Section Four: Christian Morality: Jesus and the Law

4.1

Jerusalem and Judea at the Time of Jesus

Almost 200 years before Jesus’ birth, the

Kingdom of Judah under the Maccabees

managed to free itself from the Hellenist

Seleucid Empire and established an

independent Kingdom. A Jewish King was

once more on the throne in Jerusalem

About a hundred years or so later, an

internal struggle ensued concerning who

should be the rightful king. Rome was an

official ally of Judah and the Roman General

Pompey was invited to settle the dispute.

Pompey made his choice, but civil war broke

out in Rome, so the struggle continued. In

37 BCE, an Idumean named Herod, who had

married a Jewish princess named Miriam,

was declared by the Roman Senate to be the

rightful King of the Jews.

Herod ruled a kingdom larger than David’s.

He ruled independently up to a point but, in

the end, his independence only went so far.

Rome was always his real master.4.2

The Kingdom After the Death of Herod the Great

When Herod the Great died, his Kingdom was

divided among three of his sons; Herod

Archelaus (Matt. 2:22) ruled the largest

segment of the Kingdom including Idumea,

Judah and Samaria. Archelaus could not

manage to keep the Jewish people in order so

he was banished to Gaul in 6 CE and Roman

Procurators ruled in his place. Pontius Pilate

was the procurator from 26-36 CE.

Herod Antipas is well-known to Christians.

He ruled the Galilee where Jesus lived and a

region east of the Jordan River Perea. He

was the Herod who beheaded John the

Baptist and also the Herod who met Jesus at

his trial before Pilate. He too was banished to

Gaul around 36 CE.

Philip the Tetrarch does not play any role in

Biblical events. He ruled Golan and Bashan

until he died a natural death.

4.3

Jesus, Judea and GalileeJesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea but,

like his ancestors, he fled to Egypt after his

birth. After Herod the Great died, Jesus and

his family returned to live out most of their

lives in Nazareth in Galilee. Since Herod

Antipas ruled Galilee by this time, Herod

Antipas had authority over Jesus. Pontius

Pilate knew this and that is why he tried to

hand off Jesus to Antipas for judgement at

Jesus’ trial (Luke 23:5-12)

Matthew and Mark speak mostly of Jesus

doing all his work in the region of Galilee

and its environs. Luke mentioned that Jesus

as a child did make a pilgrimage to the

Jerusalem Temple at least once a year with

his family. John has Jesus regularly going

back and forth between Galilee and

Jerusalem.

In the first years after Jesus’ death and

resurrection, most of the activity of the

Apostles take place in Judea and Samaria

but an event happened in 41 CE that

changed all that.4.4

What Groups Existed When Jesus Was Born?

Josephus, a Jewish general during the Roman wars, was captured by the Romans

and went over to their side. He was also an historian who wrote several works

including The Jewish Wars and The Antiquity of the Jews. In his work, Josephus

mentioned three political/religious sects in the Jewish Kingdom as the Romans

brought the Kingdom of Judah under their rule.

As described by Josephus, these sects were;

Under Roman rule, the Kingdom of Judah became known as the province of Judea, a

satellite province of Roman Syria. The Roman governor of the region lived in

Damascus of Syria. The Roman Prefect/Procurator who governed Judah when

Archelaus was banished did not live in Jerusalem. He lived in Caesaria Maritima. The

procurator during Jesus’ time of public ministry was Pontius Pilate (26-36 CE)

The next slides will sum up each of these three groups. A fourth group of people, the

Samaritans, will also be examined as will several smaller groups

• Essenes

• Sadducees

• Pharisees

4.5

Who Were The Sadducees?

• The name Sadducee (Saddoukaioi in Greek, sadduqaye in Aramaic and sadduqim

in Hebrew) is related to the line high of priests that began with Zadok who shared

the position of High Priest with Abiathar under David. Solomon removed Abiathar

from the position leaving Zadok the lone legitimate high priest in the Temple. The

line of Zadok lasted until Judah was ruled by the Seleucid kings

• Religiously, the Sadducees did not want to have any part of an oral tradition of the

Torah. They felt that such interpretation came from laymen interfering with things

best left to priests like themselves. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did not

believe in the resurrection of the body, or spirits according to the Gospel of Mark

(Mark 12:18). While the Sadducees were familiar with all the books of the Hebrew

Scriptures, they felt that only the books of Moses, the Torah, were legally binding

on the people.

