As an Israeli, I do not seek to be loved or accepted by the world. In a profoundly prophetic declaration concerning Israel, we were told:

“A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations.”
— Numbers 23:9 (NKJV)

As a follower of the Messiah, I also do not seek the world’s acceptance. In His prayer to the Father, Yeshua said of His disciples:

“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
— John 17:16 (NKJV)

He also warned:

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
— John 15:18–19 (NKJV)

So, as an Israeli believer, I have a twofold reason to understand that popularity and acceptance in this world are not goals to pursue. In fact, being embraced by a world that rejects God and His chosen people, Israel, may well be an indication that we are on the wrong path, seeking the wrong things.

The same world that rejects Yeshua the Measiah increasingly rejects His earthly brethren as well. It is impossible to truly love the Jewish Messiah while harboring hatred for the people through whom God brought Him into the world. The world’s hostility toward Christ and its hostility toward Israel are often two sides of the same spiritual reality.

Our calling is not to fit into this world, but to faithfully represent the One who called us out of it.

If you love the King of the Jews, you can’t hate the Jews of the King!