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SECTION I
THE CAUSE AND MANNER OF THE ARREST OF PAUL
Act_21:17-40
Act_21:19. And when he had saluted them.—Paul first saluted ( ἀóðáóÜìåíïò ) the elders in an impressive and cordial manner, and, at the same time, presented the salutations of the Gentile-Christian congregations. He then gave a full and detailed account of his apostolical labors in pagan lands, and of the success and the blessing which God had granted. The word äéáêïíßá (comp. Act_20:24), exhibits the conception which Paul had formed of his important vocation as the apostle of the Gentiles.
Act_21:20-21. a. And when they heard it.—This address, which doubtless gave all the details, made such a deep impression on the college of the elders of the mother-church, that, full of joy and gratitude, they fervently proclaimed the praises of God. Nevertheless, they did not conceal a certain difficulty which existed; they candidly informed the apostle of the prejudice which large numbers of the converted Jews entertained against him. The expression “many thousands of converted persons in Judea,” cannot create surprise, unless we should suppose that the congregation in Jerusalem alone is meant; but the language before us does not sustain this supposition, and, indeed, Judea is expressly mentioned. [But Lechler adopts in his translation of the text above, the reading ἐí ôïῖò Ἰïõäáßïéò , rather than that of ἐí ôῇ Ἰïõäáßᾳ ; see note 3, appended to the text.—Tr.]. Now if we assume that the whole province is meant, what should prevent us from believing that the number of the Christians in the many cities and villages of Judea, including the capital itself (in which the congregation, twenty or twenty-five years previously, counted 5000 men as members, Act_4:4), now amounted to several tens of thousands? [ ìõñéÜäåò . “How many myriads (or tens of thousands,) is not a mathematical, but an indefinite and popular expression … the definite idea of ten thousand is entirely posterior to Homer. It is also a favorite hyperbole of Paul himself—1Co_4:15; 1Co_14:19, in both which cases he can only mean what we mean when we say “innumerable,” “numberless,” or “endless,” not to define or specify a number, but to convey the vague idea of a multitude. … It is not the statistics of the Jewish Church that we have now before us, but a strong, yet natural, expression of the fact that they were very numerous, etc.” (Alexander).—Tr.]. Baur has therefore no ground, in this respect, for doubting the genuineness of ðåðéóôåõêüôùí (Paulus, p. 200), or, with Zeller, for accusing the historian of an unhistorical exaggeration.
b. And they are all zealous [zealots in behalf] of the law.—These Christians in Judea are described as far as their sentiments are concerned, as strict and zealous respecting the law ( æçëùôáὶ ô . íüìïõ ), that is, so strict in their personal observance of the law, that their zeal and passions were aroused whenever the Mosaic institutions were undervalued or assailed. The same term is employed [ æçëùôÞò ] which became the name of a party during the Jewish War. [Josephus: Jewish War, iv. 3. 8, ult, 13; Act_8:1.—Tr.]. It is indeed quite possible that the uneasy feelings with which the Jewish people, as a whole, regarded the dominion of the Romans, and paganism generally, may have exercised a certain influence also on the Judæo-Christians. James himself was a man whose views and feelings inclined him to a strict observance of the law (whence he was called öַãִּé÷ ), and the elders at Jerusalem doubtless entertained the same sentiments. Still, it is obvious that they were not prejudiced against the apostle Paul, like the great mass of the Judæo-Christians. The latter had been induced by the malicious and incessant representations of Judaistic teachers ( êáôç÷Þèçóáí ) to believe, with respect to the labors of Paul, that he urged the Jews of the Diaspora ( ôïὺò ê . ô . ἔèíç ð . Ἰïõäáßïõò ) [of the Dispersion, Jam_1:1; 1Pe_1:1.—Tr.], to apostatize from the institutions of Moses, and that he taught them, first, that they should no longer circumcise their children, in consequence of which the rite of circumcision would cease to be observed in the next generation, and, secondly, that they should no longer observe in their own conduct the Mosaic customs ( ἔèåóéðåñéðáôåῖí ). [ ËÝãùí ìÞ ðåñéôÝìíåéí etc.—the infinitive after verbs expressing: to say, to believe etc., when the latter refer, not to that which actually exists, but to that which ought to be, involving the conception of advising, demanding, commanding. (Winer: Gr. § 44. 3.).—“This opinion respecting. Paul was undoubtedly erroneous, as the principles which he expressed in his Epistles (see Rom.; Gal.; 1 Cor.), and his wisdom as a teacher, sufficiently demonstrate. But it could be easily entertained by those anti-Pauline Judaists, who exaggerated the value of Mosaism, when they learned that he taught that the acquisition of Messianic salvation depended, not on circumcision and the works of the law, but solely on faith in Christ.” (Meyer).—Tr.]
