{"id":2314,"date":"2026-06-28T12:04:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midwestapologetics.org\/blog\/?p=2314"},"modified":"2026-06-28T12:05:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:05:25","slug":"imitate-jesus-and-paul-love-the-jews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midwestapologetics.org\/blog\/?p=2314","title":{"rendered":"Imitate Jesus and Paul\u2014Love the Jews"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jesus taught that we need to love one another, love our neighbors, and love our enemies. This most certainly would include love for the Jews.<\/p><\/div>\n

This blog post should be entirely unnecessary because it expresses a biblical teaching that is so obvious that it seems impossible to miss. Unfortunately, recent months have revealed that many professing Christians are deeply confused about what Scripture teaches regarding the Jewish people. Instead, they seem to base their views on whatever theological and geo-political ideas are popular in the moment.<\/p>\n

Bad ideas have victims. Antisemitism is not a joke or a harmless conspiracy. We have seen synagogues attacked and in May 2025, two young Jewish staffers of the Israeli Embassy were murdered in Washington, D.C. simply for being Jews. Even if someone disagrees with the policies of Israel\u2019s government, it makes no sense to attack American Jews for something other people may or may not have done in another country. Sadly, attacks on Jews have significantly increased around the world since October 7, 2023. This is appalling and should be condemned by every Christian because it goes directly against Jesus\u2019 teachings.<\/p>\n

We Are Commanded to Love the Jews<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with some very basic biblical instructions from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ. First, here is one of the commands He gave His followers the night before He was crucified:<\/p>\n

\u201cA new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another\u201d (John 13:34\u201335).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed His hearers to do the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.\u2019 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you\u201d (Matthew 5:43\u201344).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In response to a scribe who had asked which of the commandments was the greatest, Jesus said the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first of all commandments: \u2018Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.\u2019 This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 There is no other commandment greater than these\u201d (Mark 12:29\u201331)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Simply stated, Jesus commanded His followers to love one another, love their neighbors, and to love their enemies. Surely the Jewish people must fit into one or more of these categories no matter who you are. This is especially true if you call yourself a Christian. After all, we worship the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who stepped into history as a Jew and will return to earth as a Jew. All of His disciples were Jews, and nearly every book in our Bibles was written by Jews.<\/p>\n

Each of the commentators mentioned in the introduction (Owens, Carlson, Kelly, Fuentes, and Webbon) claims to be a follower of Jesus. Well, if they truly follow Jesus, then they should follow His example and love the Jews.<\/p>\n

The Example of the Son of God<\/strong><\/p>\n

We know that Jesus had several sharp disagreements with scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and other Jews, and he often had some harsh words for them. For example, he excoriated the scribes and Pharisees as serpents and a brood of vipers (Matthew 23:33). But this does not mean that Jesus hated these people. In fact, Jesus said that He was sent \u201cto the lost sheep of the house of Israel\u201d (Matthew 15:25). His heart for the Jewish people who had rejected Him is seen immediately after the Triumphal Entry.<\/p>\n

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,\u00a0saying, \u201cIf you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.\u201d (Luke 19:41\u201344)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus wept over the fact that the city of Jerusalem was going to be wiped out a few decades later. This echoes a statement He had previously made.<\/p>\n

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One of the many ways Jesus showed His love toward the Jewish people is through His sorrow over what was about to befall them due to their unbelief.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, \u2018Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!\u2019\u201d (Luke 13:34\u201335)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If Jesus only wanted to judge unbelieving Jews, then why would He weep over the fate that Jerusalem was about to endure? Why would He long to gather them as a hen gathers her chicks?<\/p>\n

One more passage should be considered on this point. Jesus spoke about the judgment of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31\u201346. Some biblical scholars, particularly within dispensational circles, believe that this judgment is not the same as the great white throne judgment described in Revelation 20:11\u201315. Instead, they understand this judgment concerns Gentiles and how they treated the Jews, \u201cthe least of these My brethren\u201d (Matthew 25:40). If this is an accurate way to understand this passage, then every Christian should exercise extreme caution before repeating claims made about the Jewish people.<\/p>\n

