By Briana Bass, Christian Romance Author, Devotional Writer & Certified Professional Coach

Did you know we’re in the middle of Passover? It’s an eight-day Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt. I encourage you to read Exodus Chapter 12 if you’re unfamiliar with the story, but you probably remember it from Sunday School. God commanded Moses to speak to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Jewish slaves. When Pharaoh denied the request, God sent multiple plagues including locusts, frogs, and rivers of blood.

Finally, God killed the firstborn of every family. But the Israelites were spared because they painted their doorposts with lambs’ blood. When the Lord passed through Egypt on that fateful night, He passed over the houses with this sign. Thus, we have the word Passover.

Passover was the Jewish holiday celebrated in Jerusalem during what Christians now call Holy Week. When Jesus and the disciples shared the Last Supper they were, as devout Jews, sharing the Passover meal.

Christianity and Judaism share a rich history. It’s called Judeo-Christian for a reason! Sometimes though, I think we forget how truly entwined our religions are. As Christians, it’s important to remember our Biblical history and respect our Jewish friends and family. After all, many of our Biblical forefathers and foremothers were Jewish!

Acknowledging Our Judeo-Christian Heritage

Christianity has been around for two thousand years. That sounds like a long time, but it’s barely a blip in the timeline of human existence. Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism are all older than Christianity. In fact, Christianity did not exist before Jesus was born. It didn’t even exist when He was a child. Our faith is based on the crucifixion, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. His death led to our life. Without what we now celebrate as Easter, there would be no Christianity.

Long before the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, God formed a covenant with a man named Abraham. That man became the founder of the Jewish faith. Jesus was born into the Jewish religion, and the early Christian movement was considered a sect of Judaism. It would take decades for Christianity to be recognized as a separate religion.

The key point here is that Christianity shares an extensive history with Judaism. The thousands of years covered in the Old Testament is part of both religions. You cannot have Christianity without Judaism. A basic understanding of the Jewish faith illuminates the counter-cultural, radical movement Jesus started. How do we explain the Messianic prophecy without Judaism? How do we explain Jesus’ lineage without reading Ruth and the First and Second Books of Samuel? It’s impossible. We need Judaism to provide context to the Gospel. Ignoring the history and the culture of Judaism paints an unfinished and blurry picture of Christianity.

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Yet instead of celebrating our Judeo-Christian history, we read constant headlines about hate speech and hate crimes. These aren’t limited to only our Jewish siblings, but our Muslim siblings as well.

I remember in school learning about world religions. We spent a lot of time focused on the Abrahamic faiths: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The connection between the three faiths is far greater than sharing a spiritual ancestor. We are all God’s children, regardless of which religion we follow.

It’s easy to turn away when we witness antisemitism or Islamophobia. But ignoring either does not live up to Christ’s command for us to love our neighbor. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10: 25-37 (KJV):

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Are we the lawyer, questioning Jesus about who our neighbors are? Or are we the Samaritan, showing mercy to strangers regardless of their ethnicity or religion? The greatest commandment is to love God and love others. How are you loving your neighbors today?

All We Need is Love

Our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters deserve our love. They are as much our neighbors as our fellow Christians. We share a rich and sometimes complicated history. The present is fraught with tension. So what will the future look like for our three faiths?

The responsibility lies with us. Let us rise above the hate and choose to love our neighbors as ourselves.