Gentiles Grafted In
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Rom 11:11
then, Have they... Questions 76-78. Next, Rom. 11:24. Have the Jews stumbled to complete and eternal ruin? God forbid. Their ruin is only temporary. In the meantime the Gentiles will take their place to provoke them to jealousy (Rom. 11:11; 10:19; Deut. 32:21). The fall of the Jews was not in itself the reason for the salvation of the Gentiles. They were to be saved whether the Jews accepted or rejected the gospel (Gen. 12:1-3; Rom. 4:1-25; Gal. 6:8-10). The unbelief of Israel could never give faith to Gentiles. The rejection of Christ by the Jews only accelerated the salvation of the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48; 28:28).
stumbled that they... Greek: ptaio, to make a false step or mistake; to fail. Stumble (Rom. 11:11); fall (2Pet. 1:10); and offend (Jas. 2:10; 3:2).
should fall?... Greek: pipto, to fall down or out, meaning to be slain, or to lose one’s favor or grace. This proves that Israel, by offending or by failing lost the grace or favor of God. "Fall" is used in this sense in many scriptures (Luke 8:13; Acts 1:25; Rom. 11:11-12, 11:22; 1Cor. 10:12; Gal. 5:4; 1Tim. 3:7; 6:9; Heb. 4:11; 6:4-6; 2Pet. 1:10; 3:17; Jude 1:24; Rev. 2:5).
through their fall... Greek: paraptoma, a falling aside, when one should have stood upright; a moral fall; a fall from truth and grace. Fall (Rom. 11:11-12); fault (Gal. 6:1; Jas. 5:16); offence (Rom. 4:25; 5:15-20); trespass (Mat. 6:14-15; 18:35; Mark 11:25-26; 2Cor. 5:19; Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13); and sin (Eph. 1:7; 2:5; Col. 2:13).
for to provoke... The salvation and blessing of Gentiles will be the means of provoking Jews to seek and claim again their blessings.
The form of Paul’s question and his strong response confirm that Israel’s blindness, hardening and apostasy are not irreversible. Their “fall” is Israel’s rejection of Jesus Christ.
God intends to use His offer of salvation to the despised Gentiles to draw the nation back to Him. Salvation to the Gentiles is something the Old Testament had long prophesied.
Acts 13:42 “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.”
We see that the Gentiles readily accepted the Lord Jesus Christ when the Jews rejected Jesus. God still loves the Jew [the physical house of Israel] and, as we have been reading, He will save a remnant of them.
In Gentiles
Paul asked still another question he anticipated from his readers. Did they stumble (cf. Rom. 9:32) so as to fall beyond recovery? Literally, the Greek says simply, “Did they stumble so that they fell?” But the tense of the verb “fell” and its contrast with the verb translated “stumble” imply the idea of falling beyond recovery. Once again the question in Greek was worded to elicit a negative answer, and for the 10th and last time in Romans, Paul responded, Not at all! (mē genoito; cf. Rom. 3:4, 3:6, 3:31; 6:2, 6:15; 7:7, 7:13; 9:14; 11:1) “They” refers to “the others” (Rom. 11:7), the majority of the people of Israel, excluding the “remnant chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5).
Israel experienced not a permanent fall, but a stumbling. It served at least two divine purposes: (a) to offer salvation… to the Gentiles, and (b) to make Israel envious (lit., “to the provoking of them to jealousy”; cf. Deut. 32:21). Twice already in his ministry Paul had turned away from unbelieving Jews to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46; 18:6), and he would do so at least once more in Rome (Acts 28:25-28). In so doing he was fulfilling these purposes of God. But Paul was convinced that Israel’s transgression (paraptōma, “false step,” which seems to fit with “stumble”; cf. paraptōma, trans. “trespass” in Rom. 5:17-18, 5:20) was temporary.
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