• Despite the link between the name of their party with a line of High Priest who

historically had supported faithfulness to the Torah and the customs, rituals and

practices that it taught, the Sadducees were linked to the more recent version of

the High Priesthood whose office holder was appointed by Hellenist and, later,

Roman rulers. It is understandable then that, unlike the Pharisees who were

mostly Hebraists, the Sadducees were mostly Hellenist Hebrews who formed the

ruling class

4.6

Who Were the Pharisees?

• The name Pharisee (Pharisaioi in Greek, perisaye in Aramaic and perushim in

Hebrew) had the basic meaning of “the separated ones”.

• The Pharisees followed in the footsteps of King Josiah, and the priest/scribe Ezra

and all those who believed that the best way to ensure a good and holy nation

was to ensure that the youth of the nation would be educated in the Torah

including the do’s and don’ts that comprise pious behavior. Rabbinic Judaism

derives from the Pharisees

• The Pharisees believed that both the written Torah ( שבכתבתורה , torah se-biktav)

as well as the oral Torah ( תורה שבעל פה tora se-be-al peh) were normative. Their

love of the Torah and their meticulous observance of the Sabbath, ritual purity

etc., helped keep Judaism intact in the face of Hellenistic polytheism and

secularism.

• They seemed to come from a group of scribes (lawyers) under Jonathan

Maccabeus @ 150 BCE. They seem to have evolved from the Hassidim who

supported the Maccabean revolt until the revolt took a secular turn

• When Jesus spoke about The Law he was not speaking about the Ten

Commandments. He was speaking of the 613 Mitzvoth of the written and oral

Torah. The oral Torah began to be written down around 200 CE. We know it as

the Talmud. Rabbi Dr. David Novak of the University of Toronto calls the Talmud

the Jewish New Testament.4.7

Who Were The Essenes?

• The name Essenes (Essenoi or essaioi in Greek, possibly hasayya in Aramaic)

means either “pious ones” or “healers”

• In the end, there is simply not enough information to draw a definitive

conclusion concerning Jesus, John the Baptist and the Essenes

- Jesus may well have known about the Essenes and the things that they

taught and believed but He Himself was probably not an Essene. He

lived as part of the general society. He drank wine. He ate with sinners etc.

- John the Baptist may have been an Essene in that, like the Essenes, he

seemed to live apart from regular society

• Was John the Baptist an Essene? Was Jesus an Essene? Most of the information

about the Essenes comes from the writings of Josephus. They are hardly mentioned

in Scripture.

• According to Pliny the Elder, they lived on the Western shore of the Dead Sea

between Jericho and Engedi. Most take the site to be Khirbet Qumran

4.8

Who Were The Samaritans?

• Most historians hold to the idea that the name derives from Samaria, the

capital city of the divided Kingdom of Israel. Others say the name derives from

the Hebrew term םמרי ש (shamerim) meaning “keepers of the law”

• Recent DNA testing which shows that the mtDNA is consistent with people who

inhabit portions of modern Iraq (Cutha?) but there is other DNA that shows

Jewish ancestry

• Many scholars believe that at least some of the Jewish inhabitants of the

Northern Kingdom of Israel remained in the land after Israel was defeated by

the Assyrians. The Samaritans claimed that they represented the original faith of

Israel before the alleged changes made by Josiah were added and later codified in

Babylon. The Samaritans believed that the Jewish people who returned from

captivity in Babylon and then lived under a Persian culture represented a change in

traditional Jewish beliefs. There is still a tiny community of Samaritans in

Israel today. They believe that their version of the Torah is the only true version.

They hold that Mount Gerizim is the proper place of sacrifice for Israel

• The Samaritans claimed that not all of the “Lost Tribes” of the Northern Kingdom of

Israel were lost. Samaritans claim descent from Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of

Joseph. The Jewish people called Samaritans Kuthim (Cuthians) referencing people

brought from the land of Cutha (in modern Iraq) by the Assyrians to repopulate the

Northern Kingdom after the conquest of Israel by Assyria

4.9

Were There Other Jewish Sects?

• There Were Zealots

- Considered by some to be the extreme right wing of the Pharisees

- Josephus called them the fourth philosophy of Judaism (they accepted

violence and murder as acceptable means to an end)

- Likely started by Judas the Galilean in 6 CE (Acts 5:37) who resisted the

census of Quirinius conducted in 6 CE. and grew after Jesus’ crucifixion

- They objected to paying tax (tribute) to any foreign, pagan king

- They finally revolted against Rome in 66 CE and the final confrontation

of that revolt took place at Masada

- There is a question concerning one of Jesus’ apostles, Simon Zelotes.

