Acts 21:20-26

Summary retelling of Acts 21:20-26

The Christian leaders in Jerusalem gave glory to God when they hear about what Paul is doing.  However, their first reaction is to counter Paul.  They bring up their own work among the Jewish converts who are strongly in favor of the Law.  They mention how they have been told that Paul is teaching the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake the Law.  They are concerned that an argument will develop between Paul and these Jewish converts.  Thus, they tell Paul to make himself ritually pure with four other men who are beginning to undertake a Nazarite vow.  The leaders of the church believe that this will be a sign that Paul is pure in the matters of the faith.  They also have directions regarding how the Gentiles who have come to believe should be living.  Paul obeyed their instruction, paying the temple for the men to be able to undergo to process for taking the Nazarite vow.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

At first this passage seems like a really great passage of compromise in the church.  Paul has been out and about talking about how the Law is no longer necessary (but still good, mind you).  He has been allowing Gentiles to become Christians without making them become Jews first.  On the other hand, the Jews in Jerusalem have been making Christians out of Jews who still believe the Law to be significant to salvation.  This passage appears to indicate that both Paul (and his Gentile converts) can live in communion with the strict Law abiding Jews of Jerusalem.

Are there times and places for compromise?  What things are we free to compromise upon?  What are some things that we have to be very careful about compromise?

Second Thought:

When we dig deeper, we notice that there is a bit of untruth in the words of the Jewish leaders.  Paul has never been leading Jews away from the Law.  Rather, what Paul has been doing is saying that the Gentiles didn’t need to follow the Law.  He has always been open to the Jews obeying the Law – he even continues to obey it as a Jew would!  Thus, what we can see in this story is that the compromise isn’t really so much about coexistence as much as it is taking the easy way out.  Rather than sticking up for Paul and asserting that he has done nothing wrong in his teaching to the Gentiles, they instead suggest that his “duty to the temple” and the “paying for some men to enter into a vow” will show that Paul has done nothing wrong.  Rather than be vocal about the truth of what Paul is actually doing they suggest a demonstration of Paul’s faithfulness.

What do we always give up when we are not vocal about the truth?  While actions can certainly demonstrate the truth, is there ever an adequate substitute for proclaiming the truth?

Third Thought:

The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem place restrictions upon the Gentiles.  In many respects, this reads a bit like, “We believe that the Law isn’t necessary for the Gentiles, but here’s how they can follow some of it anyway.”  Now, don’t get me wrong.  God’s Law as written in the Old Testament is a great thing.  It is a wonderful pattern for life.  It is a great idea to follow the Law as a response to our salvation.  But we need to be sure of something: our salvation comes only from Jesus and not from anything we do.  We are never saved because we “obey God.”  We are saved because of Jesus Christ and we obey God because we are saved.

Do you see evidence of the theology of the Jewish leaders in the world today?  Do you hear people saying that “you can’t be saved unless you do ________?” 

Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 21:27-30