9:2
From the outset Paul expresses his deep desire that Israel be saved. Paul is deeply upset at the state of Israel and their general rejection of the Messiah. We should note that the place of Israel in God’s plans is no mere academic theological question (it is actually deeply theological). A fact that anyone addressing the question of Israel has to face is that God loves Israel. It is also noteworthy that up until this point Paul has referred to the “Jews”, now he talks about “Israel”. It may be that when talking about “the Jews” Paul is using the phrase somewhat like John normally does, and is referring to the Jewish religion and its leaders.
9:3
Paul says he would even give up his own salvation “for the sake of my brothers”. He is almost certainly using hyperbole here, but it nevertheless expresses his deep desire to see Israel saved. Despite all the persecution and opposition that Paul faced from the Jews he had no animosity towards them, quite the opposite. He refers to them as “my kinsmen according to the flesh”, Paul saw relations in Christ as being deeper. This is somewhat like Jesus when He said that those who do the will of God are His true relations (Mark 3:34,35).
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