Jewish Anti-Missionaries

Jewish anti-missionaries are Jews whose specific objective is to stop all Christian evangelization of Jews.

Some anti-missionaries pose as Jews interested in Christianity, responding to advertisements and pretending interest in Christianity. After they have acquired a thorough knowledge of the particular Christian mission, they try in any way they can to destroy it, and tell the Jewish community to beware of it. In this category, one technique often seen is for the anti-missionary to join an online discussion group and ask questions based on their knowledge of Jewish tradition, hoping to show that Christians in the group don’t really understand Judaism and therefore can’t be credible in leading a Jew toward Christianity. Others simply provide arguments against Christianity to Jews who come across their web sites.

When an anti-missionary tries to use his Jewish education to show that Christians don’t understand Judaism, I usually respond by observing that Judaism is the earlier form of God’s self-revelation to man, and that Christianity, as its fulfillment and completion, is actually the distilled essence of Judaism. After all, Rabbi Hillel’s “Torah on one foot” was, “That which you hate, don’t do to others.” Rabbi Hillel added, “That is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary. Go and learn it!” Rabbi Yeshua (Jesus) taught the same precept. Mt 7:12 “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” But Rabbi Yeshua had the authority to explain why it is so important. Mt 7:2 “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” It’s not so much Jewish faith and Catholic faith, but the earlier revelation as compared with the completed revelation. Of course, the anti-missionary will ask how we know Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God. That brings the conversation onto our terrain, since the evidence that He was the Son of God vastly overwhelms the evidence that He was not.

Little or no documentation of Jewish anti-missionary activity exists among Christians. Most of the information on Jewish anti-missionary activity comes from anecdotes shared by Christians of various denominations who have evangelized Jews. There are stories of anti-missionaries physically assaulting or spreading rumors about Christian missionaries. Each anti-missionary group has its own strategy and tactics, but anecdotes suggest that all are persecutive and hateful.

Jesus told His apostles Mt 10:6 “...to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” instructing them, Mt 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues...”

We evangelize Jews because Jesus sent us to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but we are wise as serpents and innocent as doves. We try to fly below their radar by giving Second Exodus only to Jews who are sincerely interested in reading it. That is common courtesy and wise strategy.

What the Jewish anti-missionaries do not understand is how persecution strengthens the Church and the individual. Jesus told us, Mt 5:11 “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The seeds of Christianity were watered with the blood of martyrs. During the Roman persecutions, every Christian who sang a Christian hymn while walking serenely toward the lions in the arena convinced hundreds of bystanders that Christ had indeed conquered death.