Romans 9:1-5
The Privileges and Tragedy of Israel
1) Imagine the recipients of this letter hearing it read aloud for the first time. What must they have been thinking as the speaker pauses at the end of verse 5?
2) What is the cause of Paul’s emotion in verses 1-5? Considering Paul’s Jewish background and the glorious gospel he just proclaimed at the end of Chapter 8, what are the obvious questions that he needs to face?
3) Compare this passage (specifically, verse 3) with the story of Moses’ intercession with God for his people in Exodus 32:30-34. Do you think Paul means to evoke that passage here?
4) In verse 4, what are the historic privileges of the Jewish people? How do they link back to earlier parts of this text (earlier in Romans)?
5) What is the final privilege listed in verse 5?
6) NT Wright points out in his commentary that there is ambiguity around the punctuation of the second part verse 5 which could alternatively be rendered as:
Which version does your translation use? NT Wright says that the grammatically the first version is the most likely. If so, what is the significance of this statement?
7) What do you think Paul would say about the importance of preaching the Gospel to Jews today?
2) What is the cause of Paul’s emotion in verses 1-5? Considering Paul’s Jewish background and the glorious gospel he just proclaimed at the end of Chapter 8, what are the obvious questions that he needs to face?
3) Compare this passage (specifically, verse 3) with the story of Moses’ intercession with God for his people in Exodus 32:30-34. Do you think Paul means to evoke that passage here?
4) In verse 4, what are the historic privileges of the Jewish people? How do they link back to earlier parts of this text (earlier in Romans)?
5) What is the final privilege listed in verse 5?
6) NT Wright points out in his commentary that there is ambiguity around the punctuation of the second part verse 5 which could alternatively be rendered as:
- from them comes the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever, Amen.
- from them comes the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all. God be blessed for ever. Amen
- from them comes the Messiah, according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen
Which version does your translation use? NT Wright says that the grammatically the first version is the most likely. If so, what is the significance of this statement?
7) What do you think Paul would say about the importance of preaching the Gospel to Jews today?