Jesus Is Not an Antisemite: God’s Promises to Israel Stand

by Jamie Pantastico | Oct 20, 2025 | Israel | 0 comments

A Biblical Response to the Distortions of “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

Introduction

Recently, a blog circulated on a Christian Substack newsletter titled “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite.” The post claimed that Jesus took an axe to Judaism and that God’s promises to Israel are obsolete. But it was the author’s shocking assertion—that Jesus Himself was an antisemite—that raised the temperature and prompted many of you to forward it to me, asking for biblical clarity.

“No matter how much the world may hate the Jewish people, it does not change the truth: Jesus is not an antisemite, and God’s promises to Israel still stand.”

This article responds directly to those claims—using Scripture alone to show that God’s covenant with Israel is everlasting, His promises are unbreakable, and His Word cannot be revoked.
 

For context, you’ll see brief excerpts from the post included under each heading. They’re presented only to clarify the claims being refuted, not to give the article a platform.

The issue is not political; it’s theological. It’s about the very character of God—whether He keeps His Word or not.

This response is written not in anger, but in truth and grace. Let’s allow the Word of God to speak for itself.

I. Confusing Covenants—A Fatal Error

“Jesus said He came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. Fulfillment is not continuation; it is consummation. A shadow fulfilled by the substance disappears in the light.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

The article collapses the Abrahamic Covenant (everlasting, unconditional) and the Mosaic Covenant (conditional, disciplinary). God’s promises to Abraham were never dependent on Israel’s performance.

“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you… for an everlasting covenant… Also I give to you and your descendants… all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession.”
— Genesis 17:7–8

Israel’s disobedience under Moses brought discipline and exile, but never destruction. God said clearly:

“Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away… But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors.”
— Leviticus 26:44–45

To confuse correction with cancellation is to accuse God of breaking His Word—a thing He cannot do.

“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.”
— Hebrews 6:13

God didn’t merely promise Israel’s future; He swore it by His own name. The covenant stands on His unchanging character, not on Israel’s performance.

II. Fulfilled but Not Finished

“Every major symbol of Israel’s religion met its terminus in Christ. The temple was destroyed, no priesthood followed, the sacrifices ceased… Jesus did not expand the old system; He replaced it with Himself.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

Yes, under Joshua and Solomon Israel possessed much of the promised land (Joshua 21; 1 Kings 8), but those were partial fulfillments. The prophets, writing centuries later, still looked forward to a future restoration and reign under the Messiah:

• Ezekiel 37:21–22 — God will gather Israel “from every side and bring them into their own land.”
• Amos 9:14–15 — “I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up.”
• Jeremiah 31:31–37 — The New Covenant is made “with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

The prophetic timeline points forward, not backward.

III. Paul’s Testimony: Israel’s Blindness Is Temporary

“The distinction between Jew and Gentile dissolved, and the only identity that remained was union with Christ.”
“Apart from Christ, Judaism withers into history.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

Paul’s letters demolish the idea that the Church has permanently replaced Israel.

“Has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite.”
— Romans 11:1

“Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved… For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
— Romans 11:25–29

Gentile believers partake in spiritual blessings through faith in Christ, but Israel’s national promises remain intact. The olive tree still has its natural branches.

IV. What Jesus Actually Said and Did

“When Dispensational Zionists declare Jesus a Jew, they leave out the part about Jesus taking an axe to Judaism and cutting it down.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

Here the author paints Christ as hostile toward His own people. Yet Scripture shows the opposite.

Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), but He did not abolish God’s covenants. He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41–44). He foretold her temporary desolation, but also her future restoration:

“Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
— Luke 21:24

The word “until” changes everything—it points to an appointed end.

V. The New Covenant and the New Jerusalem

“The covenant of Law gave way to the covenant of Grace… Jesus should not be known for the Old Covenant He abolished, but the New Covenant He brought.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

The New Covenant is Jewish in origin and global in blessing. It was promised to Israel and Judah (Jer. 31:31–34) and confirmed in Christ’s blood (Luke 22:20).

And the eternal city bears Israel’s name:

“Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates… which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.”
— Revelation 21:12

It is called the New Jerusalem, not the “New Gentile.” God chose that name forever.

VI. Jesus Is Not an Antisemite

“By the modern definition, Jesus was 100% full-on antisemite.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

To label the Jewish Messiah an antisemite is both theologically absurd and spiritually dangerous. The reality is how can anyone say that about our Redeemer?

• Jesus was born of David’s line (Luke 1:32).
• He ministered to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24).
• His earliest followers and the first thousands in the Church were all Jews (Acts 2–6).

His rebukes of Israel’s leaders were prophetic, not prejudiced—mirroring Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, who called Israel to repentance out of covenant love, not hatred.

VII. The Question That Refutes Replacement Theology

“The apostles understood with absolute clarity… the first covenant was becoming obsolete and ready to vanish away.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

In Acts 1, after the resurrection, the apostles ask a question that shatters the claim that God has abandoned Israel:

“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)

If Jesus had revoked Israel’s promises, that question would have been foolish. Did Peter forget that Jesus supposedly stripped Israel of her inheritance? Did he forget that God had rejected His people? Of course not, because Jesus never said that, no matter how hard prideful men twist the Scripture.

Jesus never said, “Because you crucified Me, I break every promise I made to your fathers.” To claim such a thing is to slander the Lord of glory. Nowhere in Scripture does God declare that Israel’s rejection of her Messiah erased His covenants.

Peter knew better. He knew that the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could never be broken because God cannot lie. He knew that though Israel had crucified her King, that same King would one day reign from David’s throne in Jerusalem. That’s why Peter asked, “Will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

And how did Jesus respond?

“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Acts 1:7)

Notice—Jesus didn’t correct the premise of Peter’s question.
He didn’t say, “There will be no kingdom for Israel.”
He simply said the timing belongs to the Father.

The promise remains. The fulfillment awaits its appointed season.

VIII. Let God Be True

“Christ… founded a kingdom that stands not beside Judaism but above it, because the King… has already fulfilled every covenant, prophecy, and promise that Judaism ever carried.”
— from “Jesus, Savior and Antisemite”

This is the ultimate claim of the article—and the ultimate error.

This is not about politics or ethnicity—it’s about the faithfulness of God. If God could abandon the people He called His own, what hope would we Gentiles have of security in Christ? But He will not.

“For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake.” — 1 Samuel 12:22

 

 “Thus says the LORD… If those ordinances depart… then the seed of Israel shall also cease.” — Jeremiah 31:35–36

God is faithful to His covenants, faithful to Israel, and faithful to the Church. The same Lord who fulfilled the Law at His first coming will fulfill every prophecy at His return.

Jesus is not an antisemite.

He is a Jew, the Son of David, Israel’s Messiah, and the Redeemer of the world.