What Does the Bible Say About the Jewish People?
The Bible says Jesus was Jewish, God has not rejected His people, and antisemitism is sin. A clear, gentle look at what Scripture teaches.
The Bible speaks about the Jewish people from beginning to end, and it speaks with unusual warmth. Jesus Himself was Jewish, born of the tribe of Judah. The apostles were Jewish. The Scriptures Christians read were entrusted to Israel. And Paul, writing to a church largely made up of Gentiles, asks whether God has thrown His people away and answers with the strongest word he has: “Certainly not!” (Romans 11:1). If you are Jewish, you are not reading an outsider’s book about you. You are welcome to come to Christ, who came from your own people, and to read these pages as your own history. If you are not Jewish, this article is a call to read that history with humility, because antisemitism is sin, and Scripture never permits contempt for the people through whom God gave the world its Savior.
Who are the Jewish people in the Bible?
The name comes from Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. At first “Jew” meant someone from the tribe or kingdom of Judah, as distinct from the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 16:6). After the exile, the name widened to cover the whole Hebrew nation. The New Testament uses three words for the same people: “Jews,” marking their nationality among the nations; “Hebrews,” marking their language and culture; and “Israelites,” marking their covenant privileges. All three point to one people, descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
That people began with a promise. God told Abraham that through his offspring all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Israel was not chosen because it was larger or better than other nations; it was chosen to carry a message for everyone. Paul lists the gifts plainly:
the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen. — Romans 9:4-5 (BSB)
Notice the last line. The Messiah Himself comes from this people. That single fact settles any question about whether the Bible treats Jewish identity as something to be despised.
What does the Bible say about God’s promises to Israel?
Paul spends three chapters of Romans on this question, and his answer is that God’s call does not fail. Some in Israel did not believe, but their unbelief did not cancel God’s faithfulness (Romans 3:3-4). Paul asks directly:
I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. — Romans 11:1 (BSB)
He goes further and speaks of a continuing place for Israel in God’s purposes, and he warns Gentile believers not to boast against the branches (Romans 11:17-24). Then he says something that should end every Christian’s contempt for Jewish people:
Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. — Romans 11:28-29 (BSB)
Christians differ on how to read the details of Romans 11 and on how the modern state of Israel relates to prophecy. Some expect a future national restoration in a literal way; others read these promises as fulfilled in the church, with Jewish and Gentile believers joined into one body. Faithful readers hold both views, and this article does not settle that question. What is not disputed is the sentence Paul wrote: God’s gifts and call are irrevocable. Whatever your view of timelines, you cannot read Romans 11 and conclude that God is finished with the Jewish people or that Christians may treat them with contempt.
Did Jesus and the apostles teach anything against Jewish people?
No. Jesus was Jewish. He was circumcised on the eighth day, raised in a Jewish home, and He taught in the synagogues. Matthew opens his Gospel with His genealogy, tracing Him through the line of David and Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Jesus told a Samaritan woman, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).
It is true that the Gospels record sharp disagreements between Jesus and some religious leaders of His day. But those were disputes within Judaism about the Messiah, not a rejection of the Jewish people. When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, He wept as a Jewish prophet over the city that stood at the heart of His people’s worship. When Peter preached at Pentecost, his hearers were Jewish, and thousands believed. The earliest church was entirely Jewish before Gentiles were added.
We should also be honest about history. Some Christians have misused Scripture to justify contempt for Jewish people, and that misuse has caused terrible suffering. Other Christians, reading the whole Bible, opposed that hatred and stood with Jewish neighbors. The New Testament itself gives no ground for antisemitism. Paul, a Jew, wrote that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) — Jew and Gentile alike. The gospel humbles everyone; it never exalts one people over another.
Is there a difference between Jews and Gentiles in the church?
In Christ, no. Paul writes that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord is rich to all who call on Him (Romans 10:12-13). And to the Ephesians he says that Christ has broken down the dividing wall, making the two one (Ephesians 2:14-16).
This does not erase Jewish identity. Paul never stopped calling himself an Israelite. But it does mean that Jewish and Gentile believers are members of one family, with equal standing before God. The church is not a replacement for Israel in the sense of pushing Jewish people aside; it is the place where the promises to Abraham reach the nations, and where Jewish believers are fully at home.
How should Christians treat Jewish people today?
With love, honor and humility. The Bible commands prayer for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), and that prayer is for every person in that land — Jewish, Arab, Christian and Muslim. It is not a prayer for one side to win.
Practically, that means refusing antisemitism in any form, including jokes, stereotypes and conspiracy theories. It means honoring the Jewish roots of our faith rather than pretending the Old Testament is a footnote. It means speaking of Jewish people as neighbors made in God’s image, not as a category to be feared or used. And it means sharing the gospel the way Paul did — with tears, without arrogance, and with genuine love (Romans 9:1-3).
What does the Bible say about forgiveness and grace here?
Yes — grace is for everyone, and that includes anyone who has carried hatred in their heart. If you have spoken or acted against Jewish people, the same blood of Christ that cleanses every other sin cleanses that one. Repentance is real, and God receives those who turn to Him.
If you are Jewish and wondering whether Christians have anything for you, the answer is the Messiah Himself, who came from your people and invites you to know Him. Read Romans 9 through 11 slowly, with prayer. Talk with a pastor or a mature believer who can walk through these chapters with you. And find a local church where the whole Bible is taught — Old Testament and New — and where Jewish people are loved, not merely discussed. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has not changed, and His call is irrevocable.
Common questions
Did God reject the Jewish people because they rejected Jesus?
No. Paul asks that exact question in Romans 11:1 and answers, “Certainly not!” He goes on to say that God’s gifts and call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Christians differ on how the promises to Israel work out in detail, but the Bible never says God has cast His people away.
Was Jesus Jewish?
Yes. Jesus was born into a Jewish family, circumcised on the eighth day, and descended from Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1). He taught in synagogues and told a Samaritan woman, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).
Is antisemitism a sin?
Yes. Hatred or contempt for Jewish people contradicts Scripture, which calls Israel God’s chosen people and says they are loved on account of the patriarchs (Romans 11:28). All people are made in God’s image, and all have sinned (Romans 3:23), so no Christian has grounds to look down on any people.
How should Christians pray for Jewish people?
With love and humility, for their peace and welfare (Psalm 122:6), and for them to know the Messiah. That prayer is for every person in the land, Jewish, Arab, Christian and Muslim, not for one side against another.