11:12
Now the Gentiles have been blessed by the consequences of Israel’s rebellion, namely the gospel going out freely to all the nations. However, the riches will be even greater when Israel is restored. We need to appreciate the totality of God’s plans, we are not at the end of them yet. There are some Christians even today who seem to have a terrible attitude towards Israel. Now Israel is a very atheistic nation and does much wrong, there is no place for some idealistic view of Israel, but we need to remember that God loves Israel.
11:13,14
Pride is an enormous danger for all of us. In the light of all that Paul has been saying there was a danger that the Gentile Christians could become proud that “they had had the good sense to trust in Christ, unlike the stupid Jews”. Paul is trying to ensure that they don’t go down this road. He uses both the carrot and the stick. The carrot is that the blessings will be so much greater when the Jews do eventually believe. The stick is that if the Gentiles become proud they can expect to suffer exactly the same fate as the Jews who did not believe. Paul also points out that as well as wanting the Gentiles to believe, he is also evangelising them as part of the means of the Israelites eventually coming to faith.
Note the route that Paul does not take. He does not say the Jewish faith is still valid and their rejection of Jesus does not really matter. This is the approach that too many Christian leaders take today. Paul does not deny the real consequences of sin. Grace can only operate when sin is fully recognised for what it is.
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