1 

SCJR 12, no. 1 (2017): 1-3   

 

 

Susan J. Wendel and David M. Miller, Eds. 

Torah Ethics and Early Christian Identity  
(Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016),  

ix + 271 pp. 

 

 
NATHANIEL DESROSIERS 

ndesrosiers@stonehill.edu 

Stonehill College, North Easton, MA 02357 

 

 

The volume is a festschrift in honor of Stephen Westerholm and includes 

thirteen essays from colleagues and former students. It makes useful contributions 

by focusing essays around a primary framing question: among early Christians, 

how did the Law (or Torah) “continue to serve as a reference point for Christ-

believers regardless of whether they thought Torah observance was essential?”  

(p. 2). While no single work can address this complex issue, this book does cover 

a generous though not exhaustive range of texts and authors. In doing so, the in-

dividual essays consider the ongoing influence of Torah as an ethical guide in the 

teachings of Jesus and the writings of early Christ-followers through the early 

third century. 

The first section, “Torah Ethics in Early Judaism,” features two essays that 

help to frame the discussion of early Christian viewpoints on the Law in the chap-

ters that follow. Anders Runesson begins the volume with his essay “Entering a 

Synagogue with Paul: First-Century Torah Observance.” He argues that at that 

time there was no single overarching Jewish view of how to observe the Torah. 

While there was relative fluidity in Torah interpretation, Runesson argues that pu-

rity laws were a key defining point for individual communities, which in turn 

influenced Pauline perspectives on moral purity. In “The Meaning and Function 

of the Law in Philo and Josephus,” John Martens examines the role that the Law 

played in the formation of Jewish identity for each of these authors. Although 

both figures emphasize the importance of Torah-based ethics, each has a different 

perspective on how to incorporate their Jewish views in terms drawn from their 

Hellenistic thought world. While neither of these essays are ground-breaking in-

terpretations, they may serve as helpful and accessible summaries that could 

benefit both academic and novice readers. 

The second section, “Torah Ethics and the New Testament,” is the largest, 

containing eight essays. Wesley Olmstead, in “Jesus, the Eschatological Perfec-

tion of Torah, and the imitation Dei in Matthew,” argues that Matthew believes 

the Torah is still binding on followers of Jesus. However, for the evangelist the 

Law finds its eschatological fulfillment in Jesus. While this is not a novel claim, 



               

               DesRosiers: Wendel and Miller’s Torah Ethics and Early Christian Identity        2 
 

 

                   

the chapter is commendable for emphasizing the coherence of Matthew’s mes-

sage about the Law for believers, rather than seeing his views of the Law in 

tension with his claims about Christ (as is so often the case in scholarship on the 

topic). S. A. Cummins posits similar conclusions in “Torah, Jesus, and the King-

dom of God in the Gospel of Mark,” emphasizing that Mark presents the Torah 

positively, and that its ethical priority persists through Jesus’ life, death, and res-

urrection. David Miller, in “Reading Law as Prophecy: Torah Ethics in Acts,” 

argues that Luke-Acts describes the Law as a positive model for ethical behavior, 

albeit a model that is observed differently by Jewish and gentile Christians. A 

highlight of this section is Adele Reinhartz’s “Reproach and Revelation: Ethics in 

John 11:1-44,” in which she argues that Jesus did not always act ethically accord-

ing to contemporary Jewish precepts. Through a “resistant reading” (p. 94) of the 

Lazarus story, she suggests that the positive resolution to the story does not justi-

fy Jesus’ ethical breach. Reinhartz concludes that Torah ethics in John are not 

explicit but rather inferred by readers historically. Scot McKnight, in “The Law 

of the Laws: James, Wisdom, and the Law,” thoughtfully outlines the deep posi-

tive connections between James and the Torah, highlighting the transformation of 

Jewish legal quotations into Jesus-centered wisdom. However, his argument is 

more confessional than critical, and is weakened by an insistence that James was 

the brother of Jesus whose close connection to the teacher enabled him to trans-

mit the “absorbed” teachings of Christ (p. 117-119). In “Questions about Nomos, 

Answers about Christos: Romans 10:4 in Context,” Beverly Roberts Gaventa 

posits that Paul did not see the Torah as an ethical guide for Jesus-followers. 

While Gaventa presents a thorough discussion of Paul’s words on the Law in 

Romans, some readers may find her conclusion that Jesus is the replacement of 

and hence supersedes the Law somewhat unpersuasive. Likewise, Terence Don-

aldson suggests that the identity-building and identity-affirming role of the Law 

for Jews has been replaced by Christ in “Paul, Abraham’s Gentile ‘Offspring,’ 

and the Torah.” Donaldson argues that Paul’s Damascus experience led him to 

see overlap between Jewish Law and natural law, allowing gentiles to become 

Abraham’s seed without circumcision or proselytism. While both Gaventa and 

Donaldson present thorough discussions of Paul’s words on the Torah, some 

readers may disagree with their conclusions that Paul was arguing for the end of 

the Law. At minimum, the notion that Jesus is the replacement who supersedes 

the Law does go against the tide of much recent critical scholarship. The section 

is concluded with a reprint of “The Conversion of the Imagination: Scripture and 

Eschatology in 1 Corinthians” by Richard Hays. Hays suggests that Paul sees the 

Torah as a moral framework for the Corinthian church. Through an eschatological 

reading of scripture, the Corinthians could come to see themselves as participants 

in Israel’s story. 

“Beyond the New Testament,” the third section, covers writers from after the 

New Testament period. It includes three essays. Susan Wendel, in “Torah Obedi-

ence and Early Christian Ethical Practices in Justin Martyr,” examines Christian 

apologetic views that describe Christian ethics as both guided by the Law and su-

perior to those of both Jews and Greeks. In “The Law, God, and the Logos: 



             

              3                                          Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations 12, no. 1 (2017) 
 

                 

Clement and the Alexandrian Tradition,” Peter Widdicombe continues this theme 

by explaining how Clement saw Torah as an ethical guide and a path to virtue, 

but one that paled in comparison to the ultimate revelation of the Logos in Christ. 

These two essays are noteworthy because they are thematically connected with 

earlier essays in the volume delineating the evolution of early Christian views on 

the Law, which helps to bind the volume together. Finally, Stephen Westerholm, 

moving beyond the first few centuries, in his concluding essay “Canonical Paul 

and the Law,” suggests that for modern Christians there is a need for a coherent 

scriptural interpretation of Torah in Christianity. This provides a fitting end to 

this volume.  

Overall, the volume is commendable for its sustained examination of the rea-

sons why Christians ultimately decided not to observe all the commandments of 

the Law. The volume could be stronger if there were more connections and inter-

nal dialogue between the essays, as these would provide greater coherence and 

opportunities for addressing apparent ancient contradictions and modern disa-

greements. Also, as indicated above, some contributions are somewhat 

conservative theologically, which may not appeal to all readers. The book valua-

bly helps readers to decipher the role of the Torah in ancient and modern 

Christianity.