Acts 21:17-26

Paul's Association with the Four Jewish Men Who Had Taken a Vow

Was Paul Wrong in Doing This?
Were James and the Jerusalem Elders Wrong in Recommending This?

 

"For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.  And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law" (1 Cor. 9:19-20).

The following is taken from Homer A. Kent's Commentary on Acts entitled Jerusalem to Rome--Studies in the Book of Acts, pages 161-162:

PAUL'S VISIT WITH JAMES AND THE ELDERS (21:17-26)

The missionaries were warmly greeted by the believers in Jerusalem, and the second day Paul and his companions met with James (the Lord's half-brother) and the other officials of the church.  They too praised God when they heard Paul's report of the spiritual victories among the gentiles during his just-completed tour.

They informed Paul, however, of a developing problem.  Reports were circulating that he had been urging the Jews of the Diaspora (a term commonly used to denote Jews who lived away from Palestine) to abandon Mosaic traditions including circumcision.  This was clearly untrue (remember the case of Timothy, 16:1-3), for Paul never derided his Jewish heritage nor demanded that Jewish Christians repudiate their Scriptures.  (He did, of course, resist any attempt to force gentiles to comply with the Mosaic Law).  James and the others feared that the presence of Paul in Jerusalem along with a vast throng of Jews attending the feast from all over the world would precipitate a problem.

It was suggested to Paul that he could put this slander to rest by showing publicly his respect for the Mosaic Law. Four men of their number had recently taken a Nazirite vow (see Num. 6:1-21).  Such vows were usually taken for a period of thirty days.  These men, however, had contracted some defilement, perhaps by touching a dead body, and could not complete the period of the vow until the seven-day rites of purification were performed.  Paul could show his respect for Jewish customs by associating himself with these men and paying for their sacrifices.  The apostle agreed to the plan and the next day began his official association with the four men.

Paul has been criticized for this action, being viewed as compromising the very principle of freedom from the Law which he strongly espoused on other occasions.  It should be remembered however, that Paul's policy among Jews was one of expediency where the principle of grace was not at stake (16:2; 1 Cor. 9:19-20).  Furthermore, the Jerusalem elders had not momentarily forgotten the decision of the Jerusalem Council, for they referred to it at this time (21:25).  Historically this was still a period of transition, and thus we find the Jewish segment of the church still following temple worship and feasts (18:21; 20:16; 24:11).  As long as it was voluntary and not imposed upon gentiles, Paul nowhere teaches that such activity was wrong for Jews.

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