Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Chapter 11
13
Salvation of the Gentiles
Now I am speaking to you, Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry14
to make my own people jealous and ultimately save some of them.
15
If the world found peace with God when they stayed apart, what will it be like when they are welcomed? It will be nothing less than a passing from death to life.
29
because the call of God and his gifts cannot be revoked.
30
Because of the disobedience of the Jews, God’s mercy came to you who did not obey God.
31
They, in turn, will receive mercy in due time after this disobedience that brought God’s mercy to you.
32
So, God has allowed everyone to be disobedient, to show his mercy to all.
Commentaries
Salvation of the Gentiles.
Paul now addresses Christians from pagan backgrounds who may be risking their relationship with Judaism because of a possible “Christian complex” of superiority. Repeating once again what the widespread acceptance of the Gospel by his people will mean for the reign of God, he says the results will be excellent, like “a kind of resurrection” (15). He reminds them that Israel’s election still holds and that his people remain a key part of God’s plans for saving the world. For the Apostle, the Jewish people and the Christian people cannot exist without each other. Their shared destiny is to walk together until the “day of the Lord.”
The Conversion of Israel.
The Apostle appears to accept the mystery of his people’s widespread rejection of the Gospel. He cannot understand it. It is a secret, known only to God, and he, Paul, now feels like a guardian of it, even though he can only speculate. None of the debates and theories seem to fit anymore. The secret, which calls for humility and hope, is the future conversion of the Jews, connected to the inclusion of the pagans (25). He does not specify when or how, but Paul expects this to happen soon, since he believed the Lord would return in a few years and even considered the possibility of meeting the Lord himself while still alive (cf. 1 Cor 15:51).