How not to read the Bible antisemitically

Before the Church can speak out against antisemitism without, we must correct the antisemitism within. We must acknowledge that some of our theological heroes––from Chrysostom to Martin Luther––were antisemites, and we must be careful to separate their anti-Jewish teachings from their important theological contributions. We also must examine our exegetical methods for faulty assumptions that (perhaps unconsciously) lead us to anti-Jewish interpretations. We must repent but we also must rightly handle the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). Here are three guards against antisemitic readings of both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament.

First, we must see the story of the Bible as that of God consummating, completing, creation rather than merely redeeming what Adam and Eve spoiled. R. Kendall Soulen, in The God of Israel and Christian Theology , notes that the ancient Christian creeds, by focusing on the fall of humanity and then Messiah’s redemptive work, leapfrog over the bulk of the biblical narrative so that God’s history with Israel recedes into mere New Testament background. ¹ This can lead to triumphalism toward Jews ² (see Rom 11:17-24).

Next, we must read the New Testament writers from within Judaism , especially Paul. This rabbinic Jew who could quote Greek texts to the Athenian philosophers (Acts 17:28) ³ must be read “as a Jew within Judaism, practicing and promoting a Torah-defined Jewish way of life for followers of Christ”––Jew and Gentile–– as it “is historically more probable and therefore more authentic” ⁴ than reading Paul as primarily Hellenistic. Otherwise, we end up with a duplicitous Paul who only pretends to be Torah-observant when he is evangelizing Jews. ⁵ Biblical scholar Brad Young reminds us that “Paul calls himself a Pharisee. We should listen to what Paul tells us about himself.” ⁶

The third guard against supersessionist and antisemitic readings of the Christian canon is to consult Jewish sources, including Messianic Jewish writers, recent Jewish scholars, and even rabbinical commentary past and present. How can Christians justify the use of Jewish sources when mainstream Judaism, nearly 2,000 years after the first advent, continues to reject the messiahship and divinity of Jesus of Nazareth? Unbelieving Jews may still be enemies of the Gospel (to the benefit of the Gentiles!), but God continues to love them “for the sake of the fathers” (Rom 11:28 NASB).

The combination of these three interpretive tools teaches Christians to show respect for Judaism and to acknowledge that the long Jewish tradition is the root that supports the olive tree into which we are grafted. This show of respect creates an atmosphere that can foster dialogue. Open dialogue offers an opportunity to testify to Jewish people that Jesus is the Messiah.