Act_21:22. What is it therefore?—This question ( ôß ïὐí ἔóôé ) is often proposed when men deliberate on the course of conduct which they should pursue [see 1Co_14:15; 1Co_14:26.—Tr.]. The óõíåëèåῖí of a multitude [ ðëῆèïò is not preceded by the article.—Tr.], is to be understood as referring neither to a regular meeting of the congregation (Calvin, Grotius, Bengel), nor, specially, to a tumultuous assemblage (Kuinoel), but to a gathering together of inquisitive persons.
Act_21:23-25. We have four men which have a vow on them.—[The vow mentioned in Act_18:18, is of an entirely different nature.—Tr.]. These men are clearly described as Christians by åἰóéí ἡìῖí . The vow was the well-known vow of the Nazarites [see Numb. Acts 6.—Tr.]. The elders [“we say”, not James alone, Tr.] advise the apostle to unite in some manner in the vow with the men, or associate himself with them ( ðáñáëáâὼí ), by defraying the expenses of the sacrifices which they were obliged to offer at the termination of the vow. (Such an act was regarded as a particular mark of devout zeal; Herod Agrippa, for instance, provided in this manner for a number of poor Nazarites; Jos. Antiq. xix. 6.1.). The apostle was also requested to perform certain Levitical rites of purification in conjunction with the men ( ἁãí . ïὐí áὐôïῖò ). [They could not legally shave their heads, until they had complied with their obligations.—Tr.].—Interpreters are not agreed whether Paul himself assumed the Nazariteship, or not; it has been usually supposed that he, too, took the vow, and Meyer, for instance, has recently adopted this view. It is, however, erroneous. It is undoubtedly true that ἁãíßæåóèáé is employed in reference to the Nazariteship (LXX. [e. g., Num_6:3]), but it is also applied to every other Levitical purificatory rite [e. g., Num_19:12]. And even if the phrase ἁãíßóèçôé óὺí áὐôïῖò , Act_21:24, might be easily so understood, as if Paul was only now to enter into an ἁãéóìüò , which those four men were already bound to perform, still the expression óὐí áὐôïῖò ἁãíéóèåὶò , Act_21:26, by no means admits of this interpretation; those words can only mean that Paul, in company with the Nazarites, and they in company with him, had purified themselves on the same day, and in one and the same act. The reference is simply to an appearance in the temple, and to the prayers and sacrifices which were to be offered there, and for which, in particular, the Jews prepared and sanctified themselves by ablutions and bathing. (“Some understand the verb ( ἁãíßæïìáé ) as signifying, not the Nazaritic vow itself, but those preliminary rites of purification which preceded every solemn act of ceremonial worship, as required by the law (see Exo_19:10; Exo_19:14) and still practised in the time of Christ (see Joh_11:55). The exhortation (of the elders), thus explained, is not that he should make himself a Nazarite, but merely that he should perform such preparatory rites as would enable him to take part with these Nazarites in the conclusion of their solemn service.” (Alexander). The same view is advocated in Conyb. and Howson’s Life of St. Paul, etc. II. 251; others (Meyer, de Wette, Alford, Hackett, etc. believe that Paul also took the Nazaritic vow.—Tr.]. And, indeed, the opinion that those who paid the expenses when Nazarites completed their vow, also took the vow for some days upon themselves, derives support from no other known source, and has been advanced only with a view to account for the transaction described in the passage before us. Comp. Wieseler: Chronol. d. apost. Zeitalters, p. 105 ff. [In this work—“Chronology of the Apostolic Age”—Wieseler also rejects the opinion that Paul assumed the vow. See also Keil: Bibl. Archæol I. § 67. note 2. ult.—Tr.].
Act_21:26. Then Paul took, etc.—The apostle acceded to the proposal, and after having made that Levitical preparation, appeared in the temple for the purpose of informing the priests that those four men would complete the period of their Nazariteship; it terminated legally when the appointed offering ( ἡ ðñïòöïñÜ , the offering required by the law [Num_6:13-17]) had been made for each individual. This conduct of Paul was intended to convince all Judæo-Christians who entertained strictly legal principles, that the prejudices which they had been led to entertain, were totally unfounded ( ὦí ïὐäὲí ἔóôé , that not one of them had any real ground), and that, on the contrary, he was so far from inducing the Jews to apostatize from the law, that he himself, in his own person ( êáὶ áὐôüò ), also observed the Mosaic law in his walk and conduct.—At the same time, the elders, who wished to obviate any scruples which their proposal might produce in the mind of Paul, as if it were their ultimate purpose to restrict the liberty of the Gentile-Christians, made the additional remark that that liberty had already been secured and recognized, and was permanently established. Ìçäὲí ôïéïῦôïí , i.e., none of the observances that were peculiar to Mosaic law.
