Romans 11:13-16
Is your experience of Christianity something that would make outsiders jealous? If not, you might be missing something very important.
The Ministry of Jealousy
Paul magnifies his ministry to make his fellow Jews jealous. This is not like the jealousy provoked by a flirtatious wife or a taunting child with a new toy. This is turning up the heat beneath someone you’re very close to so that they boil over with desire for something good.
It’s like a father trying to draw his child outside to play and enjoy being together. It’s what the prodigal son’s brother experienced as he heard the party in the other room.
If you’re unfamiliar with the prodigal son story, here’s the Cliff Notes: Jesus told this story to a group made up of religious Jews and sinners: A son said to his father, “I wish you would die so I could go ahead and have my inheritance.” After receiving the inheritance, the son spent it recklessly and had to come by and ask to live in the father’s servants’ quarters. But surprisingly, the father embraced the son and through a huge party celebrating his homecoming. Meanwhile, the older son who remained home working faithfully for the father pouted, refusing to celebrate because the father had never thrown him such a party. The younger son represents sinners who come to the father through Jesus, humbly asking for forgiveness. The older son represents the religious Jews who were cut off from the father due to their self-righteousness.
Paul operates as though he is at that party, magnifying it, making it loud so that the older brother will grow jealous and join them. He’s trying to make his ministry to the Gentiles loud so that the Jews will notice it, become jealous and be saved.
But why be jealous of Christianity? The Jews had an arguably richer religious and moral life. So it can’t be Christian religious practice or morality that would stir outsiders to jealousy. A look back through Romans reveals a deeper list of benefits Christians enjoy:
- Justification (they’re made innocent, which is more than merely being forgiven)
- Sanctification (they’re growing into their new innocence in practical ways)
- Redemption (they’re purchased and infused with value)
- Righteousness (they’re made right with God and self)
- Peace (they’re in harmony with God)
- Grace (they’re relationship with God is based on how good God is and not how much goodness they can maintain)
- Hope (they rest in precious promises made by a faithful God)
- Newness of life (they’re able to fully live)
- Freedom (from the law, sin, death or condemnation
Something Big is Coming
Verses 15 and 16 point mysteriously to some future event in which Israel will accept Jesus. Though Paul makes no attempt here to specifically outline this future event, we can infer from the rest of the chapter 11 that great numbers of Jews will one day recognize Jesus as their Messiah.
Paul’s point here is how glorious that day will be. If you thought the prodigal son’s party was great, wait until the older brother arrives! It’s going to be so fantastic that it will either be like life from the dead or it will be life from the dead (meaning, this is when Jesus will return and the dead will rise). Either way, it’s going to be big.
More on this in future sermons as we work through the rest of Romans 11.