Was he “zealous” for the Torah (a Pharisee or one of the Hasidim) or

was he a member of the group that became “the Zealots”?

• There Were Zadokites

- The Zadokites were more fundamental than the Sadducees (Written Torah only)

- They felt that the Sadducees were too worldly, too Hellenistic

• There Were Herodians

- The Herodians were mentioned in Mark (3:6 and 12:13) and Matthew (22:16) as

joined with the Pharisees in attempts to entrap Jesus

- Completely opposite the Pharisees in philosophy but shared their concern about

Jesus

4.10

The Kingdom Restored Under Herod Agrippa

By 41 CE, Herod Agrippa, the grandson of

Herod the Great, managed to maneuver himself

to be named as King over much of the territory

governed by his grandfather, Herod the Great.

Herod Agrippa was a bit of a dissolute youth

but became a serious Jew of the Pharisee sect

when he became King. He persecuted the early

Christian community in Jerusalem. He also

imprisoned Peter and executed James, the

brother of John. Since Herod Agrippa favored

the Aramaic-speaking Pharisees, Greek-

speaking Jews as well as Christian Jews both

Hellenist and Semitic, began to be persecuted

in Agrippa’s Kingdom, Many fled north into

Roman-ruled Syria to escape.

Thanks to Agrippa’s persecution, both Hellenist

Jews and Jewish Christians wound up in cities

of Syria such as Antioch. As a result,

Christianity took its first move beyond the Holy

land. Agrippa died unexpectedly in 44 CE.

4.11

The Holy Land After Herod Agrippa

After the death of Herod Agrippa, all of what had

been Agrippa’s kingdom is governed by Roman

prefects; Cuspius Fadus (44-46 CE), Tiberius

Alexander (46-48 CE), Ventidius Cumanus (48-52

CE) and Marcus Antonius Felix (52-59 CE). M.A.

Felix is noteworthy because Paul, after his arrest

in Jerusalem and imprisonment in Caesarea, had

his first hearing in front of this prefect. This is

covered in Acts 23:23 to 24:27, and Acts 25:14

M.A. Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus (59-

61 CE). Paul was brought before Festus in his

second hearing in Acts 24:27, 25:1-27 and Acts

26:24-32. It is also believed that James, the

head of the Jerusalem Church was executed by

Jewish authorities while Festus was en route

from Rome to Jerusalem.

It is important to remember that the major

Roman presence in the region was always

centered in the Roman governor who was

headquartered Damascus in Syria. The prefect

or procurator was always subject to him.

4.12

Jewish Morality

While it is true that Jewish Law comprised 613 commandments, no one seemed to

know exactly what the 613 commandments were. Rambam (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon)

was a Jewish scholar who was born in Cordoba Spain around 1135 CE, traveled

throughout the Middle East, served as the physician to Saladin. He died in Egypt in

1204. Maimonides was a philosopher and a scientist, but he was also a master scholar

of the Jewish Law. We will speak of Maimonides in more detail later. But even this

great scholar of the Law wasn’t really certain what the 613 mitzvoth were. He did offer

his best estimate which can be found here. http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm

Some of these commandments reflect Jewish moral tradition going back to the time of

Moses. These include the proper treatment of servants, bondsmen and slaves. They

also included many ritual laws.

When Jesus and the early Church of “keeping the Law” and “works of the Law”, this is

what they were talking about. Keep in mind also that there was a linkage in Judaism

between Church and State. From the Babylonian Captivity down to the time of the

Seleucid rulers, there was no King in Jerusalem. The High Priest served both a

political as well as a religious function. It was under the Seleucid rulers that the High

Priest was no longer from the line of Zadok, a descendant of Aaron and High Priest

under David and Solomon. The High Priest under the Seleucids was appointed by the

political ruler. Even during the years when a Jewish King ruled once again in

Jerusalem, the High Priest continued to be appointed by the political leader. To speak

against the Law had both political as well as religious implications.

4.13

Was Jesus a Jewish Reformer?

The title question of this slide is not an easy one to answer. In many ways a “yes”

answer would be correct. One of Jesus’ main criticisms of both Sadducees and

Pharisees was that they stressed obedience, at least outward obedience, to a set of

Laws. The issue was this. Was this obedience out of a religious desire to show love for

God or was it out of a political requirement to appease the Jewish politics of the times.

