New Perspective, Part 1:
Judaism from 2nd cent. BCE and forward was not all one color (i.e., monolithic). One of the things that divided the Jews was the interpretation of the Law (Halakah). Halakah is the interpretation of the legal materials within the Mosaic law: Honor the Sabbath, circumcision, contact with Gentiles. Keep note that there was diversity even on the Halakah before Christianity came around. Lots of questions came up.
Early Christianity was far more Jewish than we think–heavily Jewish, in fact. The 12 apostles were all Jewish (James, Peter, others). Up until the 60s CE there was strong Jewish leadership in the church. But during this time (mid-late 60s) were the deaths of Peter, Paul, James, and the destruction of Jerusalem (70 CE).
But with Galatians, Jewishness is still strong; it dates as one of Paul’s earliest books and fits into the chronology of this strong Jewish background in the church. Paul is an apostle to the Gentiles, not primarily to those of the circumcision (i.e., the Jews). In the early church, not all churches were identical (Rom 16:4: churches of the Gentiles–those not practicing Jewish customs; others were churches of the circumcision–more loyal to the Mosaic law and customs). As a result, these thoughts will bring different understandings of the Christian mission. See Acts 15:4-5:
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all the things God had done with them. But some from the religious party of the Pharisees who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to order them to observe the law of Moses.”
3 different things: Paul planting churches in the different parts of Asia Minor (outside of Palestine); the Jewish group in Jerusalem (James): James continues to do Jewish things and he knows they shouldn’t be imposed on the Gentiles, but the Jewish Halakah is still imposed upon Gentile Christians (see Galatians).
Paul knows that there are Jewish Christians in Jerusalem that respect him. Acts recognizes that there is not one pattern of how the church is looking on this Jew-Gentile issue (esp. Acts 15). Notice in Acts 21.15-25: during Paul’s third missionary journey, Jewish Christians are concerned about the Halakah, but not for the Gentiles. They operate differently concerning those things of Acts 15. That is more of the context of understanding the variety of Christianity and understanding Galatians.
