Lesson 4: Jesus fulfilled the Law; Paul's "Contradiction" Regarding "Works"

The first Christians, were first Jewish and they did not view Jesus as the end of their Jewish religion. Instead they saw Jesus as the fulfillment and even entire purpose for their Jewish religion. The first “Christians” would have called themselves Jews and the term “Christian” did not emerge until approximately 7 to 10 years after the start of the church (See Acts 11:26). Christianity appeared to be more of a Jewish sect in the 1st century than it did a religion that started on its own since it was established on the belief that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied of in the Jewish Law and prophetic books. And there were many sects in Judaism. In fact, until Acts 10, you wouldn’t have been able to identify a difference between a Jew and a Jewish Christian besides the fact that they preached Jesus.

Question: Do you think its significant to recognize the Jewish roots of Christianity and why?

This is seen in the apostle Pauls life while he is being questioned by Felix:

Acts 24:14 - “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets…”

Paul said that he believed all things that were written in the law and prophets, referring to the Jewish Law and Prophets. Combined in the law that Paul is speaking of, are many other commandments such as how the Jews were to abstain from pork (Leviticus 11:7–8), and keep the Sabbath day as well as the other religious festivals (Exodus 20:8–11), etc. In fact, God was so serious about the Jews keeping the Sabbath day that he commanded people to be put to death if they did not keep it.

Exodus 31:14 - “Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people”

Additionally, Deuteronomy 14:3-21 describes types of meat that Israel could eat and others that they were forbidden to eat. Under the Old Testament law, it was forbidden for Israel to eat things that it is very common for people to eat today such as pork and catfish.

But we see that Paul goes on to say in Colossians 2:16 “… do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day”. Paul is speaking to a church telling them that they should not let anyone judge them for what they eat or drink, how they regard religious festivals, or Sabbath days which would seem to be contradictory to how he told Felix that he believed “all things which are written in the law and in the prophets”. 

How can he say that he believes all things written in the Law, while not commanding the Christians to keep the Sabbath day?

How did the early christians understand this transition between the Old and New Testament? What gave these Jewish Christians the confidence to abandon their religious fervency in keeping these Old Testament Laws which they had kept their entire lives? 

This is an excellent question to ask and we should explore how these New Testament Christians interpreted this and ask whether their conclusion is reasonable. Because if it is not reasonable, these early Jewish Christians were breaking Gods Law set forth in the Old Testament which we know had great consequences in the Old Testament.

To explore this, we should consider the inclusion of the “gentiles” into this Jewish sect called “Christianity”. Gentiles in that day were not circumcised like the Jews. They ate bacon as often as they wanted it. They gave no thought to “Sabbath days” and most, unless they lived in Judea, didn’t even know what a Sabbath day was. So if salvation for the Gentiles was dependent on them doing all of these Jewish works, there was a lot of work to do to correct these Gentile practices so that they could be saved.

In Acts 10, we find a gentile (“non-Jew”) named Cornelius who has an angel visit him telling him to fetch a man named Peter (The apostle; One of the 12 main disciples of Jesus) who would tell him “what he ought to do”.

ἔθνος ethnos; Somebody that could not trace their lineage back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Somebody who was not circumcised and did not keep the Jewish law.

When looking through the eyes of the Old Testament, there were two main “segregated” groups of people: Jews and Gentiles. The Jews had strict standards for what was clean and unclean while the gentiles did not. “Cleanliness” was important for the Jews because if someone was ceremonially “unclean”, in some cases, they could be excommunicated from the rest of the community until they are made clean again (Leviticus 13:46). 

For example, to Jews, pork was unclean and if one was to eat pork, they would be considered unclean. But for gentiles, it was just another meat. Jews were to wear clothing that was not made of hybrid materials. While gentiles could wear whatever they wanted. Meat had to be prepared a certain way. Seed had to be planted a certain way. Because of these things, Jews had to have their own businesses that produced “kosher” meats. They had to grow their own food. They had to make their own clothes. And they had to be cautious of fellowshipping with gentiles because even being in their house and touching something in their house could make a Jew “unclean”.

So this makes the story in Acts 10 remarkable because here we have a Jew named Peter who was called by this gentile named Cornelius to come to his house and Peter can either resort to his Jewish instincts and reject the interaction, as most Jews would do, or go to his house and possibly become ceremonially unclean in the process and be shamed at the least or at the most excommunicated by the rest of the Jewish community. So why did Peter go?

Because while Cornelius was sending men to fetch Peter, Peter is going up to a housetop to pray and while he prayed, God showed him a vision that challenged everything he believed.

Acts 10:10-16 “he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. -- This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.”

So Peter has lived his whole life never eating anything that was “unclean” to the Jews but here he sees this vision and hears this voice tell him three times to rise, kill, and eat “unclean” animals and when Peter tried to refuse, the voice spake again and said “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” As you can imagine, this thoroughly confused Peter.

And while Peter wondered what this vision could mean, these men, sent by Cornelius, came to the house he was at and begin to ask where this man named Peter was. And the Spirit said to Peter “Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.”

And when Peter came to Cornelius’ house, Cornelius fell at Peters feet and when he talked with him, Peter saw that there were many more gentiles that had gathered themselves together at his house.

So Peter says to them in 

V28-29 “Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?” 

Peter has been preaching and teaching about Jesus every chance he can get. But Peters first words here are basically, “why have you called for me”.

Question: Why do you think Peter didn’t start off preaching like he did everywhere else?

It’s obvious here and later that Peter did not believe gentiles could be saved.

When Cornelius tells him about the angel he saw and how the angel told him to fetch Peter, Peter replies saying:

“Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

Now Peter was not expecting anything to happen when he shared this with them. But suddenly, as he was speaking, these gentiles began to speak with other tongues just like what happened to the Jews in Acts 2. And when Peter and the Jews that were with him heard them speak with tongues, they realized that God was opening the door to gentiles to become apart of his covenant people also. And when Peter saw this, he said:

“Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”

In this story, we see that Peter and all the Jews with him, recognized that the gentiles could be saved when they heard them speak with other tongues just like the Jews did in Acts 2. When Peter saw this, he was convinced that they should not keep baptism from these gentiles. So Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. 

Through this, we see that though Cornelius and those in his house were “accepted by God”, Peter still believed they needed to be baptized. And ultimately we can connect baptism “in the name of the Lord” to what the angel told Cornelius in that he said Peter would tell him what he ought to do since that is the only thing we see Peter command Cornelius to do (Acts 10:6).

Cornelius had never been ceremonially cleansed, circumcised, probably ate bacon every day yet God accepted him and here we see the barrier between Jews and gentiles being brought down. It was the sign of speaking in other tongues that convinced these Jews that God had granted salvation to Gentiles and that Baptism in the name of the Lord should not be withheld from them. So here we see that these early Jewish Christians recognized that speaking in other tongues was the evidence that gentiles could be saved as well as Jews.

While its important to talk about what we do see in this chapter, such the Jews recognizing “speaking in other tongues” as the sign that gentiles could be saved and a commandment for them to be baptized in the name of the Lord; its also important to recognize what we do not see. We don’t see Peter command these gentiles to keep the sabbath, abstain from pork, change their eating and drinking practices, change the fabric they use for their clothes, etc. So we should recognize this and question how this experience changed the way Peter viewed these Jewish practices.

The day before the incident at Cornelius’s house, everyone would have believed that a person must keep the entire law in order to be saved and now this is being challenged because of what happened to Cornelius.

So as you can imagine, this would cause major ripples throughout the Jewish church. For the first time, Peter was starting to believe people could be saved without keeping these Jewish practices and now he had to figure out a way to explain this to his fellow believers. Whatever he was going to share would need to be incredibly convincing.

Question: 

What was the main thing that convinced Peter that keeping all of these Jewish practices was no longer a requirement for salvation?
Why do you think it was nessecary for Cornelius to be baptized in the name of the Lord after obviously recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost?

Acts chapter 11, we see Peter rehearsing what he was going to tell all of these Jewish Christians. He had to be sensitive with this, because this was a huge step for the Jewish church to take. It challenged their entire belief system and what salvation looked like. And it was all because these gentiles had the same experience as the Jews had in Acts 2.

Here is the moment that Peter breaks the news:

Acts 11:1-18 - “Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

The reason they Jews felt confident leaving these Jewish practices behind, which they had maintained so seriously their entire lives, was because these gentiles who did not keep these Jewish practices were filled with the Holy Ghost and spake in tongues just like the Jews did in acts 2 and God put no difference between them. Nothing would have persuaded the Jews better than God giving the Holy Ghost in this manner to the gentiles.

Why do you think God chose to give Cornelius and his household the Holy Ghost before Peter finished preaching? What message was God sending to Peter and the other Jewish believers through this experience?
If you had been a Jewish believer in the first century who had spent your entire life keeping the Law, how difficult would it have been to accept Gentiles without requiring them to become Jews first? What traditions or assumptions would have been hardest to let go of?
Peter concluded that God had accepted the Gentiles because they received the same gift the Jewish believers received. What does this teach us about how God views people from different backgrounds, cultures, and traditions today?

Next week, we will talk about the shockwaves this moment sent through the church. The significance of this moment cannot be understated in that it opened the door of salvation for the entire world!