so these also now have not believed, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
Truth to Learn
We can hoard the truth and be poor, or we can give it away and enjoy spiritual riches together with all who will receive it.
Meaning Explained
Since this verse and the preceding one are tied together, let’s look at them together:
For as you previously did not believe in God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, so these also now have not believed, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
That is to say, we as Gentiles were not believers while the Israelites had possession of God’s Word and God’s blessing. But now, as a result of their rejection of the Messiah, we have been given the gospel message and can now obtain God’s mercy through belief in the Savior. In the same manner these Jews are not believing now. They are still rejecting the Messiah, the Christ, who came to save them. But now, because of the mercy that we have received from the Jews’ rejection of the Messiah, we are to be the instrument of God’s mercy to them by proclaiming the truth of the gospel: namely, that Jesus, whom they crucified, is in fact the Messiah for whom they have been looking all these many years. But now they can receive salvation through belief in His sacrificial death on the cross.
That’s still pretty complicated, though, isn’t it? Let me say it more simply. Because of the disbelief of the Jews, we Gentiles have found God’s mercy, and because of that, they will also receive God’s mercy through our belief and our witness to them. And, to put it even more simply, “We now have it because they rejected it, and some day they will have it again because we received it and gave it back to them.”
God originally chose the Jews, through Abraham, so that the Gentiles might also be saved. Here’s God’s original promise to Abraham:
Now the LORD said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3)
The tragedy is that Israel became exclusive in their thinking and failed to share the truth with the Gentiles. They thought that the Gentiles had to become Jews in order to be saved. Now we have the truth and an obligation to “provoke them to jealousy,” as Paul has stated several times in this letter.
The underlying principle is that God has had a plan throughout the ages for mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, and nothing is a surprise to Him. Not only does God have a plan, but all is going, and will continue to go, exactly according to that plan.
Application
We have a treasure of truth contained in the Scripture: the truth about Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus is the one promised to the Jews as their Redeemer, but He is also promised to us as our Redeemer. Let’s not squander this treasure, let’s give it away freely to everyone. The rest is up to God. And He will get the glory!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved