I don't think that they missed it.... In fact, they were eagerly looking for the Messiah, and still fervently await him. That's why the Pharisees - and others - were constantly and actually following Jesus, and asking those questions to him: because they knew, and they had their own expectations, according to the scriptures - of what he should look like, how he should reveal himself as the Messiah in their midst, and what he should do as such among them, for them and for Israel as a whole.
What disturbs me - for lack of a better word - is sometimes the attitude "us here and 'nem there". That's not God's plan, that's not what He says. The Jews were messianic before there was any messianic Gentile
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we have a strong relationship to the Jews, and it is there all the way to the end, by God's divine design. A crucial part of His design was for us, the wild olive tree, to be "grafted" onto the natural olive tree, the Jews. That's what Paul says:
ROMANS11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
11:14 if somehow I could provoke
my people to jealousy and save some of them.
11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
11:16 If the first portion of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy,
and if the root is holy, so too are the branches.11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot,
were grafted in among them and participated in the
richness of the olive root,
11:18 do not boast over the branches.
But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 11:19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”
11:20 Granted! They were broken off because of their unbelief,
but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear!
11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.
11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you,
provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
11:23 And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief – will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 11:24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted,
contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?
11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters,
so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
11:26
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:“The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
11:27 And this is my covenant with them,
when I take away their sins.”
11:28 In regard to the gospel they are
enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly
loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
11:30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience,
11:31 so they too have now been disobedient
in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.
11:32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all. 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!
11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?
11:35 Or who has first given to God,
that God needs to repay him? 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.What did he know about grafting? What do I/we know about grafting?
I did not know much, really. so, because that's the way I am, I went and searched.... And I found (sorry it's so long..)
Grafting Fruit Trees (like Olive tree)
All parts of a tree are important. Roots provide an anchor, absorb water and minerals and collect food for the tree. The trunk is the support and carries food from the roots to the branches and leaves and back to the roots. Bark is for protection, to hold in moisture and to provide a place for sap to carry food to all tree parts. Branches are an extension of the trunk; leaves collect sunlight and use the energy to make food for the tree.
cultivar: a variety of a plant developed from a natural species and maintained under cultivation
(name of the tree on which the graft is made)
cultivation - the process of fostering the growth of something;
- the act of raising or growing plants (especially on a large scale)
-
Cambiuma layer of delicate tissue
between the inner bark or phloem and the wood or xylem, which produces
new phloem on the outside and new xylem on the inside in stems, roots, etc., originating all secondary growth in plants and forming the annual rings of wood.
GRAFTED OLIVES - Where,when and how did it start? "
The grafting of culivated olives upon wild ones has been practiced in olive culture for a very long time. A traditional reason for grafting is the belief that the wild olive (or oleaster) is able to resist drought because of its taproot. ]Grafting is, however, primarily a means of obtaining rapid propagation of a desirable cultivated variety of olive. [/i]
At first reading, the apostle Paul's argument in Romans (11:17-24) about the wild and cultivated olive appears to be somewhat involved. He likens Israel, God's chosen people, to a cultivated olive tree, a symbol of spiritual richness, from which God has broken off some of the branches. In place of Jews He has grafted in faithful Gentiles - here typified by the formerly useless wild olives (Gk. agrielaios) to partake of the richness of the cultivated tree (Gk. kallielaios).
Paul rightly regards this operation as `contrary to nature,' for one would expect the cultivated olive to be grafted upon the wild stock; by using this analogy he accentuates the richness of God's grace in the salvation of Gentiles."Taproot systemFUNCTIONS OF ROOTS. 1. ANCHORAGE. 2. STORAGE. 3. ABSORPTION. 4. CONDUCTION.
a. Primary root originates in the embryo and it becomes a taproot, growing directly downward and giving rise to lateral roots
b. A taproot and its branches make up the taproot system
Taproot System:
Characterized by having one main root (the taproot) from which smaller branch roots emerge. When a seed germinates, the
first root to emerge is the radicle, or primary root. This radicle develops into the taproot.
- Long taproots allow plants to reach deep reliable water supplies
- This main root grows downward
-
The main function of the taproot is to store food.
IntroductionThe purpose of grafting is to combine one plant's qualities of flowering or fruiting (scion plant) with another plant,
which has qualities of vigour and resistance (the rootstock). The act of grafting exposes the cambial layer (
a thin regenerative layer just below the bark) of each plant and then
firmly binds them together. The wound forms a callus, and
the scion and rootstock bond to form the new plant. In most cases
the plants must be closely related to do this successfully.
