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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Romans 11:1-32

The apostle proposes here a plausible objection, which might be urged against the divine conduct in casting off the Jewish nation (Rom. 11:1): ?Hath God cast away his people? Isa. the rejection total and final? Are they all abandoned to wrath and ruin, and that eternal? Isa. the extent of the sentence so large as to be without reserve, or the continuance of it so long as to be without repeal? Will he have no more a peculiar people to himself?? In opposition to this, he shows that there was a... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Romans 11:13-24

11:13-24 Now I speak to you Gentiles. You well know that in so far as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my office, for somehow I want to find a way to move my own flesh and blood to envy of the Gentiles, so that I may save some of them; for, if the fact that they are cast away has resulted in the reconciliation of the world to God, what will their reception mean? It can only be like life from the dead! If the first part of the dough is consecrated to God, so is the whole lump; if... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Romans 11:16

For if the firstfruit be holy ,.... Some by "the firstfruit" and "root" understand Christ, who is sometimes called, "the firstfruits of them that slept", 1 Corinthians 15:20 , and "the root of Jesse and David", Isaiah 11:10 , and indeed of all the righteous; and certain it is, that since he is holy, has all the holiness of his people in him, and is sanctification unto them, they shall be holy likewise; have it imparted to them in this life, and perfected in them in another: but this does... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 11:16

For if the first fruit be holy - As the consecrating the first fruits to God was the means of drawing down his blessing upon the rest, so the conversion of Abraham to the true faith, and the several Jews who have now embraced Christianity, are pledges that God will, in process of time, admit the whole Jewish nation into his favor again, so that they shall constitute a part of the visible Church of Christ. If the root be holy, so are the branches - The word holy in this verse is to be... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 11:16

Verse 16 16.For if the first-fruits, etc. By comparing the worthiness of the Jews and of the Gentiles, he now takes away pride from the one and pacifies the other, as far as he could; for he shows that the Gentiles, if they pretended any prerogative of honor of their own, did in no respect excel the Jews, nay, that if they came to a contest, they should be left far behind. Let us remember that in this comparison man is not compared with man, but nation with nation. If then a comparison be made... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 11:1-36

(4) The Jews are not finally rejected, but, through the calling of the Gentiles, will be brought into the Church at last. St. Paul, painfully recognizing the fact of the present exclusion of Israel as a nation from the inheritance of the promises made to their fathers, and having in Romans 9:1-33 . and 10. accounted for and justified such exclusion, proceeds now to the question—But is Israel as a nation finally rejected after all? He answers—No; impossible! God's ancient covenant... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 11:11-16

How much more! Blindness and hardness have come upon Israel, so that they have rejected their Christ, and consequently God has rejected them. They have stumbled, and have missed the way of life. But have they stumbled that they might permanently fall? Can God not work to some other, some better end than this? Shall not even their evil be overruled for good? Such is the question propounded by the apostle here; and in the following verses, glancing with prophetic insight into the promise of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 11:11-32

The Jewish people: their past history and their future prospects. The Jew is the greatest modern miracle. He is an absolutely unique figure in the history of the world. In every nation you find him, an exile and a fugitive, a stranger and a foreigner. Whence came he? how came he hither? He claims our respect, our attention, our pity, our Christian sympathy. These verses are a strong enforcement of the lessons of Israel's history and a stirring appeal on Israel's behalf. I. THEIR ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 11:11-32

Israel's future. In the section now before us we find the apostle passing from the judicial blindness which had come upon his countrymen to its providential purpose. For God can make the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of that wrath he can restrain ( Psalms 76:10 ). Hence the blind course pursued by the Jews is made the opportunity for the Gentiles. Paul, when the Jews would not receive the gospel, turned to the Gentiles, and had his success as apostle to the heathen. But... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 11:16

And if the firstfruit be holy, so also is the lump; and if the root be holy, so also are the branches . By the firstfruit and the root is signified the original stock of Israel, the patriarchs; by the lump and the branches, the subsequent nation through all time. The word ἀπαρχή , being here connected with φύραμα , may be understood as referring to Numbers 15:19-22 . The people are there enjoined to take of the first dough ( φύραμα ) kneaded after harvest a cake for a... read more

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