The Wild Olive Tree
Scripture Reading: Romans 11:11-32
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to
provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for
the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my
ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save
some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their
acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted
in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18
do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the
root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said.
Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore
consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you,
goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they
also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary
to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be
grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be
wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“ The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they
are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their
disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy
shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience,
that He might have mercy on all.
Last week we talked about the U-turn that was required before the blood is applied.
Today we're going to look what happens to us after the blood is applied. This
passage begins by considering the stumbling of the Jews. Why have they
stumbled? Paul seems to be saying that their stumbling is for the sake of the
Gentiles. But he also says that if their fall is to our riches, how much greater will
their fullness be. What does that mean? Their fullness? Well I believe this thing is
going to come full circle. You see God separated the seed (plural) of Abraham to
bring forth the Seed (singular) of Abraham, that is Yeshua our Messiah. This is
what God was speaking of when He told Abram this prophecy.
Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
God tells Abram that He will make him a blessing to all the families of the earth..
Many believers see this as a promise of Messiah. Which it surely is. Genesis 22:18,
"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My
voice." Paul explains in Galatians 3 that this Seed promised was Yeshua because it
was a singular seed not plural as Hebraically thought. This is true but there is also a
plural blessing which was given to Jacob.
Genesis 28:13-14
13And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father
Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your
descendants.
14"Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the
west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants
shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
You see, Yahweh promises Jacob that in his descendants, plural, will bless all the
families of the earth. God wanted the Jews to lead all the nations of the earth to
Him. Just as Jonah did not want to preach to the Ninevites, the Jews chose not to
preach Yahweh to the world. But also just like with Jonah, you can't run from what
God has purposed for you.
Isaiah 60:1-5
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “ Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
A light to the Gentiles. They are the cultivated tree that we must be grafted into
once the blood is applied. Paul says we came from a wild olive tree from which we
were broken off when we believed and then were grafted in to the cultivated olive
tree. Do you think Yahweh grafted us into the cultivated tree to make the cultivated
tree wild, or so that the cultivated tree would make us cultivated? Many believers
see the cultivation as bad but is it really? What is it that we are being grafted into?
I've heard many believers say that Messiah is the tree that we are grafted into. But
is Yeshua ever referred to as the tree?
Isaiah 11:1, Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will
bear fruit.
Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the
churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
I think it's clear that Jesus is the Root and a Branch that comes out of Jesse. He is
not the tree itself. The tree is the descendants of Jacob we read about in Genesis
28. But here's the part they missed. They thought they had a right to be in the tree
by birth; because they had been born in. But any horticulturist or even someone
who gardens for a habit will tell you that any cultivated tree or bush needs to be
pruned to be healthy. They had missed to point of how their fathers have come to
be in the tree. Father Abraham did not come into the tree because he was the son
of Terah. He was not chosen by God because of his lineage.
Genesis 15:2-6
2 Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to
me, one born in my house is my heir."
4 Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but
one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." 5 And He took him
outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count
them " And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Abram (Abraham) was counted as righteous because he believed God. It was his
faith that brought him in. It was also his descendants who had faith who became
part of the tree. Those without faith were pruned off. And it is us, by faith, that
coming from the wild tree are grafted into the tree. However, Paul gives us a stern
warning that if they were cut out for unbelief we can be as well. Yeshua told us if
John 14:15, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I asked before if you
thought God grafted us into the cultivated tree to make it wild or to make us
cultivated. I think the answer should be obvious. In time the wild branch will take on
the characteristics of the natural branch. Now, are the characteristics of this tree
the way they wear their hair or the food they eat or even the language they speak?
Are those the things that are important? I think not. It is about having the faith of
Abraham that had him leave his home in Ur of the Chaldeans (Iraq / Babylon) and
go out into an unfamiliar land because he believed God. It is also about having the
obedience of Abraham as he took his son; his promised son Isaac, up to the
mountain believing he would have to sacrifice him there. Faith and obedience; that
is the cultivation. But instead of obedience, many have taught that no obedience is
expected. Even though it is clear father Abraham carried out every command God
made of him.
Paul speaks of this mystery in verse 28 of our scripture reading. Concerning the
gospel, they are enemies. Did you know there are Jewish anti-missionaries? I've
started posting on the Jews for Jesus forum and the several who come there to be
'anti-missionaries'. To me that seemed extremely odd, but in their mind they are
trying to keep Jews from being lured into what they see as a pagan religion. So,
Paul is correct that they are enemies concerning the Gospel but see what he says
next. According to the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. What
do this mean? This is the mystery. Should we witness to them? Absolutely!
Yeshua witnessed to the Jews, and He told us to follow Him. But should we boast
against them? Should we mock them because they missed it and it was given to
us? Absolutely not! They were our light that brought forth the true Light. Paul
clearly says that they are still beloved of the Father for the sake of the fathers;
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We need to love them with the love of Yeshua. And I
believe that when they get it; when they recognize Yeshua as Messiah.....how much
more their fullness, as Paul writes.
Isaiah 49:1-6
1 Listen to Me, O islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar
The LORD called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a select arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel,
In Whom I will show My glory."
4 But I said, "I have toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD,
And My reward with My God."
5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
And My God is My strength),
6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
Let us share His salvation so that it may reach the ends of the earth. Let us be
cultivated into the tree, showing faith and obedience in the things that we do. Let us
move away from the wild nature of our former tree. Let us shake off the remnants of
the paganism of our fathers so that the natural branches can recognize that they
need not be anti-missionaries to protect themselves from the pagan religion. That
they may see that there is no need for them to change their religion, the need is for
them to change their perspective. Let's all find out just how awesome it will be when
the fullness comes in.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: March 4, 2007
Scripture Reading: Romans 11:11-32
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to
provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for
the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my
ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save
some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their
acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted
in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18
do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the
root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said.
Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore
consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you,
goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they
also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary
to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be
grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be
wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“ The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they
are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their
disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy
shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience,
that He might have mercy on all.
Last week we talked about the U-turn that was required before the blood is applied.
Today we're going to look what happens to us after the blood is applied. This
passage begins by considering the stumbling of the Jews. Why have they
stumbled? Paul seems to be saying that their stumbling is for the sake of the
Gentiles. But he also says that if their fall is to our riches, how much greater will
their fullness be. What does that mean? Their fullness? Well I believe this thing is
going to come full circle. You see God separated the seed (plural) of Abraham to
bring forth the Seed (singular) of Abraham, that is Yeshua our Messiah. This is
what God was speaking of when He told Abram this prophecy.
Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
God tells Abram that He will make him a blessing to all the families of the earth..
Many believers see this as a promise of Messiah. Which it surely is. Genesis 22:18,
"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My
voice." Paul explains in Galatians 3 that this Seed promised was Yeshua because it
was a singular seed not plural as Hebraically thought. This is true but there is also a
plural blessing which was given to Jacob.
Genesis 28:13-14
13And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father
Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your
descendants.
14"Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the
west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants
shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
You see, Yahweh promises Jacob that in his descendants, plural, will bless all the
families of the earth. God wanted the Jews to lead all the nations of the earth to
Him. Just as Jonah did not want to preach to the Ninevites, the Jews chose not to
preach Yahweh to the world. But also just like with Jonah, you can't run from what
God has purposed for you.
Isaiah 60:1-5
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “ Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
A light to the Gentiles. They are the cultivated tree that we must be grafted into
once the blood is applied. Paul says we came from a wild olive tree from which we
were broken off when we believed and then were grafted in to the cultivated olive
tree. Do you think Yahweh grafted us into the cultivated tree to make the cultivated
tree wild, or so that the cultivated tree would make us cultivated? Many believers
see the cultivation as bad but is it really? What is it that we are being grafted into?
I've heard many believers say that Messiah is the tree that we are grafted into. But
is Yeshua ever referred to as the tree?
Isaiah 11:1, Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will
bear fruit.
Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the
churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
I think it's clear that Jesus is the Root and a Branch that comes out of Jesse. He is
not the tree itself. The tree is the descendants of Jacob we read about in Genesis
28. But here's the part they missed. They thought they had a right to be in the tree
by birth; because they had been born in. But any horticulturist or even someone
who gardens for a habit will tell you that any cultivated tree or bush needs to be
pruned to be healthy. They had missed to point of how their fathers have come to
be in the tree. Father Abraham did not come into the tree because he was the son
of Terah. He was not chosen by God because of his lineage.
Genesis 15:2-6
2 Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to
me, one born in my house is my heir."
4 Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but
one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." 5 And He took him
outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count
them " And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Abram (Abraham) was counted as righteous because he believed God. It was his
faith that brought him in. It was also his descendants who had faith who became
part of the tree. Those without faith were pruned off. And it is us, by faith, that
coming from the wild tree are grafted into the tree. However, Paul gives us a stern
warning that if they were cut out for unbelief we can be as well. Yeshua told us if
John 14:15, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I asked before if you
thought God grafted us into the cultivated tree to make it wild or to make us
cultivated. I think the answer should be obvious. In time the wild branch will take on
the characteristics of the natural branch. Now, are the characteristics of this tree
the way they wear their hair or the food they eat or even the language they speak?
Are those the things that are important? I think not. It is about having the faith of
Abraham that had him leave his home in Ur of the Chaldeans (Iraq / Babylon) and
go out into an unfamiliar land because he believed God. It is also about having the
obedience of Abraham as he took his son; his promised son Isaac, up to the
mountain believing he would have to sacrifice him there. Faith and obedience; that
is the cultivation. But instead of obedience, many have taught that no obedience is
expected. Even though it is clear father Abraham carried out every command God
made of him.
Paul speaks of this mystery in verse 28 of our scripture reading. Concerning the
gospel, they are enemies. Did you know there are Jewish anti-missionaries? I've
started posting on the Jews for Jesus forum and the several who come there to be
'anti-missionaries'. To me that seemed extremely odd, but in their mind they are
trying to keep Jews from being lured into what they see as a pagan religion. So,
Paul is correct that they are enemies concerning the Gospel but see what he says
next. According to the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. What
do this mean? This is the mystery. Should we witness to them? Absolutely!
Yeshua witnessed to the Jews, and He told us to follow Him. But should we boast
against them? Should we mock them because they missed it and it was given to
us? Absolutely not! They were our light that brought forth the true Light. Paul
clearly says that they are still beloved of the Father for the sake of the fathers;
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We need to love them with the love of Yeshua. And I
believe that when they get it; when they recognize Yeshua as Messiah.....how much
more their fullness, as Paul writes.
Isaiah 49:1-6
1 Listen to Me, O islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar
The LORD called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a select arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel,
In Whom I will show My glory."
4 But I said, "I have toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD,
And My reward with My God."
5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
And My God is My strength),
6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
Let us share His salvation so that it may reach the ends of the earth. Let us be
cultivated into the tree, showing faith and obedience in the things that we do. Let us
move away from the wild nature of our former tree. Let us shake off the remnants of
the paganism of our fathers so that the natural branches can recognize that they
need not be anti-missionaries to protect themselves from the pagan religion. That
they may see that there is no need for them to change their religion, the need is for
them to change their perspective. Let's all find out just how awesome it will be when
the fullness comes in.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: March 4, 2007
