Monday 04 May 2009

Background

In the early days of the Christian Church, soon after Jesus haddied, risen and gone up to heaven, some of the people involved inthe new movement came from a Jewish background while others were'Gentiles' - the term used by Jews to describe non-Jews. So, notsurprisingly, 'them and us' issues soon arose among these earlyChristians.

Jewish tradition and law - as laid down in the Old Testament -demanded that all Jewish males should be circumcised as an outwardsign of belonging to God. This is still the case for Jews today. Soin his writing here, Luke (the author of both Acts of the Apostlesand the Gospel of Luke) described the Christians with a Jewishbackground as "circumcised believers" and those from otherbackgrounds as the "uncircumcised".

Because Jesus was a Jew, there was a strong feeling among theJewish faction in the early Church that non-Jews who wanted tobecome Christians should be circumcised and follow other Jewishcustoms. Understandably, this was a controversial viewpoint,particularly for those men who might need to face circumcisionwithout the benefit of anaesthetic or pain relief.

Jewish law also demands careful observance of complex rules aboutfood - considering whether it is 'kosher' (allowable food items,treated appropriately). That is the basis of the arguments hereabout Jews becoming ritually unclean by eating the wrong things inthe wrong company.

All these debates cut right to the heart of what God, throughJesus, was trying to tell people. The fundamental truth is thatanyone can become a follower of Jesus, whatever their background,and detailed compliance with the Jewish law does not matter.

To Ponder

How do you understand the freedoms andresponsibilities available to anyone who wants to follow Jesus?

In what ways do some Churches today try to imposetheir own systems of complex rules and requirements onbelievers?

How do you see the concept of your own freedom inChrist?