Gentile Corruption has Changed the Gospel
After Peter's vision, messianic Jews increasingly took the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jews most likely involved in this mission were "Hellenistic". These Jews were heavily influenced by Greek culture. They spoke Greek and used a Greek version of the Scriptures (Old Testament) called the Septuagint (LXX). This dynamic readily explains the use of Greek rather than Hebrew in epistles from Paul & Peter, etc. to early messianic assemblies outside of Judea. Hellenistic Jews lived scattered throughout the Roman Empire, associating with the Gentiles on a daily basis and they formed the primary Jewish component of the early Eklasia. Paul was a "Hellenistic" Jew, spoke fluent Greek and was even a Roman citizen. He was also a Jew's Jew, a Pharisee. He knew his audience both Jew and Greek.
The congregations Paul established contained a mixed bag of people. There were Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, rich and poor. It is understandable that, as the gentile converts entered the assembly, they brought with them a Greco-Roman heritage. Neither did the resurrection of Yashua suddenly erase the human tendencies of the Jewish believers. The epistles are rife with the tensions caused by the legalistic human traditions of the Jewish Christians, the false spiritualism of the Gnostic Christians, and the idolatry and sexual immorality of the secular Roman and Greek converts. All of these immature believers though saved by God's grace, brought their corrupt thinking right into the assembly and fought for advantage. Although the apostle Paul counted on the salvation of God for these people, he never hesitates to attack worldly influences. Paul tried to regulate the pagan influences of these new Gentile initiates in his letters. Idol worship and sexual immorality were among the major problems. At the same time, misguided Jewish teachings had to be challenged.
Christianity was a popular message among the pagans and they joined the congregations in increasing numbers. It wasn't long before Gentile believers from pagan backgrounds began to numerically dominate the assembly of believers. Once in numerical control, the teachings of the "church" were controlled by well meaning Gentile "foreigners". Despite Paul's efforts, the reactionary tendencies of the new pagan converts and the Jewish troublemakers eventually left little middle ground. Within 200 years of the crucifixion, Jewishness began to be de-emphasized in the "Church". In 325 CE, the Christian Roman emperor Constantine had officially banned Jewish elements such as worship on the Sabbath for the Church.
Today we live and practice our faith in a Greco Roman paradigm inherited from the Roman Catholic Church established as far back as 3rd century. Our interpretation of scriptures is based upon a bias foriegn to the original context of the Gospel message. The prophets seem like far off, unintelligable voices speaking of strange festivals, laws, and sacrifices. Yet these are the things fulfilled, perfected and brought to life by Jesus the Son of the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.
A tree without roots is at the mercy of the wind. Christianity without a strong sense of its Jewish heritage is just as shallow. We have forgotten where we came from and our understanding of the scriptures often reflects this fact.
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