Search for the Messiah in Pools of Unknowing

The first phase in the development of Jewish mysticism before its crystallization in the mediaeval Kabbalah is also the longest. It's literary remains are traceable over a period of almost a thousand years, from the first century B.C. to the tenth A.D., and some of its important records have survived...Between the physiognomy of early Jewish mysticism and that of mediaeval Kabbalism there is a difference which time has not effaced.

Gershom Scholem
Chapter 2: Merkabah Mysticism and Jewish Gnosticism
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism

The first thought I had when I read this passage from Scholem's classic is that this early mystic Jewish tradition occurred within the lifetime of Jesus, the apostle Paul, and later "church fathers", and some the writers during the era of the Gospels and Epistles could possibly have been influenced by such a tradition.

OK, I know you may think that's rather far fetched, but considering the "mystic" nature of John's Gospel as well as the imagery in Revelation, I don't think I'm reaching too far out of the bounds of credibility, particularly considering all (or most) of the early "documenters" of the teachings of the Jewish Messiah were Jewish themselves. Perhaps Yochanan ben Zakkai, who Scholem cites as one of "the most important representatives of mystical and theosophical thought" during the mid-first century era influenced some of the writings about Yeshua (Jesus) and his followers.

All of this, at least in terms of my very limited knowledge, is very thinly connected and anyone even marginally more familiar with the topic (which includes just about anyone familiar with Jewish mysticism) could blow away my arguments and suggestions with a mild sneeze. Still, it's rather compelling to take a look at these tentative connections and consider the possibilities.

Derek Leman, in his recent blog post Biblical Glimpses Into Mystical Horizons makes a few comparisons of his own:

EPISTLES: The one who ascended into the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12. The uniting of all things in Messiah in Ephesians 1. The one who descended into human form in Philippians 2. The God and Lord of 1 Corinthians 8. The Radiance of His Glory in Hebrews 1. The One in Whom All Things Adhere in Colossians 1 (and the Image of the Invisible God).

Scholem writes:

Thus for example in the "Visions of Ezekiel", which have recently become known, Ezekiel sees the seven heavens with their seven Merkabahs (driven by four chayot or "living creatures"; Isaiah 6:2, Revelation 4:8) corresponding to the seven heavens is still innocent of any mention of Hekhaloth, or chambers, of the Merkabah.

This references Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 1:4-26) and definitely recalls the scriptures Leman cites including:

I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. -2 Corinthians 12:1-7

Again, I can't say for certain nor to I assert as absolute, the connections I'm proposing here, but novice in mysticism that I am, it certainly sparks some interest. Still, Paul seems to be saying that he has accomplished what many mystics throughout the ages have attempted: a transition (in one form or another) into the realms outside of our own into those that approach the Throne of God...and he returned sane and whole.

I've said numerous times before in other blog posts, that I'm becoming convinced that we cannot understand the teachings of the Jewish Messiah and his early disciples without some ability to look at those teachings through a Jewish mystical lens. This goes beyond an understanding of Torah and Talmud (and possibly flies in the face of Judaism's more "rational" understanding of God), but there are "mysteries" exposed in the Apostolic scriptures that suddenly become more comprehensible if we don't examine them only with a literal and practical microscope. Seeing that Jewish mysticism can trace its origins to the first century B.C.E. (and perhaps before even that), makes it all the more likely that such a tradition found its way into the early Jewish writings describing the person and mission of the Jewish Messiah. How the divine could become a man and dwell among human beings requires belief beyond the physical realm and mysticism is the door that leads to the world where the mysterious can, in some fashion, become known.

I suppose you could just consider me a person who has gone off the deep end and that mysticism is a fool's errand. You wouldn't be alone. From Scholen's book:

If, finally, you were to ask me what kind of value I attach to Jewish mysticism, I would say this: Authoritative Jewish theology, both mediaeval and modern, in representatives like Saadia, Maimonides, and Hermann Cohen, has taken upon itself to task the formulating an antithesis to pantheism and mythical theology, i.e.: to prove them wrong.

