“For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?”
The full verse · Romans 11:24 · KJV
wert out the olive tree which is , wert contrary a good olive : how shall , which be the branches, be graffed their olive ?
Asked by
Paul: the apostle to the Gentiles, warning Gentile believers against pride over Israel (Romans 11:13, 18)
Asked to
Romans: the Gentile believers in Rome, addressed as "thou," the wild olive branch "graffed in" (Romans 11:13, 17)
The Scene
Paul is describing Israel as an olive tree whose natural branches were "broken off" for unbelief, while Gentile believers, "being a wild olive tree," were grafted in (Romans 11:17-23).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul is speaking to Gentile believers who might look down on Israel. He has already told them, "Boast not against the branches" (Romans 11:18), and "God is able to graff them in again" (Romans 11:23). This question shows how reasonable that hope is. Barnes sums up the meaning: "If God had mercy on the Gentiles, who were outcasts from his favor, shall he not much rather on those who were so long his people." Gill says Paul is arguing not just that Israel's return is possible but that it is likely, judging from the grafting in of the Gentiles.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe question expects a clear answer: much more readily will the natural branches be grafted back. Paul has already named the one condition: "if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again" (Romans 11:23). He then reveals "this mystery": "blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:25-26).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsGill points out that Paul's picture runs backward from normal practice. In grafting, a good branch is set into a wild stock; Gill says "it is contrary to nature, use, and custom, to ingraft wild scions" into a good stock. That is exactly what God did with the Gentiles. Barnes explains "wild by nature" as "uncultivated and unfruitful," and "contrary to nature" as "Contrary to your natural habits, thoughts, and practices." The natural branches, by contrast, were Israel, to whom "had been given the promises, and the covenants, and the Law," in Barnes' words.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows that the whole tree is God's work. Gentiles did not graft themselves in; they stand "by faith" (Romans 11:20) in a tree whose root they did not provide (Romans 11:18). If God could do the unlikely work of bringing wild branches into a good tree, the easier work of restoring natural branches is well within His power. Matthew Henry says Israel's restoration is "far less improbable than the call of the Gentiles to be the children of Abraham."
Paul uses this to humble one group, not to rank them. He tells the Gentile believer, "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness" (Romans 11:22). Whatever place anyone has in the tree is held by mercy.
Look Closer
What made the Gentiles' grafting "contrary to nature"?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You graft in by mercy and not by merit; where has pride crept into the way I see those who are not yet in?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Paul reminds Gentile believers they were "wild by nature." How does remembering where you came from change how you see others?
- Tell about someone you once thought unlikely to come to faith who did.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Your place among God's people is a gift. If God brought in branches that were wild by nature, there is no room for looking down on anyone outside. Paul's word to you is the same as to the Romans: "Boast not against the branches" (Romans 11:18).
This also gives you hope for others. If God could graft in the unlikely, Paul reasons, He is able to graft the natural branches in again (Romans 11:23-24), so Israel's present unbelief is not the end of its story.
This doesn't mean your standing is careless or automatic. You stand "by faith," and Paul warns that God's goodness is toward you "if thou continue in his goodness" (Romans 11:20, 22). Humility and faith belong together.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?”
“Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”
“Have they stumbled that they should fall?”
“Hath God cast away his people?”