| In light of newer paradigms of research, which thoroughly integrate the literature of the New Testament within its Jewish context, the following dissertation reads the Gospel of Matthew with the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles not only against their Jewish "background," but precisely as early Jewish literature. The project applies a composition/redaction-critical approach to Matthew and Luke-Acts, exploring the question of Torah praxis, especially its ritual aspects, in each writing. By assessing their attitude toward three central markers of Jewish identity---Sabbath, kashrut, and circumcision---it is argued that both Matthew and Luke affirm the perpetuation of Torah observance within the ekklesia, albeit by differentiating which Mosaic commandments are incumbent upon Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus. Both gospel writers believe that Jewish disciples of Jesus must observe the Jewish Law in toto, while Gentiles are only required to observe a selected part of this legislation, namely, those regulations that maintain their newly acquired moral purity and allow them to fellowship with their Jewish comrades. Luke proves to be just as "Jewish" as his cousin Matthew in so far as his affirmation of the Mosaic Torah is concerned. The evidence in both Matthew and Luke-Acts suggests that Jewish practices such as the Sabbath and even circumcision continued to enjoy a prominent status in the Jesus movement even after 70 C.E., and that Jewish followers of Jesus played an important and integral role in the formation of the ekklesia well throughout the latter third of the first century C.E.. |
