Reflection - Full Number

By Steve Hall

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103021.cfm
Luke 14:1, 7-11
Romans 11:1-2, 11-12, 25-29

"But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32)

It should come as no surprise that even those living in Jesus’ day were curious about the end times. Whenever the issue arose Jesus made the same points: Only the Father knows when. It will be unexpected. Always, always, always be prepared. There are a few additional references in the writings of Paul that refer to those days. In today’s reading from Romans, however, Paul surprises with a few unexpected comments on the subject, all of which follow from Paul’s assurance that God has not rejected his people, I.e., the people of Israel.

Paul begins this part of his letter by citing his own life (and implicitly, the circumstances of his conversion) as witness to the fact that Israel has not been abandoned. After all, if God did not reject the one who so vigorously persecuted his people (I.e. Paul) then why would he reject anyone else from those he has chosen. Then the letter to the Romans proceeds to explain that this is another remarkable case where God brings good out of evil and success out of failure. If the nation of Israel had been accepting of the Messiah when Jesus came, there was the possibility, even probability, that they would have kept the Messiah for themselves alone. Their inability to respond appropriately to the one God had sent was a direct cause of the rapid expansion of the mission to the gentiles. In every case the Apostles turn to the gentiles only after being rejected by the Jewish community. Here is where Paul’s comments on the End Times becomes intriguing. 

“A hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in. . . “ What is that full number? When will such fullness be achieved? Whatever I say would be mere speculation; but implicitly Paul teaches that spreading and sharing the Gospel with all mankind is not to be taken lightly. Apparently, God has a number or maybe a percentage in mind.

As Paul concludes this instruction he offers another significant statement.

“The deliverer will come out of Zion,
he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
and this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”

The term ‘Zion’ has both a specific and a broad meaning in the OldTestament. Specifically, it refers to a hill or mound just outside the walled city of David. Though it is frequently referred to as Mount Zion, none but a Kansan would recognize it as having mountain stature. In an ever widening broader sense the word came to stand for Jerusalem itself, for the kingdom of David and Solomon, and even the Chosen people. In many Scripture texts it is difficult to identify which of the four meanings noted above is the primary reference. Sometimes the reference is probably multiple. In its truest sense, however, Zion is God’s Holy Mountain, the dwelling place of the Lord of Hosts. Just two of many Scripture texts make this clear.

“Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised In the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.” (Psalm 48:1-2)

Here the “city of our God” is distinct from “his holy mountain”.

“Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the LORD!
May the LORD bless you from (Mt)Zion, he who made heaven and earth!” (Ps 134: 1-3)

These verses are even more interesting. They encourage the people who “stand by night in the house of the Lord” to bless the Lord. But what is “the house of the Lord” but the temple which Jesus referred to as his Father’s house”. Then there is the prayer request that “the Lord bless you from Zion”. Clearly Zion is neither the city nor the temple but a separate place from which the blessing of the Lord will come. This same sentiment is echoed in Paul’s letter: “The deliverer will come out of Zion.”

Why is this important? The importance is seen in the overall teaching of this portion of Paul’s letter. The city of Jerusalem with its Temple was properly viewed as the place where worship was to be given; but the corresponding ‘location’ for the dwelling place of God is outside the City and outside the Temple. Implicit in this distinction is Paul’s teaching that the “full number of the Gentiles” must be recipients of the Good News. The Messiah did not come for the Jews alone, but for all mankind. Interestingly, Jesus’ crucifixion — the ultimate, the complete and the final sacrifice took place outside the city.

In the book of Deuteronomy we read the following:

"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth.

“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love upon you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples; but it is because the LORD loves you, and is keeping the oath which he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)

But this selection was made for a purpose — that purpose being clearly stated by the prophets. The nation of Israel was to be a light to the nations, a light to the Gentiles. We Gentiles may not be first, but we were neither ignored nor forgotten.