23.310 | Paul’s Great Sorrow And Anguish | Romans 9:1-5| God’s Word for Today with Pastor Nazario Sinon

God’s Word for Today

28 Dec 2023

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

-Rom 9:1-5 ESV

PAUL’S  GREAT SORROW AND ANGUISH

Believers are secured in God’s love that won’t wane. After expressing these believer’s privileges in Rom 8, Paul shifted his focus. He thinks of his own people Israel. Some Jewish people had come to faith in Christ, but the vast majority had rejected Jesus as the Messiah. And, this broke his heart. God is his witness about his great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart.

How did he show it? He made a bold statement. That is, he wishes that he himself could be accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of his Jewish brothers by birth. He seems to be saying he would wish for such a thing. He feels so strongly that he would trade his own eternal place in God's family through faith in Christ to have his Israelite kinsmen believe in Jesus. 

Paul does not appear to be actually asking God to make this happen. Is it permissible?  After all, only Jesus was accursed for our salvation. As one who is in Christ, absolutely nothing  could separate him from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, including a prayer like his (Rom 8:39). Paul is saying in absolute sense. Those who are truly saved, through faith in Christ, are saved eternally and forever (John 10:28–29). 

The Israelites were a special people. Why? Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. [v.4,5 NIV] 

Israel was adopted in a national sense. God described them as his firstborn son in Ex 4:22. God had favored Israel by revealing His glory to them, especially during the time of Moses (see Ex 16:10; 24:17). God's covenanted with their father Abraham (Gen 15:18) and David (2 Sam 7:12–16). God gave many great promises to the patriarchs [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob] and all of their descendants. And eventually, through the line of the patriarchs came Christ Himself, the promised Messiah. 

Despite of all these, they did not believe Christ. They’re at the doorstep yet had missed to enter in. A miss by an inch is the same as by a mile. This made Paul’s heart broken. Perhaps, Paul was saddened about this insult they did to Christ. 

What breaks your heart manifests our values. Paul has many altercations with the Jews, yet he was deeply burdened for their salvation. He did not take it personally. He understood where they were coming from as he was once a zealous yet blinded persecutor to believers. He did not count his life dear unto himself but that more lost souls be brought unto the feet of Jesus.[Acts 20:24] May we will have the passion like Paul.

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