By August 30, 2017 Read More →

1523 Martin Luther

Jews and the Early Christian ChurchJesus Christ Was Born a Jew

Conversion of the Jews will be the work of God alone operating from within, and not of a man working ― or rather playing ― from without. If these offences be taken away, worse will follow. For they are thus given over by the wrath of God to reprobation, that they may become incorrigible, as Ecclesiates says, for every one who is incorrigible is rendered worse rather than better by correction.”

In his essay That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, Luther condemned the inhuman treatment of the Jews and urged Christians to treat them kindly. Luther’s fervent desire was that Jews would hear the Gospel proclaimed clearly and be moved to convert to Christianity. Thus he argued:

If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a hog than a Christian. They have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs rather than human beings; they have done little else than deride them and seize their property. When they baptize them they show them nothing of Christian doctrine or life, but only subject them to popishness and monkery… If the apostles, who also were Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles … when we are inclined to boast of our position [as Christians] we should remember that we are but gentiles, while the Jews are of the lineage of Christ. We are aliens and in-laws; they are blood relatives, cousins, and brothers of our lord. Therefore, if one is to boast of flesh and blood the Jews are actually nearer to Christ than we are… If we really want to help them, we must be guided in our dealings with them not by papal law but by the law of Christian love. We must receive them cordially, and permit them to trade and work with us, that they may have occasion and opportunity to associate with us, hear our Christian teaching, and witness our Christian life. If some of them should prove stiff-necked, what of it? After all, we ourselves are not all good Christians either.”

Source: Martin Luther, “That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew,” Trans. Walter I. Brandt, in Luther’s Works (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1962), pp.200-201, 299.

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