Question
What is the purpose of Paul’s provoking ministry?
Response
The context of Romans 11:13-14 (where Paul particularly speaks about personally ‘provoking’ those of his flesh) has to do with what God has him teach us regarding the temporary nature of the suspension of Israel’s program, along with the fact that even though God has temporarily suspended His program with Israel and they are under the judgment set forth in Romans 11:7-10 there is still both the need and the opportunity for individual Israelites to be saved from the debt and penalty of their sins. As Paul points out in Romans 11:11, they have not stumbled that they should fall. And in connection with this it is especially because of the fact that there is still both the need and the opportunity for individual Israelites to be saved from the debt and penalty of their sins that Paul says what He says in verses 13 and 14.
So then as Paul says, in view of the fact that Israel’s stumbling is not unto a permanent fall and that in accordance with this God is ‘provoking Israel as a whole to jealousy’ by means of Him sending salvation unto the Gentiles (verse 11) he himself also personally functioned in accordance with this as he dealt with those of his own flesh. In other words, Paul not only recognized the truth of the temporary suspension of Israel’s program and the reality of what God was doing in provoking them to jealousy and what this meant, but he also intelligently functioned in accordance with it for the express purpose of endeavoring to further provoke any of his own flesh in connection with both their need and their opportunity to be personally saved. Hence knowing that God’s actions were designed to provoke Israel as a whole to jealousy (and also knowing what this meant and what it provided for) Paul says that he himself ‘magnifies his office’ as “the apostle of the Gentiles” and that he does this “if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them”. By ‘magnifying his office’ (and thereby seeking to ‘provoke those of his flesh to emulation’) Paul sought to get any of those of his flesh who respond positively to God provoking the nation to jealousy to ‘take the next step’ so to speak. That is he sought for them to ‘take the next step’ and to ‘emulate’ any of the Gentiles who respond positively to the truth of ‘his office’. For by ‘emulating’ positive responding Gentiles they therefore would honestly listen to his message and they would honestly examine its claims. And if they would do this, then they could be saved by believing his gospel.
This is the gist of my understanding regarding Paul’s ‘provoking ministry’ that he describes in Romans 11:13-14, and how that he engaged in it in accordance with the truth that Israel’s “fall” is neither permanent nor [completely] devastating, and how that it [clearly] manifested the truth that Israel has not stumbled that it should fall.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries
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