2. What opinion should we form of the conduct of Paul, from a moral point of view? It has been asserted that he is here represented as guilty of great hypocrisy, and hence the whole narrative has been rejected by some as unhistorical (Zeller: Apgsch., p. 277 ff.). But was his conduct really a practical denial of his own sacred convictions, when he resolved to perform a Levitical act, in order to furnish a visible demonstration that neither was he unfaithful to the law himself, nor did he induce others to apostatize from it? Now such was solely the meaning and object of the whole transaction. If he had, by his course, declared that a Christian who had been born under the law, was obliged to observe the Levitical laws, in order to be assured of his salvation and to become just before God, then indeed would he have denied his most holy convictions, and have been guilty of such hypocrisy as would have exposed him to severe censure. Such was, however, far from being the case; it was solely love that prompted him to subject himself to the law on this occasion, in order to remove an unfounded prejudice from the minds of the Judæo-Christians, which had led them to take offence at him. This view strictly corresponds to his own declaration respecting himself: “Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law,” etc. 1Co_9:19-22.
Act_21:18. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James.—This visit demonstrates alike the honesty and candor, and the modesty and humility of Paul. For, with his views of evangelical liberty, he might have found himself repelled by the Judæo-Christian legal strictness of James, and, on comparing the many trials and difficulties which he had encountered, with the comparatively easy and undisturbed labors of the presiding officer of the congregation at Jerusalem, he might have claimed the precedence. But the first obstacle was removed by their common evangelical faith, and the second by his apostolical humility and brotherly love.
Act_21:19. What things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.—With what humility Paul speaks of his own labors! God—he says—has wrought all. He claims nothing for himself save the joy which he experiences on seeing the divine name glorified. (Ap. Past.).—When we hear of the works which God is even now performing among pagans, let us not survey them with indifference, but give that glory to God which belongs to him. (Starke).
Act_21:20. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord.—They praised the Lord, and not Paul, even as he did not praise himself. But while they praised the Lord for all that He had wrought through Paul, they recognized him, at the same time, as a blessed instrument of God.—Thou seest, brother, how many thousands, etc.—Although Paul and James fraternally salute each other, and although the brethren are greatly encouraged by the narrative of Paul, and give praise to God, they nevertheless do not conceal the information which they had received concerning the fault which he was accused of having committed. The very sincere and ardent brotherly love which they entertain, makes them not blind and dumb, but rather honest and candid, in uttering their sentiments. (Ap. Past.).
Act_21:21. And they are informed of thee, etc.—How can any thing be so well said or done, that the world will not censure or pervert it? (Starke).—Let him who hears this charge which was made against Paul, and who asks for the proof of his innocence, examine Acts 14. and Acts 15. of the Epistle to the Romans, (Rieger).—And yet, language like that which occurs, for instance, in the second chapter of Romans, might doubtless awaken such suspicions in the minds of men who were “zealous of the law.” (Williger).
Act_21:22. The [A] multitude must needs [will necessarily] come together.—The opinion has sometimes been expressed that, in the apostolical congregations, no distinction existed between the teachers or presiding officers, on the one hand, and other members of the church, on the other. But what a carefully arranged order we here find in the congregation at Jerusalem! To James, the first place is assigned; the elders come in a body to him. In this college of presiding officers the case of Paul was first discussed, and it was only afterwards that the congregation was consulted. [But see Lechler’s note on Act_21:22, above Exeg., etc.—Tr.]. From this circumstance our own age may derive many lessons, in reference both to an ecclesiastical democracy, and to an over-estimate of the ministerial office. (Williger).
