How Do We Address Christians Embracing Antisemitism Or Messianic Judaism?
Q: What differences do you see in the way antisemitism manifests today, especially among younger generations, and how to address the matter? My generation and younger generations do not have the basic biblical knowledge to form solid biblical perspective on the matter. Also, on the other side, many say that to be a Messianic Jew is far better, or are venturing off into Judaism.
A: I know it sounds trite, but really, the solution is coming back to the Bible and rightly dividing the word of truth. There are two extremes that we want to avoid. The one extreme is that God is forever finished with the Jewish people. Listen, there are some people who wrongfully take this extreme view, saying that God has exterminated the Jewish people in judgment, and that the people who call themselves the Jews today aren’t Jews at all. Friends, God has promised in His word that the Jews will remain until the return of Christ. In Luke 13:35, Jesus said to Jerusalem, the Jewish people and their leaders, “…Assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'” If anybody wants to tell me that prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70, that’s a joke and a wrong interpretation of it. There are many, many other passages which tell us that the Jewish people will endure until the end of the age, until the glorious return of Jesus Christ, and even beyond, I believe, into the Millennium. But that’s another subject altogether.
So, on one extreme are those who think that God has exterminated the Jewish people in His judgment. There are people who think that that Christianity must be cleansed of Judaism, and that Christians must dissociate themselves from any kind of favor towards Jewish people at all, which they would wrongly term as “Judaizing.” Friends, that’s ridiculous. Judaizing is the teaching that Gentiles had to come to Jesus through Moses and the Mosaic Law, most notably circumcision, as the entry point for coming under the Law. That’s what Judaizing is. Some people are out there wrongfully trying to say that Judaizing is any kind of expression of favor toward the Jewish people, or belief that God has any remaining promise for the Jewish people. That’s nonsense.
So that’s one extreme, but you point out very well that there’s another extreme belief that somehow believers can be more holy if they observe Jewish customs and practices. Now, if you want to fulfill Jewish customs and practices as they have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ – in other words, if you want to keep a Passover and point out how it’s all fulfilled in Jesus, or do that with the other Feasts of Israel or Jewish customs – you have freedom in Christ to do it. Just don’t think it makes you any more righteous before God. Paul said that you have freedom if you want to observe the day (see Romans 14). If you want to observe the day, observe it. If you don’t want to observe it, then don’t observe it. Just whatever you do, whether observing it or not observing it, do it unto the Lord.
We have freedom in Christ. Observing certain Jewish customs or rituals does not make anyone more righteous than people who don’t observe them. Saying so would mean you’re edging towards the Judaizing that some people speak about in the New Testament.
So, how do we do we rightly divide the word of truth? Those who want to exalt the Jewish people above measure are not rightly dividing the word of truth. Those who act as if the Jewish people have their own special covenant that brings them salvation outside of Jesus Christ are not rightly dividing the word of truth. Those who think that God has forever rejected the Jewish people and is done with them in having any role in His unfolding plan are not rightly dividing the word of truth either.
See also David Guzik’s YouTube playlist: Shifting Attitudes Toward Israel & Judaism