Here, we see some of the greatest luminaries among Jewish wisdom and intellectualism standing opposed against the Jewish mystic tradition. Nevertheless, Jewish mysticism has survived such attempts to be extinguished and endures into modern times in Kabbalah and Chasidic Judaism. It occurs to me that the philosophical vs. the mystical approach to God doesn't have to be either/or. They can both co-exist as different perspectives; perceiving God from radically different angles of observation (and participation). And then, there's this:

Levertoff believed that the Gospels and Chasidic Judaism merged seamlessly, and he dedicated his scholarship to demonstrating that conviction. He is said to have best developed his ideas in his major life work, a manuscript on the subject of Christ and the Shechinah. Unfortunately, the book was never published and the manuscript has been lost; however, he presented a lecture titled "The Shekinah Motif in the New Testament Literature" to the Society of the Study of Religions that we may assume represented something of an abstract of the larger work. This short paper provides a glimpse into a compelling and radical attempt to reconcile Jewish mysticism and faith in an exalted, divine Messiah.

Commentary on Paul Philip Levertoff and
Love and the Messianic Age

A rare but direct and living connection between the Chasidim, their mystic understanding of things, and the Gospel of John brought young Feivel Levertoff into discipleship under the great Rebbe Yeshua of Nazareth. He recognized the mystic in the Gospels and in the teachings of the Messiah. In fact, Levertoff thought it was impossible to understand the Jewish Messiah without a mystic understanding.

Where does that leave those of us without that understanding? It leaves us at the doors to the libraries and maybe even the synagogues, daring to enter and striving to learn more.

Knowledge is beyond me; exalted, I am incapable of it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? And where can I flee from Your Presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; were I to take up wings of dawn, were I to dwell in the distant west, there, too Your hand would guide me, and Your right hand would grasp me. -Psalm 139:6-10

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.

Pursuing a Worthy Life

Jewish unity is possible - really! It begins with acting decently toward one another; it follows with tolerating others as they pursue lives of goodness; it culminates with many different Jews, but just one heart.
From Lev Echad

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. -Ephesians 4:1-6

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. -Ephesians 4:29-32

If the Apostle Paul was a Messianic Jewish blogger and his letter to the congregation in Galatia had been posted on his personal blog, how would it be received by those who read his post? Well, what follows are the comments from readers in response to Paul’s inspired post, ahem “epistle”.
Gene Shlomovich in his blog post:
If the Apostle Paul was a Messianic Jewish Blogger
on Daily Minyan

Paul seems to have a difference of presentation between what he said in Galatians and the advice he offers to the Gentile Messianic disciples in Ephesians. Paul said some pretty rough things to the churches in Galatia including admitting that he accused Peter of hypocrisy publicly (Galatians 2:11-13), calling the Galatians foolish (Galatians 3:1), and wishing the "Judaizers" would cut off their own genitals (Galatians 5:12). So what's all this business about not letting any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths? Is this a case of "do as I say and not as I do?"

It's almost as if Paul had received a personality transplant between these two letters, or could this be an example of what some New Testament scholars have found to be inconsistencies in the New Testament text?

Of course other scholars have suggested that the inconsistencies in the different Gospel accounts represent different theological points the Gospel writers were trying to make to different audiences, so I suppose we could consider Paul's change in attitudes between Galatians and Ephesians in that light. Paul may have been trying to make a point to the Galatians by using "rough talk" knowing they'd be more likely to respond to that language, while approaching the Ephesians using a different method, knowing that would work better with them.

But what about us and how we talk?

The Messianic blogosphere tends to justify its "rough talk" with each other based on Paul in Galatians, but is Paul's example in Ephesians ever used? I'd like to think that some of bloggers in our little corner of the web do so by example.

For instance, Michael Schiffman's blog is pretty much a very friendly place to visit. Even when he has a strong point to make, he doesn't do so by denigrating other people or allowing an abundance of such talk to inhabit the comments section of his blog. There are a number of others who behave similarly in the Messianic blogosphere...and a number of others who do not.

I try to maintain a kind of peace on my blog without succumbing to a sort of "Pollyanna" environment where only a peanut butter and jelly on Wonder Bread type of interaction is entertained. However, it's hard to strike a balance between encouragement and brotherly (and sisterly) support, and dealing with the hard questions of faith. I certainly am not going to hold myself up as an example of being completely humble and gentle; being patient, bearing with others in love (Ephesians 4:2), but I'd like to think I'm trying to head in that direction.