Most fruit trees are propagated this way because:
• grown on their own root systems many would be excessively vigorous.
• cultivars will not usually breed true from seed.
• a fruiting plant can be produced in a shorter period of time.
• some weak-growing cultivars can be invigorated.
The most important things to remember when attempting to graft a plant is to use healthy material, have a very sharp knife and cut straight so surfaces meet flush.
Types of fruit rootstock Fruit trees grown on their own roots or on rootstocks are
vigorous, producing large trees on fertile soils.
-------------------------------------------
Grafting involves the joining together of plant parts by means of
tissue regeneration. The part of the combination that provides the root is called the stock; the added piece is called the scion.
Stock cambium and scion cambium
respond to being cut by forming masses of cells (callus tissues) that grow over the injured surfaces of the wounds. The union resulting from interlocking of the callus tissues is the basis of graftage. In woody members, new layers of tissue are produced annually.
The basic technique in grafting consists of placing cambial tissues of stock and scion
in intimate association, so that the resulting callus tissue produced from stock and scion interlocks to form
a living continuous connection.
A snug fit can be obtained through the tension of the split stock and scion or both.
Tape, rubber, and nails can be used to achieve close contact.
In general, grafts are only compatible
between the same or closely related species. Success in grafting depends on skill in achieving a snug fit.
In grafting and budding, the rootstock can be grown from
seed or
propagated asexually. Within a year a small amount of scion material from one plant can produce hundreds of plants.
GRAFTING IS NOT...Plant BreedingA hybrid is produced by pollinating two plants of a different species, creating an entirely new plant. During the 20th century planned hybridization between carefully selected parents has become dominant in the breeding of self-pollinated species.
The object of hybridization is to combine
desirable genes found in two or more different varieties and to produce
pure-breeding progeny superior in many respects
to the parental types. Genes, however, are always in the company of other genes in a collection called a genotype. The plant breeder's problem is largely one of efficiently managing the enormous numbers of genotypes that occur in the generations following hybridization.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW DOES HURT US:Redesigning the World:
Ethical Questions about Genetic Engineering
by Ron Epstein
online.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/Redesigning.htm---------------------------------
PAUL COULD NOT NOT KNOW:Specifically, the
Torah's kilayim laws forbid the hybridization of certain species of plants and animals. Three of these laws are enumerated in the 22nd chapter of Deuteronomy:
You shall not sow your vineyard with
diverse seeds...You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.
You shall not wear shaatnez,
wool and linen together.
Rashi's Commentary (then...)
9. You shall not sow your vineyard [together with] a mixed variety of species, lest the increase, even the seed that you sow and the yield of the vineyard [both] become forbidden.
- [You shall not sow your vineyard together with] a mixed variety of species [For example,] sowing in the same hand-throw [of seeds] wheat and barley, [the sowing together of which already constitutes one prohibition of -“mixed variety of species” (see Lev. 19:19)], and grapeseeds [the total combination of which now constitutes an additional prohibition of sowing the two diverse species in a vineyard]. — [Ber. 22a]
- lest… become forbidden Heb. , as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: , lit., become unclean. To anything repulsive to man, either in a positive sense, e.g., something holy, or in a negative sense, e.g., something forbidden, the term applies. For instance,“Do not come near me, lest I contaminate you
() ” (Isa. 65:5) [according to Rashi on Shevuoth 18b, or, according to Rabbi Joseph Kara on Isa. 65:5: “lest I become contaminated by you”].[See Maskil L’David , Be’er Basadeh , Yosef Hallel , and Leket Bahir.]
- the increase Heb. . This is the fullness and increase, which a seed increases. - [See Pes. 25a]
-------------------------
(And now)
"The prohibition against sowing together seeds of different plants only applies to crops planted in the Land of Israel.
The exceptions to this rule are the prohibitions against planting the seeds of a vineyard together with other seeds, and the actual grafting of trees, both of which apply outside of Israel as well.
However, even in Israel, it is permitted to eat the -- albeit unlawfully -- grown product, with the fruit of the vineyard planted together with another seed constituting the only exception.
Now, while there is much discussion amongst contemporary Halachic authorities regarding the laws which apply to genetic engineering, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel ruled that produce grown via genetic grafting, including the fruits of the vineyard, is not forbidden by the above rules.
Their reasoning is that the prohibition only applies to seeds which on their own could have grown into a unique plant, as opposed to the grafted gene alone, which could not have grown on its own."
To me, the most important of that chapter in Romans is:
11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!
11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?
11:35 Or who has first given to God,
that God needs to repay him?
11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.
Shalom!
[/quote]
. Instead, I'll just focus on the best place of agreement I see in there: