He was there.

"'I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" (Matthew 25:36-40 ESV).

"Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17 ESV).

He was there. The Hebrews' text above tells us that He was "made like his brothers." This term "brothers" could be the Jewish people. He came to minister to Israel (Romans 15:8), because He was of Israel. Many forget that Jesus was Jewish. His identity with Israel and the Jewish people has never wavered. It is ironic and shameful that Jews could suffer under those who abuse His name in an unholy manner. That is a tactic of Satan to confuse Jewish people about the true nature of Jesus. He did nothing but good for Israel.

His words above in Matthew in a Parable teach that the nations are going to be held accountable for their treatment of the Jews. If Gentile nations seek to bless Israel (Philosemitism), then there will be temporal blessing and favor in the Day of Judgment. But those who want a "Final Solution" will find themselves judged in this world and the next.

He was there. When the Jews were in places like Auschwitz they were not alone, even in the darkest hour and circumstance. This indicates that it is He that suffers whenever either Jews (the physical "brothers") or Christians (the spiritual "brothers") suffer at the hands of wicked men. He knows all about holocausts. His experience of suffering on the cross was darker than anything Satan or wicked people can devise. He was alone. God the Father turned away from Him. Why? Because He was suffering so that we would not have to suffer under the penalty of our sins before a holy and righteous God. He faced the greatest malignant rage and darkness from Satan himself, while He hung on the cross.

Today, is Yom Ha Shoah, which means: Day of the Destruction. Its English rendering is Holocaust Remembrance Day. The word "holocaust" has come to mean some form of mass genocide. It is an attempt to exterminate a people. But the origin of the word comes from the Greek: holos caustos, which is used in the Greek Septuagint (circa 230 BCE), a translation of the Hebrew Bible. It translates the Hebrew word "Olah" into holocaust. Olah is the whole-burnt offering that was required for sacrifice in the Chumash (Pentateuch). Jesus was the "holocaust" in this classic definition.

Where the modern definition and the ancient definition coincide is in the area of suffering. Satan was trying to destroy Jesus in the same way he has tried to destroy the Jewish people. But the cross became the means for Satan's eventual demise. Oh yes, the Devil is very much alive and active today, but a day will come when he will be imprisoned and judged forever. Because "Yeshua Chai" (Jesus lives), so too shall Israel, the Jews. Am Yisrael Chai (the people of Israel live) is predicated on Jesus' resurrection. Without His work of atonement by His death and overcoming death, hell and the Devil by His resurrection there would be no chance of survival for anyone Jew or Gentile.

Faith in Jesus can turn the nightmare of holocaust experience into a powerful identity with His suffering. He rose from death, which has the power to turn that nightmare into the beautiful dream of Chesed (Hebrew for grace). So it is possible to remember another holocaust that can give absolute victory over the trama of Satan's destructive holocausts. That holocaust was Jesus' gift of love to world: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).