How Would the Wild Olive Branch (grafted in nations) be One in Torah and the New Testament?
In the face of growing anti-semitism, a stark misunderstanding and the two religion Israel (replacement theology) thinking, how would one help those people reconcile with the GOD of Israel?
Helping someone reconcile with the God of Israel—especially when antisemitism or replacement-theology assumptions are involved—usually requires GOD’s Wisdom and a willing soul. If people would add to that some clear Biblical and contextual settings and repentance where needed, hope is ready to reorganize their faith.
The likely answer sits right at the intersection of Romans 11, John 17, Torah, and Brit Chadashah.
Grafted-In believers (nations) must know where they come from—and where we all fit in GOD’s overall plan and thoughts.Many believers from the nations come to Messiah and only learn a “New Testament-only” faith, that is usually disconnected from the people, history, and Covenants GOD originally spoke through. The Scripture says gentile believers are “grafted in” among Israel (Romans 11:17). That means you and I have been joined to a root you we did not plant. If we don’t understand where we come from, you and I will misunderstand what Salvation means, Who Messiah is, and what GOD is doing in the earth.
NOTE: The Scriptures, all 66 Books are Israel's. They are the root of the olive tree. The entirety of the Word of GOD is Israel’s story, Israel’s Covenant, and Israel’s root, and Paul’s rather descriptive olive‑tree metaphor supports this truth. There is no muddying the water at all. The nations don’t replace that root; they are grafted into it.
QUESTION: “What does GOD mean by ‘Israel’—the people, the land, the promises, the Covenants?”
QUESTION: “Where did GOD say, or anyone learn that He is ‘done with’ the Jewish (Judean & Benjamite) people?” We are waiting on the fulfilment of the promise of the Ephraimites (and the nations) return to the Land.
We need to be careful about how we handle GOD’s Word. Especially, folks who declare their pastoral roles.
Paul’s warning is blunt: “do not boast” over the natural branches (Romans 11:18). When grafted-in believers forget the root, they drift into pride—acting as if GOD is finished with Israel, or as if the believing nations has “replaced” her. If we knew our origin, it would keep our standing and spiritual outlook orderly. Everyone outside of believing Israel are included by mercy, not entitled by heritage. We must see the need to stay humble and avoid replacement thinking.
The Gospel (Besorah) is not an isolated Plan; It IS the fulfillment of promises made to Abraham, Israel, and David. Every one of them are fulfilled in Israel’s Messiah. Historically, those outside of the People of GOD were considered as “alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel,” but now have been “brought near by the blood of Messiah” (Ephesians 2:12–13). When every person is aware where he or she fits, we will stop reading the Bible as two unrelated religions and start seeing one unified redemption story. By doing so, the spirit will assist you with understanding the entirety of the Gospel the way the Bible frames It. All of It.
Being grafted (adopted) into another family is not only comfort; it is a responsibility. You are called to honor the GOD of Israel, love His people, and live as a witness of His mercy to the nations (where you hailed from). Paul even says these things were written “for our instruction” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Understanding the Feasts and the Covenants is about learning the language of the Kingdom and walking as someone who has been brought into a family story that started long before you. Consider another term—adoption. When adoption and grafting takes place, the added party/spliced plant not only gets joined to the original plant/family that has roots, you usually have a new name associated with it, The rules and instructional guidelines of the new home are explained and expected to be aligned with, or the graft will not take properly. Every new addition needs to know and understand their identity and purpose.
NOTE: One Olive Tree
Though there are many trees with olives on them in the Land of Israel, there is BUT ONE olive tree, in Romans 11, not two. We are shown the picture that “it” is holy because the root is holy, and the tree represents the Covenantal people of GOD drawn from the promises first given in Torah—particularly to Abraham. All gentiles are called “wild olive branches” grafted into that already-existing tree, not planted separately or made into a replacement tree. …one Covenant description, not two religions.
Who are the “wild” branches? People from the nations (gentiles) who were outside Israel’s Covenant Commonwealth and are now included by GOD’s mercy through Messiah.
I know… I was wondering about the same thing, when I first heard it about 15 years ago. Why “wild”? It features origin outside the cultivated [olive] tree, not inferiority; it underscores that inclusion is kindly compassionate & “unnatural” (11:24), not entitlement.
What happens when they’re [wild trees] grafted in? They become participants in the “rich root” (11:17)—they share nourishment from promises given to the patriarchs/Israel, but do not become the root. There is a warning associated with this grafting process, “Do not boast… it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you” (11:18). The point is humility and fear of GOD, not triumphalism.
I think it is time to repeat this line from above. “The Scriptures do not describe two religions, two peoples, or two parallel covenants.” The writer (Paul) describes one living tree — the cultivated olive tree of Israel (Romans 11). Here are some notable tree parts and contextual meaning.
The root is the Covenant GOD made with Abraham.
The trunk is the unfolding story of Israel.
The branches are all who respond to GOD’s Covenantal call.
The sap is the life of the Spirit flowing from the promises.
KEY REMINDER: There is NO “Christian tree” and “Jewish tree.” There is one tree, one story, one Covenantal identity.
Gentiles are grafted into Abraham’s Covenant, not a new religion. The details behind that means, the Covenant specifics, didn’t start in Acts 2. The Good News didn’t begin in Matthew and the Messiah didn’t create a new people; He made whole (full/fulfilled) the promise to the existing one.
The “root” is older, deeper, and more relational than Law codes or institutional religion. It is the promise: “I will be your GOD, and you will be My people.”
GOD, Jesus, NOT one disciple or Paul ever said gentiles become Jews. GOD’s Word DOES say, “gentiles become fellow heirs.” Israel IS the tree, but the tree is BIGGER than ethnicity and background. The tree is Israel, but Israel’s Covenant was always meant to shade the nations.
Here are some Biblically Cool things the Word of GOD through the prophets promised:
…a restored Israel
…a renewed Covenant (the same one that has been dubbed the “new” Covenant.)
…a Spirit‑filled people
…nationsstreaming to Zion
Messiah doesn’t replace Israel. He fulfills Israel’s story and extends its life to the nations. He is the Healerandfruit Producerof the tree, not the Founder of a new orchard.
NOTE: Two religions are a human invention. However, one Covenant is GOD design.
HISTORICALLY: Judaism and Christianity became separate religions through conflict, politics, and trauma.
BIBLICALLY: The chronicle of the narrative of Israel and the nations is one continuous Covenant account. The split is real in history, but it is not real in Scriptural descriptions.
There is one GOD.
One Covenant.
One Messiah.
One Spirit.
One people.
One tree.
NOTE: Here is a cool and counterintuitive thing I’ve learned. Since Israel is an Agrarian Society, agriculturally, farmers normally graft cultivated branches onto wild trees, not the reverse.
Paul intentionally makes a pretty good point to remind the reader some additional insight and stresses that “GOD’s action is unnatural, and a work of compassion and kindness (grace), not biology or merit.
The wild branch does not bring its own covenantal root system. It survives only by drawing life from the existing root. This aligns perfectly with John 17’s logic: unity comes from shared dependence, not shared ethnicity or uniform customs.
The wild olive branch is fully nourished by Torah-rooted promises yet natively connected to the nations. This makes it [wild olive branch] uniquely suited to live the purposed plan hinted at in Torah itself—that Israel “would be a light to the nations.”
The Gentile believer who honors the root without trying to become the root reflects the unity Yeshua prayed for—difference without division.
This calling is echoed across Messianic frameworks that intentionally hold Torah and Brit Chadashah together as one life depiction rather than opposing systems.