I say, God does not cast out His people, does He?
Paul in Romans 11:1

Chapters 9-11 in Romans deal with Israel. This was an important issue of the time, primarily for the Jews in the community. They had a long history as “God’s people” and were well acquainted with the promises for Israel and the messianic task for Israel as the prophets had spoken about it. If one wants to understand the New Testament, these ideas should be known – because they were for the Jews at that time.

Then Jesus appears, as the promised Messiah. However, he is executed by the Romans at the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders. After three days, Jesus rises from the dead and appears to his disciples, who ask him: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” (Acts 1:6). So this was the issue that Jesus and his disciples had been talking about for years. Didn’t Jesus begin his preaching with “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”? This was the kingdom of which the prophets had spoken.

The time of the Acts of the Apostles

One could outline the time of the Acts of the Apostles as a transitional period.

• At the beginning it is still about the 12 apostles and the kingdom for Israel (Acts 1:6).
• At the end of Acts, Paul goes to the nations (Acts 28:28).
• In between lies a development and a time with many questions. The Letter to the Romans is written in this transitional period and addresses questions about the position of Israel.

Israel’s expectation of a kingdom was not fulfilled in Jesus’ day. Jesus Himself leaves the realization to His God and Father (Acts 1:7). This postpones the promise, so to speak. It does not take place today, but later.

The thirteenth apostle

When Paul enters the stage, he is the 13th Apostle. He is not one of the 12. That is a statement of great consequence. The 12 apostles fulfill a different task than Paul. Examples: The 12 apostles will judge the 12 tribes of Israel in the future (Mt 19:28). Paul has no place there. It also says of the heavenly Jerusalem: “The wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb” (Rev 21:14). Paul is not there either.

So, on the basis of the textual testimony, one cannot claim that the New Testament and all the apostles always speak of the same thing. This is demonstrably not the case. There are the Twelve Apostles on the one hand and there is Paul on the other. This has meaning. We do well to interpret each of the above assignments and tasks in their own context and not to infer from our understanding. With this, we gain clarity about the text. We are getting closer to the Bible.

Mission for the nations

Paul’s most important difference lies in his task to the nations. Peter had to be persuaded with several visions to approach Cornelius, even though he was a proselyte (Acts 10). This was not a “Gentile”, but someone who was very close to the Jewish people and Jewish expectation, as we can see from the text. Cornelius was what is called a “proselyte from the gate” (someone who was inclined to the people and religion, but not circumcised). Peter had great difficulty with the fact that Cornelius was not a Jew. But Cornelius was not a “pure heathen”. However, this was a huge hurdle for Peter. Hence the visions that would lead him to contact Cornelius. None of the 12 apostles turned directly to the nations as Paul did. The so-called “mission directive”, which has not yet been carried out, does nothing to change this.

Different messages

Back to Paul. Paul steps onto the stage. He receives “his gospel” directly through revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal 1:11-12, cf. Rom 16:25-26). His gospel and his target group are different from what the prophets ever spoke about. There is something completely new for the nations. Although the prophets also had a salvation for all nations in mind, this was via the mediating role of Israel, which was to fulfill a “royal priesthood” (for the other nations). Peter, as one of the Twelve, and with a task for Israel (Gal 2:7-9), spoke about this expectation for Israel as follows:

“But you are a chosen race, a ‘royal priesthood,’ a ‘holy nation,’ a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His amazing light, who were once a ‘non-people’ (Hos. 1:9) but are now God’s people (Hos. 2:23), who once had not obtained mercy but now obtain mercy.”
1Pet 2:9-10

This letter and this text are often referred to today’s church. However, Peter speaks to the “chosen emigrants in the dispersion” (1Pet 1:1). This is the Jewish Diaspora. He does the same as James (James 1:1). Their gospel was explicitly the “gospel of the circumcision” (Gal 2:7-9). If we include such clear information from the text and read these things with the information from the context, some texts in the Bible take on a different meaning than the traditional one. The benefit is that the texts can speak more clearly for themselves. You no longer have to “bend” anything to a different understanding.

The congregation from all nations

If we recognize these differences, we can also better understand why the time of Acts was a transitional time. It was also something of a time of self-discovery. On the one hand, this applies to the church in Jerusalem with the twelve apostles, who all remained in expectation of Israel’s kingdom (cf. Peter in Acts 2:36). On the other hand, this also applies to the churches, in which Paul gave a place to many nations uncircumcised and without law. This was unheard of and new. No wonder there were many questions about it.

So, in Romans, Paul first laid out the core of the gospel for the church from all nations (chapters 1-8). However, this was a challenge for the Jewish believers within the community. What was now with Israel? What happened next for Israel? Has God cast away His people? That is the question at issue here (chapters 9-11). Paul takes the trouble to describe the new situation for Israel in three chapters. He explains what happens to the expectation from the whole nation of Israel and how believers in the church can see their position.