This is yet another "can't we get along" blog post in my long list of similar missives, but I was studying ahead to next Shabbat's readings, and what Paul was trying to say to the Ephesians sort of jumped out at me. I know, based on last Friday's blog post that there's no shame in focusing on my own spiritual and educational needs, but I can't easily separate my personal experiences from those of the community of faith. I'm not only a part of my immediate fellowship group, but of the larger Christian and Messianic community (since both Jews and Gentiles in those communities share a Messiah in common).

The light of the Messiah shines on the path of faith before us, but our own shadows obscure that path. I have experienced plenty of darkness as I've tried to proceed, and while I take responsibility for the shadow I cast, I urge anyone reading this to stop for a moment and check on the nature of your own lamp. How much of a light or a shadow are you?

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. -Revelation 20:12

It matters what we do or fail to do in the here and now. Please don't think it doesn't.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark. But there's always a light showing us the way. The Jewish Messiah called his disciples "a light to the world." Are we?

What Do Sheep Want?

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ." -1 Corinthians 1:10-12

It seems like Paul was dealing with issues in the Messianic community (i.e. "the Church") in much the manner as we are dealing with divisions in the Messianic community today. While we can all, at least in principle, follow the same Messiah and worship the same God, how we understand what that means and how we operationalize that worship can be radically different.

I suppose today Paul might have said something like, One of you says, “I follow Billy Graham”; another, “I follow the Pope”; another, “I follow the UMJC”; still another, “I follow Christ.” That kind of puts things in perspective, though I'm sure many of you will think I'm being unfair. The way I read it though, today, just as in Paul's day, we create divisions where they may not need to exist. Certainly Paul wasn't in favor of such divisions:

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. -1 Corinthians 1:13-17

Is the Messiah Yeshua divided? Paul didn't think so, yet we seem to be subdividing him all over the place. Every time a church splits, every time a denomination fractures and forms its own group, every time the Messianic or One Law/One Torah or Two House communities stand apart from their fellows, we split off part of the Messiah and drag him with us down the path our particular interpretation of the Bible. I thought we were supposed to be following him, not the other way around. What are we looking for?

Where is the wise person? Where is the Torah teacher? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. -1 Corinthians 1:20-25

If the Messiah is the power of God and the wisdom of God and we all follow the Messiah, why aren't we "wiser" than we are (as opposed to a bunch of "wise guys")? Paul went on to say:

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. -1 Corinthians 1:27-29

If this is true, why do we boast about our "wisdom", our identity, and our titles all the time, both in the Messianic blogosphere and before God? To counter that attitude in himself (even though Paul was well educated and positioned), he said "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling". (1 Corinthians 2:2-3). This isn't to say Paul didn't have a tendency to occasionally pontificate, but much of his overarching message as recorded in his letters was not one of division and self-aggrandizement but one of unity and humility. What divides us isn't in the message of Paul nor is it from the Spirit of God.

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ. -1 Corinthians 2:14-16

I'm as guilty of relying on my own "wisdom" as the next guy, but Paul reminds me, and reminds us all, that "we don't know jack" without the Spirit of God to guide us into having the mind of the Messiah.

Of course, there has been more than one person in the community of faith who has claimed some special relationship with God and a few of these folks have called themselves "prophets". On that basis, they claim the Spirit of God has given them special "revelation" not covered in the Bible (and many times contradicting the Bible), and thus cults are born. Yet many more of us simply claim that we're smart enough to know better, that our interpretation of the Bible is the "right" one, and that our interpretation nullifies everyone else's understanding. In that, I think each and every expression of Christian and Messianic worship has been found guilty from time to time.

In 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, Paul calls Apollos and himself (and by inference, all other disciples and teachers of the Messiah) only servants and co-workers in God's service. Could Paul have meant that both Jewish and Gentile disciples were (and are) "co-workers", with one worker planting the seed and the next worker watering it, and so on? Are we really in this together?

I've heard from more than one person that some people are repelled from us rather than drawn to us because of our divisions and bickering. What are we doing driving people away from Him? If we all serve the Messiah as we claim, why aren't our fruits good and our actions appealing?

