Read and pray: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for His body’s sake, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the dispensation from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God" (Col 1:24-25)
The Demand for Paul's Purification
with Those Who Took the Vow
In Acts 21:22-23a, James and the elders said to Paul: "What then, shall be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. Therefore, do what we tell you." Literally, the Greek word translated as "what" means "this which." In verse 23, James and the elders did not suggest something to Paul; they demanded that he do what they told him.
James and the elders continued: "We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them, purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and all will know that the things they have been told about you are not true, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the law" (v. 23b-24). The vow mentioned in verse 23 was the Nazarite vow (Num 6:2-5). For Paul, to be purified with the Nazarites meant to become a Nazarite with them, joining them in the fulfillment of their vow.
The word "purely" is used in the Septuagint¹ in Numbers 6:3 to describe the obligations of a Nazarite. Taking the Nazarite vow was a purification before God. In addition to telling Paul to purify himself with the four men who had taken the vow, they told him to pay the expenses for them to shave their heads. Paying their expenses referred to the cost of the offerings that a Nazarite had to pay to complete their purification (Num 6:13-17). This was quite expensive for poor Nazarites. It was customary among the Jews and considered a great act of piety for a rich person to pay the expenses of the offerings for the poor.
Shaving the head had to be done at the completion of the Nazarite vow (Num 6:18). This shaving is different from the shaving in Acts 18:18, which referred to a private vow. We have emphasized that the vow in Acts 18:18 was a personal vow made anywhere by the Jews in thanksgiving, by shaving their heads. It was different from the Nazarite vow, which had to be done in Jerusalem with the head being shaved. In Acts 18, Paul made a private vow, and it seems that God tolerated it, probably because, being personal, it did not need to be done in Jerusalem and would not have had much impact on the believers.
Acts 21:26 says: "Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple, to announce the completion of the days of purification, until an offering could be made for each one of them." Here we see that he participated in their Nazarite vow. To do this, he had to enter the temple and remain there with the Nazarites until the completion of the seven days of the vow; then the priest would make the offerings for each one of them, including for Paul.
Surely, Paul had clarity that this practice belonged to a past dispensation, which, according to the principle of his teaching in the New Testament ministry, should be repudiated in God's New Testament economy. However, he went through with it, probably because of his Jewish background, which had also manifested earlier in the personal vow he made in Acts 18:18, and likely because he was practicing what he said in 1 Corinthians 9:20.
However, his tolerance put God's New Testament economy at risk; this God would not tolerate. As we will see, right when his vow was about to be completed, God allowed a tumult to arise against him, and what they intended to accomplish failed (v. 27).
How God Solved the Problem of Mixture in Jerusalem
The mixture of Jewish practices with God's New Testament economy was not only erroneous in relation to God's dispensation but also abominable in His sight. He put an end to this gross mixture about ten years later with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the center of Judaism, by Titus and the Roman army. This rescued and completely separated the church from the devastation of Judaism.
God could have tolerated Paul's private vow in Acts 18:18, but He would not allow him, a chosen vessel not only for the completion of His New Testament revelation (Col 1:25) but also to carry out His New Testament economy (Eph 3:2, 7-8), to participate in the Nazarite vow, a very serious Jewish practice. When Paul went to Jerusalem, his intention may have been to clarify the Jewish influence in the church there, but God knew that the situation was incurable. Therefore, in His sovereignty, He allowed Paul to be seized by the Jews and imprisoned by the Romans, so that he would write his last eight epistles, which completed the divine revelation (Col 1:25) and gave the church a clearer and deeper understanding of God's New Testament economy (Eph 3:3-4).
Thus, God allowed the church in Jerusalem, influenced by Judaism, to remain as it was until the devastating mixture ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. It was far more important and necessary for Paul to write his eight epistles to complete the New Testament revelation of God than to perform some outward works for the church.
¹ Septuagint: Greek version of the Old Testament. (N.T.)
Enjoy more: Hymn 42, S-5
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