July 29 - Romans 9.1-5

Wednesday, July 29th

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

My immediate reaction to reading these words is that Paul is defensive.  It’s like someone has accused him of fake news and he replies:  “I am not lying!  My conscience confirms it!”

I mentioned last week that I often have a hard time understanding Paul’s writings.  Last week’s reading was an exception.  This week we are back to deep readings from Paul.  A little Bible study for you.  Chapters 9-11 of Romans Paul is dealing with the question:  What does Jesus’ death and resurrection mean for Jewish people who do not embrace Jesus as the Christ? 

1.   Paul wrote these words about 30 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  By this point it was becoming clear that the Christian gospel would not receive a positive response from the majority of the Jewish people who heard it. 

2.   Paul and other Christians at that time – most of whom had converted from Judaism – were greatly troubled by that fact.  It was not a matter of them saying:  “Good riddance to those of you who don’t believe as I do.”

 3.  The driving question was:  What is God up to? 

And so with these three main questions, Paul writes three chapters of Romans to probe the question of where things stand between the Jewish people and God.  It’s heavy reading. 

These few verses we have today don’t go into much depth here in answering these questions.  What they do for us is remind us that God did not turn his back on the promises God made first with the Jewish people.  The Jewish people have possessed and continue to possess God’s favor because God gave it to them.  The Israelites are who they are because of God’s free choice. 

As Paul wrote:  “To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs.”

I don’t know how the Lutheran church in Germany – during the time of Hitler – didn’t acknowledge these words.  You cannot be anti-Semitic and read these words from Romans 9 as a word from God.  It amazes me that we did that. 

 Sometimes the Christian church today says that we are the “new Israel.”  We can’t really do that.  Paul never says that God does away with Israel.  He does say that God grafts us in – or weaves us in, and we share the root of God’s gracious faithfulness. 

And so we pray.  Lord God, you chose the Jewish people as a means to bless the world.  We are blessed by you grafting us into your family, and adopting us, allowing us to participate in work in the world, to bless others.  Help us to do so faithfully.  In your name we pray.  Amen.