"If some of the branches were broken off, and you-a wild olive-were grafted in among them and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree, then don't boast as if you were better than the branches!" (Romans 11:17-18)

THE TREE

Olive trees are famous for their longevity and fruitfulness which can last for centuries. It is prized for its fruit and wood. The olive tree symbolizes peace and victory.

The tree is well known in the Mediterranean area, so Paul knew the Romans would be able relate to this "word picture". Paul's metaphor found in Romans 11 is to both teach and warn the Gentile believers.

Contrary to most church teachings, the olive tree that is discussed in Romans 11:17, that is cultivated by God, is Israel. Some Bible commentators would have us to believe that the cultivated tree is the church. This is variously known as " replacement theology" and is unbiblical. Gentile believers have not replaced Israel! While they are part of God's plan, they certainly are not the whole plan!

God's promises to the Jewish people were not set aside and given over to the church, but rather the church was brought in as part of God's plan to bring the promise of salvation to all and will cause the Jew to turn to her Messiah Yeshua (Romans 1:16, 10:19, 11:11)

THE ROOT

The roots of an olive tree are very hardy. If an olive tree is cut down, new shoots often spring forth from the roots! In Paul's usage in Romans 11, the roots of the olive tree are the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

THE BRANCHES

Branches are a secondary part of the trunk. All get their nourishment from the root. In Paul's analogy, some of the original branches, (individual Jewish non-believers, not the nation), were broken off of the cultivated tree because of their unbelief (Romans 11:20). There also remains a remnant of Jewish Believers in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus). It is interesting to see that the branches are broken off only temporarily. These branches can be grafted back in at any time [v.23].

God then does something marvelous. He grafted in some wild olive branches, the Gentile believers.

The branches are expected to take on the essential character of the root, just as the first piece of dough will be like the whole loaf (v16). While the root now supports two types of branches, cultivated and wild, they are to be thought of as "one" (Galatians 3:28-29).

WHY HAS ALL THIS HAPPENED?

The original branches were broken off to (1) allow salvation to come to the Gentiles and (2) to make the Jewish people jealous in the hope that they, too, would know salvation (v11-15).

Through all of this, the Gentile believers are warned not to become arrogant, nor to think more highly of themselves than they ought (V18-21). Sad to say, it is this very attitude that has plagued Christiandom since the first century. It has even taken on shades of anti-Semitism!

The olive branch has long symbolized peace. It is both ironic and tragic that while Paul uses the olive tree to teach unity, history has shown just the opposite has happened.

THE FRUIT

Olive blossoms have a sweet aroma. It takes 15 years for the tree to produce its first crop of olives. The fruit is crushed and the resulting oil is used for cooking, lamps for light, for medicine and for anointing oil in religious ceremonies. The olive became a basic dietary item by the time of the Roman conquest of Judea.

A wild olive tree does not bear fruit. The Lord is looking for fruit from both the Gentile Believers and the remnant of Jewish believers who together now form the olive tree! The "tree" has the charge from God to take the Gospel to the broken off branches (vv 23-26)!

Seeking to recover these "roots" forces us back to Torah and our Biblical Jewish heritage. In the process, we also learn how to think Hebraically. This gives new insights into the Apostolic writings and the teachings of Yeshua that have been missed or misunderstood. The final result is freedom, and growth in "the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah".

More often than not, today's Christianity reflects the influences of non-Biblical belief systems, various human "religious" traditions, and worldly cultures. All around the world, the Holy Spirit is moving upon believers to explore their historic Biblical
Jewish roots to determine how G-d would have the Body of Yeshua reclaim their inheritance.

This reclamation includes studying the proper place of the Hebrew Scriptures, including "the Law" in our lives. For more and more Believers, both Jew and Gentile, this involves Messianic Jewish worship, celebrating the Biblical Feasts of the Lord, and leading a Torah observant lifestyle.

IS THIS A RETURN TO "the law"?

This common question reflects a misunderstanding of the terms "law and grace", and an incomplete knowledge of the Tanakh. The Tanakh is divided into three sections: Torah, Nevi'im and Kethuvim. Torah is the five books of Moses, Nevi'im are the Prophets and Kethuvim, the writings.

TORAH, properly translated "teaching", expresses the relationship and covenant between God and Israel by spelling out the lifestyle for His chosen people so they would be a witness for Him to the other nations. Over the centuries, men added to God's law in an effort to help the people keep the laws. It is these additional laws that Yeshua repudiated, not the original, God given laws. Yeshua kept Torah and instructed His followers to do the same. Grace abounds in the Tanakh as well as in the Apostolic writings. Law and grace exist side-by-side through out the Scriptures with salvation always coming from God's grace through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

After all, the same Apostle who wrote that Messiah "is the end of the law" (Romans 10:4), also wrote that the law is "...holy, spiritual and good" (Romans 7:12 &14). He also testified that his "inner man delighted in the law" (Romans 7:22) and that its study has the ability to train believers in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16).

THE CALL

"The earliest church was a Jewish church. It had its headquarters in the Jewish capital and was presided over by Jewish leaders. It was from this "Jewish/Hebrew" perspective that the "church" began to reach out to the world of Jews and Gentiles. It was as if Judaism had been uniquely tailored by Yeshua and the apostles to be made "attractive" to the Gentiles. They would now be able to receive the Hebrew Scriptures, to heed the Jewish prophets and to sing the Jewish Psalms.

"Paul encouraged non-Jewish Believers to collect funds for the needy in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:2-4); he referred difficult doctrinal decisions to the Jewish elders in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2). He even gave the Gentile church an example of keeping Jewish feasts in Jerusalem (Acts 20:16)!

"Paul ministered among the Gentiles and stressed the importance of keeping the right attitude toward Israel and the Jewish people. It was to be an attitude of humility, mercy and kindness (Rom 11:20&31)." Clarence Wagner, Bridges for Peace,

Is wasn't long before outside and inside forces worked on the early church to bring the deep rift we still experience today. It is sad that the church did not heed Paul's warning to stand in awe and not dare to spoil the beautiful relationship the Jewish and Gentile believers were to have.

But, all is not lost. There is a movement of God's spirit that is causing more and more believers to seek out their natural heritage, to mend the rift and to seek the Hebraic way of worship and life.

Pari's Perspectives

Created 12/12/97

Updated by Pari
August 2004