No images? Click here A MINISTRY MAGNIFIED PT. IIRomans 11:11-15 December 17th, 2023 When Paul wrote his letter to the church at Rome, it was an established church. It has been suggested that the church was established in ~42 AD, and at that time it would have been composed of primarily Jewish believers. Acts 18 tells us that Emperor Claudius, in ~49 AD had expelled all Jews from Rome, and when they returned five years later, the church consisted only of Gentiles. Conflict arose because the Jews were wondering what had happened to their church. What had happened to Sabbath regulations? What about circumcision? What about traditions? Favoritism was being shown, resulting in division. This was difficult for the Jews because the church was home for them and so much had changed.
There was much confusion within the church, and they needed to learn how to accommodate the new mixture of peoples. Paul writes this letter to the church because he desired unity within the body. He states that the Jews relied on tradition and laws for salvation, Paul was critical of them because they were trying to impose incorrect theology on the Gentiles. In this section of Scripture Paul addresses the Jew’s role in the church and their place in human history. As he is helping them understand these things, he is pleading with them to be saved. Paul is faced with the dilemma of how to encourage both factions without causing further division, so he says, what seems to be very provocative: I magnify my ministry to the Gentiles. This statement, being the centerpiece of this section of Scripture, puzzled the Jews. So, Paul wants both groups to understand their position and to understand who he is and what God demands of them. When Paul said he magnifies his ministry to the Gentiles, he meant that he glories is this ministry; he is thankful to the Lord for his calling. Paul is dedicated to fulfilling his calling even if it is detrimental to his health.
How can Paul so confidently proclaim that he exalts the Lord as he glories in his ministry to the Gentiles? Paul says he magnifies his ministry through Israel’s failure, through the clarified purpose of his ministry to the Gentiles, and being affirmed in his ministry to the Jews, but not to the exclusion of Israel. He also magnifies his ministry through provocation by making the Jews jealous. Though we may perceive provoking as having a negative connotation, Paul is provoking the Jews in order to move them to a good action. His provocation is not malicious; it has a purpose and that is so that some might be saved.
The first aspect of provoking is zeal. The Jews have been zealous for the Law and their traditions, and Paul wants to redirect their zeal so that it becomes a zeal for God. This is the same principle we see today regarding church discipline. When church discipline is employed today, it is because a person has allowed his/her zeal to be directed away from God and to the world. The elders provoke the person to repent, to direct their zeal back to God, and be restored. Matthew 18:15-17 describes the process to be followed when a brother or sister in Christ sins against you. In verse twenty, Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." When Jesus spoke these words, the context was church discipline, not prayer nor sharing the gospel. The final stage of discipline is to put the person out of the church with the hope that the loss of fellowship will lead to their repentance and seek restoration.
The same principle is seen in God’s dealings with Israel. God has temporarily set aside the Jews and blessing the Gentiles as they have fellowship around the gospel The purpose is to provoke Israel to jealousy, so ministry is magnified in this provocation. Paul’s ministry is magnified in the same way. This provocation is used in three ways: through Paul’s apostleship, through jealousy, and to life.
I. Provocation through Paul’s Apostleship
Paul begins by clarifying his calling to the people. In verse 13 he says, “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles.” He reaffirms this calling in Romans 15:16 where he says he is called, “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Paul knows that he will stand before God someday, and his great desire is to claim that he has been faithful in sharing the gospel; these Gentiles are his offering to God.
Paul being an apostle to the Gentiles did not mean that he failed to minister to the Jews. In fact, in every town he visited, he went to the Jews first. Acts 17:2 states: “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” It is clear from Romans 9:3 that Paul loved his countrymen. So, after first going to them and being rejected, he proclaimed that he was going to the Gentiles. Paul is not neglecting the Jews; he is just stating that the primary focus of his ministry was to Gentiles. The focus of Jesus’ ministry was primarily to the Jews, though He also ministered to Gentiles. One example is in Matthew 15 when a Canaanite woman appealed to Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter. Jesus initially refused and said, " It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." Jesus’ priority was for the Jews, yet He saw her faith and granted her request. He wanted the woman to understand that she had no right to expect Him to heal her daughter. He said these things in the presence of His disciples, so that they would understand their ministry. When He sent them out, He instructed them to not go to Gentiles but to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:6).