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. -1 Corinthians 3:10-13

The foundation of our faith was laid by the only one with the power and right to lay that stone: the Messiah. What we choose to build on it, for good or for ill, is our own decision. Regardless of how pleased and satisfied we may feel about the "coolness" of what we've constructed, a day will come when fire will descend and reveal the true nature of our work.

Flocks

Is there more than one "right" way to worship God and to honor the Jewish Messiah if you're a Gentile? Funny question? Maybe the question isn't so funny. Consider how many churches there are in the world and how many different denominations they represent. While it is true that some of those churches believe they are the only "true" church and the rest of them are "posers", many Protestant churches believe that most other denominations are true worshipers of Christ, despite the various theological differences (and I recently wrote an article called Ecumenical to try and address this point, at least in terms of "Messianics").

I have a feeling that I'm about to "reinvent the wheel", but this is part of the restructuring process I'm undergoing in response to deconstructing my general assumptions about my faith. I've previously remarked that we know a great deal about Temple worship from the Torah, but almost nothing about how synagogue and early Messianic/Christian worship services were conducted. I have sometimes wondered why there is this lack of detail regarding the latter in the Apostolic Scriptures. God seems to be exquisitely specific about information He wants people to know, right down to the details of the Kohen Gadol's robes and every tiny element that comprised the construction of the Mishkan. These aspects (from my perspective, anyway) are direct representations of what exists in the Heavenly Court, where Yeshua is our High Priest, so I can appreciate the level of detail involved in creating an Earthly representation. What does that mean though, for worship venues that are not the Miskhan or the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and specifically for Gentile worship places?

I've been told that the synagogue service is something of a representation of the Temple service and acts as a "substitute" since no Temple currently exists in Israel. According to Wikipedia quoting the Talmud (tractate Berachoth 26b), each "...service was instituted parallel to a sacrificial act in the Temple in Jerusalem: the morning Tamid offering, the afternoon Tamid, and the overnight burning of this last offering." So in the modern Jewish synagogue service, we have a picture of the Temple service representing the desire of the Jewish people to fulfill all of the commandments of God "...as in days of old, and as in previous years" (Malachi 3:4).

Did any of that float over to the Gentiles when we were grafted in? Let me back up a second.

Before and during the Earthly lifetime of Yeshua, we know of a group of Gentiles who attached themselves to Israel and who we call "God-fearers". These God-fearing Gentiles became aware of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from their contact with the Jewish people and became convinced that the Hebrew God was and is the One true God of all Creation, including the non-Jewish people. Many of these Gentiles did not respond to this awareness by seeking conversion to Judaism (during the Roman occupation of Israel, it might have been somewhat hazardous for a Gentile to request and undergo conversion). These particular individuals and perhaps their families, began worshiping at their local synagogues, both in Israel and in the diaspora. They had no official and particularly no covenant standing in the synagogue or among the Jewish people, but no one among the chosen of God could have argued that Gentiles were not also created in God's image and did not also benefit from God's blessings. This response to God by a minority of Gentiles in that world was likely a realization of this:

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? -Deuteronomy 4:5-8

While Israel, suffering under the harsh lash of the Roman occupation, was not a "perfect" nation, and even though they labored under a religious leadership that was corrupt and in Rome's pocket, Jews did then what they always did, particularly when under duress, which was to humbly seek the will of God and offer devotion to Hashem, Master of Legions, awaiting His rescue and salvation. This unparalleled faith and sanctity of heart and action was not lost on at least some of the Gentiles who witnessed it, including this fellow:

When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. -Luke 7:1-10

For the God-fearer in the Jewish synagogue, worship services were synagogue services. They would have done what most of us would do if we were guests in a house of worship not our own. I imagine that the "rules" for Gentiles would have been similar to what we find on the Judaism 101 website.

Non-Jews are always welcome to attend services in a synagogue, so long as they behave as proper guests... During services, non-Jews can follow along with the English, which is normally printed side-by-side with the Hebrew in the prayerbook. You may join in with as much or as little of the prayer service as you feel comfortable participating in. You may wish to review Jewish Liturgy before attending the service, to gain a better understanding of what is going on. Non-Jews should stand whenever the Ark is open and when the Torah is carried to or from the Ark, as a sign of respect for the Torah and for G-d. At any other time where worshippers stand, non-Jews may stand or sit.

