Paula Fredriksen continues her article in Paul Within Judaism on the meaning of the rejection of idol worship for Paul’s followers in the context of the situation of diaspora Jews.
She says that the messages of John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul converge in the call for repentance in the face of the nearness of God’s kingdom. John and Jesus made this call in a Palestinian Jewish context. They called for Jews to return to keeping the Ten Commandments. Jesus particularly articulated the two tables of the law as meaning to love God and to love neighbor. In Mark 10:19 he called directly for keeping the Ten Commandments. This was the meaning of Jesus’ call to “righteousness”. Righteousness was an almost techincal term for the keeping of the second slate of commandments, those dealing with the right treatment of others.
But Paul’s mission field was different. For Jews repentence meant keeping…
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