Paul had every right to refuse the Jews, but he didn’t. He was a minister to the Gentiles because that is what God called him to be. Saul (Paul) was on his way to Damascus to arrest all the Christians there, including Annanias, and drag them to jail in Jerusalem. However, Jesus appeared to Saul, blinded him, then told him to go into the city to receive further instructions. God then appeared to Annanias in a vision and told him to restore Paul’s sight. Annanias initially objected but God said, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel." (Acts 9:15) Annanias was told that Paul’s ministry would be primarily to the Gentiles. As we see in Romans 11, God had impressed upon Paul what was to be the focus of his ministry. Paul reiterated this calling in Galatians 1:15-16 when he said, “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles.”
Paul understood his calling to the Gentiles, and we see this affirmed in the effects of his ministry. He said in Acts 13:46 that since the Jews had rejected his message he was turning to the Gentiles. Paul’s ministry was also affirmed by the indwelling Holy Spirit as he was given grace to preach to the Gentiles and proclaim the mystery hidden for ages. (Ephesians 3:8-9) One aspect of the mystery is that both Jews and Gentiles are included in the church. Paul was greatly humbled by the knowledge that God had chosen him to reveal this mystery.
Paul was the perfect person to carry the message to the world. The Jews had received the blessing through Abraham, had been redeemed from slavery in Egypt, given the Law, given the circumcision, all so that they would represent Him in the world. What did they not do? Represent Him in the world! So, God raises up Paul, a Jew, and tells him to represent Him to the Gentiles. In Paul’s letter to the Roman church, God is telling the Jews that Paul is their example.
II. Provoking through Jealousy
When Paul said in Romans 11:13-14 that he magnified his ministry to the Gentiles for the purpose of making his fellow Jews jealous, this provocative language would have been very offensive to the Jews. The Jews viewed the Gentiles as being outside of God’s grace, that they knew nothing about worshiping God, they don’t know God, they don’t love God, they have a different gospel; so, why would God allow the Gentiles to have a significant role in the church? The purpose of Paul’s provocative words was to make the Jews jealous so that some might be saved. Scripture tells us that God is jealous for His name and for His people – all good jealousy. One component of jealousy is zeal and Isaiah 9:7 explains that the zeal of the Lord will establish Messiah’s rule with justice and righteousness forevermore. Isaiah is saying that the jealousy of the Lord will accomplish everything we desire to come to fruition. Paul’s desire was that some of his fellow countrymen would be saved.
Paul was concerned that the Gentiles might discriminate against the Jews in the same way that the Jews had discriminated against them. He was concerned that the Gentiles would say that God’s favor is on them, that they are saved, that God has turned against Israel, and they need to follow us. He was concerned that the Gentiles would begin to regard Jews as dogs. Paul emphasizes that God’s favor is still on His people. He warned the Gentiles to guard their hearts; though the Jews stumbled, they have not fallen.
We need to pay attention to Paul’s warning, for today we exclude certain people and regard them as not being worthy to be saved. There is an imbalance in our thinking, and we need to understand that there is always room for reconciliation. Paul never lost hope that the Jews could be reconciled to God, that some would be saved. We too, should always be anxious for people to come to Christ. If we are sharing the gospel with a family member, a friend, or just someone we meet in public and are rejected, it is easy to just write these people off and move on. We should always keep the anxiousness in our heart for them to come to faith.
In addition to his desire that Jews be saved, Paul was also concerned about relationships within the church. There was division within the church in Rome and neither faction had a desire for reconciliation. Each wanted Paul to say that they were right; however, Paul told them what Scripture said and each faction’s responsibility – now work for unity. Broken relationships and a lack of desire for reconciliation remain problems in the church today. Sometimes we have conflicts with our brothers or sisters in Christ, but we are not a people without hope, so the offended party can hope that God will move the offender to seek reconciliation.
Some steps in approaching reconciliation follow.