That explanation isn't perfect since in first century Israel, it is unlikely that there would be a bilingual siddur (Hebrew/Greek in this case) but perhaps in diaspora synagogues, there were language accommodations available. In any event, the overarching emphasis in the instructions for guests or God-fearers would be to behave respectfully and within the bounds of not being members of the covenant. For the Gentiles involved in that context, there most likely wasn't any disagreement on this point.

One of the purposes of Yeshua's "becoming flesh and dwelling among us" was to, in essence, open the door for Gentiles to enter into the Kingdom of God by directly attaching us to Israel as alien, but grafted in, branches. If Yeshua didn't change something relative to a Gentile's covenant relationship to God, then his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension would have meant little or perhaps nothing at all, at least to the vast majority of the world's population. If the only way for a Gentile to fully access a covenant relationship with God, rather than forever remain a God-fearer, was to convert to Judaism, why would Paul have said this:

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. -Galatians 5:2-5

A plain reading of the text seems to indicate that Gentiles do not have to convert to Judaism to have access to God and that, in fact, it was Messiah himself who came to give Gentiles that access. They (we) are not required to covert in order to have relationship and by ignoring Paul's words and being determined to convert, we are not only disregarding Paul, we are throwing away the meaning of Yeshua's death.

OK. Gentiles have access to God that is more than what a God-fearer had. After all, Cornelius was already a God-fearer when God told Peter to go to the Roman's home. Cornelius and all his Gentile household received the Holy Spirit before the very the eyes of Peter and his Jewish companions (Acts 10:44-48) showing them and us that there was and is life for a Gentile with God that is more that what the ancient God-fearers experienced.

The $64,000 question is just how much more of a life? In practical terms, does baptism by the Holy Spirit make Gentiles full covenant members and Israelites along with the Jews? That's the big argument going on right now.

From a One Law (OL) perspective, the answer is "yes". Gentiles, after receiving the Spirit and being grafted in to Israel become Israelites. They were and are obligated to all of the 613 commandments, all of halacha, and are every bit a part of the Jewish lifestyle, without having to actually convert to Judaism. This is where Messianic Judaism (MJ) parts company with One Law, since MJ maintains that, based on Acts 15 and Acts 21, Gentiles who became Messianic by way of the Spirit had only a subset of Torah obligation. Interestingly enough, the people who had previously functioned as God-fearers most likely were already complying with those requirements in order to be able to worship in the same synagogue as Jews.

The real problem is that, while MJ can tell "Messianic Gentiles" (for lack of a better term) what they are not obligated to, relative to believing Jews, they can't really define, beyond the confines of the Jerusalem letter, what distinguishes a believing Gentile's life and religious practice from a pagan or secular Gentile. It doesn't seem, from MJ's viewpoint, that we have changed very much, if at all, in terms of our practice. We operate more or less in the same manner as the ancient Roman and Greek God-fearers. Do Gentiles not have a practice that makes them Holy to God and sets them (us) apart from the unbelieving nations? I don't have a definitive answer to that one, but the Apostolic Scriptures may provide a clue in its very lack of detailed information about Gentile worship activities.

I've made my way through most of Bruce Chilton's Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography and Chilton suggests something I'd never thought of before. He suggests that Paul and James may have had significant disagreements about a Gentile believer's status relative to Israel. Chilton doesn't put it in these terms, but basically, he says that James, as head of the Jerusalem Council, took a stance very similar to that of modern day Messianic Judaism, while Paul's framework may have approached what we think of as "One Law" for Gentiles, but not in the way you might expect. I know this is a radical suggestion and I can already feel the various MJ readers of my blog preparing their rebuttals but hear me out.

The split between James and Paul according to Chilton's book, was specifically based on how close a grafting Gentiles receive on a spiritual level. It didn't seem so much that Paul expected believing Gentiles to take on the full "burden" of Torah in order to achieve equal with the Jews, but quite the opposite. Paul wrote that the meaning and force of the Torah was overshadowed by the grace of Messiah. The key problem with how James and the Jerusalem Council might have seen Paul was that he was advocating for Gentiles to be completely equal to the Jews in the covenant promises without any Torah obedience or conversion requirement at all. Gentiles then, could enjoy equal covenant status with the Jews before God, and yet be completely independent of oversight by the local synagogue and perhaps be even independent of Jerusalem.

