When Paul asks whether Israel understood the gospel, he means that
Scripture testified to the fact that God would make Israel jealous by including the Gentiles in the gospel; or
if the Gentiles could accept the gospel, surely the Israelites should have too.
Paul asks a double negative question in Romans 10:19: Did Israel not not understand?
which implies that Israel understood. So what did Israel understand?
Paul explains what Israel understood by quoting Deuteronomy 32:21, a part of Moses’ song where he prophesies that God would make Israel jealous through a nation that is not a nation. Of course, this is precisely what Paul detects when it comes to the proclamation of the gospel going to the Gentiles. The Gentiles receive the gospel and are included in the people of God, which makes the Jews jealous and angry. Paul is saying that the Jews know from their own Scriptures that this would happen, so they should not ignore the fact that God is making them jealous through the Gentiles; rather, they should turn and accept the gospel.
Some contend that what the Israelites understand is the gospel. That is, these contend that Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:21 to imply that a foolish nation, the Gentiles, did not even seek after God after he found them. Given Israel’s theological advantages, and if the Gentiles know the gospel, so do the Israelites. These point out that Paul writes in Romans 10:20 that the Gentiles did not seek after the God they found. Thus, Israel, who pursued God for generations, understood at least as much as the foolish Gentiles when it comes to the gospel.
The problem here is that this view misunderstands Paul’s use of understand
in Romans 10:19. Paul cannot mean that Israel understood in the sense of comprehended the gospel as the Gentiles do, because he already explained in Romans 10:3 that the Jews were ignorant of God’s righteousness. Further, Paul laments over the fact that Israel generally rejected the gospel, which implies they do not understand or know it (Romans 9:2–6). Clearly, Paul does not use understand
in the sense of comprehend, which is what this view implies. Rather, he means understand
in the sense of have been informed. The Israelites have been informed through Scripture that God would make them jealous through the Gentiles.
So, when Paul says that the Israelites understand, he follows this up by telling us what they understand. They understand from Scripture that God would make them jealous through the Gentiles.
Interpretation 1:
Scripture testified to the fact that God would make Israel jealous by including the Gentiles in the gospel.
Summary:
Paul asks, Did Israel not understand?
implying that the answer is Yes. The Israelites should know from their own Scriptures that God would make them jealous by including the Gentiles in the kingdom. The inclusion of the Gentiles, which provoked Israel’s jealousy, should have alarmed them to accept the gospel.
Scripture is God’s revelation to us, so we ought to take it seriously. God tells us that a glorious future awaits those who trust and love him, but there will be judgment and terror for those who do evil. Since we know this from Scripture, we have no excuse if we fail to repent and put our faith in Christ.
Advocates:
James Dunn
Douglas Moo
Thomas Schreiner
Minor differences:
Our authors agree that what Israel understood is that her own Scriptures testify that God would make them jealous by including the Gentiles in the gospel.
James Dunn explains this view clearly. The problem with Israel is not that they heard the word of faith and failed to grasp it, but that they are ignoring what they know from their own Scriptures, namely, that the Gentiles would accept the gospel and Israel would reject it. In other words, Israel understood through the Old Testament prophecies that God would make Israel jealous by including those who are not a nation.
Israel ignores that this is precisely what God is doing by including the Gentiles in the gospel.1
Douglas Moo generally offers the same interpretation. He writes, What it was that Israel understood, as the subsequent context suggests, is that God could very well act in such a way that the preaching of Christ would result in the inclusion of the Gentiles and in judgment upon Israel.
2 In other words, Israel understood from her own Scriptures that they ought to accept the gospel as God’s work among them, but instead they refuse to recognize the fulfillment of these texts.
Thomas Schreiner concludes from these verses something not mentioned by our other authors, namely, that the Jews could not object to the gospel because it is more acceptable to the Gentiles than it is to the Jews. That is because the inclusion of the Gentiles was prophesied in the Old Testament and known to the Jews.3
Arguments
Interpretation 2:
If the Gentiles could accept the gospel, surely the Israelites should have too.
Summary:
The Israelites have no excuse for not accepting the gospel. It has been preached to them, and they were capable of understanding it. The fact that a foolish nation was able to accept the gospel convicts Israel that, with all its advantages, it should too.
Advocates:
Leon Morris
Frank Thielman
Minor differences:
Our authors agree that Paul is saying Israel has no excuse not to know the gospel because if the Gentiles can accept it, then surely Israel, with all of its theological advantages, is also in a position to accept it. In other words, given that the Gentiles accept the gospel, Israel cannot complain that the reason they do not is that they do not understand it.
Frank Thielman is clear that this is Paul’s point. He contends that Paul uses Deuteronomy to support his contention that the gospel was easy for Israel to understand. If a foolish nation could hear and understand it, surely Israel, with all of its advantages, could do so.
10
Leon Morris seems to agree, but he also contends that what Israel ought to have understood is that the Gentiles would be included in the gospel.11
Arguments
19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”