The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

100 Luke does not regard Cornelius as the main character, and Cornelius' adoption of the Christian faith is not the essential content of the story; it is Peter whom we find in the centre of the narrative from Acts 10.1 to 11.18, Peter, his newly acquired knowledge and his defence of it. For, obviously, the insertion of the paragraph 11.1-18 is intelligi– ble only if seen from this point of view. It is not the centurion's belief which is being proved, but the apostle's right to enter the houses of uncircumcised men-and then not in order to convert the uncircumcised to Christ, but in order to eat with them. This new truth is expressly proclaimed at the end of the paragraph in question: "Thus God has granted to the Gentiles also a repentance unto life" ( 11: 18). . . . This is why Luke has elaborated the story. 129 This understanding fits better with the flow of the book, particularly Acts 15. If in fact Peter and the Jerusalem leadership have concluded that the Mosaic covenant has come to an end in chapter 11, then the question in chapter 15 would probably not have arisen in the first place and, if it had, would have concerned first the Jewish believer's relationship to the Law before the place of the Gentile was even discussed. If however Acts 10-11 teach the admission of the Gentiles into the community of the redeemed without reference to the Jewish believer's relationship to Moses , then it is understandable that some would grant admission to Gentiles but then later (Acts 15) disagree about their continuing obligation to the Mosaic covenant. After all, Cornelius' lifestyle was very Torah-centered as it was. The question of Cornelius' continuing obligation to the Law was a fairly moot point because hi attachment to the synagogue and Jewish lifestyle was so close already . He probably already more than met all the term laid upon Gentiles in the apostolic decree. Although it may be hard to imagine that Peter would not ha und r tood th vi ion in term of literal food , the modern reader mu t not b careful t ana hroni ti all under tand the pa age . or the twentieth century beli r who n und r tand th t th M ate law h d come to an nd at al ar in d' , th m d n I an peopl m em to erl p . But if th nd of th h d n t t b n 1 rl 1 9 Di liu , tudc m th t of the po tie , 11 1