It became even worse when In Judea and Samaria, the political entity was a Roman

prefect instead of a member of a Jewish (or at last part-Jewish) royal family.

In Chapter 22 of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem and is teaching at

the Temple. Jesus had just silenced the Sadducees (who did not believe in

resurrection) as they tried to trap him on the question about marriage after the

resurrection. The Pharisees then try their hand at trapping Jesus by asking him which

commandment is the greatest. His answer stops them in their tracks as Jesus recites

one of the greatest prayers in Judaism.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and

with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment”. (Matt. 22:37). Jesus’

answer is the Shema, the great prayer found in Deut. 6:4-5/

ד ׃ הוה אח ינו י הוה אלה ל י רא ע יש מ ך׃ש אד כל־מ ך וב ש כל־נ פ ך וב בב כל־ל יך ב הוה אלה ת י ת א ב ה א ו

Jesus follows this by a second great commandment, also found in the Torah (Lev. 18:19)

וך עך כמ ר ת ל ב ה א ו4.14

The Sermon on the Mount: Reform of the Jewish Law?

The Beatitudes: The Ten Commandments tells both Jews and Christians how to act.

The Beatitudes provide an example of how a Christian should be.

4.15

The Sermon on the Mount: A Deeper Understanding of the Law

“You have heard it said….but I say….” Jesus reminds all his listeners that sin is often

an external expression of an internal failing. That internal failing must be recognized.

4.16

Jesus Was Born and Died a Jew

Though the various sects of Judaism disagreed about many things, they all held the

Torah, the five books of Moses, the books of The Law, in great reverence.

However many commandments the various sects may have found within The Law, they

all would have no problem in reciting the Shema

But Jesus was trying to remind his Jewish brothers and sisters as well as all of those

listeners that had ears to hear that the commandments of the Law were meant not only

to change a person’s outward behavior. The Law was meant to change the inner failings

of the person’s soul. Christians believed that the human soul was born with the same

tendency that the souls of their first parents came to have as the result of their choices.

The human soul tended to try to find happiness by love of self rather than love of (and

trust in) God. That was Adam’s main failing and that was human failing ever since.

ד ׃ הוה אח ינו י הוה אלה ל י רא ע יש מ ך׃ש אד כל־מ ך וב ש כל־נ פ ך וב בב כל־ל יך ב הוה אלה ת י ת א ב ה א ו

They all would have no problem accepting the importance of what Jesus called the

Second Great Commandment. It, too, was also found in the Torah.

וך עך כמ ר ת ל ב ה א ו

Jesus taught, and more importantly, lived a life of selfless love. In so doing, even to the

point of death on the cross, he fulfilled every aspect of the Jewish Law. In a sense, Jesus

was the perfect Jew and he tasked his followers, his Church, to spread his message to all

nations. And so, as predicted in Scripture, salvation would come to all through the Jews.4.17

Christianity and The Law (I)

The first person to say yes to Jesus was the woman who would become his mother

when she was visited by the angel Gabriel. Later, Jesus gathered apostles and

disciples. . All of these were Jewish. The number of those people who would call

themselves followers of Jesus remained (little more than 100) until Pentecost Sunday.

The Holy Spirit arrived during the celebration of Pentecost, the Shavu’ot, the Festival

of Weeks when the first fruits of the field were brought to the Temple (see Lev. 23:16).

After the Temple was destroyed, this date celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses by

God. The Book of Acts tells us that Jews from all over the Diaspora gathered in

Jerusalem to celebrate this festival.

It was on this day that the Apostles, emboldened by the Spirit went out into the crowds.

They repeated the pattern of Jesus and explained how Jesus was the Holy One

prophesied in the Scriptures. Those Jewish listeners who were persuaded asked what

they should then do. Peter spoke the words that are still spoken to new believers even

today. He told them that they must repent and be baptized. More on that later

The Book of Acts tells us that three thousand were converted that day. That was a

huge increase in the early Church community. Some were Hellenists. Some were

Hebraists. All were Jewish. The community that accommodated them was led by an

Episcopos (Bishop), supported by a council of elders (presbyters/priests) and, later,

aided by helpers (deacons). Some scholars (e.g. J.T. Burtchaell in his book From

Synagogue To Church) believed that this organization was similar to that of the

Synagogue (Archesynagos/Bishop, gerousia/elders and hyperetes/deacons). This

remains a speculative conclusion, but it makes sense that a huge influx of Jewish

believers would feel most at home in a community organized in this familiar way. 4.18

Christianity and The Law (II)

The Romans were not wrong in thinking that early Christianity was simply a sect of

Judaism, a legally recognized religion under Roman Law. After all, almost all of their

members were Jewish. If your read Chapter 7 of Acts, you will find a nice summary of

what Christians were preaching from the mouth of the Deacon Stephen.

