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

78 an intermediate step in which it first drops its nationalistic trappings and only then is able to reach out to Gentiles? That is , did the early church in Jerusalem continue happily in the traditions of the Law, distinguished from other Jewish parties only by their belief about Jesus as Messiah, or did they question the place of Judaism in the new order , proclaiming a non– Jewish message? Scott holds to the latter understanding , alleging that the church struggled early with its relationship to Judaism and that those questions are answered decisively with the Cornelius incident. As the primitive community struggled with its self-understanding in relation to Judaism it faced two basic issues: (1) Who is Jesus, and ... . (2) What place were contemporary (first-century) Jewish traditions, attitudes and observances to have in the new faith? 7 1 Some argue that this discussion, and the story of Cornelius , really begins with a tanner named Simon. The Significance of Simon the Tanner Because a tanner had contact on a daily basis with the skins of dead animals, some modern interpreters have thought them to be unclean in violation of the Law (Lev 11: 31-40). Peter 's willingness then to associate with a man of such an occupation is interpret– ed as a softening in his loyalty to Moses. Neil interprets: "... this man's trade is mentioned , not merely to distinguish him from Simon Peter , but perhaps also to point to another break Gentiles into the community and serves as a part of the later justification for the Gentile mi sion as a whole . But just what role does it play in the total cheme of the de elopm nt of the elf-understanding of the early Christian ?" J . Jul iu cott, Jr. "The orneliu In ident in the Light of it Jewi h etting," Journal of the Evangelical ociety 34 (1991): 477 . 71 cott, " he orneliu Incident in the Light of it Jewi h etting," 47 . Hiott add , "At the h art of thi epi ode lay a fundamental contro r ithin th J u m r the thnic boundari f the Je u movement and th ntinuing alidit of J ihpurityrul a tandard o bhaior ," JhnH. llitt,"Hu hldandMal T mple Purit R pli ation Patt rn in Lu e- t , " Bibli al Theolog Bulletin 1 ( 1) : 10