ESV Romans 11:25 Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; 27 "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

2. Like I had mentioned, the meaning of “all Israel” here is heavily debated… and you won’t settle the issue here. Let’s look for some principles to guide our thinking on this topic.

• Is there any question about whether “all Israel” will, in fact, be saved?

• Could it mean “all Jewish people?” Why [not]?

• Is there any practical difference between “all elect” and “all Jewish elect” in the meaning of the text?

_______

ESV Romans 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

1. Look carefully at the metaphor of the olive tree Paul used.

• How many trees are there?

• Is there much room here for “a strict separation of Israel and the Church” (God has two peoples with two different plans…)?
  
  

________

ESV Romans 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

Making sense of ‘Israel’ (‘God strives’), the name given to Jacob. Consider “For not all who are descended from Israel1 belong to Israel2” and the examples of Abraham and Isaac that follow.

1. Can you name descendants of Abraham and Isaac who are not members of God’s covenant people?


2. Differentiate between “Israel1” and “Israel2”


.

Student Question -- "Why don't Jews believe in the New Testament?"

This is a huge question that I can only touch upon here. The short answer is that the physical descendants of Abraham (through Isaac) a.k.a. the Jews are not corporately part of the believing community by God's sovereign decree.

ESV Romans 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe.

Notice how it was an act of God, yet due to their unbelief. It's a theological concept known as compatibilism--click the word for more information.

There is no need to despair because God is drawing his elect (fulfilled Israel) from all nations, including the Jews. We will be covering a lot of this as we progress through the book of Romans.

I've written more on this here: Who is the Israel of God?

Here is a great page full of information about Israel and Judaism.