The Book of Acts tell of missions to Samaria but keep in mind that Samaritans

considered themselves to be keepers of the true faith of Israel. Acts also narrates

Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch but, since he was returning from worship

in Jerusalem, he was likely an Ethiopian Jew many of whom now live in modern Israel.

The conversion of the first Gentile to Christianity is described in Chapter 10 of Acts. A

Roman Centurion named Cornelius is baptized by Peter. Yet even this man was, in a sense, already Jewish. Cornelius was a φοβούμενος τὸν θεὸν, a fearer of God. God-

fearers were Gentiles who were attracted to Judaism but had not undergone the ritual

practices that would make them fully Jewish. So, Cornelius was not a Gentile in the full

sense of the word.

The first Gentiles that came into the Church were converted by Paul. There were large

Jewish communities in Syria that had grown larger when Herod Agrippa persecuted

Hellenist Jews in Jerusalem. Both Peter and Paul preached to these communities. Paul

did not have great success but, to his surprise, found significant interest among the

Gentiles in the region. This led to a serious question that the early Church had to

answer. Did Gentile converts first have to become Jewish before becoming Christian?

4.19

The Council of Jerusalem

The first confrontation between Gentile and Jewish Christianity over the issue of the Jewish Law took place in Jerusalem around 49 CE. How this meeting went depends on which book of the New Testament you read

“And I became to the Jews a Jew, that I might gain the Jews: To them that are under the law, as if I were under the law, (whereas myself, I was not under the law), that I might gain them that were under the law. To them that were without the law, as if I were without the law...I became all things to all men, that I might save all.” (1 Cor. 9:20-22)

Paul’s complaint concerning Peter’s changing postures seem curious given that it was Paul who proclaimed the following in his first letter to the Corinthians:

In his letter to the Galatians, however, Paul seems to describe the meeting in a more confrontational light. In Galatians 2:6-8, Paul refers to Peter, James and John as “the so-called pillars of the Church”. He later describes how he confronted Peter in Antioch concerning Peter’s habit of ignoring Jewish dietary restrictions when missionaries from Jerusalem were not around but conforming to them whenever these missionaries would show up

The Book of Acts (Chapter 15) describes a rather collegial meeting where the issues were discussed, and a conclusion was reached that seemed to satisfy both the concerns of Gentile Christianity as represented by Paul as well as the concerns of Jewish Christianity as represented by Peter and James

4.20

What Did The Council of Jerusalem Decide?

There were two main decisions reached at the Council of Jerusalem; male Gentile

converts would not have to undergo circumcision and all Gentile converts would be free

from most of the restrictions of Jewish dietary law

• The Seven Laws of Noah: 1) do not deny God, 2) do not blaspheme God, 3) Do not murder, 4)

Do not engage in illicit sexual relationships, 5) Do not steal, 6) Do not eat a live animal 7) Do

establish a legal system to ensure obedience to the Law

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/The_Seven_Noahide_Laws.html

The compromise seemed to be accepted at first but, as more and more Gentiles entered

the early Christian communities, the gap between Gentile Christians and Jewish

Christians seemed to grow. The division seemed to center around not just the binding

nature certain aspects of Jewish Law on Gentile Christians but whether the Jewish Law

had any role at all to play in the lives of Gentile Christians

There were some restrictions placed on Gentiles, however. Gentile converts were

required to restrain from eating meat that was sacrificed to idols, from meat taken from

strangled animals, and to avoid porneia (fornication). These proscriptions seem to be a

subset of the Seven Laws of Noah* that God fearers were required to observe while

living among a Jewish community (no theft or murder, no adultery, no meat taken from a

living animal etc.) Interestingly, there is later visit by Paul to Jerusalem described in

Acts where Paul seems to be learning about these restrictions for the first time (Acts

21:25)

4.21

Did Paul and James Disagree on the Issue of the Law?

