The book of Acts was written by Luke the physician, who also wrote the Gospel of Luke. He was a friend and traveling companion of Paul in Col 4.14 and 2 Tim 4.11. He was writing to Theophilus, and this book was circulated to other believers in the Eschatological Kahal. This book tells us about what Yeshua and the Ruach Ha Kodesh continued to do and preach through the Shaliachim (meaning “sent ones” or “agents”) about how the Torah and the Renewed Covenant applied to the believer after Yeshua ascended to heaven. The book itself was written about 63 AD, and it was a bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles. The twelve were called “talmidim” or “students” until Yeshua was taken into heaven. At that point, he sends them out as “shaliachim” for the kingdom of God, or his movement and rule in action. So, with that in mind, we are going to set the stage for what is happening and get a basic understanding of events. These concepts will apply to all the books we will read from this point on. First of all, let’s get a basic definition for the “Basar” or “gospel” and what it really is.
The Basar means “good news, flesh or bread.” When one is hungry, to hear that food is on the way is good news. For example, in its simplest form, basar means good news. In the eschatological sense, the basar has certain concepts associated with it. The basar means the golden age of Israel, David’s throne is re-established, the Messiah has come and God reigns through him over the world, peace has come to man and nature in a restoration, the resurrection of the just has occurred, righteousness is in the earth, the Day of the Lord has come, the Torah goes forth to all the nations, idolatry is non-existent, the exiles have come back to the land, true worship of God has been restored, the non-Jews believe and so on. Yeshua the Messiah is the agent of God empowered to bring all of this about. His task is to redeem man and nature in a restoration. We enter into that redemption by emunah (faith, confidence in action). The “gospel” message is that Yeshua has come to initiate this redemption, but the Messiah is not the basar; he is the agent of the basar. So, with that said, let’s look at what happened starting after Yeshua.
During the aftermath of Yeshua’s resurrection the book of Acts tells that tens of thousands of Jews became believers in Yeshua. It is further recorded that these Jewish believers were “zealous for the law (Torah)”, which would include the Temple and the sacrifices called korbanot, keeping the Sabbath and the festivals, eating permitted animals in Lev 11, the clean and unclean laws, and so on (Acts 21.20). It is further stated in Acts that Paul (Shaul), who is wrongly accused today by religious people of creating a different faith separate from the Torah, himself observed the Sabbath, went to the Temple, performed animal sacrifices, kept kosher, and took a Nazarite vow. The major issue that divided these believers from the rest of the Jewish world was not whether Yeshua was or was not the Messiah, but it concerned the 18 Edicts of Beit Shammai that said a non-Jew, called a God-fearer in the book, must be circumcised and become Jewish in order to be saved and have a place in the kingdom of God (Acts 15.1). A God-fearer was a non-Jew who believed in the God of Israel and kept the Torah commands that applied to him. If he continues, he may be circumcised to become a Jew. So, let’s look at the two “houses” or “schools” of the Pharisees we will be dealing with in this book, as well as the Gospels and Epistles, and gain some understanding.
The two main schools we will be dealing with in Acts are called the School, or Beit (house) of Shammai, and the School (Beit/house) of Hillel. Those from Beit Shammai were vice president of the Sanhedrin called the “Av Beit Din” or “father of the house of judgment” until Hillel died in 10 AD, who was the “Nasi” or president of the Sanhedrin. After that, Shammai was Nasi. They were more powerful in their influence from about 20 BC to about 70 AD. They issued what is called the Eighteen Edicts in 20 BC that governed the intercourse between Jews and non-Jews and was more “radical.” Jewish Zealots agreed with Shammai because they hated Rome and didn’t associate with non-Jews . The status of non-Jews will be a major point of contention with Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. Beit Shammai will be opposed to proselytes and rebuffed them unless they became Jewish through ritual circumcision (the main theme of Galatians). If not, they had no place in the Kingdom of Heaven or the World to Come. Hillel did not agree with this stand. Hillel accepted non-Jews and believed they could be righteous non-Jews and merit salvation. The Jewish Zealots did not like this stand because they allowed non-Jewish fellowship. Yeshua agreed with Beit Shammai at least once that we know of, but some of the teachings of Beit Hillel were closer to Yeshua’s than anyone else. Shammai died the same year Yeshua did, 30 AD, and certainly knew Yeshua. Hillel disagreed with the Eighteen Edicts and Beit Shammai, especially about conversion. Hillel taught that a non-Jew could be saved if they followed the Ten Commandments and the Noahide Laws, and were much more conservative than Beit Shammai. Yeshua agreed with Beit Hillel many times, and Paul was a Pharisee from Hillel. Hillel himself died about 10 AD as we have said.
