For teachers and group members studying Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Romans 11 for Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, “Kindness.” Includes a suggested introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations to share, group discussion questions, and spiritual life applications. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:
INTRODUCTION:
??? DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“Has anyone here every had the opportunity to talk with a Jewish person about the gospel — or have you known someone who has?”
(I never have; but if you/some of your members have, let them share those encounters; OR you could open this week’s lesson with the video testimony I mention later in Point I about the Jewish woman who was saved.)
Today’s lesson from Romans 11 talks about the hardness of heart that many Jews have, and about how all of us, Jews and Gentiles alike, are only saved by grace through faith in Christ.
CONTEXT:
In this great Book of Romans, we’ve seen why Paul was so driven to share the gospel: because it’s God’s power for salvation for all who would believe, both Jews and Gentiles. In chapters 1-8 of the book, he gives an in-depth explanation of what the gospel is: how all have sinned, and Christ came to die to pay for our sins, and whoever call upon Him will be saved — as we saw last time in Romans 10.
Romans 10 ended lamenting how hard-hearted most of Israel was towards the gospel, and then Chapter 11 picks up on that theme, asking if God has rejected His people (Israel). He says absolutely not (“may it never be”!) but indicates that God still has a remnant of believers among His people. This brings us to Romans 11:11 and following, our Lifeway “focus passage” for this week.
OUTLINE:
I. The Rejection By Israel (:11-16)
II. The Inclusion of the Gentiles (:17-19)
III. The Faith That Can Save Both (:20-24)
TEXT: Romans 11:11-24
I. The Rejection by Israel (:11-16)
:11 “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their [a]fulfillment be! 13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 “If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.” (NASB 1995)
So Paul writes in this section about Israel’s general rejection of the gospel. To be clear, from the beginning, some Jews have accepted Christ — but the vast majority have not. But Paul makes the point:
— “they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?” Paul states emphatically (as we’ve studied before) “may it never be!” In other words, it’s not irreparable; Jews can still come to Christ if they will (and there is actually a promise that many will indeed, as we will see).
— AND, :11 says, something good actually came out of their rejection: “by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles.” When God’s original chosen people, the Jews, rejected the gospel, God sent it to the Gentiles. (NOTE: the word “Gentile” used throughout this text is actually just the Greek word “ethnos,” which means “nations.” We get our word “ethnic” from it.) But to the Jews, the word “nations” or “Gentiles” meant any “nation” that was not Israel, so they regarded them with disdain, and the term “Gentile” was almost a racial slur. This is why it was so abhorrent to the Jews when the apostles spoke of taking the gospel to the Gentiles.
We see this pattern of Jews first, then Gentiles/nations, throughout Acts. Remember what Paul said in Romans 1:16, that the gospel was “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” The scriptural pattern was for the gospel to be offered first to the Jews — to whom it was originally promised. But when they decline it, then it is given to Gentiles as well.
We see examples of this pattern several places in Acts.
EXERCISE: to get group members involved, you could assign the following verses to different members to read, then comment on them, that we see in these verses the pattern Paul is talking about here, of taking the gospel to the Jews first (who generally reject it) and then to the Gentiles:
— After the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7, Acts 8 “coincidentally” then records about Philip preaching in Samaria, and then reaching the Ethiopian treasurer. The Jews rejected the message, so next it went to the Gentiles.
— Then in Acts 13, Paul’s missionary journeys begin. Throughout Acts, we see that Paul doesn’t just start preaching to Gentiles anywhere; rather he always starts the local synagogue, though the Jews almost always end up rejecting the gospel:
— Acts 13:14, “But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.” But near the end of the chapter, the Jews stir up trouble, and :46-47 says: “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’”
— 14:1 “In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together …”. Again, they started in the synagogue with the Jews.
— 17:1 “Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to Paul’s custom he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures”. Did you notice that: “According to Paul’s CUSTOM” — in other words, this is what he always did: he started with the Jews in their synagogue.
— 17:10-11 “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness,” (I.e., the good reception in this synagogue was unusual!)
— Acts 18 describes Paul’s ministry at Corinth: :4 “And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
— Acts 19:8-9 at Ephesus: “And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.” Here again Paul moves from the synagogue, to Tyrannus’ school. Tyrannus is a Greek name, so he was certainly Gentile. Again, Paul goes from the Jews first, to the Gentiles.
— As Acts closes in Chapter 28, a group of Jews comes to meet with Paul in his house arrest. When they began disputing, Paul tells them in :28, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.”
All of these passages serve to illustrate the pattern: “the Jews first,” then also to the Gentiles.
(If you don’t begin the lesson with the question about if anyone has had an opportunity to witness to a Jewish person, you might share that here …)
It can seem like Jewish people are so hardened against the gospel, that they will never be saved. But that is not the case!
— For one, numerous Jewish people have responded to the gospel; they are often called “Messianic Jews,” Jews who have believed that Jesus is the Messiah.
ILLUSTRATION/VIDEO/TESTIMONY
There is a great website: “One For Israel” (oneforisrael.org) which has dozens of testimonies of Jews who came to Christ. Here’s one that I enjoyed watching last week, about a woman who came to Jesus by reading the Old Testament, especially Isaiah 53:
If you have the capability to do it, you might play this or one of the other testimonies. Yes, many of Jews are hardened against the gospel. But some are being saved. (And note HOW this woman was saved: the word of God caused faith to arise in her heart, just as we’ve been talking about the past few weeks!)
— And second, there is a scriptural promise that more Jews will be saved before all is said and done:
In fact, :25-27, just outside our Lifeway “focus passage,” Paul tells us:
“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “This is [a]My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
This indicates that at some point there will be a “revival” or “spiritual awakening” among the Jews at some time in the future, in which many Jews will come to Christ for salvation.
ILLUSTRATION
Thomas Kidd writes in his biography of evangelist George Whitefield:
“He also visited Gibraltar’s synagogue, Sha’ar HaShamayim, which had opened in 1724. A rabbi welcomed him warmly, saying that he appreciated a sermon Whitefield had delivered in town against vices such as swearing. The rabbi gave Whitefield a seat of honor, but Whitefield confessed that during the service he was praying (in words from 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 and Romans 11:23-26) that “the veil might be taken from their hearts” and that the “blessed time might come when His chosen people should again be engrafted into their own olive-tree, and all Israel be saved.” Whitefield, like many English Protestants believed that Jews were suffering from spiritual blindness, having failed to recognize Jesus as their Messiah. But he also believed that in the last Jews would be converted en masse to Christianity.” (Thomas S. Kidd, George Whitefield, America’s Spiritual Founding Father, p. 52)
In :16 He uses two illustrations: the “lump” and the “dough,” and “the root and the branches,” to illustrate that some Jews had already been saved (the “lump” and the “root,” but that more were going to be! He still loves the Jewish people, and will bring more of them to Himself in days to come.
So God’s not “finished” with Israel. By all rights He should be; as many times as they’ve rejected Him, even to this day! But He is patient and kind with them, graciously loving them and treating them better than they deserve — and aren’t we glad that He’s that kind of God — because He treats US the same way too! And we see something about this in the next section in Point II:
II. The Inclusion of the Gentiles (:17-19)
:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the [c]rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” (NASB 1995)
In the Old Testament, God used the olive tree as a symbol for His people, Israel:
— Jeremiah 11:16, speaking to Israel, says: “The Lord called your name, ‘A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form’”
— Hosea 14:6 says “His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree.”
This symbolism continued over to Romans here in the New Testament: God speaks of Israel here in :17 as “a rich root of the olive tree.” Later in :24 He calls them “a cultivated olive tree.”
On the other hand, the Gentiles were NOT of God’s people, of course (remember the word “Gentile” refers to “the nations” who were not originally part of Israel, God’s chosen people who arose from Abraham). Paul refer to them here as “a wild olive.”
That’s really a pretty good illustration, right? Israel is compared to “a cultivated olive tree,” and the Gentiles who did not know God are “a wild olive.”
But Romans 11 teaches us here that these are NOT permanent states for these peoples.
Paul says in :17 “some of the branches were broken off” — these are the Jews.
But he says “You … were grafted in among them.”
So the Jews rejected Christ, and were “broken off” of God’s “tree of salvation.” But many Gentiles did believe in Christ, and so they, in a sense, “grafted on” to the “tree of salvation.”
???DISCUSSION QUESTION/ILLUSTRATION???
“Has anyone here ever grafted a plant/tree, or planted one that had been grafted? What did you do? What came of it?”