James, the “brother of Jesus” still Bishop of the Jerusalem Church, seemed to disagree

with Paul when he wrote the words below sometime before 62 CE when he was

martyred. It is important to note that James simply says “works” and not “works of the

law”.

** Luther was also so opposed to the Epistle of James that he said “I almost feel like throwing Jimmy into the stove.” (source: Luther’s Works, Volume 34). His close associate, Philip Melanchthon calmed Luther down on this issue as he did on many others (Luther himself acknowledges this in his Commentary on the Galatians written in 1529.)

The discussion of the role of the Jewish Law in Christianity merely began at the

Council of Jerusalem. It did not end there.

When Paul wrote the Roman Church around 59 CE, a Church which Paul himself did not

establish, he wrote this about faith and the Law.

* It should be noted that in the Bible translated into German by Martin Luther, Luther added the word ‘alone’ (allein in German) after the word ‘faith’ this passage. That word appears in no earlier text of scripture. When asked why he added this word, Luther responded that he knew best how to translate the scriptures into German (source: An Open Letter on Translating. Martin Luther. 1530 CE)

For we consider that a person is justified by faith* apart from works of the law. (Rom. 3:28)*

So also faith, of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (Jas. 2:17) **

4.22

What Else Did Paul Have To Say About The Law?

Perhaps Paul’s most impassioned statements on the subject can be found in the

Epistle to the Galatians written @ 55 CE

“By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Gal. 2:16)

“For if justice is by the law, then Christ died in vain.” (Gal. 2:21)

“All who rely on observing the law are under a curse....Christ redeemed us

from the curse of the Law.” (Gal. 3:10-13)

Paul did not necessarily disbelieve in the Jewish Law. As he indicates in the above

passage, a Christian understanding of the Law points the way to Jesus. It is the

external practices of the Law, the “works of the Law” that do not save.

To be clear, Paul had been born and raised a Jew. Luke proclaimed that Paul had

been a Pharisee educated by Gamaliel. As such, Paul did believe that the promise of

salvation was accomplished through the Jewish people.

"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his Seed. The Scripture does not

say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one

person, who is Christ.“ (Gal. 3:16 referencing Gen. 22:18)

4.23

What Else Did James Have to Say About The Law?

Unlike Paul, James is the author of only one letter in the Christian Scriptures.

Nonetheless, that one letter is relevant to what Paul had said.

It is interesting that James uses the same example that Paul used, Abraham’s

sacrifice of Isaac. Paul seems to use Abraham and his faith in God to demonstrate

the superiority of faith over works. James seems to use this example to show that

Abraham’s works proved his faith. It is again important to note that James does not

specify works of the law but seems to be saying that a real faith must lead to real

actions. I am not sure that Paul would disagree with this since Paul is most

concerned with the uselessness of external obedience to a set of practices as

opposed to an internal commitment that changes a person’s life from the inside out

“Do you want proof that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father

justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was

active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works.* .....And in the

same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the

messengers and sent them out by a different route? For just as a body without a spirit

is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” (Jas. 2:20-26)

Keep one other thing in mind. James was writing to the entire Christian community

whereas Paul was writing to specific churches most of which were churches he

established. He was writing to deal with specific issues affecting those churches. It is

true that Paul expected his letters to be sent around to the other Churches he

established perhaps to make sure that the same issues didn’t develop there

4.24

What Happened Next?

Many scholars have seen in the letters of Paul and James a conflict that would threaten

to divide the Church. I look at things a bit differently. Let me admit that what I write next

is nothing more than my simple opinion.

There has always been a certain nostalgia in Christianity for the good old days when

there was no conflict, no division. Both scripture and history both tell us that those

days never existed. Acts 5 tells us about Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 6 tells us of the

conflicts between Semitic Jewish Christians and Hellenist Jewish Christians. Acts 15

tells us of the events in Jerusalem regarding Gentiles that was just discussed. In

Galatians 2:11, we see a conflict between Paul and Peter. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul

decries the divisions happening in Corinth regarding how those converts began to

identify with the one who preached (Apollos, Paul, Peter) to them rather than to align

themselves with Jesus.

We see the first Christians as heroes and saints and, indeed, they were. They were also

human as were the people to whom they preached. Questions, objections and honest

concerns always arose in the Church and continue to arise to this day. Not all the

answers were found in the letters that the Apostles wrote or even, later, in the gospels

they produced. We’ll look at how the apparent conflict between James and Paul

regarding the Law worked out in the next section. We’ll also look at some conflicts that

were never resolved.

4.25