27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 9)
As Paul wrestles with his concern for fellow Jews who reject Christ, he takes us back to Isaiah 8 and other passages for the picture of the Rock. Jew and Gentile alike have had this Rock dropped before them, as Christ came down and God placed Him before them: first to the Jews, and now, through the preaching of the Gospel, to Gentiles as well. For many of his fellow Jews, Christ became a stumbling block; they clung to their own righteousness instead of accepting God's righteousness in Christ. Some Gentiles too "stumbled over" Christ seeing only a convicted criminal Who deserved to die. But some saw Him for exactly Who He was, and what we all need: The Rock upon Whom to place our trust, to stand in the storm, to have a solid footing for this life and the hope of life eternal. What have you done with the Rock?
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