Paul and the Vocation of Israel by Lionel J. Windsor

Author:Lionel J. Windsor [Windsor, Lionel J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2014-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

6 Paul’s fulfilment of Israel’s vocation (Romans 9 – 11)

“I know, I know. We are the chosen people.

But once in a while, can’t you choose someone else?”

Tevye (to God), Fiddler on the Roof.906

I myself am an Israelite,

from the seed of Abraham,

tribe of Benjamin.

The Apostle Paul.907

6.1 Paul’s vocation: The framework for Romans 9 – 11

For Paul, Jewishness was a divine occupation.908 Paul, as a Jew, was fulfilling a distinct and pre-eminent role in God’s worldwide eschatological purposes.909 Paul’s apostolic mission to the Gentiles, in other words, was not merely influenced by his Jewish past; it was his expression of Jewishness. This view of Jewishness was, however, forged in the midst of controversy. Paul was well aware that many other Jews did not share his vision of Jewishness. Despite the existence of Paul’s apostolic mission, there remained a “mainstream”910 Jewish community—an “Israel”—whose own view of Israel’s vocation remained trenchantly opposed to Paul’s. We have already seen how Paul disputed and contested this mainstream view of Jewish identity.911 Did Paul conclude, then, that these two visions of Jewish identity were ultimately irreconcilable?

In Rom 9 – 11, Paul returns to discuss his non-Christ-believing kin, “Israel,” and his own relationship with them. When we examine the argument of Rom 9 –11, we see that it is not just about Israel. It is also, quite fundamentally, about Paul. The aim of this chapter is to show that Paul’s apostolic mission plays a decisive role in his argument about Israel. Paul presents his own apostolic vocation, in various ways, as a contrast to, a fulfilment of, and a means of hope for Israel’s role in God’s worldwide purposes. Paul, in other words, is using the fundamentally Jewish nature of his apostolic mission to show that his own apostolic ministry fulfils the vocation of Israel.

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