Romans 11 Round Two: God of Mercy

Mercy doesn’t run out when we do. Walking through Romans 11, we trace Paul’s argument from Israel’s apparent rejection to God’s relentless faithfulness, and we discover why the gospel’s reach is wider and wiser than our expectations. We revisit Elijah’s despair, the remnant preserved by grace, and the startling claim that Israel’s stumbling opened a door for the Gentiles—not as a final verdict, but as part of a larger plan that humbles pride and magnifies mercy.

We spend time with Paul’s olive tree, a living picture of salvation history. The holy root nourishes every branch, old and new. Some broke off through unbelief; wild branches were grafted in by faith. That image pushes us to humility—no boasting in branches, no contempt for those outside, no presumption for those inside. If God grafted in what did not belong by nature, He can graft back what was original. The warning is sober, but the promise is stunning: God’s kindness holds us as we continue in faith, and His severity is not spite but truth that calls us back to life.

From there, we step into the mystery of Israel’s future, the irrevocable gifts and calling of God, and the breathtaking claim that He “imprisoned all in disobedience so that He may have mercy on all.” Paul can only end in worship, and so do we—acknowledging the depth of divine wisdom and the hope that God never throws people away. Along the way, we offer simple, pastoral application: don’t give up, don’t gloat, and don’t forget the root. If you’re weary, mercy meets you with a new morning. If you’re confident, let that confidence be in Christ, not in yourself.

Join us as we read, reflect, and pray through Romans 11. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the Bible Breakdown. What stood out to you most about God’s mercy today?

Contact us-

Ask a Question
Send Encouragement

Take a Next Step-

SOAP Bible Study Method.
Bible Reading Plan.
Free Weekly Newsletter.

Socials-

Facebook.
Instagram.
X.
YouTube.

The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Theme: God Of Mercy
• 0:42 Community Shoutouts And CTAs
• 1:08 Romans Recap: Chapters 1–10
• 2:15 Has God Rejected Israel
• 3:50 Remnant By Grace, Not Works
• 5:05 Hardening And Hope For Restoration
• 6:40 Gentile Inclusion And Holy Root
• 8:05 Grafted Branches: Warning Against Pride
• 10:05 God’s Kindness And Severity
• 12:10 Mystery Of Israel’s Salvation
• 13:50 Doxology: Depth Of God’s Wisdom
• 15:05 Applying Mercy: Don’t Give Up

