Why Jesus Came (Part 3): From Promise to Grace

By the time we reach Paul’s later letters, a question naturally presses in:

If Jesus came to Israel,
if He confirmed the promises to the fathers,
and if much of Israel did not receive Him —
where does that leave the rest of the world?

Paul does not answer this emotionally. He answers it theologically.

Rejection Was Not the End — It Was the Turning Point

In Romans 11, Paul addresses Israel’s unbelief directly and carefully:

“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid.”
— Romans 11:1

The rejection of the Messiah by many in Israel was not proof of failure. Nor was it grounds for replacement. Paul presents it as a temporary condition with a redemptive purpose.

“Through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”
— Romans 11:11

This is a staggering claim. Israel’s stumbling becomes the occasion for Gentile salvation — not because God abandoned His promises, but because He used rejection to reveal something previously hidden.

Paul calls this a mystery.

A Mystery, Not a Revision

A mystery in Scripture is not something unknowable — it is something once hidden and later revealed.

Paul explains it this way:

“That blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
— Romans 11:25

The blindness is partial.
The hardening is temporary.
The promises remain intact.

Gentiles are not brought in because Israel failed — they are brought in because God remained faithful even in the face of rejection.

Brought Near — Not Brought Around

Paul explains the Gentile position most clearly in Ephesians:

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh…
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”
— Ephesians 2:11–12

This is not poetic exaggeration. It is legal language. Gentiles had no covenant standing.

But then comes the turning phrase:

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
— Ephesians 2:13

Gentiles are not given a separate Messiah.
They are not granted a parallel covenant.
They are brought near — to promises already confirmed, through a Messiah already rejected, by grace already prepared.

Why This Matters

When Jesus is reduced to a purely personal Savior disconnected from covenant history, grace becomes fragile — dependent on sentiment rather than promise.

But when Jesus is seen as:

• Israel’s Messiah

• the confirmer of the fathers’ promises

• rejected according to Scripture

• and revealed again through a mystery

then grace stands on something solid.

Gentile salvation is not an interruption in God’s plan.
It is the overflow of promises kept.

And that means our faith does not rest on novelty, emotion, or modern interpretation — it rests on a God who keeps His word even when His people stumble.

The Full Answer

Why did Jesus come?

• To Israel — to fulfill covenant truth

• To confirm the promises — so God would be proven faithful

• To be rejected — so a mystery could be revealed

• To save the nations — by grace, not entitlement

Personal salvation is real.
But it is not isolated.

It is the fruit of a much older tree.