Romans 11:13-16 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Paul turns his attention to the Gentiles in this section, but behind his words lies an invitation for unbelieving Jews to put their trust in Jesus. He wants to make the Jews jealous of what the Gentiles have so that they will put their trust in Jesus. The Gentiles have this salvation that is by faith and not works. They have taken the easy and free way, while the Jews have tried to gain their righteousness by hard work. If the Jews rejection of Jesus has led to the salvation of the Gentiles, then their acceptance of Jesus would show the very power of God to overcome even the most stubborn of human pride and sin. It would be like raising someone from the dead. It would be a fulfillment of God’s promises made long ago to Abraham. Paul gives a metaphor of dough and firstfruits to show how if the Jews would come to faith, it would influence the salvation of the whole world. His deep hope is that someday they would come to faith. He does not want the Gentiles to feel haughty about the salvation they have because the Jews still need salvation. We must never give up on the salvation of the Jews and believe that God will work a miracle someday for their salvation.
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