Israel's Partial Hardening

March 3rd, 2025
by Dr. Lance Waldie

Romans 11:25-26a For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved…

At the conclusion of the parable of the olive tree in 11:17-24, Paul brings the audience back to him by calling them “brethren,” as if to apply what he has just told them. No doubt “brethren” includes both Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome, and well it should, for Paul is now going to reveal the future of both people groups as they relate to Christ and salvation. So, having already warned the Roman Christians against boasting (11:18) and conceit (11:20), and in light of the olive tree parable, Paul warns them again about conceit in v. 25—not wanting them to be “wise” in their own eyes without a full understanding of the “mystery” he is going to reveal to them. The snare of arrogance is always lurking in those who believe themselves to be wise. And although all most humans gain wisdom over time, belief that one has obtained all of it reveals more ignorance than wisdom. Though knowledge is the cure, it can also fuel arrogance.

Paul’s use of the term “mystery” (Gr. mustērion) in the NT is vital, for he uses it at least 20 times in his epistles to designate something that could not be known except by divine revelation. Though once hidden, the mystery is finally revealed in Christ through His apostles, for “in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2; 4:3). Through Paul the apostle, the unveiled mystery is to be proclaimed in order that all may believe that Jesus is the Christ. Paul may at times use mustērion to denote something that he has received from the Lord, and in this sense it would be akin to “prophetic powers” (cf. 1 Cor. 13:2) that came to him by way of divine revelation (Eph. 3:3).

So what is the mystery Paul unveils? First, that Israel—the chosen people of God who have rejected their Messiah—has experienced a “partial hardening” by God (cf. 9:18). Previously revealed in 11:7, Israel’s hardening pertains to their inability to recognize from their own Scriptures that Jesus of Nazareth was their Messiah (cf. 2 Cor. 3:14). Being “partial,” their hardening means that not all Jews have experienced it, for some truly did receive Jesus as the Messiah unto salvation, Paul himself being one among many (cf. Acts 2-4). In addition, Jews from every age have come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah up to the present age.

The good news is that during the dispensation of Israel’s partial hardening, the second revelation of the “mystery” is that Gentiles will trust in Israel’s Messiah. And when “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,” Israel’s partial, or temporary, hardening will be turned to reception of their Messiah. In other words, Gentiles will continue to hear and respond to the gospel until such a time as their “fullness” is realized—after every elect Gentile believes. At that point the third portion of the mystery will come to pass: “all Israel will be saved.” In addition to the entire remnant of Israel being saved, the nation of Israel during the seven-year Tribulation will, as a whole, come to believe in Jesus of Nazareth as their Lord and Savior—the Messiah.

Food For Thought
What Paul wanted the Jews and Gentiles in Rome to know was that God’s promises were in the process of being fulfilled. That message is also one that needs to be conveyed today, for God’s eternal plan is continuing to unfold—an unfolding that was ordained from the beginning. God has not abandoned Israel in favor of Gentiles, and He is not going to abandon the Gentiles for Israel in the end. God’s “mystery” plan is to save both Jews and Gentiles in order to make them into one new humanity built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:11-22). This worldview is essential to understanding what God is doing and to keep us from disdaining Israel.