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

91 laity and leadership of the nation. 104 The problem is that nothing in the narrative indicates that Peter, his fellows , the believers or unbelievers in Jerusalem understood it this way . As Haenchen notes, " ... the men of Jerusalem do not infer 'So now we can eat unclean food as well' , but ' So God has given repentance unto life to the Gentiles also."' 105 Likewise , the flow of the rest of the book, Acts 15 and 21 in particular, would argue against this understand- ing . 106 All of the indications suggest that the subject in chapter 15 is the place of the law in the life of the believing Gentile not Jew. The relationship of the Jew to the Law is never discussed because the leadership takes it for granted that the Jews are still under the authority if the Law . If this understanding is missed in chapter 15, Luke clarifies the distinction between Jewish and Gentile obligation to the Law in chapter 21. James calls upon Paul to demonstrate his fidelity to the Law while giving the disclaimer that of cour e according to the apostolic C:ouncil (Acts 15) Gentiles are not obligated to keep the Law . A Reference Just to People If we were to interpret the vision alone (10:9-16) apart from its context we would agree that the meaning probably referred to the cancellation of the food laws. A great heet i lowered from heaven containing both 107 clean and unclean animal whi ch Peter i ommand d to kill and eat. It appear that the di tinction between clean and unclean of Leviti u 11 ar 104 f. the immediate riot which formed when the rumor of Paul ' ha ing brought a Gre k into the temp le area wa circulated. 10 Haenchen, Act , 362 . 106 .. thi uid b t ntam unt to b Ii hing th f d mm ndm nt f th Id tam nt o niz d b th J ru I m mmunit , nd ha n 1d n t it lf 1 l r fr m th - all d A f 10 · l ind