Rande Greene

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

-Romans 9:1-3

This seems a drastic statement to our 21st Century mind. Was he speaking truth? Was he being hyperbolic? Paul was a Jewish man through and through. He was educated in the best Jewish schools. He had been devoted to the Old Testament tradition. After his Damascus Road conversion he was ushered into a realm he before could not have comprehended. Inclusion of the Gentiles into the Covenant was absolutely alien to the observant Jewish mind, especially since the Romans oppressed and heavily taxed them. At the very beginning of the New Testament church, it was seen as a sect of the Jewish religion. That changed as the church grew and expanded. Gentiles became Christians. Paul became the “apostle to the Gentiles”. He had not forgotten his Jewish roots or brethren. He still was gripped by love and concern for them. How deep was his love and concern? The above verses tell how deeply he grieved for them. The Scriptures tell of Paul being a passionate man who loved his heritage and grieved that most of his brethren had rejected their Messiah. I believe what Paul was saying. I believe he would have given himself for the sake of his brethren. Paul reveals a different mindset than our typical 21st Century mindset.

He reveals a “collectivist” or “strong group” view.