This may, according to Chilton, account for the various beatings and the stoning Paul had to endure (including being left for dead). While the message was eagerly accepted by diaspora Gentiles, the diaspora Jews and, when they finally heard about it, the Israeli Jewish believers, were "less than amused" by Paul's teaching an apparent lack of distinctiveness between Gentile believers and the Jewish faithful. This may account for Paul's problems upon his returning to Jerusalem (Acts 21 and beyond) as well as the punishments he put up with in the diaspora.

It's important to remember that Chilton's perspective is primarily a Christian one, though he is considered an expert in both early Christianity and Judaism. He also speaks of Paul's "conversion" on the road to Tarsus, though he may not mean conversion from Judaism to Christianity so much as conversion from non-Messianic to Messianic Judaism. Still, his perspective is expected to be a bit "off" relative to the modern Messianic Jewish understanding of Paul. Nevertheless, his material should be taken into consideration and may provide important clues in the history of Gentile "acceptance" into the body of Messianic faith.

While I can't take a position of exactly what Paul did or didn't believe on these matters, Chilton's book at least opens the door to the possibility of a lack of absolute consistency in how Gentile believers were considered and treated by Jewish Messianics. That, coupled with a lack of specific requirements for Messianic Gentiles beyond the aforementioned Acts 15 and Acts 21, leaves a gap in which multiple, varied worship and lifestyle practices may have become available to Gentile Yeshua-worshipers.

I sometimes remark in my teachings, that God is wise to provide concrete, material reminders of His commandments, in the Shabbat, the Festivals, and even at the level of tzitzit and mezuzah. While these, and other practices, may not be required by God of believing Gentiles, I imagine that in the first century, as is true today, at least some Gentile believers saw the wisdom of some of these commandments and "went the extra mile", even in secret, in order to facilitate a more personal connection with God.

I have no concrete evidence to present on this matter, but I know human nature. It would have been almost impossible for first century Gentile worshipers to not be drawn to some of the Jewish-specific practices, particularly if they had Jewish mentors or an experience in synagogue worship. What Gentile Messianics in the 21st century are experiencing isn't unique to the modern age. In fact, Chilton believes that Paul failed to discourage his followers in Galatia from adhering Jewish practices, which they continued performing, even after Paul was long dead.

The letter to Galatia established his (Paul's) position in Ephesus, but it failed to move its intended recipients. More than a century after Paul, there is excellent evidence that the Galatians were in fact keeping the calendar of Judaism, celebrating Easter in a tight correspondence with Passover, and observing regulations of food purity. -from Bruce Chilton's Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography (page 195).

If, as in Deuteronomy 4:6, Gentiles are expected to see Israel's relationship with God and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people", why wouldn't at least some of them (and us) want to emulate what the Torah teaches in Deuteronomy 6:4 and beyond?

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. -Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Yeshua said the following to his Jewish audience, but I don't see how it doesn't or shouldn't apply to Gentiles as well.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 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. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." -Matthew 22:36-40

How far any of the specific Torah commandments are applied in obligation to Gentile believers as opposed to voluntarily available, I cannot say. I know that the Shabbat can be a time of rest for me, just as it is for my Jewish neighbors. Perhaps I don't keep it in the same way or to the same degree as an observant Jew, but neither am I commanded to specifically ignore the Sabbath. Without turning myself into a caricature of a Jew, how much more in God's commandments is available to me, not necessarily out of an obligation, but out of a desire to express love of God? Moreover, what is the higher observance, to comply to Torah or any part of it because you have to...or because you want to?

Afterword: I'm not saying that Jewish people are Torah observant only because they have to, but the bottom line is that the covenant obligation exists. There may be some Jews who comply only out of fear, but that's certainly not God's desire. Beyond the obligation, there are many Jewish people who keep Torah for the sheer joy of obeying and serving God and perhaps they're a model for the rest of us. If it turns out that Gentiles bear a smaller portion of Torah obligation (though beyond just a couple of slices of the book of Acts), we can still offer God a larger amount of our behaviors, our gifts, our devotion, and our love than what's required. While Yeshua said, "If you love me, you will obey me", anyone who has ever been a parent knows that we feel a greater love from our children, not just when they do what we tell them to do, but when they offer us more, just because they love us.