Howard Marshall observes, “It would be difficult for Jewish Christians to shake off centuries of avoiding such occasions and also to stand up to the criticism that would inevitably come their way from non-Christian Jews who might be prepared to tolerate their eccentric beliefs about Jesus but who drew the line sharply at their non-Jewish practices.” I. Howard Marshall, New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 211.