Romans 10:11-21, “Israel’s Obstinate Rejection of the Messiah.”

Read verses 11-13... Paul quotes a portion of Isaiah 28:16 in verse 13, but the whole verse gives a much better context, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: the one who trusts [believes] will never be dismayed [disturbed].

This is clearly speaking of Christ the Lord (cf. 9:33), “the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame,” so only those who believe in Him will be saved.

The emphasis is that anyone, all who believe in Him, will be granted God’s forgiveness. There is no difference when it comes to salvation, whether Jew or Gentile, for there is only One Lord over all; therefore everyone who repents of sin, believing in Christ Jesus to save them, will be saved (Joel 2:32), “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”

Last week, (vv. 9-10), we studied what it means to “call on the name of the Lord,” to confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead!

It is one thing to say, “by His death you are forgiven your sins,” for who can really know until they die whether or not that is true? But for God to raise Him from the dead gives validity and demonstrable proof of Christ’s victory over death, and His authority to both forgive sin and provide eternal life.

Read verses 14-15... Paul here states the obvious, since we are saved by calling upon [believing in] Jesus, if we haven’t heard about Him, how are we going to trust Him and call upon Him for the forgiveness of sins?
Ephesians 1:13, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”

The Good News is that Jesus is both Lord and Savior (Acts 2:36); but how can anyone hear this message without being told, and how is anyone going to tell them unless they themselves know Christ, and are compelled by God’s Spirit Who lives in them, to proclaim it?

Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’”

No wonder Paul proclaims (Romans 10:15, NASB), “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News of Good Things,” from Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.”

Please turn to Luke 4:14-19. Before we read this passage, lets understand what has led up to this event: Jesus’ Baptism by John, the Father speaking from heaven, confirming that Jesus is His beloved Son, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descending upon Jesus, declaring God’s presence & power, then Jesus is 40 days in the wilderness, without food, being tempted by the devil.

Read Luke 4:14-19, vv.18-19 are quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2, about the Messiah, the Holy One of God who was to come and fulfill what is written there. Now, let’s look at the people’s response (Luke 4:20-28).
Read verses 16-20... Israel rejected God’s Message and Messenger, the Messiah, God’s Own Son, born to Mary (Isaiah 7:14). In verse 16 Paul quotes Isaiah 53:1, Isaiah 53 is the First Gospel, telling how God saves us from our sins, through the death payment of Jesus.

Paul makes it clear in Romans 10:16-18, that the Israelites knew better, they had received God’s revelation from heaven itself, for this message from God has gone out to the “ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4a).

In Romans 1:18-20, Paul declares that creation itself proclaims and portrays God’s power and nature, and we are therefore without excuse, if we reject His revelation.

In Romans 10:19 Paul quotes Moses (Deuteronomy 32:21), stating Israel’s anger that God reaches out to those outside of Israel; in v.20 Paul quotes (Isaiah 65:1), saying God reached out to those who did not seek nor ask for Him, revealing Himself to them.

God knew the Jews would reject His Messenger, and the Gentiles would receive Him, Jesus, God’s Salvation.

Read verse 21... Throughout her long history, Israel stubbornly rejected and rebelled against the God who loved her, cared for her, provided for her and protected her; the God who graciously, mercifully, faithfully, patiently, and repeatedly reached out to save her.

Israel’s self-righteous and obstinate rejection of God’s own Son, Jesus, the Christ, left them at enmity with God, separated from God’s salvation due to their own sinful pride and arrogance concerning their ancestral heritage, and their feeble attempts to obtain righteousness through religious ritual and law-keeping.

The Israelites disqualified themselves as God’s people, for they were, and in fact, still are, unwilling to receive and believe in God’s One and Only Son, leaving them unacceptable, null and void, as God’s witnesses.

May we be careful, as God’s Church, to not become prideful and self-righteous; but instead, may we seek to honor God by believing in and receiving His Son, obeying His Word, and living under the control of His Spirit, in reference to our beliefs and behaviors, attitudes and actions, thoughts, motives, and the very intentions of our hearts, so that we might continue to serve as witnesses of God’s gracious forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

As both children and servants of God, we ought to live in a manner that exemplifies Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

2Corinthians 5:14-21, “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new

creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

What an awesome message for the Christmas Season.