Jew & Gentile: Parting Ways
- James Collazo
- Nov 12, 2020
- 10 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
Introduction
Judaism and Christianity are two separate world religions today, but they were not always so. Christianity began as a Jewish reform movement, and all its first followers were Jews who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. As the movement spread to Gentiles across the Roman Empire, it developed distinct beliefs and practices. Over time, this sometimes caused tension and conflict with the Jewish communities from which it came. How did this small Jewish movement grow into a predominantly Gentile religion while clashing with its roots?
The split between Judaism and Christianity began during the First Judeo–Roman War (AD 66–70), when the Zealots rebelled against the Roman Empire. Jewish Christians refused to join the fight alongside their Galilean and Judean neighbors, instead fleeing to the Jordan Valley town of Pella. Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260–340) wrote:
The people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, given to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. When those who believed in Christ came from Jerusalem, it was as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were there (Church History 3.5).
This warning aligns with the Olivet Discourse, in which Jesus cautions, "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel [Dan. 9:27]—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains" (Matt. 24:15–16). Today, we often interpret this passage as a future event, but it originally described a historical moment. The sack of Jerusalem in AD 70 was a national catastrophe, similar to how we Americans remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
When the Roman general Titus (AD 39–81) entered the Jerusalem temple, his soldiers burned it and looted its treasures. Jews still visit what remains of the Western Wall to mourn the loss of the temple, while the Arch of Titus in Rome commemorates this victory. A bas-relief on the arch, built eleven years later in AD 81, depicts Roman soldiers plundering the temple and carrying away its menorah. Matthew emphasized "let the reader understand" to identify Titus as the one who committed this sacrilege by entering the Jerusalem temple and seizing items reserved for the Levites alone (Lev. 24:9).
No Question of Jewish Identity
As a demonym, the basic definition of a Jew is "a person from the land of Judah or Judea." As an ethnonym, a Jew is someone who belongs to the covenant people of Israel, with circumcision serving as a mark of citizenship (Gen. 17). Originally, Israel had twelve tribes, each named for one of Jacob's sons, with Judah being one of them (Gen. 49:28 ff.). God had given Judah's father Jacob the name Israel (H3478), "one who strives for God" (Gen. 32:28).
After the reign of King Solomon (r. c. 967–928 BC), his successors divided Israel into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judea (1 Kings 12:1–24; 2 Chron. 10). Around 722 BC, Assyria conquered Israel and exiled its ten tribes (2 Kings 17:5–23), leaving only the two tribes from Judah. Jesus traced his Jewish heritage through the line of Judah (Matt. 1:2–3; Luke 3:33; Heb. 7:14). Likewise, the apostle Paul defended his Jewish heritage when he wrote, "[I was] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee" (Phil. 3:5).
Jesus' twelve apostles were all Jewish, representing the twelve tribes of a fully restored Israel (Matt. 19:28). When the apostle Peter addressed Jewish festival pilgrims at Pentecost, he declared, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah" (Acts 2:36). About three thousand Jews responded, were baptized, and devoted their lives to Jesus as their national Messiah (Acts 2:37–42). Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, described these new Jewish believers in Jesus: "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46).
The first Christians continued to worship in the Jewish temple, showing that a theology claiming the church replaced Israel would not emerge for another century, as neither Jesus nor Paul taught it. When Paul visited Jerusalem one last time, he went to the temple, completed the purification rites of his nazirite vow, and sacrificed a turtledove or pigeon, a lamb, and a ram according to the Law of Moses (Acts 18:18, 21:26; cf. Num. 6:1–21). He affirmed his faithful observance of Judaism, stating, "I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar" (Acts 25:8).
Parting Ways: Jerusalem to Jamnia
Jesus' brother James led the Council of Jerusalem around AD 50 (Acts 15:1–35). Paul's first missionary journey, which took place between AD 46 and 48, achieved significant success but created tension between his Gentile converts and the Jewish-dominated church in Jerusalem. Jewish Christians insisted that Gentiles undergo circumcision, viewing the church as an extension of "greater Israel." At the council, James heard both sides and ruled: "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood" (Acts 15:19–20).
James grounded his decision in the Covenant of Noah, a set of seven laws that God expects from all nations (cf. Gen. 9:1–17; see "Doctrine & Praxis," pp. 8–9). The Jewish elders accepted this approach because the Covenant of Noah served as a precursor to the Law of Moses, ensuring no contradiction. The council treated Christian Gentiles as foreigners among Jews, affirming that both groups had equal access to Jesus. Initially, the elders considered Christian Gentiles as gerim (H1616), or naturalized foreigners living in Israel (Num. 15:15–16). James, however, designated them as zarim (H2114) or nochrim (H5237), i.e., foreigners temporarily residing in Israel (2 Chron. 6:32). This solution provided a fair hearing for both Jewish Christians, who followed the Law of Moses, and Gentile converts from many nations. James' wisdom and patience could have prevented a separation between Jewish and Gentile expressions of Christianity; nevertheless, the resolution ultimately proved temporary.
