Transcript The break from Judaism

Chapter 4
The break from Judaism
Questions to be addressed in this
chapter
1. What did the first generation of Jewish Christians think
should be done with Gentile converts?
2. What was the importance of the Council of Jerusalem?
3. How did New Testament writings after Paul describe
salvation in regard to non-Jews?
4. What effect did the destruction of the temple have on
Christian thought?
What to do with Gentiles
• Jewish Christian believers did not easily accept Paul’s claim
that the blessing of God had been opened up to non-Jews
with the coming of Christ.
• Even those Jewish Christians who acknowledged that God
intended to save Gentiles through Christ struggled to know
how to interact with Gentiles.
The Council of Jerusalem
• In Acts Chapter 15, the Council of Jerusalem is described as a
public open forum among the Christians in Jerusalem, and it
was presided over by James the brother of Jesus.
• The main take-away from the Council of Jerusalem, then, was
that the rules of the covenant had changed: in Genesis 17
God’s part of the covenant was to make Abraham the father of
many nations and give the land of Canaan to him and his
descendants; as for Abraham and his descendants, their part of
the bargain was for all males to be set apart through
circumcision as the symbol of their entrance into the covenant.
• But with the Council of Jerusalem, that was no longer
necessary.
Later New Testament writers
• Besides Paul’s letters, few of the New Testament documents
were written before the late 60s.
• A case can be made that Peter wrote the letters attributed to
him just before his death, although this is debated by scholars.
• The Epistle to the Hebrews is unique among New Testament
writings in that tradition does not ascribe a particular author
to the letter.
• The Book of Revelation is one of the strangest in the Christian
Bible as it is filled with apocalyptic imagery along with
numbers and symbols that have been interpreted to represent
all manner of things.
The destruction of the Temple
• Throughout the middle 60s the Romans had been clamping
down on Jews who seemed not to give proper allegiance to
the Empire.
• In 66, some of the more radical Jews began a revolt.
• This prompted Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus to lay
siege of Jerusalem.
• The temple was destroyed in 70.
Epistle of Barnabas
• “I will also speak with you concerning the Temple, and show
how the wretched men erred by putting their hope on the
building, and not on the God who made them, and is the true
house of God. For they consecrated him in the Temple almost
like the heathen. But learn how the Lord speaks, in bringing it
to naught, ‘Who has measured the heaven with a span, or the
earth with his outstretched hand? Have not I?’ saith the Lord.
‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool, what
house will ye build for me, or what is the place of my rest?
You know that their hope was vain’” (16:1-2).
Summary of main points
1. In the early years, there was no consensus about the need
for Gentile conformity to the Jewish law.
2. According to the Council of Jerusalem, circumcision—and so
adherence to the Jewish law—was not necessary for Gentile
converts, but respect for cultural differences was expected.
3. Later New Testament writers affirmed universal significance
of Christ’s message.
4. The destruction of the temple escalated the emerging
divergence of Christianity from Judaism.