The Olive Tree: Grafting, Not Replacing

Grafting an olive tree is an ancient agricultural skill used to preserve and strengthen trees. The process involves carefully cutting a branch from one tree and inserting it into a slit in the bark of another. The farmer then binds it tightly so that the sap from the rootstock (the original tree) can flow into the grafted branch. Over time, the two grow together and become one living organism. Though the branch did not originally belong to that tree, it begins to draw life from its roots and eventually produces fruit as if it had always been part of it. Farmers do this for several reasons: sometimes to save an old tree whose natural branches no longer bear well, sometimes to improve the fruit quality by adding a healthier or more fruitful variety, and sometimes to bring new life to a tree that would otherwise be unproductive. In short, grafting is a way of rescuing, restoring, and renewing.

Paul’s olive tree metaphor (Romans 11) is essential to understanding Israel’s role in God’s plan. Just as farmers graft branches into an olive tree so they can draw life from its roots and bear fruit again, Paul shows how God grafts people into His covenant family — giving them new life, purpose, and fruitfulness in Him. Here’s the picture:

• The root and tree = Israel, God’s covenant nation, nourished by the patriarchal promises (Romans 11:16–18; Jeremiah 11:16; Isaiah 11:1).
• Natural branches = ethnic Jews, some faithful, some “broken off” because of unbelief (Romans 11:17, 20). However, this is only temporary as, in the future, the “natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree” (Romans 11:24).
• Wild branches grafted in = Gentile believers, joined (not replacing) to Israel’s promises through Messiah (Romans 11:17, 24; Ephesians 3:6).
• The remnant = Jewish believers in Jesus, part of the faithful core or “remnant” (Romans 11:5, Kings 19:18).

Christianity = A Jewish Denomination

Throughout history, many Jewish movements and sects have rallied around leaders they believed to be the Messiah. In Paul’s day, during the first century, what we now call “Christianity” was not a separate religion but a Jewish denomination. The earliest followers of Jesus continued to live as Jews, worship in Jewish synagogues, and observe the feasts of Israel. Most of the so‑called “Christian church” were themselves Jewish men and women who believed Jesus was the long‑awaited Messiah. They represented the faithful remnant of Israel.

Furthermore, Paul explicitly warns Gentiles: “Do not consider yourself superior to those other branches… You do not support the root, but the root supports you” (Romans 11:18). Paul’s warning suggests antisemitism was already alive and kicking in his time. Yet, Paul envisioned a time when the natural branches will be grafted back in, leading to reconciliation and much greater blessing to the world (Romans 11:12, 15, 25–26). Paul’s theology is not of replacement but of an enlargement.

Besides, for the natural branches to be grafted back in — it presupposes that Israel must still exist as a distinct people. If the Jewish people had been dissolved or lost their identity, there would be no “natural branches” to restore. The very metaphor assumes continuity: Israel remains, even in unbelief, so that God’s promises may ultimately be fulfilled in them.

The Apostle Paul, grappling with Israel’s unbelief, emphatically rejects the notion that God has replaced or rejected His people:

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

(Romans 11:1-2)

Paul points to himself (a Jew, an Israelite, a Hebrew) as evidence that God still has a plan for Israel, and he foresees a future redemption for Israel as a whole, calling it a “mystery,” emphasizing that the hardening is partial and temporary (Romans 11:25–26):

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

(Romans 11:25)

If “Israel” really meant “the Church” — as some claim — then the verse makes no sense, for it was the Jewish people, not the Church, who experienced a hardening toward Christ.

Paul clearly draws a distinction between two groups: Israel, which is experiencing a temporary hardening, and the Gentiles, who are being brought to faith. Paul teaches that only after the “fullness of the Gentiles” comes in — perhaps implying a future universal conversion — will Israel’s spiritual blindness be lifted. This only makes sense if Israel still exists as a people — otherwise, the apostle’s hope and prophecy would be empty. The very structure of Paul’s argument assumes that Israel endures through history, awaiting its ultimate restoration. Israel is not perfect, and it is fair to criticize her when warranted. But make no mistake: those who seek her destruction — especially Islam — place themselves in direct opposition to God’s plan. (Romans 11:29).

Paul then exults in God’s faithfulness by quoting the prophet: “The Deliverer will come from Zion… and this is My covenant with them…” (Romans 11:26–27). In other words, God is not done with Israel because He swore long ago to be their God. “For the sake of the patriarchs,” Paul says, “they are beloved, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). Here, Paul clearly connects the covenant God made with Israel’s patriarchs to His promises, which he claims are irrevocable.

This reality speaks to both the mind and the heart. To the mind, it reassures us that God’s promises hold together in perfect harmony — His covenant with Israel standing firm, and through it His covenant with the Church and with each believer in Christ. If He has not abandoned His first covenant, then we can trust beyond doubt that He will never abandon the New Covenant sealed in Jesus. To the heart, it unveils God’s fatherly love. Like a devoted father who may correct his child but will never cast them away, God’s love endures through our failures. Knowing this fills us with hope — that the One who promised never to leave or forsake Israel will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

This was a short excerpt from my book, “The Elephant in the Middle East: The Spiritual Battle Christians Often Miss Behind the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict“: