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

135 James seeks scriptural proof for the recognition of the share that the Gentiles have in the heritage of Israel. Nevertheless, he demands of such Gentile Christians that they live among Jewish Christians as the law itself demands of pagan sojourners dwelling among the Israelites. . . . In other words, Gentile Christians are associated with Jewish Christians and find with them the same salvation 'through the grace of our Lord Jesus ' (15: 11), but they find it not because 'the law and the prophets' have been abrogated and are no longer normative, but because the law and the prophets themselves have provided for their share in the very promises made to the fathers of old. That is why 'God has deigned to take from the Gentiles a people for his name' (15: 14). 221 Acts 21: 17-26, Paul in Jerusalem The incident of Paul's final trip to Jerusalem is an interesting test case for his relationship to the Law not only because of his actions in the Temple but also because of the clarification which Luke makes between this and the decision of the Jerusalem Council. The question to be answered is "Was Paul forced by the situation to show loyalty to ancestral customs for the sake of expediency or were his actions a transparent demonstration of his theology?" We will attempt to answer this question by scrutinizing first the incident and then its interpretation. The Incident Two points are particularly important for understanding the incident: the beneficiaries of Paul's action and the nature of his vow. The Beneficiaries of Paul's Action A oon a Paul had fini hed giving hi report about th al ation of man tion of n r d " rk: