Friendly fire
Jesus told his disciples this: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first”. In this post I explore what this has to do with believing that the Bible is true and to be trusted.
Since October 7th the world has seen a rise in antisemitism not witnessed since the days of the Nazis. To a great degree people have quickly been polarised into two camps: pro-Jewish and anti-Jewish. The indifferent middle ground that had existed for a long time seems to have largely disappeared. And within that Christians have also been divided in their opinions. Whilst the Bible makes plain that gentile followers of Jesus owe a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people - we are grafted into their spiritual heritage - this truth was often lost in the rush to support the prevailing political narrative about the Middle East.
A classic case of ‘friendly fire’.
Hatred of the Jewish people is nothing new. Throughout their chequered history the Jews have been singled out for disapproval and persecution. Of course, a cursory read through the books of the Old Testament will reveal that God’s chosen people got as much wrong as they got right. But the Bible makes it clear that we are equally in error if we think we can stand in the place of God and punish them for their waywardness.
Ezekiel 25:6-7 records this chastening word from God.
For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So what has this to do with ensuring we believe that the Bible is true and to be trusted?
It is this. If we do not wholly believe what the Bible teaches - in this case, that our Christian faith is bound historically to the Jewish people - there is the possibility that we will fall foul in two key areas.
The first being that by taking an anti-Jewish stance we position ourselves against God, who is pro-Jewish. For the record, that doesn’t make God anti-everyone-else, it just means that the Jewish people hold a special place within his plans and purposes and not least because Jesus was himself a Jew.
Thus a pick and mix approach to the word of God in which we select the parts of the Bible we approve of puts us in danger of dismissing - in the context of this article - the many Bible passages which highlight: God’s ongoing commitment to Israel, his love for the Jews and his irrevocable covenant with the land of Israel.
I believe that rejection of what the Bible has to say about the Jewish people or simple ignorance of scripture is the reason many Christians have sided with those who oppose Israel. And in this I would suggest that expedient passivity is equal to acquiescence. There is no middle ground.
The second being that we will be ignorant of the possibility that we may be next in line for persecution. As referenced in the earlier Bible passage, the hatred that was directed towards Jesus is also to be expected by those he has called out of the world, be they Jews or Christians. For the record both Jew and Christian will ultimately become ‘one new man’, so our present theology needs to reflect this future truth.
For the past 2,000 years followers of Jesus have suffered all kinds of persecution but if hatred towards the Jews can erupt in such great measure in such a short space of time know this - those of us who are Christians may well be next. In fact, for many believers around the world this is already their daily reality.
When we read the Bible with integrity it is plain to us that God hasn’t reneged on his covenant commitment with the Jewish people and that it is to Israel Jesus will one day return.
If our theology about the Jewish people is awry because we haven’t esteemed the word of God as true and to be trusted we are in danger of siding with Jesus’ enemies as well as being ignorant that we may also become the target of their hatred.