The Religious Landscape of the Ancient World = The Jewish Ceremonial System PART TWO

The Religious Landscape of the Ancient World = The Jewish Ceremonial System PART TWO

In the previous Blog we looked generally at the Jewish Ceremonial System, and the fact that that system was done away with in Christ.

Let us look at the 3 laws of that system which were the focal point of the question, Did the gentiles who became Christians, still need to follow the Jewish ceremonial law?

Again, they are:

1) The Sabbath and special days.

2) Food prohibitions.

3) Circumcision.

Remember, that the entire Jewish Ceremonial system was one big system pointing to Christ and the New Covenant, and was but a shadow, and not the reality, and therefore temporary, these 3 specific laws, which were part of that system, were also shadows, each one pointing to New Testament truths, realities, which Christ brought in.

So to what New Testament truth, reality did each of them point?

Regarding the Sabbath and special days.

NOTE, so there is no confusion, we are not talking about the principle that we are to set one day aside to worship God! The early church immediately stopped meeting on Saturday, and changed to meeting on Sunday. The reasons for the change of day are another issue. The point here is the continued observance of Sabbath rules and special, holy days.

Here are verses to show that this was an issue in the early days of the church:

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Rom 14:5 

"Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain." Gal 4:10-11

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." Col 2:16-17

In Rom 14 Paul is dealing with people who wondered about the food prohibitions and following special days, and makes it clear, those who are weak in faith abstain from certain foods and observe special days.

In Gal 4 Paul says that their following special days makes him afraid they are not even Christians.

In Col 2 holydays (special days) are said to be shadows, Old Testament per-figurings of the New Testament realities, and the shadows are gone.

So to what did these special days point? All of the holydays were tied to specific activities and historical events of the Jewish nation: the Passover, Purim, etc., but the Sabbath, was unique, since it is also a creation ordnance, and also one of the Ten Commandments.

As part of the Jewish ceremonial system pointed to the eternal rest that awaits us in heaven.

Heb 3:7 - 4:13 is too long to insert here, but if you read it, you will see the writer is saying to the Jews to whom he wrote, that the Sabbath pointed to the eternal rest that awaits believers in heaven.

"There remaineth therefore a rest (the Greek word is "sabbath") for the people of God." Heb 4:9 

The word "sabbath," is Hebrew and means "rest." The day of rest. It pointed to heaven, just like the Promised Land did. The land pointed to the PLACE heaven; the Sabbath pointed to the rest we will experience there. Rest from strife, tears, sin, the devil, etc.

Regarding Food Prohibitions.

I will not repeat what I wrote in the previous Blog about Cornelius, but the event in Act 10 clearly shows the purpose of Food Prohibitions was to maintain the Jews as a people different from and separate from the gentiles. There is no inherent evil in any food. God made food, and called in "good!" and then "very good!" (Gen1); and then he himself planted a garden.

Paul picks up on the goodness of everything God made.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." 1Ti 4:1-5

And he says, that continuing to abstain from certain foods is a departure from the faith, because we would be listening to seducing spirits, following the doctrines of devils; that is very strong language! Two things are mentioned: celibacy (Roman Catholic teaching that celibacy is better than marriage), and abstaining from various foods.

All of the food prohibitions were removed! Again, Roman Catholicism (don't eat meat on Friday) and Seventh Day Advent-ism which continues to prohibit eating pork etc, and actively promotes vegetarianism; Jesus was not a vegetarian.

We Christians are not to be separate from the world, we are to be in the world, but not of the world. We are to be salt and light to the world, and to do that we need to be with people, rubbing shoulders with them.

The Jews were told to be the exact opposite! but that was all removed by the gospel.

"And Peter said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." Act 10:28 

Regarding Circumcision.

It is generally thought that circumcision points to water baptism as the entrance ordnance into fellowship with God's people, the local church, but I don't think so.

The physical circumcision of the flesh in the Old Testament was clearly said to point to the "circumcision" of the heart which is the mark of a true believer.

"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff necked." Deu 10:16 

"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." Jer 4:4 

"Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised in the flesh, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart." Jer 9:26 

Those verses are from the Old Testament, and clearly told the Jews that though their flesh had been circumcised, their hearts were not.

Then coming into the New Testament:

Stephen says, "Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." Act 7:51 

You may be circumcised in the flesh, but you are not circumcised in your hearts, you are not born-again, and so you continually resist the Holy Spirit!

Consider Phi 3:2-3 "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

Paul talks about the "concision," that is the word for "mutilate;" a sarcastic play on words! He is here saying that the Jews, who circumcised the flesh, were "dogs," "evil workers," "flesh mutilators," and ones who put "confidence in the flesh."

By contrast, Christians, because we are circumcised in the heart, are "the true circumcision," we "worship God in the spirit (because it is the Holy Spirit who circumcises our hearts)", we "rejoice in Christ Jesus," and "we put no confidence in the flesh."

Old Testament fleshly circumcision pointed to the circumcision of the heart which the Holy Spirit would do to people, when he gave them new life (birthed them again; born-again); it does not point to any ceremony done with human hands; it is the circumcision of Christ.

"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:" Col 2:11 

It is a "circumcision made without hands," because it is the Holy Spirit who is doing it.

Old Testament believers too were ones whom the Holy Spirit has circumcised in the heart.

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Rom 2:28-29

So all of the insistence by the Judaizers that gentiles who had been born-again, and they never said that they had NOT been born-again, had to continue to observe the Old Testament Jewish Ceremonial Law, was based on their thinking that that system was still in force; it was not still in force, it was done away with in Christ.

It was such an issue in the early church, that when Paul goes to Jerusalem, James says to him:  "Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs." Act 21:20-21

Such that when Paul was with Peter at Antioch, Peter at first ate with gentile Christians, but when Jewish Christians came from Jerusalem (from James) he stopped, fearing of what they would say. Peter who had seen the vision from God, and told Cornelius God had removed the separation, fell at this point! This is all recorded in Gal 2:11-21. In those verses, "law" means the Jewish ceremonial law, NOT the Ten Commandments.

So this finishes the one side of the religious landscape of the ancient world = Judaism. As you read the New Testament, bear in mind that Judaism WAS God's system, but with Christ it was removed; but even though it was removed, many Jewish Christians did not understand that, and so they tried to impose upon gentile Christians the discarded Jewish ceremonial system. Understanding that, will make many sections of scripture more clear.

15 May 2025