Where Is the Second Tree?
What Does Paul's Olive Tree in Romans 11 Tell Us About Israel and the Church?
Romans 11 is one of the most important chapters in the debate over Israel's future.
Has God rejected Israel?
Does Israel remain a separate people of God alongside the Church?
Does God have one plan for Israel and another for the Church?
Will Israel someday return to God?
Paul addresses these questions with a remarkable illustration.
He describes an:
OLIVE TREE.
Some branches are broken off.
Other branches are grafted in.
The broken branches can be grafted back in.
But through the entire illustration something never changes.
THERE IS STILL ONLY ONE TREE.
What did Paul mean by that?
Let's read Romans 11 before deciding.
1. Has God Rejected Israel?
Paul begins the chapter with the question:
“Did God reject his people?”
His answer is immediate:
“By no means!”
— Romans 11:1
Paul himself is evidence.
He is an Israelite.
A descendant of Abraham.
From the tribe of Benjamin.
God had not rejected every Jew.
There was still a faithful Jewish remnant.
Paul compares his own time with the days of Elijah.
Elijah thought he stood alone.
But God told him:
“I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
Then Paul says:
“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”
— Romans 11:5
Notice:
AT THE PRESENT TIME.
Paul was not merely talking about something God would do thousands of years later.
God was already saving Israelites.
Paul was one of them.
2. But Not All Israel Believed
Something had happened within Israel.
Some believed.
Many did not.
Paul says:
“What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened.”
— Romans 11:7
That distinction matters.
Paul does not treat physical descent from Abraham as automatic salvation.
He had already said:
“Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.”
— Romans 9:6
And:
“It is not the children by physical descent who are God's children.”
— Romans 9:8
Something more than ancestry was involved.
The question was becoming:
WHO BELIEVES GOD?
3. Did Israel's Unbelief Destroy God's Plan?
No.
Paul asks:
“Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?”
Again his answer is:
“Not at all!”
— Romans 11:11
Israel's stumbling did not defeat God's purpose.
Instead:
“because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles.”
But Paul doesn't stop there.
He hopes this will:
“make Israel envious.”
Why?
Because Paul still wants his fellow Jews to be saved.
He says:
“I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.”
— Romans 11:13–14
Paul has not given up on Israel.
Far from it.
He wants Jews who do not believe in Christ to come to faith.
And then he gives us the olive tree.
4. Look Carefully at Paul's Tree
Paul speaks first of:
“the root.”
Then he speaks of:
“branches.”
Some branches belong naturally to the tree.
But something happens to some of them.
They are:
BROKEN OFF.
Then Paul turns to Gentile believers.
He says:
“you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root.”
— Romans 11:17
Notice what Paul does not say.
He does not say God planted a new tree for the Gentiles.
The wild branches are:
GRAFTED INTO THE EXISTING TREE.
And once grafted in, they:
“share”
in its nourishing root.
That is Paul's picture.
5. Who or What Is the Root?
We should be careful here.
It is tempting simply to say:
“The root is Christ.”
Christ certainly stands at the center of God's saving purpose.
But Paul does not explicitly identify the root that way in Romans 11.
The context reaches back through God's promises and the patriarchs.
Near the end of the chapter Paul says of Israel:
“as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.”
— Romans 11:28
So the root appears closely connected with God's covenant promises that came through Abraham and the patriarchs.
The important point for Paul's illustration is not that we identify every detail with absolute certainty.
It is this:
GENTILES DID NOT CREATE THE TREE.
They were grafted into something God had already been growing.
They became participants in promises they did not originate.
That should produce humility.
6. Paul Warns Gentile Christians
This is extremely important.
Paul does not use the olive tree to give Gentile Christians a reason to look down on Jews.
He does exactly the opposite.
He says:
“do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches.”
— Romans 11:18
Then:
“You do not support the root, but the root supports you.”
Paul anticipates the Gentile response:
“Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”
His answer?
Yes—but be careful.
“They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.”
Then:
“Do not be arrogant, but tremble.”
— Romans 11:20
That is a powerful warning.
The olive tree should never become a weapon for Gentile boasting.
Paul's message is:
DON'T BOAST.
YOU STAND BY FAITH.
7. Why Were the Natural Branches Broken Off?
Paul tells us directly:
“They were broken off because of unbelief.”
— Romans 11:20
Not because they were Jewish.
Not because God hated Israel.
Not because Gentiles were better.
They were broken off because of:
UNBELIEF.
And why do the Gentile branches remain?
Paul says:
“you stand by faith.”
There is the contrast.
UNBELIEF BREAKS OFF.
FAITH STANDS.
Ethnicity is not the dividing line in Paul's illustration.
Faith is.
8. Can the Natural Branches Return?
Absolutely.
Paul could hardly make this clearer.
He says:
“And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”
— Romans 11:23
Notice the condition:
“if they do not persist in unbelief.”
