Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Messianic Jewish Epistles

Of the 25 epistles in the New Testament, 5 were written to Jewish believers dealing with their specific needs and issues in mind.  There are things in the epistles applicable to all believers, but some are true only to Jewish believers.  The epistles are Hebrews, James, I & II Peter, and Jude. The first century Messianic Jewish Community was faced with two major problems—persecution and false doctrine. To deal with the first problem of persecution, Hebrews, James and I Peter were written.  Persecution took place both within the Land of Israel and during the Jewish believers of the Diaspora.  (Diaspora being a technical term for Jews living outside the Land of Israel—e.g.James 1:1; I Peter 1:1).  The book of Hebrews was written from within the Diaspora in order to deal with the persecution of Jewish believers in the Land of Israel.  The epistles of James and I Peter were written in order to deal with the persecution of Jewish believers in the Diaspora.  James was written from within