VV#15 - Chosen To Be the Villain

Picked out by the Divine ahead of time

Return to Part 14

With such an amazing history of the Jewish/Israelite people—from the Exodus out of Egypt to the laws of Moses and so much more—it was very upsetting to Paul how his own people were rejecting Jesus as the Christ, who he saw now as (miraculously) the fulfillment of the whole Israelite story and its system of sacrifice. And he even said that he could wish to be excluded from salvation through this Christ if it meant that his own people would then be grafted in (such was his despair over the issue).

But as we’ve just discussed, Paul realized that many of those who were now hostile still yet had an important role to play—even in their hostility. And not just this, but that their role of enemy had actually been “pre-destined” long ahead of time. And that, in a sense, they didn’t even have a choice in the matter.