In light of this essential background, we are ready to hear the apostle Paul’s reasoning in Romans 11: Now I am speaking to you Gentiles.

Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? (11:13-15)

Paul is going to explain how they can be accepted again with his metaphor of being grafted back into the olive tree. He begins by sharing an analogy: If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump (16).

Paul is referencing his Hebrew Scriptures (OT), specifically the pilgrimage festival of Shavu’ot (Pentecost). The dough offered as firstfruits here refers to the two loaves of bread waved before the LORD God during the feast. According to the Jewish sages, the one loaf represented his elect nation, Israel, and the other represented the Gentile nations—a tradition validated in the Book of Acts by the Holy Spirit’s outpouring at Pentecost.

Unlike the standard procedure for bread at the Temple, these two loaves had leaven in them. Paul observes that the dough that became the bread Israel offered is holy; therefore, the whole lump is holy. He continues: and if the root is holy, so are the branches (16).

What is the holy root Paul is referring to?

Theologians have offered three explanations.

• Some claim the root refers to the Jewish believers in Yeshua. That is a minority position.
• The church fathers and, more recently, Karl Barth and others, maintain that the root refers to Jesus himself. Though we do indeed abide in Christ (see John 15), to my mind, that does not fit the context of Paul’s argument here.
• I think the best, most compelling explanation—given the context of Romans 4 and in light of what Paul says about the patriarchs later in chapter 11—is that the root referred to here is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs of Israel. Because what God began with them was a holy enterprise.

When God renewed that Abrahamic covenant at Mt. Sinai, the LORD said: Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex 19:5-6).

Here’s an interesting aside. No matter what interpretive option you choose—Jewish believers, Jesus, or Abraham—the root is Jewish, Hebraic in nature. Let us continue.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you (Romans 11:17-18).

The image here is dramatic. Olive trees live long lives, hundreds of years, and their roots are exposed above the ground. Often, you will see them coming out of and going back into the earth. So when you graft a wild olive branch, you graft it into the root of the tree.

And even though the tree above ground may be dead after hundreds of years, the root can still have nourishing sap and can suddenly spring forth a branch. A new tree can grow from the same root! That is amazing.

The purpose of grafting a new branch is straightforward: to produce fruit.

You want the olive tree to be more productive, more fruitful. By using this metaphor, Paul is saying, “You Gentiles who are now in Messiah Jesus, you have been sanctified, made holy by our Father in Heaven. And you have been joined to the commonwealth. You are no longer strangers. You are now sons and daughters, his children, joined together with all of his other children. You have a responsibility now to walk in holiness. And your life will bear fruit.”

The bread is holy, and so the whole lump of dough is holy. The root is holy, and so the branches are holy.

“But now that you Gentiles are grafted in,” Paul continues, “would you please get off your high horse? Do not be arrogant toward the branches. Humble yourselves.”

We see in the congregation at Rome a tendency all too familiar throughout the history of Christendom. In technical terms, it is called Replacement Theology. The uncircumcised are now superior to the circumcised. That which had been promised to Israel has all been transferred to the Gentiles. Or as the church fathers put it, all the blessings have now come to spiritual (or the new) Israel, meaning the church. And all the curses are left with the fleshly Israel, meaning the Jews.

Paul is tackling this deception head-on in chapters 9-11 of Romans.

Speaking satirically, if that were so, the metaphor should read this way. “The olive tree didn’t produce the fruit I wanted,” says God, “so I’m going to plant a Christmas tree instead. And I’m going to decorate it with spiritual gifts. This Christmas tree is going to do what I originally intended the olive tree to do.” Replacement theology.

In response to that, some in our modern times have formulated what’s called dual-covenant theology, which holds that there are, effectively, two olive trees. There is Israel’s covenant relationship with God through Moses, and that is how they have salvation. Then there is the Gentiles’ covenant relationship with God through Jesus, and that is how we have salvation.

But this, too, is contrary to Paul’s teaching. There is one olive tree. And salvation is always through Yeshua—God’s Son, Israel’s Messiah, and the world’s true King. These are key elements of the Gospel, which has the power to save all who believe, to the Jews first, and also to non-Jews.

Remember, it is not you who supports the root. It is the root that supports you.

Yes, you wild olive shoots have been grafted in by faith. Yes, some of the natural branches have been cut off because of unbelief. But let every one of us listen carefully and take heed: If God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

In a word, fear God.

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again (11:21-23).

The Jewish apostle knows that olive tree imagery plays a meaningful role in covenant history: The LORD once called you a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit (Jeremiah 11:16). Beyond the details, the point is straightforward. Paul is explaining to Gentile believers (Greeks can also be used interchangeably) that, in Jesus, they are joined to the Jewish people, to the pious life of Israel, to the commonwealth. “Therefore do not be arrogant,” he says, “but take care to stand fast.”

Abraham is the father of the faithful. You and I, like him, must walk in faithfulness.