The rapper known as Ye (formerly Kanye West) has made a career of controversy. Recently, Ye chose the Super Bowl for his latest stunt: He released a commercial in select markets that included a link to his website. When people visited the site, they found that he was selling t-shirts with a Nazi swastika emblazoned on them.
This strange stunt fits with a troubling trend: antisemitism has surged in America in recent years. According to the Anti-Defamation League, “an average of nearly 34 antisemitic incidents per day” occurred following October 7, 2023.1 The most horrifying “incident” of all, Hamas’s attack on Israel on that date, meant the death of over 1,700 Israelis and other citizens, many of them children.
Christians cannot miss this: hatred of the Jews is rising in our time. Even so, some conservatives and Christians express skepticism over antisemitism. With little evidence, they contend that Jews are working at all times to poison the world through a shadowy global order. In light of these wild claims, here are three basic New Testament teachings about this people group.
Jews are “enemies” of Christ.
The Jews were chosen by God and formed into the nation of Israel, but they fell away from Him. This spiritual spiral culminated in the Jews’ rejection of Christ in His incarnation. Through the centuries, the Lord’s treasured people made themselves His “enemies” (Romans 11:23).
Jews are yet “beloved.”
This is the startling truth of the gospel: though the Jews fell away, they were still “beloved” in God’s greater plan (Romans 11:23). Paul taught that, in the Father’s future purposes, repentant Jews will trust Christ and be grafted back into the tree of God (Romans 11:28). He left no doubt about this coming salvation: “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew” (Romans 11:2).
Paul warned opponents of the Jews.
Putting it this directly, he said, “Do not be arrogant toward the branches” (Romans 11:18). The apostle Paul did not teach his readers to distrust the Jews, eyeing them with suspicion due to their role in crucifying Jesus. He held out hope for them and confessed that he would willingly be damned if they could only be rescued (Romans 9:3).
The Bible speaks clearly to us as Christians. We should not hate the Jews. We should love them, pray for them, evangelize them, and stand by them when they are targeted.
1. Press Release, “U.S. Antisemitic Incidents Skyrocketed 360% in Aftermath of Attack in Israel, according to Latest ADL Data,” Updated January 17, 2024, ADL, https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/us-antisemitic-incidents-skyrocketed-360-aftermath-attack-israel-according
Quoted Scripture was taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
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