Paul does not say:
“They will be restored because they are physically descended from Abraham whether they believe or not.”
He says they can return when unbelief ends.
And where are they grafted?
Into a second Jewish tree?
No.
They are:
GRAFTED IN AGAIN.
Into the tree from which they were broken.
Paul continues:
“how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!”
— Romans 11:24
That is beautiful.
Paul still calls it:
THEIR OWN OLIVE TREE.
He has not erased Israel's history.
He has not denied Israel's privileges.
He has not forgotten the patriarchs.
But neither has he created two trees.
9. Stop and Look at the Picture
So far Paul's illustration is remarkably simple.
There is:
One olive tree.
There are:
Natural branches.
Some natural branches remain.
Some natural branches are broken off because of unbelief.
Wild branches are grafted in through faith.
Broken natural branches can be grafted back in if they do not continue in unbelief.
Now ask:
WHERE IS THE SECOND TREE?
Where is the Jewish tree and the Gentile tree?
Where is Israel's tree and the Church's tree?
Where are two separate peoples of God with two separate ways of belonging to Him?
Paul's illustration doesn't show us two trees.
It shows us:
ONE TREE—with branches that either stand by faith or are broken off through unbelief.
10. But Doesn't Paul Still Distinguish Israel and the Gentiles?
Of course he does.
And we shouldn't erase that distinction.
Paul speaks of:
Natural branches.
Wild branches.
Israel.
Gentiles.
His fellow Jews.
The nations.
Their histories are not identical.
Their roles in God's unfolding plan were not identical.
Israel received extraordinary privileges.
Paul had already listed them:
“the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.”
— Romans 9:4
And:
“from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah.”
— Romans 9:5
Israel mattered enormously in God's plan.
But:
DIFFERENT HISTORIES DO NOT REQUIRE DIFFERENT TREES.
Paul distinguishes the branches while keeping them in one olive tree.
11. Why Did God Choose Israel in the First Place?
Go back to Abraham.
God said:
“all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
— Genesis 12:3
Israel's election was never merely about Israel.
God chose one family through whom He would bring blessing to:
ALL NATIONS.
The Messiah came through Israel.
The apostles were Jews.
The gospel first went to Jews.
Then it spread to the nations.
Paul's olive tree fits that story perfectly.
Gentiles do not replace Israel's story.
They are brought into the blessing God promised through Abraham.
As Paul says elsewhere:
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
— Galatians 3:29
God chose one nation so that through Abraham's Seed He could bless all nations.
12. Did the Church Replace Israel?
That question may actually make Paul's argument harder to see.
“Replacement theology” suggests:
Israel was God's people.
God discarded Israel.
Then God created a different people called the Church to take Israel's place.
But look again at Paul's tree.
GOD DOESN'T UPROOT THE TREE.
He doesn't throw it away.
He doesn't plant a replacement beside it.
Instead:
Some branches are broken off.
Others are grafted in.
And broken natural branches can return.
That is not a picture of one tree being replaced by another.
It is a picture of God's one saving purpose continuing.
Perhaps the better word is not:
REPLACEMENT.
But:
FULFILLMENT.
God's promise to Abraham reaches the nations through Christ.
13. What About Ephesians 2?
Paul uses a different picture there, but the result is remarkably similar.
Gentiles had once been:
“separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise.”
— Ephesians 2:12
But now?
“you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
— verse 13
Then Paul says Christ has made:
“the two groups one.”
— verse 14
And:
“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two.”
— verse 15
Then:
“to reconcile both of them to God through the cross.”
— verse 16
How many new humanities?
ONE.
How are both reconciled?
THROUGH THE CROSS.
Romans 11 gives us one tree.
Ephesians 2 gives us one new humanity.
The pictures are different.
The message fits together.
14. What About Galatians 3?
Again Paul returns to Abraham.
He says:
“Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’”
— Galatians 3:8
Then:
“those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
— verse 9
And finally:
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
— verse 29
Gentiles do not receive an unrelated promise.
They become heirs of the promise through Christ.
Again:
ONE PROMISE.
ONE MESSIAH.
ONE FAMILY OF FAITH.
15. But What About “All Israel Will Be Saved”?
Now we come to the famous statement:
“And in this way all Israel will be saved.”
— Romans 11:26
What does Paul mean?
Christians have disagreed.
Some understand “all Israel” as the total people of God—Jew and Gentile together.
Others understand it as a future large-scale turning of ethnic Israel to Christ.
Others understand it as the full number of elect Jews throughout history.
We should acknowledge that disagreement.
But whatever interpretation we choose, we must not make verse 26 contradict the illustration Paul has just given us.
How are broken natural branches restored?
Paul already told us:
“if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in.”
— verse 23
Paul never describes salvation for Israel apart from faith.
16. Paul Longed for Israel to Be Saved
This matters deeply.
Paul was not arguing against Israel.
