What could the Jews not bear?

[MarieP]

When Paul rebukes Peter in Acts 15 and says, "Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they” (10-11) , is he calling the law itself (with all the various and sundry dietary and ceremonial laws) a burden, or is he talking about trying to merit God's favor by works? I am thinking the second, since David delighted in the law of God. Or is he using "forefathers" in the general sense, just like when the Scriptures say the forefathers fell in the wilderness- David and other men after God's own heart were exceptions to the general Old Covenant rule.

 

[KMK]

He is referring to the idea that it is necessary to obey ceremonial laws in order to be saved. It had already been established that God, who knows the hearts of men, converted Gentiles (just like He did Jews) and gave them the Holy Spirit (just like He did Jews), without the use of Jewish ceremonial laws. God did not require circumcision for the conversion of Gentiles, so why should the church? To do so, would be to tempt God.

 

[alhembd]

This is a good question. I believe that Peter is saying that the Jewish forefathers themselves could not bear the yoke of the tedious ceremonial observances. It was very difficult and tedious to keep all of them. Not only that: if any of the observances were not kept correctly, sacrifices for sins of ignorance had to be offered. Many of the dietary laws and laws of uncleanness were very much a great and intolerable burden. Even with the Jews today, though they may pretend to delight in the ceremonial law, they in fact do not keep all of it. To my knowledge, they do not keep the seventh year sabbath of rest for the land, for example.

My thoughts, anyway...

Al Hembd