Of Dough and Olive trees

Our readings in Romans bring us to the fulcrum of the letter,  chapters 9 – 11, which addresses the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the unfolding revelation of the Gospel.  Before we leave our encounter with this letter to the Roman believers (“those who are loved by God and called to be saints”), I want to draw our attention to Paul’s passion for the Jewish people and his anguished grappling with the problem of their unbelief.

Why does this matter? That’s a good question. At the heart of the answer is the character of God. Is He faithful? Is He able to overcome unbelief? Does He keep his promises?  

Paul was a missionary at the dawn of new age, the breaking in of the Kingdom of Heaven through the authority of the risen and ascended Messiah. His experience of God’s covenant with Jews and Gentiles was dramatically renewed through his relationship with Jesus and he was desperate to draw all those “who are love by God and called to be saints” into unity around the promise of God.

On Sunday, we will experience some of Paul’s best creative power as he works with the metaphors of dough and olive trees to convey the dynamics of covenant promise to Jew and Gentile.

Why does it matter? Because the Gospel of the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).