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. Every day, we take one chapter of the Bible, dig deeper, and discover that the more we dig, the more we find. You can find out more at the BibleBreakdown.com. Now let's grow in God's Word together. Hello, everybody. I hope you are doing well. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, Romans chapter 11. And it's just simply entitled, God of Mercy. God of Mercy. I love the idea that God is just so full of mercy. And mercy is undeserved grace. You know what grace is? Undeserved forgiveness. And so he's just, he's just awesome. God is just awesome like that. And we're going to jump into that in just a moment. But as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share, and subscribe on the YouTubes. Podcast listeners, you're still my favorites. High five to all of you. Thank you for leaving us a five-star review. Please continue to do that. And also on the Facebook group, just keep going there and telling them how much you appreciate them. They're doing such an amazing job. I'm proud of every single one of those people over there. And man, the more we dig, the more we find. And you want to talk about digging, that's what we're doing in the book of Romans right now. And so if you want to get your Bibles ready, we're just going to jump in. Because this is kind of a long chapter and it's very deep and it's very rich. And this is one of the reasons why I like the Bible breakdown discussion is because you could take one verse and just talk about it for an hour. Because at this point, Paul has covered all the basics and he's diving into the deep theological side of the pool, right? Chapter one was all about we're all sinful, we've all got our own way. Chapter two is it doesn't matter who you are, you're all we're all there. Chapter three is God's law is perfect. But goodness, thank goodness, chapter four says that Jesus came to be that perfect sacrifice so we could receive salvation. Chapter five and chapter six says that we received the goodness of God and we're no longer slaves. Chapter seven is like it's a work in progress, though. We we're not there yet. But chapter eight, thank goodness, God's glory surrounds us, and we're never separated from the love of God. Chapter nine says then what God does in us, we should seek for God to do in others. And then yesterday, chapter 10, Paul teaches us, and this is how you share the gospel. Well, now we get to chapter 11, and it's so deep. He's talking about the mercy of God and how even though Israel doesn't always receive him or doesn't receive him, he still has mercy on all of them. And when I think about this, it reminds me about the mercy that God has for us. And so we're gonna jump into this and stop along the way and have some fun. And so if you got your Bible ready with me at Romans chapter 11, we're gonna jump in. Here we go, verse one. Let's get going. I ask then, as God, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Well, of course not. I myself, an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize that the scriptures say what this is all about? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left. And now they're trying to kill me too. It's like they they just trying to finish it all off. Verse four, and do you remember God's reply? He said, Shut up, fool. That is not what he said. Okay, like stop, stop. It is not what he said. It's what he should have said. It's not what he said. He he actually said, I should start this thing all over with. Never say God calls somebody a fool. Okay. Verse four, he said, Do you remember God's reply? He said, No, I have seven others who have never bowed down to Baal. In other words, he said, Shut up, fool. Verse five. It is the same today. For a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God's grace, his undeserved kindness in choosing them. And since it is through God's kindness, then it is not and is not by their works, and it is for that case God's grace would not be what it really is, free and undeserving. So pause, because I got so distracted, we might have got confused. Paul is saying that, you know, back during the time of Elijah, everybody had, it seemed like, turned their back on God. And so Elijah is saying, man, God, nobody cares about you anymore. Everybody's just gone whack. It's just horrible. And God's like, oh, no, no, no, no. Yes, there's a lot that have turned their back on me, but there's a lot that's still trying to follow me. And what Paul is saying is God hasn't turned his back on Israel, that God is still moving in Israel's life. Now, there's not as many of them as I'd like, but there's still some of them that are there. That's what he's trying to say. All right. Shut up, fool. All right, verse 7. So this is the situation. Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they were looking so earnestly for. A few have, the ones God has chosen, but their hearts, the hearts of the rest were hardened, for the scriptures say, God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and close their ears so they do not hear. Likewise David said, Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever. That sounds terribly sad. Did God's people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Well, of course not. Shut up, fool. They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Pause for a second. There is a an old Jewish adage that said their main job, it was um, it wasn't part of the Torah, part of the actual Bible. It was uh something in the Mishnah that would say that their job as Jewish people, as followers of Yahweh, followers of God, was not to witness, not to proselytize, not to do that. Their job was to follow God wholeheartedly. And God would so bless them that people would ask, What is this about you that's so amazing? And they would want to follow God because of seeing what God was doing in others. And so what Paul is saying is, but they turned their back on God. And so God did the very same thing to ever to the Gentiles. He offered it to the Gentiles, so now the Gentiles come back and go, wait a minute, what is it that is happening in your life so that I can get in on it too? So here we go, verse 12. Now, if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God's offer for salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. All I'm saying, or I am saying all of this, especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as an apostle to the Gentiles, and I stress this. I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance would be even more wonderful. It would be life for those who were dead. And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy, just as the entire batch of dough is holy, because the portion given to the holy offering is holy. For it is, for if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be too. But some of these branches from Abraham's tree, or from Abraham's tree, and some are the people of Israel, have broken off. You Gentiles were branches from an wild olive tree, and have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessings God had promised, Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment of the root of God's special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. Well, you may say, those branches were broken off to make room for me. Shut up, fool. Yes, but remember, those branches were broken off because they didn't believe in Christ, and you were because you did believe in Christ. So don't think too highly of yourselves, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won't spare you either. Shut up, fool. Okay, that's the last time I do that. Verse 22. