ACC ~ Romans 11 v1

I MYSELF AM A DESCENDANT OF ABRAHAM. AMBROSIASTER: Since Paul has shown that the people of Israel did not believe, now, in order that it should not be thought that he has said that they were all unbelievers, he shows that God has not rejected the inheritance which he promised to the descendants of Abraham. For he would not have promised them a kingdom if he knew that none of them would believe. … By using himself as an example, he shows that the part of Israel which God foreknew would be saved had in fact been saved and that the part which had been consigned to perdition because of its constant unbelief might yet be saved. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

HAS GOD REJECTED HIS PEOPLE? CHRYSOSTOM: God has not rejected his people, because Paul himself was one of them. If God had cast them off, he would not have chosen one of them as the one to whom he entrusted all his preaching, the affairs of the world, all the mysteries and the whole message of salvation. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 18.

REMNANT OF ELECTION. DIODORE: Fearing once again that exaggerating the rejection of the Jews might lead to a choice of disobedience, Paul turns to the small remnant of the election—the apostles and their fellow believers. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

AUGUSTINE: This refers to what Paul said above. Only those Jews who have believed in the Lord will be counted as descendants. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 69.

HUMBLING AND ENCOURAGEMENT. PELAGIUS: Because Paul had by this point humbled them far enough, he now encourages the Jews in the way a good teacher would, so as not to provoke them unduly. God has not rejected everyone, and not forever, but only those who do not believe, as long as they do not believe. Paul reminds them that if God had rejected all the Jews, he too would have been rejected. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Wisely, Paul does not make the plight of Israel appear worse than it is. Even though he says that the nation is struggling in its blindness, he manages to say something positive at this point. EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

THEODORET OF CYR: Paul says that, if God had rejected his people, he would have been one of those rejected as well. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

OF THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul has mentioned not only his first ancestor but also the head of his tribe in order to show that he is not fabricating his claim. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

THEODORET OF CYR: Paul could have supported his statement by referring to the 3,000 who believed at Jerusalem and to the many thousands spoken of by St. James, not to mention all those Jews of the diaspora who believed the message. But instead he uses himself as an example. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

Rom