Israel made jealous – a painful confrontation

Originally posted on February 09, 2026 – by Andre Piet

There is a persistent, almost universally accepted idea within the Christian world that the ‘jealousy’ of which Paul speaks in Romans 9 through 11 would express a salutary desire. An admiring jealousy. The idea is that the church as an institution, or Christianity as a whole, should be so radiant that Israel would thereby be provoked to seek her Messiah. But that interpretation does not stand up to what is actually written. The jealousy in question is not a subtle call to evangelism. It is a judgment.

the context of Deuteronomy 32

In Romans 10:19 Paul explicitly quotes Deuteronomy 32. There God says:

They provoke Me to jealousy with what is no God… I will provoke them to jealousy by what is no people, I will anger them by an unintelligent people.

It is clear: Israel has replaced God—and now God will replace them. With a so-called ‘people’ that is scarcely recognizable as such—a foolish people. This is an act of retribution, not a diplomatic charm offensive.

When Moses writes about ‘what is no people’, this is prophetically applicable to the ecclesia—which in the ethnic sense of the word indeed does not constitute a people. No nation with land, bloodline, or borders, but an assembly of individual believers from all nations. Precisely this becomes the instrument to make Israel jealous. And that is the offense: that God, through a “foolish people,” makes His rejection of Israel manifest.

jealousy as wrath, not as desire

The term “jealousy” in Romans 10 and 11 is connected with “wrath.” It is a reaction of deep indignation, offense, and frustration. Paul uses a parallelism to indicate this:

I will make you jealous by what is no people, angry by an unintelligent people.

The jealousy here is nothing other than wounded exclusivity. Israel feels passed over—and that is precisely God’s intention. The term ‘jealousy’ stands in one breath with ‘wrath’—they cannot be understood apart from one another.

the misunderstanding in the institution ‘church’

Why then this popular interpretation in which the institution that we today designate as ‘church’ would be called to make Israel jealous through exemplary behavior? That is wishful thinking, but not what Paul writes. The jealousy of which he speaks is not a call to win Israel, but to notify them that God is passing them by. It is a divine determination: God uses Paul’s ministry among the nations to show Israel that they are temporarily sidelined. That is the thankless task Paul has with respect to his people.

Paul’s ministry as confrontation

Paul is not a diplomatic bridge-builder between the ecclesia and Israel. He is the living proof of their temporary setting aside. His proclamation in the synagogues—and the resulting anger, persecution, and slander—show how deep this jealousy went. Paul himself calls his ministry a cause of wrath (Romans 11:14). He makes Israel jealous, but not in a way that challenges them, rather in a way that offends them. Only “some” perceive the message and are thereby saved (Romans 11:14).

What is striking in this regard is that Paul has no difficulty at all fully identifying himself with the nations. He calls himself “apostle of the nations” and even says: “I am glorifying my ministry, if by any means I should be provoking my flesh to jealousy and should be saving some of them” (Romans 11:13–14). His glory lies in the fact that he stands on the side of the nations—not as an outsider, but as a participant. Precisely this identification with what for Israel is “no people” makes the message so confrontational.

the offense of the role reversal

This role reversal is the setting aside of Israel. Salvation reaches the world not through a believing Israel, but through a foolish and ignorant Gentile people—the ecclesia. Behold the offense. That is the stumbling block. That is the reason why Paul in particular is rejected by his people: he comes to tell them that their exclusive position has been taken over by people without circumcision, without Torah, without temple. That is “the evangel of the uncircumcision” (Galatians 2:7). And worse: these people now bring their Messiah.

salvation is not intended as bait

The blessing that sounds forth among the nations through Paul’s proclamation does not serve as a covert means to bring Israel to repentance. It is an independent work of God. Israel’s rejection has led to “the reconciliation of the world” (Romans 11:15), the spearhead of Paul’s proclamation (2 Corinthians 5:18–21). And later—when the fullness of the nations has entered—Israel will in its time also follow. Not through us. And certainly not through the institution that today calls itself ‘church’. But through the Deliverer out of Zion (Romans 11:26).

the sharp message of Paul

Let us not make Paul kinder than he was. His words to provoke Israel to jealousy are not pleasant, but razor-sharp. Not inviting, but painfully confrontational. And they must be read that way. Only in this way do we understand how special the calling of the ecclesia in our days is. She receives a place of blessing—before and above the people who were originally called to it.

Delen: