The Jews

The Jews is a phrase used 182 times in the Bible (ESV), in both the Old Testament (54 times) and New Testament (128 times). The Gospel of John uses it by far the most often (60 times), but even the Gospel of Matthew uses this phrase. Paul uses it only 4 times.

At the time of Jesus there was a sharp split between the Samaritans and Judeans, and John tended to be more sympathetic to the Samaritans. John's frequent references may have been based on that tension.

Throughout history, antisemites have taken negative references to "the Jews" entirely out of context and out of character with the nature of the New Testament. In contrast to their vile distortions of Scripture, the New Testament demonstrates God's love for the Jewish people and His desire to bring them to salvation, particularly emphasized in the Pauline Epistles:

“	For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.	”
—Romans 1:16

See also

• The Jewish People in John's Gospel