SOUNDING OUT:
Our Desire for Our Brethren

  In Romans 9:2 & 3 Paul attests to his great sorrow of heart over the rejection of the gospel by the vast majority of the Judean people.

  Most of the other translation handle it the same fashion: that Paul would give up his salvation if it would mean that his Judean brethren would be saved. The New Living Translation probably puts the sentiment the clearest.

  Some use this text and Paul’s supposed extreme desire for evangelization of his countrymen to shame believers into speaking the gospel to their friends and family. Now I’m highly in favor of speaking the gospel to our relations, but I refuse to use shame or guilt or fear to motivate anyone to do anything.

  But does Paul really wish that he could be accursed from Christ, and lose his salvation and remain unsaved, in exchange for more of his Jewish brethren being saved? Would he waste his time wishing for something that he knew was not available? The context certainly doesn’t support this understanding. Paul has just said in verses 38 and 39 of the previous chapter that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Certainly Paul believes what he just wrote. He knew nothing could separate him no matter what he wished.

  Paul knows that nothing would separate him from God. Is Romans 9:3 just some sort of emotional exaggeration or outburst with no foundation in truth? The best answer that I have found is in Bullinger’s note in the Companion Bible. The proper understanding of the Greek verb "euchomai," (translated "wish") and it's tense, along with a couple of figures of speech that he points out, really help.

  The phrase “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ” is a parenthesis called an epitrechon. It is also an anamnesis, a recalling, which is an expression of feeling by way of recalling to mind. The verb “could wish’ is an indicative imperfect, which shows continuous action over time in the past. It happened over a period of time and then stopped. A better translation would be I “used to wish.” Lets read the verses again with this input. Read them first without the parenthesis to see the flow of the context. Then read it again with the parenthesis to see how it explains his sorrow.

  Now we see that Paul’s outburst of emotion came from recalling that he himself used to think the same way his brethren, the Judeans do now. He identifies with them. He used to feel and act the same way, until he had a change of heart. Oh how he wished they could make the same discovery he did.

  However, the translation of euchomai as wish doesn’t quite fit or aid our understanding. Thayer says euchomai means “would,” “wish,” or “pray.” Bullinger adds that it means “to speak out or utter aloud.” According to Robert Haldane, circa 1800, in "An Exposition of Romans," the Greek verb "euchomai" was used in Greek literature for "boasting," as well as "praying" and "wishing." Haldane's cites Homer's "Sixth Book of the Iliad." In a dialogue between Diomed and Glaucus “euchomai,” in Haldane’s words, "could not be rendered otherwise" but must be translated "boast." Boast fits even better in Romans 9:3. Paul is saying, "I know how they think and feel, I, too, used to boast that I had no part of Christ.” Before his experience on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, Paul felt the same way they do now. If you remember, Paul was on his way to kill more Christians, and boasting of it, for the sake of Israel, when God spoke to him, and changed his life forever.

  Paul never wanted to make a deal with God to exchange his salvation for his brethren’s. His heart just hurt very deeply because he knew why they thought and felt the way they did. Perhaps he even played a part in convincing them that the way of God through Jesus Christ was accursed. What he believed at one time in his life is not what he does now.

  How often do we recall how we used to think and feel before we were born again? How often do we empathize with our brethren and long for them to have the same relationship with God that we do? We know they can. We know that they may think at the moment they don’t want it. But, things can change. Just because they responded negatively the last time we spoke to them, doesn’t mean they will the next time. Don’t forget to give them another opportunity.