and eternally cursed for rejecting Him. The passage reads:
For you, brethren, . . . endured the same sufferings at the hands
of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who
both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out.
They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering
us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved;
with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins.
But wrath has come upon them to the utmost.
But an antisemitic interpretation of this passage could not be
further from the truth. The author, the apostle Paul, was himself
Jewish, so he certainly understood that the text did not refer
to all Jews at all times. Paul was referring to specific individuals
who were persecuting the Jewish believers in Yeshua at the time
he wrote the letter. Understanding this passage as a general
statement about all Jewish people would conflict with Romans
9–11, where Paul expressed his tender heart toward the Jewish
people and future hope for them.
Also, it is important to remember that the Jewish people did not
kill the Messiah. In John 10:18, Yeshua told His disciples, “No one
has taken my life away from Me, but I lay it down on My own
initiative.” He freely gave up His life because of His love for the
world, and especially for His Jewish brethren.
The New Testament Opposes Antisemitism
An accurate reading of the New Testament reveals a very Jewish
Messiah with a deep love for His own people and the nation of
Israel. When approached by a Gentile woman during His ministry,
Yeshua responded, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).
During a moment of intense rejection by the Jewish leaders,
Yeshua demonstrated compassion and a broken heart for His