Acts 15:5

Some in that meeting, converted Pharisees who had a high view of the Mosaic Law, repeated the same objection Paul and Barnabas had encountered in Antioch. These were not necessarily ex-Pharisees since a Pharisee could become a Christian without relinquishing his distinctive beliefs concerning Scripture and theology. [Note: See Kent, p. 122, footnote 3.]

". . . it is possible that nationalist pressure [against Rome] was increasing in Judea, and that [Jewish] Christians were having to tread carefully to avoid being thought of as disloyal to their Jewish heritage." [Note: Marshall, The Acts . . ., p. 249.]

Unsaved Jews also believed that keeping the Mosaic Law is essential for acceptance by God (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16).

The Old Testament taught that Gentiles would share in the promises made to Israel (Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4; Genesis 28:14; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 55:5-7; Zephaniah 3:9-10; Zechariah 8:22). The Old Testament prophets also spoke of Gentile salvation as happening in the last days (Isaiah 2:2; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 25:8-9; Zechariah 8:23) through the witness of a restored Israel (Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 60:2-3; Zechariah 8:23).

"It [the revelation stated above] was the underlying presupposition for Jewish proselytizing (cf. M[ishnah] Pirke Aboth Acts 1:12; Matthew 23:15) and was implicit in the sermons of Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:39) and in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:35). But the correlative conviction of Judaism was that Israel was God’s appointed agent for the administration of these blessings-that only through the nation and its institutions could Gentiles have a part in God’s redemption and share in his favor." [Note: Longenecker, pp. 440-41.]