(I’ve never grafter a plant per se, but Cheryl & I have planted some trees that have been grafted.
If you are a good gardener — or have one in your class — you might even show, or even perform, an example of a graft for your class. It would really help people to see what Paul is talking about in this passage.
(If you aren’t/don’t have a master gardener amongst you, you could display an IMAGE like this:
What happens in grafting is that you take the root and base of one tree (the “stock”(, and splice and add a branch of another tree (the “scion”) to the top of it. By grafting like this, you can for example, get the hardy root and disease-resistance of a certain kind of root, with the desired fruit of another tree that did not have as hardy a root. Grafting is a common practice among horticulturalists.
Paul uses the illustration of grafting to picture what happens when Gentiles are saved. The Jews are the original “tree.” As Paul said in Romans 9:3-5, “my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” He’s saying Israel had all these advantages and blessings from God as His chosen people. They were His “cultivated olive tree,” whereas the other nations were NOT originally His people.
However, when Gentiles get saved, they get “grafted on” to the “tree” of salvation that was originally Jewish. Just like a horticulturalist grafts a branch onto a tree, so God “grafts” Gentiles onto the “tree” of His people.
— In :18 he makes an point: we should be HUMBLE about our salvation. This is true for MANY reasons: we didn’t do anything to earn it; it was only GIVEN to us by God’s grace; etc.
But he says, here is yet another reason for non-Jewish believers to be very humble about it: because salvation was to “the Jew first,” you were just “added on” by God’s grace.
Many Jews had a kind of “spiritual pride” (but remember “spiritual pride” is really an oxymoron; “pride” is inherently NON-spiritual! Religious pride is loathsome in God’s sight as we see in the episode of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18, etc.)
But that has almost reversed in more modern days: many Gentile Christians almost look down on Jews now. And Paul says, we need to be careful about this: :18, “Do not be arrogant toward the branches” — we’re only here because we have been “grafted in.” We should always be very humble about our salvation.
III. The Faith That Can Save Both (:20-24)
:20 “Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?” (NASB 1995)
???DISCUSSION QUESTIONS???
— “Why does :20 say the Jews were ‘broken off’ from God’s ‘tree of salvation’?” (the verse says it was “FOR THEIR UNBELIEF.”)
— “Why does :20 says the Gentiles ‘stand’/remain in that ‘tree’?”
(It says “you stand BY YOUR FAITH.” the Greek word for “stand” here is “histemi,” “stand, establish, place.” So we are “established/placed/we stand” on the “tree” of salvation, by faith: the saving faith in Jesus we’ve talked about the past couple of weeks.)
This is a VITAL POINT: the only difference between those who are “in the tree” or “cut off from the tree” is FAITH!
— Those who believe in Christ become part of the “tree”
— Those who do not believe in Christ are cut off from the “tree.”
This is something we’ve talked about repeatedly: salvation is by FAITH in Christ. It’s not your genealogy, your race, your family standing, or even your own personal work or religious fervor. We are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus, and what He did for us on the cross.
ILLUSTRATION
Laurence Bergreen, writes about how British sailors would take the juice of lemons or limes to combat scurvy, a practice leading to the term “limeys” to refer to British sailors. Significantly, he writes:
“This was an act of faith more than science because it was still not known WHY lemons, limes, oranges, and other fruits and vegetables prevented scurvy. Finally, in 1932, three medical researchers, W. A. Waugh, C. G. King, and Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, managed to isolate and synthesize ascorbic acid; they offered a scientific explanation of vitamin C’s effect on the body, and showed how a vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy.”
(Laurence Bergreen, Over the Edge of the World, p. 217)
Those British sailors acted on faith, not totally understanding the “whys” about. In the same way, Christians are saved by faith in Jesus, and His death on the cross for us. Do we understand all about it? No. But we believe in Him, like I Peter 1:8-9 says, resulting in the salvation of our souls.
It’s like the great hymn says:
“I know not how this saving faith to me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His word wrought peace within my heart.
But I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.”
No, we don’t understand it all, but we’ve saved by faith in Christ, and become of God’s “family tree”!
NOW THERE IS AN ISSUE we need to talk about here. Some look at these verses and say: “See, God will ‘graft you in’ if you believe, and ‘cut you off’ if you then disbelieve. This proves that someone can lose their salvation.” And that might appear so at first glance, if you don’t take into consideration the CONTEXT of these verses.
What is the context here? Paul is speaking about the Jewish and Gentile NATIONS/PEOPLE here — he’s not talking about individuals. He’s saying the Jews, who generally do not believe, have been cut off from the “tree” of salvation, while Gentiles, who do believe, have been grafted in. But if the Jews (as a nation) will believe, they can be grafted back in. And if you Gentiles don’t believe, you can be cut right back off again, and be just like the Jews are now. So he’s not talking about individuals losing their salvation here. He’s talking about nations.
But there is, of course, an APPLICATION here regarding personal salvation: salvation by grace through faith in Christ is available for all who will believe. You personally can be “grafted” on to the “tree” of God’s salvation, if you will put your own faith in Christ.
But understand that there is no “cutting off” of an individual who “disbelieves” after he is saved. This is where the analogy breaks down — no illustration or analogy is ever perfect, and this one is not either. Scripture does not teach that we can lose our personal salvation. Rather it consistently teaches the opposite:
— Jesus said in John 10 “I give eternal life to them” — when can you lose “eternal life”? NEVER! By definition it’s “eternal”! If you can lose it, it wasn’t eternal life, it was only “temporary life”! And He went on to say there, “they will NEVER perish.” When will they perish? When they sin really bad or apostacize? NO, He said, they will “NEVER” perish! And He added: “no one shall snatch them out of My hand.” Repeatedly John 10 teaches the security of the believer.
— II Timothy 1:12 “For I know Whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
— Ephesians 1:13 says when we believe, we are “sealed in Him” with the Holy Spirit of promise for the day of redemption. God has “sealed” us; put His “mark of ownership” as it were, on us, and no one can take us from Him.
So no, Romans 11 is not speaking about individuals who can somehow “lose their salvation” and be “cut off” from the “tree” of God’s kingdom. He’s talking about nations here. The Jews as a nation have been cut off, because they don’t believe. But they can be grafted on again, if they’ll turn in faith to Christ. And as Gentiles, we shouldn’t be arrogant against the Jews; we’re only here by our faith. And if we aren’t diligent, our children and grandchildren may not be part of that tree; our people will only continue in the “tree of faith” if they continue to believe. That should keep us all humble, and also keep us working to share the gospel with our loved ones and others. The good news, as we have seen, is that whoever will believe, can be saved!
???APPLICATION/DISCUSSION QUESTION???
So since anyone can be saved — Jew or Gentile — who will call upon the Lord, what’s something you can do to help lead someone to Him this week?
(Pray for lost people you know; pray especially for the Jewish people and that revival that may be coming among them soon; witness to someone; be involved in outreach — this might be a good time to emphasize an upcoming Christmas program, or some other outreach your church has going; missions: Lottie Moon giving season is approaching, so encourage your members to give generously to help spread the gospel around the world. About 1/2 of our SBC missionaries’ support each year comes from this one offering, so let’s support it generously. As we saw last time in Romans 10, “How shall they preach unless they are sent?”)
ILLUSTRATION:
I’m praying with two different people in our church this week, who are seeking to witness to others. A father & husband in our early morning discipleship group has a lunch meeting today with a man who wants to talk to him about questions he has about life and faith. A senior woman at our church was at the bank the other day, and “somehow” God opened the door for her to share her testimony with the cashier — and she ended up coming to church with her Sunday.
These are just examples of what we can do. Since whoever believes can be saved, let’s all pray, and ask God to help US say or do something lead someone towards faith in Jesus this week!
___________________________________________
— Remember there is now a “PRINT” button at the end of the lesson on my blog, that you can hit to print out the lesson in its entirety.
— If you’ll type your email address in the “Follow blog via email” blank at the top right of my blog home page, WordPress will automatically send you next week’s lesson and you won’t have to search for it each week.
— And if you post something in the Comments on my blog or YouTube, my commitment is to pray for your and your group and any special request you make, by name this week.
Per my licensing agreement with Lifeway:
— These weekly lessons are based on content from Explore the Bible Adult Resources. The presentation is my own and has not been reviewed by Lifeway.
— Lifeway resources are available at: goExploretheBible.com and: goexplorethebible.com/adults-training
— If you have questions about Explore the Bible resources you may send emails to explorethebible@lifeway.com
