The Unresolved Covenant: Paul’s Anguish over Israel and the Gospel

Paul has a problem. In the first eight chapters of his Letter to the Romans, he establishes that what matters in God’s salvific plan is trust in God’s promises, not the strict adherence to Jewish law. We are all on equal footing, Jew and Gentile, law abider and believer alike. But Paul’s argument has backed him into a proverbial corner. How could God's promises to the chosen people, Israel, reconcile with their widespread rejection of Christ, and the subsequent inclusion of Gentiles into the covenant? The tension, as Paul explores in Romans 9-11, reveals not a failure of God’s word, but rather the profound and often counter-intuitive depths of God’s sovereign plan. Unfortunately, some of the passages from this section have been used to fuel antisemitism. However, a closer reading in context suggests that Paul intends the opposite and would be horrified by the abuse that his words have enabled.

Paul asserts that God's purpose of election works by His divine call and sovereignty, not human merit. He illustrates this with examples like Jacob chosen over Esau, even before their birth. This isn't about human performance; it concerns God's mysterious, free choice. For Paul, the election of Israel wasn't merely a historical event; it is a living, ongoing reality that shapes God's interaction with the world.

Paul expresses deep sorrow in Romans 9:1-5 that his people reject Jesus, but vehemently denies that they are excluded or that God’s covenant is overridden. In fact, as Paul sees it, the mystery of salvation reveals that their rejection of the Messiah is a necessary part of God’s promise, thereby extending and enabling the covenant to the Gentiles and the faithful remnant of Jewish Christians (Rom 11:25-32). He uses the metaphor of an Olive tree with grafted branches to illustrate his point. It would not be fitting for the “wild” grafted olive branch to boast over other branches, when they all rely on the trunk and root of the same tree.  (Romans 11:18)  Paul does not condone a form of supercessionism that believes the Christian covenant replaces the Jewish covenant, and certainly not a punitive supercessionism that believes that God wishes the Jewish people who remain outside the church to be punished or persecuted. Paul would vehemently oppose such views. Instead, Paul seems to embrace a form of patient waiting while God’s salvific vision plays out.  (Rom 11:25-32)