Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
This mystery (to musthrion touto). Not in the pagan sense of an esoteric doctrine for the initiated (from muew, to blink, to wink), unknown secrets (II Thessalonians 2:7), or like the mystery religions of the time, but the revealed will of God now made known to all (I Corinthians 2:1, I Corinthians 2:7; I Corinthians 4:1) which includes Gentiles also (Romans 16:25; Colossians 1:26 f.; Ephesians 3:3 f.) and so far superior to man's wisdom (Colossians 2:2; Colossians 4:13; Ephesians 3:9; Ephesians 5:32; Ephesians 6:19; Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11). Paul has covered every point of difficulty concerning the failure of the Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah and has shown how God has overruled it for the blessing of the Gentiles with a ray of hope still held out for the Jews. "In early ecclesiastical Latin musthrion was rendered by sacramentum, which in classical Latin means the military oath. The explanation of the word sacrament, which is so often founded on this etymology, is therefore mistaken, since the meaning of sacrament belongs to musthrion and not to sacramentum in the classical sense" (Vincent).
Wise in your own conceits (en eautoiv fronimoi). "Wise in yourselves." Some MSS. read par eautoiv (by yourselves). Negative purpose here (ina mh hte), to prevent self-conceit on the part of the Gentiles who have believed. They had no merit in themselves
A hardening (pwrwsiv). Late word from pwrow (Romans 11:7). Occurs in Hippocrates as a medical term, only here in N.T. save Mark 3:5; Ephesians 4:18. It means obtuseness of intellectual discernment, mental dulness.
In part (apo merouv). Goes with the verb gegonen (has happened in part). For apo merouv, see II Corinthians 1:14; II Corinthians 2:5; Romans 15:24; for ana merov, see I Corinthians 14:27; for ek merouv, see I Corinthians 12:27; I Corinthians 13:9; for kata merov, see Hebrews 9:5; for merov ti (adverbial accusative) partly see I Corinthians 11:18. Paul refuses to believe that no more Jews will be saved.
Until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (axri ou to plhrwma twn eqnwn eiselqh). Temporal clause with axri ou (until which time) and the second aorist active subjunctive of eiserxomai, to come in (Matthew 7:13, Matthew 7:21).
For fulness of the Gentiles (to plhrwma twn eqnwn) see on verse Romans 11:12, the complement of the Gentiles.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Romans 11:25:
Luke 14:23
Luke 21:24
Romans 11:11
1 Corinthians 12:27
Ephesians 4:18
1 Timothy 1:13
1 Timothy 1:14
1 Timothy 2:1
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