Jesus was a Jew. His apostles were Jews. The first Christians were Jews. Most of the Holy Bible was written by Jews. It says of the Jews that “God did not reject his people whom he foreknew” (Romans 11:2).
The scripture also says that “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call upon him, for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:12-13). This is quoting the Jewish prophets Isaiah and Joel to teach that salvation is by grace through faith for people of all ethnic backgrounds, Jewish as well as Gentile.
This means that there is no place for anti-Jewish bigotry among Christians, or anywhere else. The US Department of Education has documented an alarming rise in harassment, intimidation, and discrimination against Jewish students in American universities. These demonstrations have been attributed to the conduct of the state of Israel in its war against terrorism.
One does not have to agree with every policy of the nation of Israel to say that anti-Semitic hatred and violence are just plain wrong, and sinful. Martin Luther said as much early in his ministry. But, famously, and unfortunately, his later writings laid the groundwork for the 20th century’s explosion of violence against the Jewish population of Europe under Adolf Hitler.
Luther wrote, in a document called “Against the Jews and their Lies,” that Jewish synagogues should be burned, properties confiscated, books should be burned, travel restricted, and persecution tolerated. These inflammatory rantings provoked unspeakable horrors against the Jews of Luther’s day. They are an embarrassment to all who identify themselves as followers of Jesus.
It is hard for us to understand Luther’s anti-Semitism. I do not think we should dismiss it by saying, “Well, he was just a man of his times. This was a part of his cultural heritage as a German.” That may be true, but Luther was also a man of the scriptures. He knew what the apostle Paul had written, “My heart’s desire and prayer for the Israelites is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). Did Luther become embittered against Jews because they refused to voluntarily convert to Christianity?
He also knew and believed what the Bible teaches about the forgiveness of sin. There is a familiar story Luther told about himself. He said that the devil approached him one day and tried to use the fact that every person is fallible. The accuser reminded Luther of his sins. He presented him with a long list of his past failures of which he was indeed guilty.
When Satan finished Luther asked him if he had omitted some of his sins. “Think a little harder. You must have forgotten some!” The devil complied and added some other sins to the list. Then Luther said, “That’s fine, now write across that list in red ink, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin!'” There was nothing the devil could say to that.
Luther knew the scripture which says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
One wonders, did Luther ever confess the sin of anti-Semitism?
Pastor Randy Faulkner