Why the Church should care about antisemitism
Jesus is Jewish. There are Jewish believers in the church. God loves the Jewish people
This talk was presented to the New Wineskins Mission Conference 2025 on the night focused on the persecuted church. CMJ USA thanks Jenny Noyes and the New Wineskins team for allowing us to explain how antisemitism is related to Jesus Messiah and the church. The manuscript below differs some from recorded presentation.
Shalom and good evening.
Antisemitism. What is antisemitism?
Antisemitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.”[1] Some examples of antisemitic thoughts: Jews are greedy capitalists. Jews are ignorant socialists. Jews are murderous. Jews control the world. Gross lies about a people that number 15 million among 8 billion!
Antisemitic hatred may manifest in hateful words or destructive and violent actions, everything from using antisemitic names and stereotypes to vandalism, arson, assault, and murder.
Antisemitism has been growing for years. In 2024, here in the United States, 70 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes were against Jews. The FBI tells us that nearly one-fifth of all hate crimes in the U.S. are against Jews.[2]
The number of antisemitic attacks have gone from 942 nationwide in 2015 to nearly 9,400 in 2024. That’s almost a 900 percent jump in attacks on Jewish people in 10 years.[3]
Why are we talking about Jewish people and antisemitism on the night to remember the persecuted church?
I’d like to introduce you to Yaron Lischinsky.
Yaron was born to a Jewish father and a German mother. He spent his earliest years in Germany then the family returned to Israel. There Yaron wrestled with what it meant to be a Jew who believes Jesus is the Messiah. Am I Christian? Am I Jewish? He thought deeply. He was intentional about deciding for himself and not just assuming his parents’ faith.
He was known at Christ Church Jerusalem, where his father had worked for a time. Yaron had gone to the pastor for counsel as he was discerning what to do with his life. He went on a retreat with a friend of mine who ministers to believers after their army service. Yaron took the retreat seriously. It wasn’t just a free trip for him. It was a time to listen to what the Spirit and those older in the faith had to say to him.
After the army and after college, Yaron decided that he could make a global impact for peace as a diplomat. While on assignment here in the United States, he met Sarah Miligrim, a Jewish young woman from Kansas City. Sarah also “was striving for peace,” according to her family.[4]
Both Yaron and Sarah served as diplomats in Washington, DC. They were, according to Christianity Today, attending church membership classes together in DC.[5] It seems Sarah was starting to investigate Jesus’ messianic claims. Colleagues and family say Yaron was going to propose to Sarah soon.
Yaron and Sarah were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21, 2025. They had just left an event discussing humanitarian diplomacy. They had been together working toward their common goal – making for peace in a war-torn world.
The murder suspect is facing hate crime charges, meaning that police believe Yaron and Sarah were targeted for being Jewish.[6]
Why should the church care about antisemitism?
ONE: The church includes more Jewish believers, like Yaron, than you might think.
A recent Pew study showed that – in the U.S. – nearly 300,000 Americans raised Jewish believe that Jesus is the Messiah. That same study shows that there are 1.6 million Americans with one Jewish parent who believe in Jesus.[7]
That’s nearly 2 million Americans of Jewish descent who believe in Jesus. Two million followers of Christ in our pews who are threatened by those who hate Jews. Antisemitism threatens members of the Body of Christ as much as it threatens our Jewish neighbors who do not yet know Yeshua.
TWO: Jesus is still Jewish.
Who’s watching The Chosen?
Faydra Shapiro, an orthodox Jewish woman involved with Jewish-Christian dialogue, called The Chosen’s portrayal “the most intensely Jewish Jesus and Gospels we've ever had” on screen.[8]
Remembering that Jesus is Jewish is vital for us to see that antisemitism is a problem. Don’t say “Jesus was Jewish.” We are people of the resurrection. Always say, “Jesus IS Jewish!” The New Testament – a product of Second Temple Judaism written by Jewish hands – is clear that Jesus of Nazareth is Jewish.
Consider this:
- The New Testament opens with a family tree proving Jesus’ Jewishness. The Gospel of Matthew details how Jesus descends from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Tribe of Judah, King David.
- This means that Jesus – born of a Jewish virgin, Mary – has Jewish DNA for all eternity.
- Just after the resurrection, Jesus encourages Thomas to touch his crucifixion wounds. In Revelation 5, John sees Jesus enthroned as a lamb slain.
If resurrected Jesus still bears the marks of his crucifixion, then he still bears the marks of his circumcision under the covenants of Abraham and Moses.
Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, is Jewish for all eternity.
THREE: (Why should the church care about antisemitism?) God chose to communicate his love and redemption to the whole world through the Sons of Jacob – through the Jewish people.
As Paul says in Romans 11, our Jewish neighbors are still loved by God for the Patriarchs’ sake.
We are to imitate God in this love. “Be holy as I am holy,” God tells us. This means loving our Jewish neighbors, whether or not they can see Jesus yet.
The church must be concerned about antisemitism because
- Jesus is Jewish,
- there are Jews in the Body of Christ,
- and God still loves the Jews for the sake of the Patriarchs.
I will finish with a meditation on a painting.
This is White Crucifixion by Marc Chagall. It depicts a Jewish village under attack. Chagall painted it in 1938 after Kristallnacht, a nationwide attack on Jews in Nazi Germany.
In the middle of this violent scene, Chagall placed Jesus, the crucified Messiah, ultimate Jewish martyr, suffering with his people.
This painting challenges me. Seeing the Suffering Servant hanging in the midst of violent antisemitism challenges me to step into the threat of antisemitism with my Jewish neighbors.
What can we as followers of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Man, Son of God, do in the face of antisemitism?
ONE. Make Jewish friends. Those who have a Jewish acquaintance are more likely to understand the threat of antisemitism.
TWO. Nurture Jewish friendships.
- Check on your Jewish neighbors.
- Ask them how antisemitism is affecting them.
- Listen to their stories of past and present antisemitism in their family histories.
- Listen and feel their fear, anger, and uncertainty.
- Ask them how you can support them in the face of such a threat. This includes the Jewish Christian at your church. Our Jewish neighbors need to experience love from us whether or not they can see Jesus.
THREE. Speak out against Jewish hate
- Dare to step into the threat as a suffering servant.
- Pay attention when someone blames a Jewish person for the Israel-Hamas War. Words that equate Jews outside Israel with the State of Israel or their army are dangerous and have led to the vandalizing and burning of synagogues worldwide. Here in the U.S. – in Boulder, Colorado – we even saw Jewish Americans set on fire by an assailant angry about the Israel-Hamas War.
- Call out antisemitic language when you hear it or see it, especially if it’s coming from a brother or sister in Christ. We should be the last people to say hateful things about the people related to our Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth.
So friends, pay attention to antisemitism.
Hatred of Jewish people affects us because we are people of the Jewish Messiah.
It affects us because the body of Messiah has always been Jew and Gentile together.
So please make a Jewish friend. Be intentional about nurturing Jewish friendships, both inside and outside the church. And call out antisemitic language when you hear or see it.
Antisemitism grieves the heart of God. And so it should grieve us as well.
Shalom.
Footnotes
[1] “Working definition of antisemitism”, International Holocaust Alliance. https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism
[2] Gilson, Grace. “Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes Reach Record High in the United States, According to FBI.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 6 August 2025. https://www.jta.org/2025/08/06/united-states/anti-jewish-hate-crimes-reach-record-high-in-the-united-states-according-to-fbi.
[3] “Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2024,” Anti-Defemation League, April 2025. https://www.adl.org/resources/report/audit-antisemitic-incidents-2024
[4] Kaplan, Jonah, “Sarah Milgrim’s Family Says She Was ‘Striving for Peace’ and Urges End to Violence: ‘What Does It Accomplish?’ CBS News,” 4 June 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarah-milgrim-family-dc-shooting-victim-cbs-mornings-interview
[5] Nelson, Jill. “Murdered Staffer Had Deep Ties to Messianic Community in Israel.” Christianity Today, 23 May 2025. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/05/dc-museum-shooting-messianic-jewish-staffers/.
[6] “Man Accused of Killing Israeli Embassy Staffers Indicted on Federal Hate Crime Charges.” PBS News, 6 August 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/man-accused-of-killing-israeli-embassy-staffers-indicted-on-federal-hate-crime-charges.
[7] See our blog article “There are more Jewish believers in Jesus than you think” for the data analysis from the 2020 Pew report on Jews in America. https://www.cmj-usa.org/there-are-more-jewish-believers-in-jesus-than-you-think
[8] Shaprio, Faydra, “Why this Jew is binge-watching The Chosen (and maybe you should too),” Times of Israel Blogs, 23 May 2023. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-this-jew-is-binge-watching-the-chosen-and-maybe-you-should-too/
Blessed by this post? Ready to sow into the work of CMJ? No gift is too small. we are blessed by your partnership.
