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 One of the most painful challenges in reading the Gospel of John today is how often it uses the phrase “the Jews” in moments of conflict. Lines like “the Jews persecuted Jesus” (John 5:16) or “the Jews took up stones” (John 10:31) can be deeply jarring—especially given how they’ve been interpreted through history. Taken out of context, these words have been used to justify suspicion, hostility, and violence against the Jewish people. They’ve echoed tragically in medieval accusations, church teachings, and even in modern acts of antisemitism. For many, they still carry a heavy weight.

But John’s Gospel didn’t emerge in a vacuum. It was born in a time of real tension, loss, and division among Jewish communities in the first century. Jesus, his followers, and even his critics were all Jewish. The arguments recorded in John aren’t between strangers—they’re family disputes, arising from within the heart of a people wrestling with profound questions: Who is the Messiah? What is God doing in our time? What does it mean to remain faithful under Roman rule?

The Greek word Ioudaioi, often translated “the Jews,” probably didn’t refer to the entire Jewish people. In many places, it seems to point more narrowly—to religious leaders in Jerusalem, to temple authorities, or to those closely aligned with political power. Understanding this helps shift the tone. Rather than a blanket condemnation, we begin to see John as a deeply Jewish text—one that reflects the heartbreak, hopes, and fierce debates of a community in crisis.

John’s Gospel insists that Jesus is the living Word, the one who brings God’s promises to life. But it doesn’t ask us to discard Judaism to make that claim. On the contrary, the Gospel is full of love for Jewish Scripture, festivals, symbols, and longing. Jesus is portrayed not as someone outside of Judaism, but as someone formed by it—shaped by its prayers, its stories, its vision of covenant with God.

Reading John now—especially in a world that still bears the scars of antisemitism—requires care and compassion. It calls us to slow down, to listen more closely, and to resist harmful interpretations that pit Jesus against his own people. The Church must recognize its role in perpetuating anti-Jewish ideas and commit to healing that legacy.

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