COMING TO FAITH IN JESUS
AS MY MESSIAH WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT AND
MOST PROFOUNDLY WONDERFUL DECISION OF MY LIFE
they are not only calling John, who was a Jew, antisemitic, but they
are also calling much of the Torah and the rest of the Tanakh (Old
Testament) antisemitic. In Exodus 33:5 and Deuteronomy 9:6;
31:27-29, Moses called the Jewish people of his day—not just the
leadership—a stubborn and obstinate people and even defiant
toward the Lord. In Isaiah 30:9, the prophet describes the Jewish
people this way: “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, sons who refuse
to listen to the instruction of the Lord.” The prophet Ezekiel (2:3–4, 6;
3:4–7) also harshly criticized the Jewish people of his day. None of
these Hebrew prophets were antisemitic and neither is the author
of the Gospel of John.1
It is unfortunate that antisemitic people twist the words of the
prophets as well as John to fit their purposes. An accurate reading of
the texts in context will show that there is no antisemitism involved
and no attribution to all Jewish people at all times. When John
wrote about the Jews seeking to kill Jesus (John 5:16), it was part of
a larger series of disputes that Jesus had with the leadership about
proper Sabbath observance. 2 The penalty in Torah for violating the
Sabbath is death. In John 5:18 and 7:1, “the Jews” sought to kill
Jesus, but “the Jews” didn’t refer to all Jewish people. It was the
leadership in Judea that sought Jesus’ life because they perceived His
claim of equality with God as blasphemy, and the Torah’s penalty for
blasphemy is death. Placed in context, the passages in question refer
to the leadership in a given time and in a given place. The leadership
did not recognize Jesus as Messiah and Lord and they were also
trying to adhere to their interpretation of the Mosaic Law. While
this may not be obvious to the reader in the twenty-first century, it
would have been obvious to John’s intended audience in the first
century.
One of the many great things about the Bible (from Genesis
to Revelation) is that, since it is true and the Word of God, it can
be brutally honest. It shows both the good and the bad sides of the
people and the leadership. Evidence that there is no antisemitism
in the Gospel of John or the rest of the New Testament can be
found in a careful and contextual study of the text. It can also be
found among evangelicals who love Israel and the Jewish people
and whose love is based on the Word of God.
1. Michael L. Brown. Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections. Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI:
SPECIAL EDITION | THE CHOSEN PEOPLE | 5
Baker Books, 2000), 146-148.
2. D.A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids,
MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 246-247.
UNDERSTANDING
ACTS 2:36 & 3:15
Jewish people have often been called “Christ-killers.” Some of our
own Jewish staff members have been verbally attacked with this
label. Unfortunately, many people think that the New Testament
supports the idea that all Jews murdered Jesus, often citing the
words of Peter in Acts 2-3. In Acts 3:15, Jesus’ disciple, Peter, speaks
to a crowd of Jewish onlookers in Jerusalem, saying that they “put
to death the Prince of life the one whom God raised from the dead.” But
are all Jewish people morally responsible for the death of Jesus?
In order to use Peter’s words as an indictment against all Jewish
people, one must ignore Peter’s context and even what he says
later in his speech. Peter is speaking specifically to Jews in
Jerusalem who had been present in the city for Jesus’ trial and had
supported His execution. Thus, Peter’s direct audience was the
Jerusalemites who were supportive of Jesus’ death. The text says
nothing about other Jewish people.
There is also a difference between criminal intent and
negligence, with the latter being a less guilty crime. Peter says,
“And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers
did also” (Acts 3:17). Does Peter charge those directly responsible
with criminal intent in murdering Jesus? No! Not even Jesus
assigned criminal intent to His opponents. Jesus prayed from the
cross, “Father, forgive them,”—“them” being the religious leaders
who supported His death—“for they do not know what they are
doing” (Luke 23:34). The consistent teaching of the New
Testament is that the Jewish religious leadership and the others
who supported Jesus’ execution did so without full knowledge.
The New Testament limits its rhetoric to the Jewish leadership
physically present at Jesus’ execution and even releases them from
criminal intent! Therefore, the “Christ-killer” label needs to be
removed and buried in a tomb, never to be raised again.
1011
Pogrom against Sephardic
Jews in Córdoba by Muslims
1096
The First Crusade, Count Emicho attacks
Jewish communities in Europe
1275
Edward I of England forces
Jews to wear a yellow patch
1328
5,000 Jews are massacred after anti-
Jewish preaching by a Franciscan friar
1348-1351
Jewish people blamed
for the Black Death