"THE BOOK OF ACTS"
Paul's Perplexing Purification (21:17-26)
INTRODUCTION
1. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem at the end of his third journey...
a. The brethren received him and his companions gladly - Ac 21:17
b. The next day, Paul and his companions met with James and the elders- Ac 21:18
c. He recounted what God had done among the Gentiles through his
ministry - Ac 21:19
d. James and the elders glorified the Lord for what Paul reported- Ac 21:20
2. But James and the elders had a concern...
a. The church at Jerusalem included thousands of Jewish Christians - Ac 21:20
b. While believers in Christ, they were zealous for the Law (of Moses)- Ac 21:20
c. They had been informed that Paul taught the Jews among the Gentiles
to forsake Moses, not to circumcise their children, nor to walk
according to the customs - Ac 21:21
d. When the assembly (church) meets, they will certainly hear that
Paul has come - Ac 21:22
[The church leaders proposed a course of action, in which Paul
participated, and which has perplexed many since. Let's take a look at
"Paul's Perplexing Purification", which began with...
I. THE ELDERS' PROPOSAL
A. TO PARTICIPATE IN A VOW...
1. Four men had taken a vow - Ac 21:23
a. They were likely Jewish Christians (note: "We have four men...")
b. It was likely a Nazarite vow - Num 6:1-21
2. With such a vow, these four men would:
a. Consecrate or separate themselves to the Lord - Num 6:1-2
b. Abstain from wine, vinegar, grape juice, fresh grapes,raisins - Num 6:3-4
c. Let no razor come upon their head - Num 6:5
d. Not go near a dead body, even if members of their family- Num 6:6-8
e. If defiled by a dead body, undergo an eight day purification- Num 6:9-12
3. At the completion of such a vow, offer the following at the tabernacle (temple):
a. One year-old male lamb as a burnt offering - Num 6:13-14
b. One year-old ewe lamb as a sin offering - Num 6:14
c. One ram as a peace offering - Num 6:15
d. A basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with
oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and a grain
offering with their drink offerings - Num 6:15
e. Which the priest at the tabernacle will use to help complete
the vow - Num 6:16-21
4. In particular, for Paul to participate by:
a. Being purified with the men - Ac 21:24
1) Not as the vow keepers; Nazarite vows were 30 days minimum
2) Probably as a Jew defiled by traveling in Gentile nations
b. Paying their expenses so they can shave their heads - ibid.
B. TO DEMONSTRATE TO ALL...
1. That what they heard about Paul was not true - Ac 21:24
2. That Paul also walked orderly and kept the law - ibid.
3. That it was Gentile believers (not Jewish Christians) who were told:
a. They did not have to keep the law - Ac 21:25
b. They should keep themselves from things offered to idols,
blood, things strangled, and sexual immorality - ibid.; cf.Ac 15:19-29
[Such was the counsel of James and the elders of the church in Jerusalem,
hoping to dispel false rumors that had been spread about Paul's ministry
among the Jews during his journeys. This leads us to...]
II. THE APOSTLE'S PARTICIPATION
A. PAUL AGREES WITH THE PROPOSAL...
1. The next day he enters the temple with the four men - Ac 21:26
2. Having been purified with them - ibid.
3. To announce the completion of the days of purification - ibid.
4. At which time (in seven days) an offering should be made for
each one of them - ibid.
B. VIEWS OF PAUL'S PARTICIPATION...
1. Paul acted ignorantly, not fully aware that the Law was no longer binding
a. Yet Paul had already preached "the whole counsel of God" - Ac 20:27
b. Paul had already penned Romans, 1st & 2nd Corinthians, and
Galatians, which clearly reveal Paul was not ignorant
2. Paul acted hypocritically, like Peter did at Antioch - cf. Ga 2:11-13
a. Yet Paul had endured so much mistreatment already - cf. 2Co 11:23-29
b. Paul was willing to be bound and to die for Christ - cf. Ac 20:22-24; 21:13
3. Paul acted consistently (my view), with what he taught elsewhere
a. The Law was no longer in force - cf. Ro 7:1-6; Ga 3:24-25
b. Justification comes by faith in Christ, not by the Law of Moses - Ga 2:16
c. Yet a Jewish Christian (like Paul) could observe the customs
of the Law - cf. Ac 16:1-3; 18:18; 1Co 9:19-20
d. A Jewish Christian could therefore observe elements of the Law provided:
1) He did not do so seeking justification, for that comes
only through the sacrifice of Christ (any sacrifices
offered would be remembered as shadows of the true) - Ga 5:4
2) He did not bind it upon others, especially Gentiles - cf. Ga 2:3-5
CONCLUSION
1. It may be that behavior like Paul's was permitted during a period of transition...
a. In which the Law and the First Covenant was obsolete and thus
growing old - He 8:13
b. The New Covenant began when the Law was nailed to the cross, but
the Old Covenant was definitively finished when the temple and it's
sacrifices came to an end in 70 A.D.
2. In any case, through Paul's teaching we know that...
a. Christ is the end of the Law to those who believe - Ro 10:4
b. That any who seek to be justified by the Law are fallen from grace- Ga 5:4
In our next study, we shall consider what happened while Paul was in
the temple carrying out the proposal of James and the elders in Jerusalem...
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2013
