The Book of Romans ~ Lesson Twenty-Four

"Grafted In"

Romans 11:11-12 (NLT) Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

Some Christians think the Jews are no longer God's chosen people. That is completely false. But, because some have not accepted that the Messiah has already come, God has opened the way for the Gentiles to come into relationship with Him. I praise God that He opened the way for us, but I continue to pray for the children of Israel.

Romans 11:13- 16 (NLT) I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

Salvation of the Gentiles was not an afterthought. God knew this would happen. He knew the hearts of His chosen. He still does. Many have come to salvation in Jesus, but many have not. The world would be richer for it. The world is rich because of the blessings that God has bestowed upon the Jews. Jesus came through the blood line of the Israelites, but there is more. Look at the stats below:

Actors/Performers
Alicia Silverstone -- Actress - Clueless, The Crush, The Babysitter, Batman
Barbara Streisand -- Singer and actress winner of two Oscars, four Emmys, nine Golden Globes, and other awards.
Mandy Patinkin -- Emmy & Tony award-winning actor, 'Dr Jeffrey Geiger' on TV's Chicago Hope
Harrison Ford -- Actor: 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'Star Wars', ' American Graffiti', 'Witness', 'The Fugitive'
Gwyneth Paltrow -- Oscar winner
William Shatner -- Captain James T. Kirk on the original 'Star Trek'
Natalie Portman -- Actress, Queen Amidala in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Al Jolson -- famous entertainer. Starred in the first talking movie
Winona Ryder -- Star of films like Heathers, Girl Interrupted, Little Women, Beetlejuice
Noah Wyle -- Actor, 'Dr John Carter' on TV's ER
Michael Landon -- Little Joe Cartwright on Bonanza
Mark Frankel -- Actor in 'Sisters' and 'Fortune Hunter'
Sarah Jessica Parker -- Acress in 'Sex and the City', 'LA Story'
Seth Green -- television actor, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Family Guy.
Robert Downey, Jr. -- actor in 'Less Than Zero,' 'Chaplin,' 'Short Cuts.'
Paul Newman -- Academy Award winning actor and philanthropist

Musicians:
Itzhak Perlman -- Grammy-winning Violin soloist
Max Weinberg -- Drummer for Springstein and musical director for Conan O'Brien
Isaac Stern -- Violin virtuoso
George Gershwin -- American composer of many vocal and theatrical works written in collaboration with his older brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin.
Jascha Heifetz -- Violinist
Yehudi Menuhin -- Violinist
Herb Alpert -- Leader and trumpeter of Tijuana Brass
Stan Getz -- Jazz Tenor Sax player most famous for The Girl from Ipanema
Julio Iglesias -- Internationally famous Spanish singer. Holds Guinness world record for the most albums sold in the most languages.

Scientists:
Albert Einstein -- One of the most famous and influential scientists since Isaac Newton
Carl Sagan -- astronomer and popular science author; made book and TV series 'Cosmos'
Niels Bohr -- Nobel prize-winning Physicist: atomic structure
Roald Hoffmann -- Nobel prize winner in Chemistry: field of electronic structures
Fritz Haber -- winner of the Nobel Prize of Chemistry in 1918, for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements
Edward Teller -- Physicist, father of the hydrogen bomb
Leo Szilard -- Physicist, proved the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction in 1933.
Jonas Salk -- Developed the first polio vaccine.

Business Professionals:
Milton Hershey -- Hershey's Chocolate founder
Michael Dell -- Founder of Dell Computer
Larry Ellison -- Founder and CEO of Oracle
Alan Greenspan -- Federal Reserve Chairman under Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush
Steve Ballmer -- CEO of Microsoft and the richest Jew in the world
Sir James Goldsmith -- financier and banker who amongst others has taken over Goodyear.
George Soros -- millionaire philanthropist who has donated millions to aid Eastern Europe.
Bernard Madoff -- American financier convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme that resulted in the largest investor fraud ever committed by a single person.

Fashion designers:
Calvin Klein -- Famous Clothes Designer
Ralph Lauren -- (Ralph Lipshitz) world famous fashion designer
Levi Strauss -- Inventor of Blue Jeans
Kenneth Cole -- Fashion Designer who's married to Mario Cuomo's daughter

Comedians:
Jerry Lewis -- A comedian who teamed up with Dean Martin
Marcel Marceau -- The most famous mime in history
Jerry Seinfeld -- Stand up comedian, TV show Seinfeld, American Express commercials
Sarah Silverman -- American comedienne whose satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics.
The Marx Brothers -- An American family comedy act with Chico, Harpo, and Groucho.
Milton Berle -- Comedian who pioneered comedy/variety on television
Jack Benny -- Reknowned radio and TV comic

Directors and producers:
Steven Spielberg -- Director of films such as Saving Private Ryan & Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, E.T.,
Stanley Kubrick -- Director of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Spartacus
Mel Brooks -- Film director, producer, actor: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein
Woody Allen -- Film Maker/Actor: Annie Hall, Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite, Antz
Roman Polanski -- Director, screenwriter, actor: Rosemary's Baby, Macbeth, Chinatown, Tess
Ben Stiller -- Director/Actor: Seinfeld, SNL, Reality Bites, Something About Mary, The Cable Guy
Aaron Spelling -- Produced Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place...
Oliver Stone -- Popular Director: The Doors, J.F.K., Heaven And Earth, Natural Born Killers

Artists:
Frida Kahlo -- Mexican artist famous for vivid, surrealist self-portraits. Married to Diego Rivera.
Marc Chagall -- Painter, designer and graphic artist
Modigliani -- Artist whose elongated faces are reminiscent of African masks
Camille Pissarro -- Father of Impressionism

Politicians:
Golda Mabovitch (Golda Myerson, Golda Meir) - the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel

God has not withdrawn His blessing from the Israelites. Those who do not know Jesus as Messiah will have a chance to come to Him. That is why we need to share the Good News with them and pray for them. They have been and are a blessing to the world.

Genesis 12:2-3 (NLT)  "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Romans 11: 17- 21 (NLT) But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.
   “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

This portion of Romans 11 really puts us in our place. We are grafted into the family of God. We are now among the chosen. We are only branches, the Root is Jesus. He alone deserves all the praise and honor. We should be humble and remember He alone has made it possible for mankind to come to Him.

Isaiah 26:12-13 (NLT) Lord, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you.
O Lord our God, others have ruled us, but you alone are the one we worship.


Romans 11: 22-24 (NLT) Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.

I love this part, "God is both kind and severe." In a simple equation it looks like this:

Disobedience to God = God's severity

Trust in God's = God's kindness

The Jewish people are not in obedience because they have rejected Jesus. The thing is God will welcome them back in if they give their heart to Jesus as Messiah. Gentiles are described as wild olive branches. He grafted in those who believe Jesus is Messiah and place their trust in Him. The Jews are the original branches currently cut off from the Root, which is Jesus. He is more than willing to graft them back in. We must understand our place and the grace in which we are part of God's family. We must always respect the Jews because God's original covenant was with them. This is all a part of God's plan and He knows how it will all end. Place your faith in Jesus.