So just what are a bunch of Jewish believers supposed to do with the Gentiles? That was one of the most important questions that would confront the Church early in it’s history.
It wasn’t a question of whether or not they should reach out to the Gentiles. Prophecy made it clear to all Jews that the Messiah would be a light to the Gentile peoples (cf. Is 2:2-4, 42:6-7), so if Jesus was the Messiah, it was time to start reaching the Gentiles. But there were two important questions.
First, how do you reach out to them. Some assumed that they should focus mostly on the Jews, and as the Jewish nation came to Christ, it would eventually attract the Gentiles by its glory. Eventually, however, we see that with the scattering of the Jewish believers, and the reality that the whole Jewish people wasn’t ready to convert, Christians outside of Jerusalem start reaching out to Gentiles instead of waiting. Their mission is fruitful and this seems to be an answer.
But then there’s a second important question- what do you do with them after they come in. As you read Acts, most are happy to hear of the fruits of faith in Gentiles, but the troubling question was just how Jewish did they need to become. Do they need to become wholly Jewish, be circumcised, follow Kosher laws, etc. God gets active to help with this question as well. In a vision for Peter and the subsequent speeches (Acts 10-11, the picture on the side) and then in the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) the church is convinced by the work of the Spirit in the Gentiles that circumcision and full obedience to the Torah is not necessary. There will be some things they encourage, but these are related to what was always expected of aliens living amongst the Jews (or based on what I’ve read elsewhere, regulations focusing on keeping them away from idolatry).
It’s interesting to see the Church early on thinking missionally and trying to figure out how to incorporate new peoples into the faith. What was necessary? What was not? What can change to accommodate different peoples in different places? These are struggles the Church is dealing with again today. Again, we must try to determine how we can continue to be Church, how we can continue to preach Christ, while leaving behind the pieces that are no longer essential when they hinder the effort.
Now here are a couple of important notes. First, our situation is not exactly the same as that of the New Testament church. We are not ushering in a new covenant while seeing the Old Covenant pass. Also, the Jewish believers were perfectly free to remain in their traditions. There was nothing wrong with them. It was simply a matter of making sure they didn’t try to force them on the Gentiles as they reached out.
Tags: circumcision, gentiles, jewish outreach, torah