Replacing

"Jews" with "people"

The Gospel of John may very well be responsible for fueling Anti-Semitism throughout the years because of the emphasize it places on, and the frequency with which it mentions, the "Jews." Of course, "Jews" is not in and of itself a negative word or association, but as with any word that generalizes a massive population, care needs to be used in the moments it is applied. In John, and plenty of other spaces including Martin Luther's writings, the Minister and practicing Christian can often correct this by replacing "Jews" with "people."

The Gospel of John

John 18 and 19


The "Jews" are mentioned seven times in John 18, and twelve times in John 19. Since these are the chapters of Christ's Passion - the story of His trial and crucifixion - this places a heavy amount of blame on the Jewish people. These verses have been cited in Anti-Semitic rhetoric, blaming the Jewish people for the death of Jesus.


It is important to avoid perpetuating this problem, and one may do so by replacing "Jews" with "people," especially in the Passion narrative in John.