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobey, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you will also be caught off, cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief that they might be grafted in again, God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You by nature were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong. Now, if you know stuff about horticulture, you know, uh plants and trees and stuff, that made sense to you. But if not, you're a little lost. So this is what Paul is saying is he's saying that originally the plan was through the nation of Israel to bless the whole world and everybody come to God, all of that. But the nation of Israel turned their back on Jesus. And in doing so, they opened up the opportunity for the Gentiles to receive the gospel straight away, not through them, but straight away. And what Paul is saying is it's almost like having a tree. And some of the trees, some of the branches broke off. Well, what God did is he took the branch from another tree and he tied it on and grafted it onto the original tree so that then it could become part of the original tree. He's saying that's what happened, is you were way over here, and because of God's kindness, he brought you to himself. And just because he brought you to himself doesn't mean he ran out of room. He can still put the old branches back again. So that's what Paul is saying is he's saying, Don't don't brag that you found Jesus and some Jewish people don't. That's not that's not quite something to be you know thankful for. Rather be thankful that God didn't turn his back on them, but they can receive the same mercy that we received. Verse 25. I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you don't feel proud of your about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have have hard hearts, but this was la this will last only until the full number of Gentiles come to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved, as the scripture says. The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this was my covenant with them, and I will take away their sins. Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the good news, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet there is still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God's gift and his call can never be withdrawn. Once you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God's mercy has come to you so that they too will share in God's mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience, so that he could have mercy upon everyone. Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge, how impossible it is for the us to understand his decisions and his ways. For who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever. Amen. Man, that is awesome. Where Paul is saying, Hey, look, the original plan was through the world or through the Israelites, through the Jewish people, all the world will be blessed. They did not receive the gospel. So that opened up the opportunity for us to be part of the A-Team. But that doesn't mean we brag. Instead, it says whenever they want to turn back to God, God doesn't throw anybody away. He always gives them an opportunity to come back again. And there's that idea where Paul, you can tell at the end, he just starts just like shouting, man. He becomes an old school Pentecostal preacher. And he's like, oh, how good it is. The Lord is awesome. No more shut up, fool, but we got all this going on. When he starts to realize the goodness and the mercy of God. And that's what I love about God is that He He doesn't throw anybody away. I mean, you think about for a moment. Imagine you showed extreme kindness to somebody. Let's say that you went out of your way. Let's say that you were planning to have a wonderful Christmas with your family, and you found out that there was another family who wasn't going to have Christmas. Okay, this is not a very good metaphor, but it's what I got. What you decided is instead of giving your family Christmas, you went and you took all of that and you gave it to someone else. You know what you would hope for is that somebody would be like, hey, thank you so much, or just be gratitude, have gratitude. But what if instead they said, I don't want your gift. I don't want what you what you have. I just want you to go away, just be gone. Well, how would that make you know, how would that make you feel? You'd be like, Well, you know what? Once bitten, twice shy, man. I ain't I ain't never gonna give you a chance again. And that's exactly what God could have done to the Israelites. Hey, I gave you this opportunity, you turned your back on me. Well, have a good one, you know? But God is so merciful that he's given them a chance and chance and chance just like all of us. And that's what I love about it, is that God is a God of mercy. He's not the God of the second chance, he's the God of the third chance and the fourth chance and the fifth chance and the five hundredth chance on the very same day. I mean, he's constantly giving us opportunities. Such an amazing God of mercy. And so, what does that say to us today? And that is this don't give up because God hasn't given up on you. Don't throw in the towel. It's time to double down. God is for you more than you can imagine, he's with you more than you can understand, and he has not given up on you. And if he hasn't given up on you, then you don't give up either. But instead, realize that the God of mercy is for you. God's word says this in Lamentations chapter 3. It says, I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope. The love of the Lord endures forever, his mercies never cease. They are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness. That's the God that you and I serve. And that's the God that when Paul got to thinking about it, he got to just getting poetic and going crazy. Because when you think about God, man, he's so full of mercy. And that means there's enough mercy for me and for you. Let's pray. God, thank you so much for your mercy that it goes beyond our understanding. That's what that's what Paul was saying. He's like, I don't get it. I don't understand it. I'm just so thankful I've got it. I pray you will help us, Lord, to rejoice in that today. Maybe for somebody who is thinking about quitting. Someone who's wondering if God really could forgive them of maybe some things that's gone wrong in their life. I pray, Lord, you will fill them with a fresh excitement and joy to realize that you are for them more than they can imagine. Your forgiveness is ready, your mercy never ends. Let's receive it, accept it, and move forward today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. This is my hope for you is that Romans 1.16 will be your reality when it says, I am not ashamed of the good news about Christ. Why? Because it is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes. The most beautiful thing about all of this is that the Creator came for us. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Romans chapter twelve.