The+Attitude+of+Acts+towards+Judaism

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In recent history there have been questions as to the attitude that the book of Acts promotes in relation to Judaism and the Jewish people in general. The Holocaust of 1933-45 was a breaking point both in human history and in Jewish-Christian relations and this begs us to ask the following question: Does the Bible have an inherently degrading view of Jewish people? The topic must be approach objectively seeking only for answers from the text itself; not being influenced by our culture’s attitudes. A survey of the interactions between believers and Jewish people and the attitudes expressed throughout the book of Acts will help us understand the Biblical view of Judaism and the Jewish People.

 In the Jewish community there are two major groups of people, the common religious Jews and the Jewish leadership. These groups had very different relationships with the believers in Acts and were portrayed very differently in the book of Acts. Because the Apostles initially focused their ministry in Jerusalem, they were ministering to a mainly Jewish population and in this the bond that Peter has with them is displayed. When talking to the Jewish people, Peter addresses them as brothers in Acts 2:29 and 3:17, showing that he felt close to them and had a genuine concern for their knowledge of Christ and their salvation. Peter also uses the Old Testament and Hebrew imagery abundantly, showing His knowledge of scripture, the continued relevance of the Old Testament and a concern for showing the Jewish people that Jesus is the messiah they have been waiting for. Luke uses 11 direct quotes from the Old Testament in Acts, placing importance on the use of the Old Testament. The apostles also find it significant that they replace Judas with a new apostle so that the imagery of the number 12 can continue to be a witness to the Jewish people and testify to the fact that the church is the continuation of what Israel’s 12 tribes began. Not only did Peter seem to feel a close association with the Jewish people, but they also responded with the same sort of brotherly love; in Acts 2:37 they called the apostles “brothers”. There are also many examples of how the Jewish people as a whole seem to embrace the apostles and their ministry (2:47; 4:21; 5:12-13). Peter seemed to have great concern for the Jewish people as he preached to them about Christ; four of the first five of his speeches “contain a mixture of evangelistic and apologetic motifs”[a]. Despite the fact that the relationship between the Jewish people and apostles seems to be good, there is one way in which there seems to be a negative connotation and that is in their accusations that the Jews killed Jesus (2:36; 3:15; 5:28). Despite this fact, the overall attitude that Luke portrays the Jewish people in is a positive attitude, he does not have anything against the people themselves, and in fact he seems to have compassion on them because they are lost.

 The other group that is a part of the Jewish community is the religious leaders, who are almost constantly in conflict with the apostles throughout the book of Acts. Jewish leaders opposed the Apostles (4:1-3, 5-7, 18; 5:17-18) and even wanted to kill them (5:33). However, there was one Pharisee, Gamaliel, who defended them (not what they taught but he saved their lives physically) and told the other leaders that if they killed them they might be opposing God (Acts 5:34-40). The major cause of conflict between the believers and the religious leaders was over who had the power and authority. The Jewish leadership attempted to control the spread of the gospel because they understood that they were losing followers to the Apostles and so were losing the Authority they once had. But when they threw them in prison in Acts 5:17-26 and then went to retrieve them the next day, they could not because they had already been set free by an angel sent from God, the true Authority, and were preaching in the temple. Even when threatened with imprisonment and death, the Apostles did not submit to their authority but continued to preach that which the leaders told them not to preach, the gospel (5:28-29, 42). They understand the importance of authority but also the fact that ultimate authority lies in God alone, they were not against the Jewish leaders specifically, just against anything that tried to hinder their ability to spread the gospel as they were commanded to do. The killing of Stephen is the ultimate example of Jewish resistance to the gospel. Stephen was stoned to death because of His commitment to preaching the gospel (Acts 7), which was in opposition to their desire to be in authority. Here the Jewish leaders clearly are portrayed in a negative perspective; however, their role is not over exaggerated and is used as a way to further show the authority of the Church.

 Along with looking at the attitude of Acts towards the Jewish people, the attitude of Acts towards the Jewish religious teaching and the Law should also be examined. Paul states his belief in the law in Acts 24:14 and Luke shows the limits of the law but doesn’t degrade it Acts 13:39. It is obvious that the Apostles and all early Jewish believers had a huge amount of respect for the Old Testament and the Law and this is something that all believers should also have because it sets the stage for the importance of all that Jesus came to earth to accomplish. However, there is no credibility given in Acts to the extra-biblical texts that are commonly practiced among most Jews. Also, though they were free from the Law, the believers still continued in the observance of the temple ritual according to Acts 2:46 and Acts 3:1. The question about whether the apostles were being faithful to the Old Testament was answered in the depth of Stephen’s discussion of Old Testament theology. Initially Stephen aligns himself with the Jewish people in the way he is speaking, through things such as referring to Abraham as “our forefather” (Acts 7:11-12), but later in the speech he distances himself from the Jewish leaders by saying “your fathers” in regard to their disobedience (Acts 7:51). Bock explains that “this is not the language of a break with God, God’s promise, and Israel. It is the exact opposite. Stephen contends for the true hope of Israel.”[b] So, in this way, the book of Acts is completely in line with the Law and all of the Old Testament teachings, but because the Jewish religion was not always in line with the Old Testament, the apostles were opposed to the non-Biblical teachings of Judaism.  The attitude of the book of Acts tow ards the Jewish people is not a negative one but instead has the sense of a common bond in brotherhood. This however, is different from the attitude that Acts has towards the Jewish leadership, in which there is conflict because the leadership was opposed to the Apostles spreading of the gospel. The response of Acts to the Jewish religious teaching was one of both support and rejection, it supports the Old Testament but is opposed to extra-biblical writings and teachings that are commonly regarded highly in Judaism. Therefore, Acts has a positive attitude towards the Jewish people but is opposed to the false teachings and customs prominent in the Jewish culture and believers should have this same attitude; showing respect for the special role that the Jewish people have played in the history of Christianity yet rejecting the teachings that are in opposition to the Bible.


 * Bibliography: **
 * 1) Darrell L. Bock, //Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament// (Baker Academic, 2007).
 * 2) Frederick Clifton Grant, //Ancient Judaism and the New Testament// (Greenwood Press, 1978).
 * 3) Joseph B. Tyson, //Images of Judaism in Luke-Acts// (University of South Carolina Press, 1992).
 * 4) J. Bradley Chance, //Jerusalem, the temple, and the new age in Luke-Acts// (Mercer University Press, 1988).
 * 5) George Angus Fulton Knight, //Jews and Christians: preparation for dialogue// (Westminster Press, 1965).
 * 6) Samuel Sandmel, //Judaism and Christian beginnings// (Oxford University Press, 1978).
 * 7) C. K. Barrett and Charles Kingsley Barrett, //The acts of the apostles: a shorter commentary// (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002).
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Frank Thielman, //Theology of the New Testament : a canonical and synthetic approach// (Grand Rapids Mich.: Zondervan, 2005).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">[a] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Joseph B. Tyson, //Images of Judaism in Luke-Acts// (University of South Carolina Press, 1992). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">[b] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Darrell L. Bock, //Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament// (Baker Academic, 2007).

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