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Romans 11:25–26 contains one of Paul’s most debated statements: “a partial hardening has come upon Israel…and in this way all Israel will be saved.”

For centuries, many Christians have understood these verses to mean that Israel has been rejected and must one day be “saved” in the traditional sense of conversion. But is that really what Paul meant?

In this episode of Journey with the Jewish Paul, Ryan Lambert explores how Paul’s choice of words in Greek (porosis (“callus”) instead of “hard heart,” and sozo (“made safe, preserved”) instead of only “saved”) paints a very different picture. Far from declaring Israel rejected, Paul insists that Israel is protected, beloved, and irrevocably called.

We’ll examine why translation matters, how misreadings of Romans 11 have fueled centuries of Christian arrogance toward the Jewish people, and why recovering Paul’s original intent helps us move toward humility, reconciliation, and stronger Jewish-Christian relations today.

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The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

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