To put it bluntly, the enemies of the Jews have used as an excuse the words of the Bible to say they were guilty of killing Jesus and the prophets. But what is dishonest about this is that the point made by the prophets is that all are guilty, Gentiles as well, and not the Jews only.
As God tells Israel in Deuteronomy 9:4-6, it is not for Israel’s righteousness that nations are being cast out before them, but rather, because of the wickedness of those nations. In Leviticus 9 are listed the evils for which those gentile nations were being cast out, which included child sacrifice, idol worship, bestiality, homosexuality, adultery, the cursing of parents, divination, and incest in all its forms.
God in Leviticus 9:23 warned the Israelites not to walk in the ways of those nations, but time and again they did not listen. As God speaks all through the book of Ezekiel, Israel did walk in all those things just as the nations before them had done. It was only for the sake of His promises that He did not utterly destroy them as with the nations before them, and would leave a small remnant to be saved.
What then? Are the Jews evil?
The conclusion should be that which is echoed 3 times in the Old Testament and many more times in the New Testament: There is no man that sinneth not, even as is spoken in 1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36, and Ecclesiastes 7:20. Jesus himself attested to this fact in Matthew 19:17 and Mark 10:18, saying, “there is none good but one, that is, God”.
And with that, one must ask the question, does the New Testament support hatred of the Jews? In no way! For though the New Testament says the Jewish LEADERS tried to kill Jesus, it says the common people honored both him and John the Baptist. In fact, it was because of the common Jews that the Pharisees feared to move against Jesus and John the Baptist. Time and again, the reason was given for them not moving against Jesus and John the Baptist is given as “they feared the people”. (Matthew 14:5, 21:46; Mark 11:32, 12:12; Luke 20:19, 22:2)
Jesus and all the apostles were Jews. The early Christians did not even believe Gentiles could become Christians until God showed them otherwise so that they finally accepted that “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:18)
But hear for yourself the words of Paul, of whom more of the New Testament is written than anyone else:
Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and dug down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
You see, this is a great misunderstanding. Jesus condemned the Jewish leaders, not the Jewish people, of whom He said: “salvation is of the Jews”. (John 4:22) And even if these leaders, some the New Testament presents as righteous, such as Nicodemus (John 19:39) and Gamaliel (Acts 5:34).
We then see from Paul that the message is not that Jews only are sinful or Gentiles only are sinful. But rather as Paul says, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” (Romans 3:9) It is thus not an issue of anyone being better than anyone else, but of all finding mercy through God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah.
As Paul concludes:
Romans 3:29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