Reconciliation is God’s desires for the church, and this is Paul’s desire. Paul provoked the church, but his desire was for reconciliation. He wanted to stir up a zeal for the restoration of broken fellowship, and this required provoking. This is what applying the gospel to your life looks like.
III. Provoking to Life
In verse twelve, Paul begins to discuss how much more the world will be blessed when Israel is grafted back into the root. When we consider verses 11-15 in the context of verses 1-36, verse 25 is the climax, or main thrust of the chapter: “Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Here is a progression; after the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, then the fulness of Israel follows. There is a provoking to the Gentiles and there is a provoking to Israel. There is a movement within the church that will provoke the Jews to turn their zeal back to the Lord. Some Gentiles and some Jews are being saved today, but something will happen to make the Jews jealous as the fulness of the Gentiles has come in. God is going to do something spectacular for the church. This spectacular event is the rapture of the church and the ushering in of the tribulation.
As the Jews witness the rapture of the church and experience God’s wrath, 144,000 Jews will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith when they realized they killed Messiah Jesus. This was forecast by the prophet Zechariah in 12:10, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced.” When this prophesy is fulfilled, then the prophesy in Zechariah 13:1 will be fulfilled, “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” At this point, the church will be primarily composed of Jews but with some Gentiles. This ushers in the millennial kingdom. Then as Israel witnesses about Christ, the ministry assigned to them is fulfilled and, as Paul wrote in verse 15, the world is reconciled to God.
Then we move into the millennial rule of Christ, as described in Zechariah 14:9, “And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” Verse 11 speaking of Jerusalem, “And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.” Verse 16: “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.” The Feast of Booths will replace the Lord’s Supper. John tells us in his vision that there will be an innumerable multitude of people from every tribe and nation standing before the throne clothed in white robes. (Revelation 7:9)
The most significant aspect of this time will be that Israel has a renewed zeal for God. It is as if the dead nation of Israel had come back to life, and the whole world will rejoice. Christians today enjoy glory because God chose to use the rebellion of Israel to call Gentiles into salvation, and when the fulness of the Gentiles comes, Israel becomes jealous and turns to the Lord. Paul magnifies his ministry to the Gentiles because he sees what is coming for Israel. When Israel returns to the Lord, the blessings will be unfathomable.
We are to live in such a way that our ministry is magnified in our provocation. We should be so zealous that we provoke the people around us to jealousy. For some this jealousy is an aroma of life and to others it is an aroma of death (2 Corinthians 2:15). God wants to spit us luke-warm people out of His mouth. When people meet us, they should have some reaction, either a welcoming fellowship or a rejection of you as being a representative of God. Our ministry should be to encourage them to develop a zeal for the Lord, not the world. Because of a lack of confidence in our ability or understanding of the gospel, our tendency is to withdraw from unbelievers and chastise them for being outside the will of God. This encourages them to view us as high and lofty, self-righteous Pharisees. We need to be around unbelievers so that we can witness to them. Peter in his first letter tells us to always be ready to share the gospel, but with a spirit of gentleness and humility. We consider their rejection of the gospel as an opportunity to sharpen our sword.
As believers, we have riches that they lack: peace they long for, assurance they can’t imagine, and love that you can display for them. We are to provoke those around us by being kind, by going out of our way to help them, by suffering their ignorance, and tolerating their aggressive behavior. This is what God did for us in sending His Son to save us. You provoke them by living out the character of God in front of them, and this allows them to see the fruit of your salvation. We live as children of light, which means we are open to criticism and to anything for the sake of love.
We need to remember that nothing is impossible for God, and to guard against the idea that any person or situation is hopeless. This is the hope that Paul always set before the church. The Gentiles seemed hopeless, but God is saving some. The Jews seem hopeless, but God is saving some and will save many more in the future. We were hopeless, but God saved us, and we need to share this with the world. Rather than feeling foolish, we need to proclaim from the mountain top who God is and what He has done for us. The Bible tells us that unbelievers will think us foolish (1 Corinthians 1:18), but, knowing that God is sovereign should give us confidence.
Selah:
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