1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
In this introductory passage, Paul is going to discuss a thought that would be on the minds of many of the Jewish Christians at the time. First, in verse one he says, “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit…” To understand what Paul is saying, go back first to Chapter 8, bearing in mind that the original letter to the Romans by Paul did not actuaully have chapters; it was one continuous letter. There Paul starts in Verse 1 by saying, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Paul continues on that theme and then describes a yet future state where he says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Finally, he ends with an oft quoted verse when he says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.“
It is after concluding Chapter 8 with an absolute assurance of our security in Christ that Paul transitions into this more somber tone of Chapter 9. But what is he somber about? Why does he have “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” as we read in verse 2? Why does he say in in verse 3, “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel“? Paul recognizes and expresses such angst because he realizes that the Jewish people are being left behind. Paul, more than anyone, would understand why the Jews rejected Christ. He himself was a leader in the persecution of the Christians until Christ revealed himself to Paul. So, it seems that he is saying, “Oh, if you could only see what I see.” Instead, Christianity is quickly going to the Gentiles. And so, the Jewish people must be wondering, “How can Jesus of Nazareth be the messiah if the Jews have been rejected?“ We might as well also ask: Is God not going to keep his promises to the Jews? If not, how can we believe his promises to the church?
And so Paul continues in the remainder of verse 4 and all of verse 5, “Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.“ Paul being a Jew, recognizes the questions that Jews would have, and so reaffirms the Jewish history and promises. Of course, this means that something is off. Either (1) God has not kept his promises, (2) Jesus is not the messiah, or (3) the majority of the Jews at that time have missed something. Paul is going to discuss some rather deep theological topics to answer these questions. He will deal with oft argued concepts such as election and God’s foreknowledge.
As we continue on in this study, bear in mind that even the most talented exegetes among us can be wrong. These are topics that even the most devoted followers of Christ have honest disagreements about. What we must do is commit ourselves to reading the scriptures, to understanding them in light of all of scripture, and finally, to humbly pray and ask God for the ability to discern the meaning of the text.
