Here's another interesting question answered.
Q: How could Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled at the cross if "their rejection is the reconciliation of the world" (Rom 11:15)?
A: When, exactly, did Israel as a nation reject Jesus Christ, their Messiah? Many think it was when they put Him to death on the cross. Yes, that is true, but God gave them more chances after that to accept His Son, as seen in the Book of Acts. So with that in mind, what is the answer to the question above?
The work of the cross is how Jews and Gentiles were reconciled to God, but the cross is not when they were reconciled. This is similar to how the Law was abolished "by" the cross (Eph 2:15-16) but not at the Cross. The cross-work of Christ made it possible for God to later reveal that the Law had been "abolished," but the Law remained in effect after the cross until it was revealed through Paul that God "has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross" (Col 2:14).
It might help to compare how even as individuals we were "reconciled [you] in His fleshly body through death" (Col 1:21-22), even though historically at the cross, we had not yet been born and so were not yet alienated from God. But the work performed by Christ at Calvary enabled God to later reconcile both Jews and Gentiles corporately, as well as believers individually.
Q: How could Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled at the cross if "their rejection is the reconciliation of the world" (Rom 11:15)?
A: When, exactly, did Israel as a nation reject Jesus Christ, their Messiah? Many think it was when they put Him to death on the cross. Yes, that is true, but God gave them more chances after that to accept His Son, as seen in the Book of Acts. So with that in mind, what is the answer to the question above?
The work of the cross is how Jews and Gentiles were reconciled to God, but the cross is not when they were reconciled. This is similar to how the Law was abolished "by" the cross (Eph 2:15-16) but not at the Cross. The cross-work of Christ made it possible for God to later reveal that the Law had been "abolished," but the Law remained in effect after the cross until it was revealed through Paul that God "has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross" (Col 2:14).
It might help to compare how even as individuals we were "reconciled [you] in His fleshly body through death" (Col 1:21-22), even though historically at the cross, we had not yet been born and so were not yet alienated from God. But the work performed by Christ at Calvary enabled God to later reconcile both Jews and Gentiles corporately, as well as believers individually.
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