Dinosaurs, past and present. (Part 2a)

“Caesarem appello!” Studying the trajectory of events that led to this famous appeal uttered by Paul the Apostle will undoubtedly prove that the “Old Time Religion” was entangled with Jewish tradition and Paul’s fresh ideas regarding the gospel of Christ, which inevitably went their separate ways after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

The first internal church crisis besides a brief squabble between the Greek-speaking Jews and Hebrews over the daily distribution of food in the church of Jerusalem (Acts 6), was created by certain Judaists, probably from the “large number of priests who became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7 NIV) who joined after the dispute was resolved. They demanded that all Gentile converts should first become circumcised Jews. This was Paul’s first open fight with his lifelong enemies. “Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea,” (Romans 15:31 NIV); “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” (Galatians 5:12 NIV) These men, the Judaisers, were to dog his steps across the Mediterranean, to speak against him and to strive with all their might to chain the gospel of Christ (Romans 15:18-19) to Judaism. At long last, on Paul’s arrival in Rome, he was informed by the sympathetic “leaders of the Jews” in Rome “people everywhere are talking against this sect.” The early church movement, known as “The Way” by the Jews, was perceived as a subdivision of Judaism, whose members had have to some extent diverged from the rest of Judaism by developing deviating beliefs, practices, etc. (Acts 5:13); often regarded as extreme and heretical (Acts 9:2). The Apostle Paul previously a notorious persecutor of the Way now perceived by many Jews as a turncoat made a brave attempt in Rome to reconcile the Jewish misunderstanding between himself and his countrymen in Jerusalem. “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against our customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.” (Acts 28:17 NIV)

How odd, when we compare Paul’s ‘not-guilty plea’ in Rome with the true circumstances he encountered with James, Jesus’ brother in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem Paul was categorically questioned by James concerning his actions concerning Jewish customs abroad. Why couldn’t Paul use this argument “I have done nothing against our people or against our customs of our ancestors” to his defence when James asked him, “What shall we do?” (Acts 21:22 NIV) Was Paul not opposed to Jewish customs, like circumcision? Lastly, how different was the respective “belief system” between the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.

Let us turn the New Testament pages to Acts 21. Here, we find in the late stage of the development of the Jerusalem church, fondly known as the Mother Church, a people who we will associate as Christians, but are unlike what we expect Christianity today to be like. Here, the ‘Jewish’ Christians live in harmony with Judaism’s ancestral customs. Here, we find no sectarianism between ‘Christian’ Jews and their countrymen. Here, the Temple and the Law of Moses cohere with the Jerusalem church, unlike elsewhere in Gentile churches. Here, regarding Paul the apostle and the Jerusalem church, we don’t see “a partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phillipians 1:5) but ‘an agreement’ (Galatians 2:9 NIV).

Even so, here we find a panic-stricken ‘Christian’ community who come face to face with the greatest adversary the Jewish synagogues have ever known, namely, Paul the apostle of the Gentiles! A rumour has reached this ‘Christian’ community regarding Paul’s actions in far away missionary fields. The rumour has it that Paul taught “all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to [Jewish] customs!” (Acts 21:21) Is this accusation not strikingly opposite to what earlier Gentiles had to endure? They were almost forced to observe Jewish customs! Whereas the overseas Jews apparently had to forsake their customs! “Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the [Gentiles] brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1 NIV)

James’ fears concerning this rumour materialised when “some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple.” (Acts 21:27 NIV) Perhaps, James fears was grounded in the fact that the Jerusalem Jewish ‘Christians’ synchronization with Judaism was under threat because of their affiliation with Gentiles. After all they hosted Paul’s company! Here, in the open, in their midst, they were forced to face an old agreement between Paul and “those reputed to be pillars” (Galatians 2:9 NIV) regarding the ‘conflicting ministries’ that existed between Jew and Gentile. How would the Jewish community react towards the Jerusalem church? Notice the vehemence as the Jewish audience opposed mixing their worship with Gentiles despite the Lord’s words, “Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, ‘Rid, the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” (Acts 22:21,22 NIV) Here, eventually “the Jews of Jerusalem” if not with the say-so of some in the Jerusalem church, disposed of Paul by handing him “over to the Gentiles.” (Acts 21:11) This might be a harsh opinion, but consider none other than Paul’s young nephew who foiled a Jewish plot to kill Paul and came to his rescue as in the case in Ephesus where “friends of Paul” (Acts 19:31) stood by him. Let us note that Paul made an extraordinary effort despite a prophetical warning (Acts 21:10,11) to bring the Gentile contribution to Jerusalem accompanied with a group of Gentiles. The danger of this mission was irrelevant to Paul, “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” (Acts 20:23 NIV) However, we can take comfort in the fact that it was God’s will. The Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11 NIV) Yet, how intense were those days in Jerusalem, when the Jews viewed Gentiles as an isolated race far removed from worshipping alongside their God. Perhaps, as pitiable, when South Africans, in the former-Apartheid era were driven apart from religious ceremonies? “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed; … There is neither Jew nor Greek; … for you are all one in Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:23-29 NIV)

In Jerusalem, we see that the Gentile Christian finds no equal footing with their Jewish Christian counterparts. James’, suggestion in order to allay such criticism came to nothing as he urged Paul to perform some typically Jewish religious rites, something to prove “there is no truth in these reports.” Ultimately, it proves the point that all Jews, whether they ‘Christian’ or not should live “in obedience on the law.” (Acts 21:24 NIV) Obviously James excluded the Gentile believers participation in the ‘purification rites’ because they were not Jewish, but the decision to abstaining from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality is apparent (Acts 21:25, ff 15:20, 28-29).

The Temple at Jerusalem presented absolutely nothing for any Gentile, but a vast court, called the Court of the Gentiles, that allow the Gentile tourist to marvel at the Temple site, Gentile proselytes to the Jewish faith to pay homage to a monotheist God, or Gentile Christians to mingle freely with Jewish citizens in this particular court. “In short, according to Paula Fredriksen, “Gentiles were not subject to Israel’s purity regulations.” This perception alters only on full acceptance of Moses Law and circumcision. The infamous barrier separating the Court of Gentiles from other Jewish courts of succession, ranging from the Court of Women to the Sanctuary inspired Paul to write, “Consequently, you [‘Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision”, Eph 2:11] are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people [Israel] and members of God’s household [Temple priests and Levites].” (Ephesians 2:19 NIV) Because, “For he himself is our peace [Jesus Christ], who has made the two one [Jew and Gentile] and has destroyed the barrier [The wall of Partition, forbidding non-Jews to cross over to the respective Jewish courts], the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.” (Ephesians 2:14 –15) Here, the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) and many other church groups reinvent Paul’s pure teaching by ‘spiritualising’ some aspects of it to sound ‘biblical,’ for example, the ICOC ‘Church-study’ or ‘Denominations-study’ teaches “God’s people” are ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ or ‘family’; and “God’s household” is ‘the Church.’ Although it is not a fair assessment of Paul’s intensions, it does no harm. Nevertheless, Paul’s words are being ‘twisted’ thus robbing the richness of its fuller meaning it otherwise tries to convey. Gentiles were literally barred from full participation with God because of Jewish law and regulations and a physical hostile barrier in the Temple! [See my DPP (Part 1) article]

The radical or revolutionary Christian teaching of Paul, “by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations” could never be retained as a subdivision in the Jewish faith. This fact quickly become apparent during Paul’s meeting with the Jewish leaders in Rome. Here, Paul, in contrast to his arrest in Jerusalem, was given a stable platform from “morning to evening [which] he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.” (Acts 28:23 NIV) Here, years after the riot in Jerusalem, no bad report had reached the Roman Jewish community about Paul, despite frequent trips by brothers to Jerusalem and back. “We have not received any letters from Judea [HQ] concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there [Jerusalem] has reported or said anything bad about you.” (Acts 28:21 NIV) But the appeal had been recorded (Acts 25:12) and must stand just to show how right the Holy Spirit have been about the Jews in Jerusalem, “they will hand him over to the Gentiles.” Paul laboured fruitfully in Rome. “Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made his final statement: “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” (Acts 28:24-28 NIV)

