Jewish believers quieted

“When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’” (1) The Jewish believers were convinced by Peter’s explanation and became silent. (2) Then, they praised God for saving the Gentiles. They likely understood this Gentile salvation as an exceptional case. (3) Many Jewish believers still believed that Gentiles needed to first convert to Judaism in order to be saved. This event brought about two significant outcomes. (1) The church was able to maintain unity. For the church, which was still a small and fragile organization, this was a great blessing. (2) The birth of Gentile believers who were not connected to worship at the temple drove a wedge between the believers of the church age and those who worshipped at the temple. From this point, the time of Jewish persecution of the church began.

The meals of Messianic Jews

Before moving forward, let’s think of the meals of Messianic Jews. (1) What did Peter eat in Cornelius’ house? It is not necessary to assume that Peter immediately consumed unclean foods. The permission to eat unclean foods and the choice actually to eat them are separate matters. Cornelius had about four days to prepare the meal. He likely prepared food suitable for Peter. It is believed that Peter ate things like vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and bread. (2) Let’s look at Peter’s behavior in Antioch. Paul writes, “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of some men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and separate himself, fearing those from the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.” (Gal. 2:11-13). Peter’s actions here contradicted the stance he spoke about in Acts 11. Paul rebuked Peter to defend the truth of the gospel. Regarding what the modern Messianic Jews eat, it’s important to understand the following: We should not judge a person’s spirituality based on their dietary choices. They have the freedom to observe dietary laws or the freedom not to. Observing dietary laws does not mean they’re weak spiritually. Believers in the New Testament time have been given freedom in Christ.