The Example of the Apostle Paul<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, the Apostle Paul told his readers, \u201cImitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.\u201d Well, when it comes to this topic, Paul imitated Jesus, and we should follow suit. Look at how he opened Romans 9.<\/p>\n

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.\u00a0For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites\u2026 (Romans 9:1\u20134)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Paul was beaten and imprisoned, yet he never stopped loving the Jewish people.<\/p><\/div>\n

Why did the apostle state that he had \u201cgreat sorrow and continual grief\u201d in his heart and that he was even willing to be \u201caccursed from Christ\u201d? Because the majority of his countrymen were missing out on the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ because they were trying to attain it by works of the law instead of through faith (Romans 9:32). Paul said, \u201cBrethren, my heart\u2019s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved\u201d (Romans 10:1).<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s custom upon entering a town was to bring the gospel message to the Jews first (Acts 17:1\u20132; 18:4). Once that door closed, he went to the Gentiles of the city. He was frequently persecuted by Jewish leaders, even suffering imprisonment and attempts on his life at their hands. But this ever-present hostility did not dissuade him from bringing the gospel to them. The book of Acts shows Paul\u2019s undying desire to see both Jew and Gentile find salvation in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Antisemitism on the Rise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, we have seen a dramatic rise in anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, particularly since October 7, 2023. In the first three months following those horrific atrocities, antisemitic incidents increased 361 percent<\/a>, according to the congress.gov website. Legitimate criticism of Israel\u2019s policies and actions is not immoral, sinful, or antisemitic. However, singling out Israel for its failures and applying radically different moral standards to Israel than to other nations is a form of prejudice. Exhibiting a hyper focus on Israel and the Jewish people while ignoring the extremely complex and nuanced history of that land, the unending calls for Israel\u2019s annihilation, and the countless attacks it endures demonstrates that you do not really care about truth and justice. Repeating antisemitic tropes and conspiracies about Jewish people is wicked. We see no shortage of these things from popular political commentators like Candace Owens<\/a>, Tucker Carlson, and Megan Kelly. They often hide behind the lie that they are just asking questions, but what they are really doing is implying that the Jewish people are to blame for much of our society\u2019s ills and that they secretly control our nation (or the world). These same conspiracies and more have been unapologetically spewed by Nick Fuentes. As I was nearly finished with this post, I was informed that Joel Webbon had recently claimed that all Jews are subversive before granting that there are some exceptions.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Some Christians hold the idea that since many first-century Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, Christians are somehow justified in harboring suspicion or contempt toward Jewish people today. Some of these folks go even further, labeling Jews as \u201cChrist killers\u201d<\/a> or repeating other offensive and libelous ideas about them. For the record, it was the Romans who crucified Jesus, and we all share in the guilt of His death since we have all rebelled against God. Yet truth does not seem to matter to those bent on blaming the Jews for world\u2019s problems. It has been said many times and the current state of affairs seems to support the adage that antisemitism is the oldest hatred.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much more could be written to demonstrate that antisemitism is directly opposed to the Word of God. It is a poison infecting a growing number of Christians, and too few Christian leaders will speak against it. No matter what your eschatology or ecclesiology, no Christian could ever justify antisemitism from the pages of Scripture.<\/p>\n

The Lord chose to bring redemption through Israel. The Messiah came through Israel. The apostles came from Israel, and the gospel went to Israel first. Therefore, Christians should never despise the very people through whom God brought salvation into the world. If we claim to follow Jesus and Paul, then we must imitate their love for the Jewish people, even while grieving unbelief, confronting sin, or disagreeing with particular actions.<\/p>\n

  1. I note this because Joel Webbon previously interviewed me on my book Fallen: The Sons of God and the Nephilim<\/em>. Our discussions did not address these issues, and some have incorrectly suggested that my appearance on his program constituted an endorsement of his views. It did not. I unequivocally reject his recent statements about Jews and African Americans. [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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