Did early Jewish believers keep the Law and if so why?

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firstfruit
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Did early Jewish believers keep the Law and if so why?

Post by firstfruit »

Did early Jewish believers keep the Law of Moses or Torah and if so why?

Jesus kept the Law of Moses because if he had not that would have been sin but Jesus did not sin as the spotless Lamb of God.

But what about the apostles like Peter and Paul and James the Just, the half-brother of Jesus and the early Jewish believers?

And if so why?

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On The Fringe
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Re: Did early Jewish believers keep the Law and if so why?

Post by On The Fringe »

After a long missionary trip to gentiles, Paul returns to the Temple for sacrifice. Start there; in addition read about the apostles arguments for and against circumcision. A majority of converts, even with all the preaching to the gentiles... Were Jews. Do some research, it's fascinating. The Gentiles were, essentially, given some exceptions. Once a Jew, always a Jew.

When the Jews began to be slaughtered for revolt things started to change however; general attitudes in the Church.. Many people don't realize that the holocaust of the Jews then was worse than the one they endured in recent history.

Edit: Adding clarification.

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BeNotDeceived
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Re: Did early Jewish believers keep the Law and if so why?

Post by BeNotDeceived »

On The Fringe wrote: December 13th, 2017, 1:12 am
... the holocaust of the Jews then was worse than the one they endured in recent history.

Peace is the way wrote:
It is important to ask who Jesus’s audience is. In every case, Jesus’s listeners are not those who strike, initiate lawsuits, or impose forced labor, but their victims.

Why then does he counsel these already humiliated people to turn the other cheek? Because this action robs the oppressor of the power to ...

Giving ones cloak and going the extra mile, are even better examples of Jesus’s third way, that can only be properly understood in the cruel culture of His day.

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Robin Hood
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Re: Did early Jewish believers keep the Law and if so why?

Post by Robin Hood »

On The Fringe wrote: December 13th, 2017, 1:12 am Many people don't realize that the holocaust of the Jews then was worse than the one they endured in recent history.
I think not.

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gclayjr
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Re: Did early Jewish believers keep the Law and if so why?

Post by gclayjr »

firstfruit,

If you read Romans 2-3 .. for example Romans 2:25-29
For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
The early Christian Jews did keep the Law of Moses, and this led to the controversy over circumcision. This along along with Peters Dream in Acts 10, began a long term discussion among the early Christians about what part of the Mosaic Law was pertinent to Christians and what part was superseded by Christianity.

Regards,

George Clay

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On The Fringe
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Re: Did early Jewish believers keep the Law and if so why?

Post by On The Fringe »

Robin Hood wrote: December 13th, 2017, 6:01 am
On The Fringe wrote: December 13th, 2017, 1:12 am Many people don't realize that the holocaust of the Jews then was worse than the one they endured in recent history.
I think not.
Read about the siege of Jerusalem. Those who died from the siege total over 1 million (some state up to 1.5 million which I think is excessive). About 100,000 survivors sold as slaves. You can read about it in the writings of Josephus and other sources.

In total, it's estimated over 2 million Jews were killed by the Romans because of their revolts. It's estimated that, at the absolute most, there were about 4 million Jews worldwide before the revolts. Many historians disagree with that number and claim it is too high. But even going with that higher number, about 50% were killed. Could be higher or lower depending on how you want to calculate population numbers and how seriously you take the writings of Josephus and others.

During the holocaust, approximately 40% of all Jews were killed. That seems to be the general consensus anyhow... You can always play a numbers game though.

As I said before, read the accounts that Josephus gives. There are many other sources about the revolts that give even more information about how terrible this all was. Josephus offers an account of a woman who ate her own son and offered it to men who broke into her abode during the siege of Jerusalem. I can't imagine anything worse than being in Jerusalem at that time.

The Jews were absolutely sure that the Temple would not fall until Messiah had come - imagine that. Their city and temple fell and Messiah never showed up. What would that mean to a Jew?

The Romans themselves said they never could have destroyed Jerusalem unless God had willed that to happen.

We could argue this back and forth all day about which was worse - I'd rather not. They were both absolute terrible blows that shattered the Jews and completely changed them as a people from that time on.

However, the Romans would have never exterminated the Jews. They were too smart. They knew other minorities in their land would revolt thinking that could happen to them. The Nazi's wanted all Jews dead.

Personally, I just think overall that the older holocaust of the Jews caused by the Romans was worse than the one in recent history.

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