Title: The Mighty Paul
I. Good Jealousy
v11 (read)
Here Paul seems to repeat the question that he opened chapter 11 with: Have the Jews fallen away totally and completely? But here, in verse 11, there is a bit of a different twist to it; for here Paul asks if God’s purpose, God’s point, in the Jews stumbling was that they would fall away. A question that Paul emphatically replies, “NO!” to.
In fact, Paul argues something else entirely. In verses 12/13 we see Paul argue that the sovereign reason for their fall was to provoke jealousy. We are rightly taught in scripture that jealously is a bad thing. Two of the ten commandments touch on this when they say we ought not covet they neighbor’s wife, nor his household or possessions.
Yet here we see an example of God using something that is generally regarded as a bad thing for a greater glory and purpose.
Paul explains that because of the rejection of Christ by the Jews, salvation has come to the Gentiles, but the plan does not simply end there. In fact, it is Paul’s hope that the Jews will covet this new relationship that the Gentiles have with God through the blood of Christ and that will bring them to a place of repentance and acceptance of Christ.
When I was about eight, I approached my older cousin and said, “Is it true that if you lick a 9 volt battery you’ll get electrocuted?” My older, wiser, evil cousin said, “Well, there is only one way to find out.” And he promptly got a 9 volt battery and handed it to me. Now, in this case my cousin was letting me go my own way. He knew the answer to my question, he knew that I knew the answer to my question, but he wanted me to experience it, that I would know for my self, not just with theoretical knowledge, but with real life changing experience.
So I licked the battery. And I had a real, life-changing experience. Now some of you may think what my cousin did was cruel, and maybe it was a bit vindictive. But I’ll tell you what, there is no way my cousin explaining to me what happens when you lick a 9 volt battery was going to be the same learning experience as me actually licking the battery. (The sweetness of this story came for me a few years later when one of my younger cousins approached me and said, “Hey Ben what happens if you lick a 9 volt battery?”)
My Point: Often the greatest teaching tool God gives us is letting us go our own way, making mistakes, and learning from them.
In the midst of his heart breaking for his own people, Paul saw a potential silver lining in the scenario. If God is a jealous God, and wants his people to recognize and obey him, perhaps he will spur on their jealousy for our new found relationship with God through Christ.
I. Paul uses his ministry as an example
(Read vv.13-15)
In the next passage Paul then turns the table upon himself and says, “I do not hide from the fact that I am a Jew preaching to Gentiles. I accept that this is what God has given me as a ministry. Furthermore I do not speak quietly about my charge to preach to the Gentiles when I am around Jews. If anything, I speak LOUDER around Jews concerning the salvation of the Gentiles because it is my hope that my words of truth would provoke these Jews that are just like I used to be, to the truth of the blood of Christ.”
And this is consistent with what we know about other facets of Paul’s ministry.
Paul had no problem rebuking Peter and telling him he was being two faced in Acts.
He had no problem saying, “My charge does not come from James, so it matters not if he endorses my ministry or rejects it.”
How about that?
Among the people that are the most likely to be offended by his message, Paul is the loudest. Among the people that are most likely to reject him, to chase him, to persecute him, to call him a sell out, Paul is the most passionate.
Are you?
Am I?
Oh, I heard a number of mighty sermons met with resounding shouts of “Amen!” from the stirred up congregations, when the people are in total agreement with what the pastor is shouting. And I’ve seen these same pastors, these same supposed mighty men of God, speak like lambs, with unconfident words, hushed tones, and muted mannerisms when they are in the company of people who are apt to disagree with them.
I’ve seen chaplains who sit in the first row of their church on a Sunday morning, nodding in agreement with the pastor’s message, and yet, when Monday morning rolls around and they go to work as non-denominational chaplains, you can’t even get them to agree that Jesus is the exclusive way to God.
I admire Paul a great deal
I admire that he was an optimist.
I admire that in the midst of his own people vastly rejecting that Jesus was the Messiah, he still had hope for his people to be saved.
I admire that he trusted God’s sovereignty, even when it was difficult to do so.
But I think what I admire most was his boldness. He wasn’t rude to people, he didn’t cut them off, or argue with them, but he didn’t back down, either. He wasn’t afraid of death, or trials, or imprisonment. The only thing he was afraid of was not serving his Lord to the utmost.
Look at verse 14 with me again.
“I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them…”
Save some of them. Paul was willing to die, to suffer persecution, trial, and the judgement of man to save some of them. And who was he trying to save?
Those who were seeking to destroy him.
Let’s pray