Up to about 70 AD, Halakah, or how to walk in the Torah, was according to Beit Shammai. A non-Jew can be saved, but they have to be ritually circumcised to become Jewish, a full conversion. After 70 AD and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the halakah was according to Beit Hillel, after Judaism was reformed at Yavneh (the roots of Rabbinic Judaism). They did not require a non-Jew to be circumcised to be saved, and Hillel’s view of converts was adopted. In Acts 10, God will show the believers in Yeshua that Shammai was wrong, and this issue will come up again in Acts 15 and later in Galatians.
Now, one concept should be kept in mind about dissension. Some of the “joys” of an argument are arriving at the truth. Though these two houses disagreed, we will see them fellowshipping with one another, which is not a Western concept. After Paul became a believer, he did not totally agree with either side, but was only interested in the “Halakah of God,” and we will see his teachings on this starting with the book of Acts. His letters to the assemblies, called “Epistles”, were halachic commentaries on the Torah as it applied to believing Jews and non-Jews and how they should walk. Paul will settle the issue of whether a non-Jew should be ritually circumcised to be saved in 1 Cor 7.17-19 and in the book of Galatians. For deeper insight, see our teachings on this website called “Torah and New Testament Foundations-The Pharisees, Sadducees and Yeshua (16 parts)”, and “Torah and New Testament Foundations-The Sanhedrin, Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai (8 parts).”
Now we are going to discuss the relationship between the Jewish believers and the God-fearers a little further. The history begins in Acts 10 when Cornelius, a God-fearer and a Roman Centurion, became a believer in Yeshua. It was obvious at this point that non-Jews could enter into the kingdom of heaven by faith. It was further established that it was not necessary for God-fearers who believed in Yeshua to become Jewish through ritual circumcision to maintain their status within the kingdom. This issue was hotly debated in the messianic congregations as opposed to those Jews who did not accept Yeshua. The problem was further complicated as the faith spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire, often into areas where the Jewish population was sparse. More and more non-Jews were becoming believers, and eventually they far outnumbered their Jewish brethren in the faith. These non-Jews were coming from a background of pure paganism.
Because of the Roman wars with the Jews, anti-Jewish sentiment was rampant. More and more pagan influences were showing up within the faith. Historically, during the fourth century AD, the Romans, under Constantine, converted en masse to what became known as Christianity, and it became the state religion of the empire. The only problem is that the practices of this “faith” were far removed from Torah observance and God’s halakah and became based on pagan ideals and Greek philosophy. The Jewish understandings were being cast aside, and pagan beliefs and practices took over. In many cases, the beliefs of Christianity were precisely forbidden by the Torah. These forbidden beliefs and practices continue to this day and are accepted and favored in Christian practice. In addition, those so bold as to observe anything that could be interpreted as Jewish practices and ceremonies were persecuted.
After Acts 2, all the members of the eschatological kahal were either Jewish or God-fearers. They will be “molded onto a mobile sanctuary made up of living, breathing stones: a royal priesthood (The Greatest Exodus, Dinah Dye, p. 179; that same presence that descended on Sinai and the Mercy Seat, now dwells in us-not as individuals, but as a body-1Cor 3.16, 6.19, 12.27; Eph 2.20-22; 1 Pet 2.4-5 ).” The believers in Yeshua met in synagogues, ate kosher, observed the Sabbath and festivals, spoke Hebrew, and lived according to the Torah as it applied to both groups. Both groups knew the idioms, phrases, and concepts of the Jewish people at the time. The writers of the “New Testament” were Jews, and all believers were part of the eschatological kahal and were a sect within the “Judaisms” of the time. It is from this context that we will interpret the book of Acts.
These believers understood that they were not starting a “new religion” as some teach and believe. They were continuing in the ancient ways of God’s people, Israel. In the book, “The Greatest Exodus” by Dinah Dye, p. 175-176, she explains it this way: “The Community in Jerusalem wasn’t a breakaway sect. They were the covenant people, embodying what had always been intended at Sinai but was now elevated through the resurrection of Yeshua. They were the Sinai Assembly raised up to its true calling as a new creation people.” She later writes that “the Gospel writers do not tell a replacement story, as though God has abandoned Israel and decided to start over. Rather, they show how Israel’s ancient hope and her long, difficult history find their fulfillment in Yeshua. The kingdom is being renewed, not scrapped. The people of God are being reformed, not replaced. The Gospels tell how that story, begun in Abraham, tested in Egypt, shaped by the Torah, and broken in exile, is now being mended. The world is being remade. Prior to the resurrection, Yeshua’s mission was focused on the lost sheep of Israel. But after the resurrection, the horizon of his ministry expands. Now the disciples are sent out to the ends of the earth, because Israel’s God has been glorified, the Spirit is being poured out on all flesh, and the King of Israel is enthroned as Lord of all. This isn’t the founding of a new “church” as something separate from Israel. It is the launching of a renewed people, now called to be for the nations what Yeshua was to Israel: light and blessing.”
We invite you to go to our verse by verse study of the Book of Acts on this website.
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