He loved Israel.
At the beginning of this section of Romans he says:
“I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.”
— Romans 9:2
He even says he could wish himself cursed for the sake of his people.
Then in Romans 10:
“Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”
— Romans 10:1
Paul wants Israel saved.
That tells us something important.
Being physically Israel did not mean they were already saved.
Otherwise Paul's prayer makes no sense.
They needed what everyone needs:
CHRIST.
17. Is There One Way of Salvation for Jews and Another for Gentiles?
Paul never says so.
Earlier in Romans he wrote:
“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.”
— Romans 10:12
Then:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
— verse 13
Paul doesn't offer Jews one gospel and Gentiles another.
He doesn't offer one salvation through national descent and another through faith in Christ.
The natural branches return in exactly the way Paul's illustration says:
They no longer persist in unbelief.
God grafts them back in.
THE DOOR IS WIDE OPEN.
But it is the same door.
18. What About God's Promises to Israel?
Paul has not forgotten them.
Near the end of Romans 11 he says:
“as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.”
Then:
“for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.”
— Romans 11:28–29
God has not become unfaithful.
That is Paul's whole argument in Romans 9–11.
God keeps His promises.
But the question is:
HOW DOES GOD KEEP THEM?
Paul's answer repeatedly leads us to Christ, faith, mercy, and the inclusion of the nations.
God's faithfulness to His promises does not require us to invent a second way of salvation.
It proves that God will accomplish exactly what He promised.
19. And Paul Ends With Mercy
Paul's argument reaches a remarkable conclusion:
“For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”
— Romans 11:32
Jews need mercy.
Gentiles need mercy.
Natural branches cannot boast.
Wild branches cannot boast.
Nobody gets into the tree because he deserves to be there.
Nobody can look at another branch and say:
“I am better than you.”
The whole tree stands because of:
THE MERCY OF GOD.
No wonder Paul stops arguing and begins worshiping:
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”
— Romans 11:33
20. Now Look at Paul's Tree One More Time
Imagine Paul's illustration.
There is an olive tree.
Some natural branches remain.
Some are broken off through unbelief.
Wild Gentile branches are grafted in.
They share the nourishing root.
They are warned not to boast.
The natural branches can return.
If they cease their unbelief, God can graft them back into:
“their own olive tree.”
And all of it depends upon God's mercy.
So ask the simple question:
WHERE IS THE SECOND TREE?
Paul doesn't show us one.
21. What Does Romans 11 Actually Say?
ROMANS 11 DOES SAY:
God has not simply rejected Israel.
A Jewish remnant believed in Paul's own day.
Some natural branches were broken off.
They were broken off because of unbelief.
Gentile believers were grafted in.
Gentiles share in the nourishing root.
Gentiles must not boast over Jewish branches.
Gentiles stand by faith.
Natural branches can be grafted back in.
Their return requires that they not persist in unbelief.
God is able to graft them in again.
Paul still calls it “their own olive tree.”
Israel remains loved because of the patriarchs.
God's gifts and calling are irrevocable.
God's purpose displays mercy toward all.
But notice what the illustration does not show.
ROMANS 11 DOES NOT SHOW:
God abandoning one olive tree and planting the Church as another.
A Jewish tree beside a Gentile tree.
Two peoples of God with two different means of salvation.
Natural branches returning apart from faith.
Gentile believers replacing Israel and then boasting about it.
A second olive tree anywhere in the illustration.
There is:
ONE TREE.
22. Maybe We've Been Asking the Wrong Question
The debate is often framed:
“Did the Church replace Israel?”
Maybe Paul would have us ask something different.
What happened to the natural branches?
Some were broken off through unbelief.
What happened to believing Gentiles?
They were grafted in.
Can unbelieving Jews return?
Absolutely.
How?
“If they do not persist in unbelief.”
Where are they placed when they return?
Back into:
“their own olive tree.”
So perhaps the question isn't:
WHO REPLACED WHOM?
Perhaps it is:
WHO IS IN THE TREE?
And Paul's answer is remarkably consistent:
Those who stand by:
FAITH.
23. One Tree. One Savior. One Mercy.
Romans 11 does not permit Gentile Christians to despise Israel.
It does not permit us to boast over unbelieving Jews.
It does not permit us to forget that the gospel came through Israel.
It does not permit us to forget Abraham, the patriarchs, the promises, or Israel's enormous role in God's plan.
And it certainly does not permit us to close the door on Jewish people.
Paul wanted them saved.
So should we.
But Paul also does not give us two olive trees.
He gives us one.
Natural branches.
Wild branches.
Branches broken off.
Branches grafted in.
Natural branches welcomed back.
All dependent upon God's mercy.
All standing by faith.
So before constructing two separate peoples of God...
Two separate destinies...
Or two separate programs...
Look once more at Paul's illustration.
Then ask:
WHERE IS THE SECOND TREE?
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.