Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
The words belong to a meeting where Paul with his companions stood before James and all the elders and formally presented the contributions sent by the Gentile churches for the poor among the Jewish believers. Gathering those gifts had cost Paul and his fellow workers much time, anxious thought, and wearisome labor, and the amount far exceeded the elders' expectations, representing many sacrifices and even severe privations by the Gentile believers. The freewill offerings showed the loyalty of the Gentile converts to the organized work, and should have been received with grateful acknowledgment, yet some present could not appreciate the brotherly love that prompted them.
The four men were believers in Jerusalem under the Nazarite vow whose term was nearly over. That vow involved purification ceremonies and costly sacrifices, and it was regarded as a pious act for a wealthier person to pay the expenses so poorer persons could complete their vows. The counsel asked Paul to take the four men, join them, share their purification, accompany them to the temple for the seven days of purification, and pay their expenses for shaving their heads. Though Paul was poor and worked for his daily bread, he agreed to pay for the four men.
Its aim was to remove misunderstanding and give a decisive contradiction to the reports spread among the thousands of believing Jews who were zealous for the law that Paul taught the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, not to circumcise their children nor to walk after the customs. All were to know those reports were nothing and that Paul himself walked orderly and kept the law. At the same time, assurance was given that the former decision concerning Gentile converts and the ceremonial law still held good, requiring of Gentile believers no such observance except to keep from things offered to idols, blood, what is strangled, and fornication.
The counsel laid on Paul the burden of removing misapprehension and answering prejudice for which he was not responsible, holding him responsible for the existing prejudice instead of the leaders defending him and showing the disaffected party their error. The advice was meant to satisfy the disaffected, but it was a fearful compromise and the fruit of cowardice, not prompted by the Spirit of God. It was inconsistent with the decision of the former council at Jerusalem concerning Gentile converts and the ceremonial law, which had been sanctioned by the Holy Spirit. It was driven by fear that non-conformity to the ceremonial law would bring the hatred of unbelieving Jews and expose Christians to severe persecution. The Sanhedrin was doing its utmost to hinder the gospel and sending men to follow and oppose the apostles, especially Paul, so that if believers in Christ were condemned as breakers of the law they would suffer swift and severe punishment as apostates from the Jewish faith.
The words belong to a meeting where Paul with his companions stood before James and all the elders and formally presented the contributions sent by the Gentile churches for the poor among the Jewish believers. Gathering those gifts had cost Paul and his fellow workers much time, anxious thought, and wearisome labor, and the amount far exceeded the elders' expectations, representing many sacrifices and even severe privations by the Gentile believers. The freewill offerings showed the loyalty of the Gentile converts to the organized work, and should have been received with grateful acknowledgment, yet some present could not appreciate the brotherly love that prompted them.
The four men were believers in Jerusalem under the Nazarite vow whose term was nearly over. That vow involved purification ceremonies and costly sacrifices, and it was regarded as a pious act for a wealthier person to pay the expenses so poorer persons could complete their vows. The counsel asked Paul to take the four men, join them, share their purification, accompany them to the temple for the seven days of purification, and pay their expenses for shaving their heads. Though Paul was poor and worked for his daily bread, he agreed to pay for the four men.
Its aim was to remove misunderstanding and give a decisive contradiction to the reports spread among the thousands of believing Jews who were zealous for the law that Paul taught the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, not to circumcise their children nor to walk after the customs. All were to know those reports were nothing and that Paul himself walked orderly and kept the law. At the same time, assurance was given that the former decision concerning Gentile converts and the ceremonial law still held good, requiring of Gentile believers no such observance except to keep from things offered to idols, blood, what is strangled, and fornication.
The counsel laid on Paul the burden of removing misapprehension and answering prejudice for which he was not responsible, holding him responsible for the existing prejudice instead of the leaders defending him and showing the disaffected party their error. The advice was meant to satisfy the disaffected, but it was a fearful compromise and the fruit of cowardice, not prompted by the Spirit of God. It was inconsistent with the decision of the former council at Jerusalem concerning Gentile converts and the ceremonial law, which had been sanctioned by the Holy Spirit. It was driven by fear that non-conformity to the ceremonial law would bring the hatred of unbelieving Jews and expose Christians to severe persecution. The Sanhedrin was doing its utmost to hinder the gospel and sending men to follow and oppose the apostles, especially Paul, so that if believers in Christ were condemned as breakers of the law they would suffer swift and severe punishment as apostates from the Jewish faith.