“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” -Romans 11:25
This statement is a summary, an expansion, and a warning.
It is a summary explanation of what has already been explained and illustrated: That God has partially hardened Israel for their unbelief; thus, he is working this way so that the Gentiles can be brought in; and, in so doing, unbelieving Israel will repent and be saved themselves.
It is an expansion on what has been already explained in that there is a mystery that has been revealed. Paul’s use of mystery is not the Pagan, esoteric use of the word (i.e., like that of the Gnostics). Rather, he means this is knowledge that could not have otherwise been known except that God has revealed it. The mystery is that God has partially hardened (ethnic) Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
What does Paul mean by this phrase until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in? We see this near expression used by Jesus in Luke 21:24: “They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Given the olive tree analogy that Paul is working from, it appears there is a specific period of time in which God will allow the engrafted branch on the olive tree to flourish before he engrafts the natural branch back into this tree. But Paul does not elaborate on when it will be or how it will look—just that we know it will be. Instead, in verses 26, he will explain the manner in which this takes place.
Finally, Paul’s statement is a warning or exhortation to the Gentiles to remain humble and not become wise in their own sight. This seems a clear warning against any kind of anti-semitism, which has unfortunately not always been heeded by Christians throughout the centuries.
Nevertheless, let us “…who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
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