John's gospel records three occasions when synagogue leaders expelled Jewish followers of Jesus (John 9:22, 12:42, 16:2). However, these passages do not necessarily indicate that John wrote between AD 70 and 100, as some scholars suggest. During Jesus' ministry, synagogue leaders threatened to excommunicate his disciples, but these were localized threats rather than a widespread ban across Galilee and Judea. Jesus distinguished this when he warned, "They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God" (John 16:2). John likely wrote his gospel between AD 64 and 70, as he did not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem.
By contrast, when John wrote Revelation around AD 90, he described the absence of a temple (Rev. 21:22) and reported that synagogue leaders were expelling Christians (cf. Rev. 2:9, 3:9; see "Revelation: Then, Now & Not Yet"). Tensions between Jews and Christians reached a breaking point after AD 70 and increased when the emperor Vespasian (r. AD 69–79) imposed the fiscus Judaicus, or "Jewish tax." This tax required Jews to contribute to the Jupiter Capitolinus temple in Rome rather than the destroyed Jerusalem temple. The emperor Nerva (r. AD 96–98) reformed the tax in AD 96, officially recognizing Judaism and Christianity as separate religions. Although Christians no longer had to pay the fiscus Judaicus, the Roman Empire continued to persecute the church.
In AD 68, the pacifist rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai (AD 30–90) faked his death and instructed his disciples to carry him out of besieged Jerusalem in a casket. He then requested an audience with the Roman general Vespasian, whom he had prophesied would become emperor. When Vespasian ascended the throne, he granted ben Zakkai's request to establish a Pharisee academy at the coastal town of Jamnia (Hebrew: Yavneh, H2996). The Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, relocated there from Jerusalem. Yochanan ben Zakkai had studied under the prominent rabbi Gamaliel, who also taught Paul (Acts 5:34, 22:3). Modern Rabbinic Judaism traces its lineage to the Pharisee sect, particularly to ben Zakkai's reforms.
In AD 90, the Sanhedrin convened the Council of Jamnia, which redefined Judaism as a religion without a temple and allowed for diverse interpretations. The rabbis at Jamnia also banned the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which the New Testament writers frequently quoted. They reorganized the Hebrew Bible to downplay messianic and apocalyptic readings, instead emphasizing strict observance of the Law. By AD 90, the separation between Judaism and Christianity had solidified. The rabbis of Jamnia published the Birkat ha-Minim (H1293 / H4327), or "Blessing for the Heretics," targeting Jews with unorthodox beliefs. Many Jewish synagogues continue to recite this curse today. It reads:
For the apostates, let there be no hope . . . Let the nozerim ["Nazarenes," believers in Jesus of Nazareth; cf. Acts 24:5] and the minim [Jewish heretics] be destroyed in a moment. And let them be blotted out of the Book of Life and not be inscribed together with the righteous. Blessed are you, LORD, who humbles the arrogant.
Conclusion
The Second Judeo–Roman War (AD 132–135) marked the separation of Judaism and Christianity. A messianic leader, Simon bar Kochba (r. AD 132–135), led Jewish insurgents in an attempt to overthrow Roman rule in Judea. He established an independent Jewish state for two years but was ultimately defeated by the Romans, with the final stronghold at Masada falling. Jewish Christians did not support bar Kochba because he claimed to be the Messiah, which conflicted with their belief in Jesus. As Jesus had warned, "For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come" (Matt. 24:5–6). Simon bar Kochba stands among the most notable of these false messiahs.
Rabbinic Judaism, which denied—and continues to deny—that Jesus is the Messiah, abandoned the expectation of a literal fulfillment of messianic prophecies. It developed into a religion without a messianic figure, salvation, or the promise of God's kingdom. The Romans dispersed the Jewish population across their empire and prohibited their return to Judea under penalty of death. Over time, Christianity, as it became predominantly Gentile, sometimes persecuted Jewish communities, culminating in catastrophic events such as the Holocaust (Hebrew: Shoah, H7724b) from 1939 to 1945 (see "Auschwitz & Biblical Studies"). Despite this history, it remains vital for Christian communities to recognize their Jewish heritage and to understand the historical context of the parting of ways.
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of heaven and earth. You made your covenant with Abraham and showed mercy to many nations. Mend the parting of ways between Jews and Gentiles and reconcile them in your truth and peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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