (vv. 11-15)

2. The Peril of Gentiles’ Presumption (vv. 16-22)

3. The Prospect of Israel’s Restoration (vv. 23-24)