Is this verse antisemitic ?

[Carl Emerson]

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Who were the YOU ???

 

[Reluctant Theologian]

I don't think so .. the 'you' is Israel as a collective; Peter is simply stating what had happened recently in the leadership and the crowd demanding Yeshua's crucifixion. Antisemitic would be if you use that statement to pursue violence of whatever kind towards Jews.

 

[Sabertooth]

30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.

Who were the YOU ???

Here is the simplest answer (though it might have other levels).
The "you" (in this context) was the Sanhedrin, Israel's Supreme Court at the time.

 

[David Lamb]

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Who were the YOU ???

How can it have been antisemitic? It was part of a sermon from Peter, in which he also said:

(Act 2:37) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
(Act 2:38) Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Act 2:39) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
(Act 2:40) And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."
(Act 2:41) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

 

[Carl Emerson]

I raise the question because I hear Jews referring to this text in dismissing the faith - Yet the first converts in their thousands were largely Jews.

 

[wrotta]

are you really suggesting that God can be an antisemite

 

[Maria Billingsley]

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Who were the YOU ???

You mean, is truth anti- Semetic? That's how far this accusation has gone. Nevertheless, Jews today have nothing to do with this verse so using it today would be disrespectful. That being said, those who live under the Talmud would most likely be complicit against Jesus Christ of Nazareth as it confirms these actions.

Be blessed.

 

[Sabertooth]

How can it have been antisemitic? It was part of a sermon from Peter,...

The passage in the OP is taken from Acts Chapter 5.

 

[Servus]

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Who were the YOU ???

Peter a Jew talking to fellow Jews? Nope.

 

[timothyu]

.

 

[timothyu]

Humanity in general. We all have the same ability to do what was done to Jesus in many ways. It is in our nature. An example is the division in the US with both sides condemning each other.

But yes, in this passage he was speaking to the high council of the Sanhedrin. However the council might by today’s terms have called it antisemitism as they saw themselves as representing Judaea but there was no universal law at the time protecting them that they could hide behind or use to their advantage. The Sanhedrin had made the same mistake as the elohim put in charge of the 70 nations at Babel; they wished to be worshipped as authority.

 

[Hentenza]

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Who were the YOU ???

Hi Carl. Verse 27-28 gives you the answer.

“When they had brought them, they had them stand before the Council. The high priest interrogated them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Acts 5:27-28 (NASB2020) - When they had brought them, they ha | YouVersion

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the Council. The high priest interrogated them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have fille

bible.com

The high priest of the council was the high priest of the Sanhedrin and it also included Pharisees (see verse 34). These were indeed the groups that conspired and were successful in crucifying Jesus so Peter is just speaking the truth. These were also the groups that Jesus argued with and attempted to correct their errors. They became infuriated and almost decided to execute them but they did not deny Peter’s words. There is no anti-semitism here but just a mere statement of fact.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Hi Carl. Verse 27-28 gives you the answer.

“When they had brought them, they had them stand before the Council. The high priest interrogated them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Acts 5:27-28 (NASB2020) - When they had brought them, they ha | YouVersion

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the Council. The high priest interrogated them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have fille

bible.com

The high priest of the council was the high priest of the Sanhedrin and it also included Pharisees (see verse 34). These were indeed the groups that conspired and were successful in crucifying Jesus so Peter is just speaking the truth. These were also the groups that Jesus argued with and attempted to correct their errors. They became infuriated and almost decided to execute them but they did not deny Peter’s words. There is no anti-semitism here but just a mere statement of fact.

Yes, personally I see this as the answer - thank you. And in some quarters this 'Pharasaical Spirit' is very much alive today both in New York and in Israel.

So if a Jew is in conversation with you about faith today, dismissing Christianity on these grounds, how should we answer.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Timothy said - "Humanity in general. We all have the same ability to do what was done to Jesus in many ways. It is in our nature. An example is the division in the US with both sides condemning each other..."

There is a truth in this also - that our sins put Jesus on the Cross. We are all complicate.

However it remains that anti Christian sentiment is very strong among Orthodox Jews who view this Christian teaching as antisemitic.

 

[Hentenza]

Yes, personally I see this as the answer - thank you. And in some quarters this 'Pharasaical Spirit' is very much alive today both in New York and in Israel.

So if a Jew is in conversation with you about faith today, dismissing Christianity on these grounds, how should we answer.

Thanks Carl. I stand by the Bible so I would answer the same way. The fact is that Jesus was incarnate with the end purpose of dying on the cross for the sins of the world. If the Jew that I’m talking to takes offense like the Jews of the times then I will point out the historical narrative in the gospels. Historical fact is just that. It is not anti-Semitic to explain fact, but like the scriptures teach, we should explain and teach with patience and love. If he or she wants to partake in Christ’s sacrifice then accept Him as the Messiah. It is their choice.

 

[timothyu]

However it remains that anti Christian sentiment is very strong among orthodox Jews who view this Christian teaching as antisemitic.

So what’s next? Ban the NT?

 

[Carl Emerson]

So what’s next? Ban the NT?

I wouldn't expect that there would be many NT's in their environment as it is.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Thanks Carl. I stand by the Bible so I would answer the same way. The fact is that Jesus was incarnate with the end purpose of dying on the cross for the sins of the world. If the Jew that I’m talking to takes offense like the Jews of the times then I will point out the historical narrative in the gospels. Historical fact is just that. It is not anti-Semitic to explain fact, but like the scriptures teach, we should explain and teach with patience and love. If he or she wants to partake in Christ’s sacrifice then accept Him as the Messiah. It is their choice.

Yes, this sounds like a reasoned response.

 

[timothyu]

Peter after all was a Jew too. This was/is an inhouse matter.

 

[Reluctant Theologian]

Timothy said - "Humanity in general. We all have the same ability to do what was done to Jesus in many ways. It is in our nature. An example is the division in the US with both sides condemning each other..."

There is a truth in this also - that our sins put Jesus on the Cross. We are all complicate.

However it remains that anti Christian sentiment is very strong among Orthodox Jews who view this Christian teaching as antisemitic.

Anti Christian sentiment among Orthodox Jews is strong, but there are also more Jewish believers in Yeshua as the Messiah than in the previous 1900 years since .. a lot of positive stuff is happening - internet plays a big role in that. Information from any side is available to anyone interested.

Modern anti-Christian sentiment among Jews in general has to be understood against the back-drop of antisemitism and persecution of Jews in (Christian) Europe during 2 millennia (e.g. the Spanish expulsion, the strong antisemitic remarks by Marten Luther towards the end of his life, the WW2 era holocaust, etc.).

In Israel itself nowadays these two extremes co-exist - yet the political echelon is very much aware support for Jews worldwide now mainly comes from Christians.

The holocaust provided 'understanding' by the (then) Christian West Jews worldwide needed a homeland - and promises had been made before that regarding the area known as 'Palestine' during British rule.

With the Iranian/Yemenite/Gazan/Hezbollah wars the tide is turning again - sadly enough many in Western Europe now openly state the birth of the new state of Israel as a homeland for Jews was a mistake and Jews worldwide have no historical claim to that area. Not coincidentally most of these would also deny Yeshua as the King of the Jews who will return to Earth on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

There is hope still for mission and witnessing to Jews - watch this beautiful and challenging message: