Essay Sample on Jews, Gentiles, Tension: The Battle of Beliefs

Introduction

A considerable tension existed between the Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles appeared as believers of Yahweh and worshipped Him but failed to adhere to some of the ceremonial rituals performed by the Jews (Elwell & Yarbrough, 2013). Subsequently, observant Jews regarded them as second class citizens without a share in God's promises, resulting in significant conflicts between the groups (Culbertson, n.d.). The Jews argued that one had to fully participate in the Jewish rites for eligibility in receiving God's blessings. The events of the Jerusalem council made progress towards settling this tension. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate these events, the reason for earlier opposition of Jews, why the mission was discouraged, and the compromises made to ensure continuity of the task.

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Several events took place around the first Jerusalem council, which entailed a meeting of the apostles in Jerusalem with the church leaders of Jerusalem. They announced that Gentile Christians were not obliged to follow and observe the Mosaic Law that the Jews dutifully kept. As such, one was fit to receive God's blessings even though they did not participate in all Jewish ceremonial rites. Elwell & Yarbrough (2013) affirm that this decree was instigated by the insistence for circumcision among Gentiles for them to receive salvation. In the council, Peter stressed that the Holy Spirit had been similarly accorded to the uncircumcised Jews to that of Jewish believers and apostles during Pentecost (Barker, 1995). As such, he argued that it was pointless to place an unnecessary burden among the Gentiles since it would make it difficult for them to turn to salvation.

The conference declared that Gentile Christians were free from the ceremonial regulations outlined in Leviticus. They were only bound to four rules that were laid down during the council. These laws included abstinence from food that had been polluted by idles, freeing from sexual immorality, shunning meat from strangled animals, and their blood (Barker, 1995). The core purpose of these rules was to promote peace between the two groups. The laws did not warrant salvation for those that abided by them but ensured peace sufficed within the early church.

The early Jewish Christians opposed the ministry to the gentiles for several reasons. They argued that the Gentiles did not follow fundamental Mosaic laws such as circumcision and observance of various ceremonies and were therefore ineligible of God's salvation (Culbertson, n.d.). There was a looming fear among the Jews that if rituals and other Mosaic restrictions were not set as conditions for fellowship among the Gentiles, the Jews would lose their distinctiveness. Subsequently, they dreaded they would disappear from those who had been reached by the gospel.

Furthermore, the Jews saw themselves as the divinely selected group; hence converts would have to adopt the Hebrew manner of worship. They emphasized that no changes should be authorized and advocated for the incorporation of their rites in the Christian religion (Elwell & Yarbrough, 2013). The Jews felt that God had chosen and instructed their worship style; hence converts were obliged to conform to this form.

The mission of the church was discouraged despite there being signs of God's manifestation in support of the duty. The main goal was spreading the gospel beyond Jerusalem and had been manifested through the ability of people to speak in tongues during Pentecost (Barker, 1995). One of the discouragement was the arrest of Peter and John for proclaiming and witnessing the word which was against the orders presented to them by authorities. Besides, Peter was driven away from the temple for preaching about Christ's death and resurrection since the Sadducees and priests could not relate to the concept (Elwell & Yarbrough, 2013). Their annoyance with this concept led them to send Peter and John to jail. Moreover, there was opposition from a sect of Jews who felt that converts should follow all provisions of Mosaic Law for them to be regarded as Christians, causing significant tension. While these events presented discouragements, the apostles did not become relentless in spreading the word and fulfilling their mission.

The apostles made several compromises for them to continue with the mission. There was contention on the issue of circumcision and observance of Jewish rites as the fundamental prerequisites for salvation. This element created a division and posed a challenge in spreading the gospel beyond the Jews. In ensuring the church remained peaceful, the Jerusalem council was set and came up with four distinct laws that Christians were required to follow (Culbertson, n.d.). The rules were related to the Mosaic ones but made it easier for other groups, such as the Gentiles to convert to Christianity. Besides, Paul compromised and followed the purification rites when entering a temple since failure to comply would have been seen as a lack of respect for God. Such compromises were essential to ensure the continuance of the spread of the gospel.

Conclusion

Overall, spreading the gospel beyond Jerusalem was a demanding task. The apostles had to make several compromises to ensure the spread of the word despite the many hurdles they encountered. The Jerusalem council played a crucial role as it set guidelines that would enhance peace within the church besides making it easy for other groups to convert to Christianity.

References

Barker, K. (Ed.). (1995). The NIV study bible. Zondervan Publishing House.

Culbertson, H. (n.d.). The Gentile Pentecost. SNU. https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/gentile.htm.

Elwell, W. A., & Yarbrough, R. W. (2013). Encountering the New Testament (Encountering Biblical Studies): A Historical and Theological Survey. Baker Books.