>>10984801>>10984800Pro-Semitism in the New Testament
In the Gospels:
Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 emphasize that Jesus was Jewish and a descendent of David.
Matthew 10:5-6 - Jesus instructs the disciples to take the Gospel to the Jews first, not the Gentiles.
Matthew 15:21-28 - Jesus tells a Gentile woman that he was sent to save the Jews first.
The Jews are far from being the only ones involved in Christ's persecution and crucifixion. Pilate let Jesus be crucified despite realizing his innocence (Mk 15:9-15) and the Roman soldiers mocked and persecuted Jesus, as well as doing the actual crucifying (Mt 27:27-31, Lk 23:11, 35-37).
John 4:22 - "Salvation is from the Jews" (i.e. from Jesus, David's descendant).
In Acts:
4:27 - Herod, Pilate and the Gentiles in Jerusalem (not just the Jews) conspired against Jesus.
11:1-18 - In the account of Peter and Cornelius, the Jews are amazed that God is merciful enough to save "even the (unclean) Gentiles."
14:1, 17:10-12 - Paul follows Jesus' model of going to the Jews first, and many Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah.
In the Pauline Epistles:
Romans 1:16 - Salvation is "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile".
Romans 9:1-5 - Paul (who is Jewish) describes his desire for the Israelites to receive Christ and the honors the Israelites have received, including that Jesus' human ancestry was through them.
Romans 11:1-24 - Paul warns the Gentiles against boasting, comparing them to wild olive branches and the Jews to cultivated olive branches.
Romans 11:28 - Even those Jews who reject Christ are to be "loved on account of the patriarchs."
Romans 15:27 - "For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings."
Galatians 2:7-9 - At least three of the apostles had a specific ministry to the Jews.
Galatians 2:11-13 - Rather than an anti-Semitic prejudice, the early church had if anything a pro-Semitic prejudice.
