Paul's Letters Romans

Why The Jews Rejected Jesus

Discover Jesus as: Justifier Romans 10 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 496 of 730
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INTRO

We’re in the study of Paul’s letters he wrote to believers. Today we’re on Romans 10. Paul wrote the believers in the church in Rome from Corinth, Greece. Paul made it to Rome, but only as a prisoner of the government. Paul wrote in this chapter specifically about the Israelites. Paul was a Roman citizen and he was a Jew. In chapter 9, we looked at how Israel was elected as God’s chosen people because of God, not because of anything they had done. In chapter 10, we’ll look at Israel’s present rejection of God—rejecting Jesus as God’s Son and as the Messiah. In chapter 11, we’ll look at Israel’s future restoration. Our word for Romans is Justifier. The Jews were waiting on the Messiah to come (Galatians 3:24). God chose them for that moment, and they said no to Him.

Warren Wiersbe outlines chapter 10 into three sections: “The Reasons for Their Rejection (10:1-13); The Remedy for Their Rejection (10:14-17); The Results of Their Rejection (10:18-21).”1

TEACHING

Romans 10:1-13: What were the reasons the Jews rejected Christ? First, Wiersbe stresses that the Jews felt no need for salvation (v. 1).2 Don’t give up praying for those who do not know the Lord. Second, the Jews were passionate for God but they had no passion for learning more about God through knowledge (v. 2) (Galatians 3:24). Third, they were prideful and self-righteous (v. 3). Fourth, they misunderstood their own law (vv. 4-13). In verse 4, the word “end” means “fulfillment”3 (Matthew 5:17; Romans 8:4).

Moses wrote that the one who lives by the law would be justified by them—that is, the works of the law (v. 5). However, righteousness comes from faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord (vv. 6-7), through proclaiming and believing that Jesus is the risen Lord (vv. 8-9). This confession saves us from feeling as though we have to perform, we have to measure up, we have to make it happen. Everyone who believes in Christ will be accepted (v. 10) because there’s no distinction between Jew and Gentile, and our salvation is based on what He did (vv. 11-12). We have only to call upon His name (v. 13). Note that today, there is a very small percentage of Jews in Israel who are saying yes to Jesus.

Romans 10:14-17: What is the remedy for the Jews’ rejection? Verse 14 asks how the Jews can call on Christ since they haven’t believed in Him and they haven’t heard about Him. Then, Paul asked, “How can they hear without a preacher?” Paul continued in verse 15 by asking how someone could preach to the Jews unless he was sent by God (v. 15a). “How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things” (Isaiah 52:7–10; Nahum 1:15). God sent Jonah as the messenger to Nineveh to preach salvation and peace. “All did not obey the gospel . . . Lord, who has believed our message?” (v. 16). Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard is what is preached about Christ (v. 17). Maybe they had never heard the news of Christ.

Romans 10:18-21: What are the results of their rejection? The Jews had heard about Jesus because the news went out across the entire world (v. 18). Israel was guilty of rejecting Jesus, so the message went to the Gentiles (v. 19). The Jews will one day be angry and jealous over the Gentiles receiving Jesus. Isaiah stated He was found by those who weren’t looking or asking for him (v. 20). These didn’t even know there was something to look for. Meanwhile, God spreads His hands out to the disobedient and defiant Jews all day long (v. 21). He still yearns for all His people. Therefore, it’s our responsibility to keep delivering the news of Christ.

CLOSING

Wiersbe shares four reasons the church must send out missionaries that he received from Dr. E. Meyers Hamson: “(1) the command from above— ‘go ye into all the world’ (Mark 16:15); (2) the cry from beneath— ‘send him to my father’s house (Luke 16:27); (3) the call from without— ‘come over and help us’ (Acts 16:9); and (4) the constraint from within— ‘the love of Christ constraineth us’ (2 Corinthians 5:14).”4

If you believe the love of Christ is inside you, it should compel you to go deliver the good news. You will get a word from above, from the word, from dreams and visions from outside your realm, but it really needs to come from within. Once you realize your Messiah is the Justifier, you can't stop telling others about Jesus.

  1. Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Exposition Outlines on the New Testament (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1989), pp. 546-548.

  2. Wiersbe, p. 546.

  3. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005), p. 1539.

  4. E. Meyers Hamson, quoted in Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1989), p. 548.

Questions

  1. Paul explained that the Israelites had a zeal for God. But what was missing? (Romans 10:2)
  2. In the New Living Translation (NLT), Romans 10:4 says, “For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.” In your own words, write the truths from this verse in a way someone unfamiliar with the Bible might understand it. (Galatians 3:24-25)
  3. In Romans 10:8, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 30:14: “That is, the word of faith that we proclaim.” How is Romans 10:9-10 the explanation for this “word of faith”?
  4. Describe what “confessing with your mouth Jesus as Lord” means, as though you were explaining it to a child.
  5. Do you see a correlation between Romans 10:9-10 and Psalm 19:14? If so, explain it.
  6. In Romans 10:18, Paul claimed all have heard the good news, quoting from Psalm 19:4. Read Psalm 19 and Romans 1:18-20 (Isaiah 52:10). Why do we need to go share the good news if it’s already been proclaimed? (Isaiah 53:1; Mark 16:15; Romans 10:16; 2 Peter 3:9)
  7. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Romans 10 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Romans 10:12–13

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Romans 10:8b–10— “The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”
  • Romans 10:14–15— “But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things.”
  • 2 Corinthians 5:14— “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died.”