Act 21:20-26 | PNT | STEP | When they heard [it] . Paul's report of the wonderful success of the gospel. They evidently approved of and sympathized with his work. Thou seest, brother, now many thousands . . . believe . The Greek reads: "How many tens thousands". There were not only many thousands of Christians in the Jerusalem church, but many thousands of Jewish Christians who had come up to the feast of Pentecost. Twenty-seven years before there were five thousand men who believed in Jerusalem ( ). They are all zealous for the law . "Zealots" for the law in the Greek. They believed upon Christ as the Messiah, but did not understand that the Old Covenant had passed away to give place to the New ( ). Hence, while they observed the Christian rites, they still kept up the forms of Judaism. It took a direct interposition of the Spirit to teach that Gentiles were entitled to baptism without circumcision ( ). It required a council in Jerusalem to settle the question that Gentile Christians were not to keep the Jewish law ( ). God taught the church, lesson by lesson, but up to this time that at Jerusalem had not yet learned that they were freed from the obligation to keep the law of Moses.

Acts 21:20-26

When they heard [it]. Paul's report of the wonderful success of the gospel. They evidently approved of and sympathized with his work.

Thou seest, brother, now many thousands . . . believe. The Greek reads: "How many tens thousands". There were not only many thousands of Christians in the Jerusalem church, but many thousands of Jewish Christians who had come up to the feast of Pentecost. Twenty-seven years before there were five thousand men who believed in Jerusalem (Ac 4:4).

They are all zealous for the law. "Zealots" for the law in the Greek. They believed upon Christ as the Messiah, but did not understand that the Old Covenant had passed away to give place to the New (Heb 8:13). Hence, while they observed the Christian rites, they still kept up the forms of Judaism. It took a direct interposition of the Spirit to teach that Gentiles were entitled to baptism without circumcision (Ac 10:46-48). It required a council in Jerusalem to settle the question that Gentile Christians were not to keep the Jewish law (Ac 15:19-21). God taught the church, lesson by lesson, but up to this time that at Jerusalem had not yet learned that they were freed from the obligation to keep the law of Moses. That thou teachest, etc. Paul, in advance of the rest, had learned that the Jewish forms were not to be imposed upon Gentiles, were not an obligation upon Jewish Christians, but he still observed them, at least in part, himself, and so far from bidding Jewish brethren to forsake Moses, he circumcised Timothy (Ac 16:3), and said, "Let every man abide in the same calling (whether Jew or Gentile) in which he is called". Read the whole connection of 1Co 7:18-20. He had not, therefore, taught "Jews to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs". Do therefore this. This counsel is given that the multitude of Jewish Christians may see that Paul still kept the Jewish customs. As he did keep them, not as a matter of obligation, but as a Jew, in order that he might reach his own race, it involved no sacrifice of principles.

We have four men which have a vow. These were Jewish Christians. The vow was a Nazaritish vow. For a description, see Nu 6:14-18 . This vow involved living an ascetic life for a certain period, sometimes thirty days, and was terminated by shaving the head, burning the hair as an offering, and offering a sacrifice. Pay their expenses. The advice to Paul is to associate himself in this vow, for the necessary expenses, and thus show that he kept the time-honored customs of the Jewish race. As touching the Gentiles. The duties of the Gentiles had been settled in the council described in 15:23-29. The advice of James was no doubt given from the best of motives. His position was a difficult one. The fanaticism of the Jewish nation, which broke out in war a few years later, was growing intense. The national feeling in the church had to be handled with great care. It would not do for the church to believe that Paul had become a renegade from their race. Paul, aware of all these difficulties, generously complied for the sake of peace and unity. We cannot be certain that the advice was just right, or that Paul did just right to comply, but these grand men acted according to their knowledge, and the record of Acts portrays both the shortcomings and the perfection of its great worthies. Concerning this advice of James and compliance of Paul, Pres. Milligan says: ``Three different view have been taken: (1) that Paul in this case acted ignorantly, not being aware of the fact that the law of Moses was no longer binding; (2) that, like Peter, he acted from fear of the Jewish brethren (Ga 2:11); (3) that he acted in conformity with the law of Christian benevolence which requires us to respect even the weaknesses and prejudices of our brethren, so far as this can be done without in any way neglecting the requirements of the Gospel.'' The third hypothesis is the best, but some explanations are needful. The Jewish Christians were slowly emancipated from Judaism, and they did not reach the clear conviction, until after the temple was destroyed, that its sacrifices were obsolete. Gentiles were forbidden to sacrifice idols, but there was no such prohibition with regard to the altar of Jehovah. Even Paul evidently at this time thought of the sacrifices as, like circumcision, a matter of indifference. It was left for the next generation to learn that the inspired writings of Paul himself lead to the conclusion that all the sacrifices of the temple altar pointed to the Lamb of God, and that, from the time he was offered, they became obsolete. Entered into the temple. Purifying himself, he entered the temple, gave notice that the sacrifices would be offered at a definite time, and the period of the vows be closed.