Jewish synagogues in the Diaspora gave Paul a starting-place for his preaching. Paul knew the whole Roman world was studded with such synagogues, that wherever there was a Jewish colony there would be a prayer house willing to give him a hearing. He was invariably driven away as a blasphemer, but that did not matter. Sometimes the seed fell on good ground. Often, even though the Jews drove him away, the proselytes became Christians. Paul’s Gentile Christians were neither Jew nor pagan, they were a midway people, and unlike those ‘Jewish Christians’ in Jerusalem or Jewish proselytes they didn’t abide in the Law of Moses. ‘Midway Christians’ typically had no official ‘Bible’! Reading the Epistles of Paul we see how hard the Apostle had to labour “to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith,” (Romans 1:5 NIV) not from the Law! “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last [from faith to faith], just as it is written in Habakkuk 2:4: “The righteous will live by faith.”

The European Christians in Philippi had to “conduct [themselves] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ … without being frightened in any way by those [Jews] who opposed [them]. This is a sign to them [Jews] that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God.” (Philippians 1:27,28 NIV) Instead unlike the Jewish Bereans’ who held a synagogue and Scriptures (Acts 17:10-12), the Philippians had to “continue to work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling [under great expectations of persecutions from the Jews], as they “hold out the word of life” [personal example]. Obviously the Bible today is “the word of life” but we must realise the Philippians were the word of life to “those dogs” [Jews] who put their confidence in the flesh of circumcision. “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.” (Philippians 3:2 NIV) Here, we need to appreciate Paul’s cunning to sway his Greek audience from getting circumcised based upon pagan Hellenistic thought. At the time, the Greeks could not understand why tribal people would “mutilate” the flesh through circumcision as they had a high regard for the body! On the other hand, Paul disclosed to them that they were already circumcised in the Spirit! There was no need for another earthly circumcision. Besides, Paul here made it clear that circumcision was a Jewish inheritance and custom not related in anyway to the Gentiles! “For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh – though I myself [As Paul The Hebrew] have reasons for such confidence.” [Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law, a Pharisee] (Philippians 3:3-5)

Christians in Philippi must like Paul “forgetting what is behind [Old Testament practices] and straining towards what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13 NIV); they should join with others in “following [Paul’s] example” and “take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you” (Philippians 3:17 NIV). Practically, they had to rely on less-earthly rituals, like the Jews did, for example, “the law with its commandments and regulations.” Instead, righteousness did not come from observing the law, but from faith as practically done by having a positive attitude (Philippians 4:4,5); prayer (Philippians 4:6); meditation (Philippians 4:8); and Paul’s apostolic authority “whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice” (Philippians 4:9 NIV). Nevertheless, these good virtues were downplayed by Paul’s opponents who appeared to have argued, how much wiser it would be to accept circumcision and the Law of Moses and belong to a synagogue. And as proof, Judaisers could point to the main Apostles in Judea, who believed in Christ, yet still observed the Law of Moses. In this regard, Trophimus, (Acts 21:29) who accompanied Paul to Jerusalem on that fateful day, could attest, if only asked by Ephesians Christians.

We must never forget when reading Paul’s Epistles, he wrote them instinctively in a period long before the Gospels were written. The Temple in Jerusalem was nearing its grand completion before the great Roman army levelled its grandeur, but this apocalyptic event took place after Paul’s death. Every time Jesus was mentioned Paul drawn on his own knowledge of Christ or on something, which those who followed Jesus had told him. Paul’s letters was not meant to be doctrinal theology. He was an evangelist, an apostle, a father, a mother, but above all a lonely missionary finding his way through the darkness of paganism with no light of the recorded Gospel to help and guide him. But he did not require such guidance. He had the unwritten Gospels in his heart, “Not I, but Christ in me.” (Galatians 2:20 NIV) In fact, how could he knew that his present church’s crisis amongst the first generation of Christians would be cherished for centuries as part of a New Testament Bible? Paul, unlike Peter never saw Jesus in the flesh. Perhaps, the unlimited Jesus in the Spirit made Paul the Apostle so very useful!

How difficult it is for us to grasp the midpoint crisis which unfolded during the first century Church between Christian Jews abiding with the Law of Moses [and faith in Jesus Christ] and the simplicity of just having a ‘hearing faith’ (KJV) or ‘believing faith’ (NIV) of the Gentiles in Christ. Nevertheless, even some Gentile Christians then as today lent their ears out for an alternative teaching, not based on faith, but a philosophy played on human effort. A checklist! To this Paul asked the Galatians two questions while he exposed the hypocrisy of Jewish Christians in full view of generations who cares to read the Epistle of Galatians! To the Galatians; firstly, “Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” secondly, “Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?” (Galatians 3:2,5 NIV) To what extent do Christians in the ‘new ICOC’ have a hearing faith?

Here, I personally carry much gratitude for Gordon Ferguson “openness” when he affirmed how off the beaten track the ICOC belief system was as he compared the ICOC’s ‘checklist’ with Galatians 1. (See my article: “Is Jesus’ discipleship method a theological fantasy?”)

The first century Jewish – Gentile debate intensified as more and more ‘Gentile sinners’ in distant Roman territories become obedient to the faith outside the sphere of influence of the country of the Jews. Steadily the gap widened between the traditional perception of the law and Paul’s message. Why can the early church be closely associated with Judaism? Perhaps, we can draw this conclusion from Jesus’ perception and attitude towards Jewish orthodoxy. Jesus never disputed the Law or the use of the Temple. In fact, in Jesus pre-Resurrection period he not only encouraged the crowds but his own disciples to remain steadfast with Judaism! Preposterous?!
Then how do we explain away his instructions regarding those who sit in ‘Moses’ seat’? “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practise what they preach.” (Matthew 23:1-3 NIV) Ouch! The synagogue had raised seats, called “Moses’ seat” facing the audience whereupon Pharisees sat teaching the laws. Modern Christians should not act surprised as James reminded the council at Jerusalem, “Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” (Acts 15); nor can the importance of keeping the commandments in the late Jerusalem church be overlooked (Acts 21). In many aspects the ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude of the Pharisees observance of the Torah (God’s teachings) has made their name a term of reproach today. A pharisaic tendency always represents legalism. Jesus guarded against it through his ‘do ye even so’ teaching (Matthew 7:12 KJV). Jesus targets the Pharisees because of their pious observance of the law and regulations lacks love and mercy. Christians often make a mistake regarding Jesus’ attitude towards the Law of Moses. Jesus fulfilled the Law. (Read Matthew 5:17-20)

If the report is true, which reached James and the whole Jerusalem church, concerning Paul’s teaching “all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to [Jewish] customs” (Acts 15:21 NIV); then it would have meant that the Apostle breached a contract of goodwill amongst “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars” (Galatians 2:9). For, “They agreed that [Paul and Barnabas] should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.” (Ibid)

Like Jesus, Paul was not against what he described “our people or against our customs of our ancestors,” but against a Jewish perception of teaching Gentile Christians that Moses is first! This national heritage is nonsensical to Gentiles. “Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through the same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” (Romans 3:29-31 NIV) How? “We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.” (Romans 3:9 NIV) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Romans 3:20 NIV)

Paul applied a simple rule as simple as the faith he professes in all the churches he ministered. “Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised? Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.” And this rule he applied in other matters, such as slavery. “Were you a slave? …” Paul concluded, “Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.” (1 Corinthians 7:17-24 NIV)

Thus, being a Gentile, you remain one, and the demands of the circumcision group, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved” falls away.

* “Dinosaurs, past and present” (Part 2b) will examine the purity laws with the help of Paula Fredriksen’s book, “Jesus of Nazareth – King of the Jews”.