Is St. Paul a Jewish Deviant or a Reformer of Judaism?: The Clash of Jewish Identity and Christian Identity in Asia Minor

This work examines the first-century dynamics associated with the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in doing so addresses some important implications for modern missions. An intriguing fact related to Paul's missionary strategy is that Paul mentioned that five times he received the 'forty lashes minus one' synagogue discipline (2 Cor. 11.24). Paul's voluntary submission to this punishment revealed his great desire to stay within the Diaspora Jewish communities while fulfilling his Gentile mission. The finding of this research is that Paul's missiology was intricately tied to his Christology, soteriology, and ecclesiology. Paul's conviction was that Judaism was the channel through which God fulfilled his promise to Abraham regarding the blessing of the nations. As an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul was to bring the Gentile believers into the Jewish fold so that Jews and Gentiles could become one in the body of Christ. In the eyes of the Diaspora Jews, Paul was a deviant par excellence in advocating such a theology and practice. Paul's attempted reform to abolish the entrance requirement of the observance of the Law for Gentile believers posed a great threat to maintaining Jewish identity and the survival of Jewish communities in the Diaspora. This work will appeal to scholars, pastors, and students who are interested in Pauline mission and nascent Christianity.