Act_21:23-24. Do therefore this, etc.—The best refutation which can be furnished, consists in actions rather than in words.—At times it is well to incur expense, for the sake of calming the excited minds of others.—In matters in which no principle is involved, a Christian may readily accommodate himself to others; but let him take heed that neither hypocrisy nor the fear of man furnishes the motive.—Let us so use our Christion liberty as to gain, and not to offend those that are weak in faith.—To act the hypocrite, is one thing, but it is a different thing, when, in a spirit of love, we become all things to all men, for the encouragement of the weak, that is, in matters in which liberty of choice is allowed, and in which the means employed, while they are lawful in themselves, may even be sanctified by the end in view. (Starke).—If we desire to form an impartial judgment respecting this occurrence, we will arrive at the following results: first, that James and the elders acted in accordance with their knowledge of the circumstances of the times; secondly, that Paul was desirous of showing that he was controlled, not by self-will and sectarian animosity, but solely by the power of the Gospel, and that he consequently yielded, and conformed to the “beggarly elements” [Gal_4:9] of the Jews, in order to gain some of them; and, thirdly, that this course, which proceeded from honest motives, was permitted by the Lord, in order that Paul might appear in the eyes even of his most imbittered foes, not as a disturber of their religion, but as a true friend of the Jewish church, and that they might thus learn that their persecution of him was the more unjust. Those interpreters are unjust, who accuse the apostle of hypocrisy, and represent the sufferings which soon followed, as a divine chastisement; for these sufferings had, at a much earlier period, been already revealed to him, and constituted, indeed, the goal which he was steadfastly approaching. (Ap. Past.).—The counsel which the elders gave to Paul was not carnal, intended to secure him or them from suffering affliction, but was spiritual, intended to spare the weak, and thus to gain them.—The circumstances are often embarrassing, when love apparently requires us to submit to bondage, even though we are free in the faith. In such cases Christianity is involved in difficulties; some demand more exactness and rigor, others, more liberality and freedom from restraint. Truth takes the middle course. (Rieger).—The Gentile church, which the apostle had founded, had just been cordially saluted by the Judæo-Christian church with united praises which were offered to God. That hour foreshadowed the great consummation, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in [Rom_11:25], and when Israel shall acknowledge its God and King in His work among the Gentiles. To that hour and its holy and significant character, the conduct of the apostle now corresponds. For while he had always recognized the law, and steadily adhered to its fundamental principles, (although he could usually obey it only in the domain of the spirit,) he now gives a visible form to that recognition; and thus he opens the prospect of the final disappearance of the exceptional position which he held, that is, the thirteenth apostolate. Could he have possibly chosen a more appropriate method of applying a part of the gifts which the Gentiles had sent, than that of contributing to the expenses incurred by the solemn sacrifices, which the four poor Nazarites from the congregation of the saints were required to offer, on completing their vow? Had he not reason to regard the gifts of the Gentiles, which were offered through his instrumentality, as the beginning of those offerings with which the Gentiles would, at a future period, beautify the sanctuary of Israel, and render glorious the worship of the people of God? Isa_60:5-13; Zec_14:16, and elsewhere. (Baumgarten).
ON THE WHOLE SECTION, Act_21:17-26.—On Christian forbearance: I. It is necessary: (a) it was exercised by the Lord Himself; (b) it was observed by the apostles; (c) it is indispensable in our own case. II. It is salutary: (c) without the forbearance of God, the world would be lost; (b) by the forbearance of the apostles, many who were weak in the faith, were gained; (c) we, too, may, by Christian forbearance, gain, not indeed all men, but at least peace, and thus promote the general interests of the kingdom of God. (From Lisco).
How far may an experienced Christian yield to the prejudices of those who are weak in the faith? I. He may participate in all things, which are matters of indifference, when the object is good—the service of God. II. He is not at liberty to do anything which would sanction the opinion that such acts are necessary to salvation. (Lisco).
The conduct of the Christian towards his honest but weak brethren, (id.).
The cordiality of Paul and James, on meeting in Jerusalem, Act_21:18-20 : it was, I. A victory of that love which seeketh not its own, over a carnal narrowness of heart, and self-will: II. A token of the future union of Israel and the Gentile world under the cross of Christ; III. A. triumph of the wonderful ways of God in extending His kingdom, and executing his plan of salvation, Act_21:19-20.
Paul among the Nazarites: I. Not as the slave of human ordinances, but acting in the power of evangelical liberty, to which all things are lawful that promote the interests of the kingdom of God, 1Co_6:12; II. Not as a hypocrite before men, but acting in the service of brotherly love, which bears the infirmities of the weak, Rom_15:1; III. Not as a fugitive from the cross, but acting in the power of apostolic obedience, which, supported by love to the Lord, is enabled to practise self-denial, Luk_9:23.
In what sense may a servant of Christ be made all things to all men (1Co_9:22)? I. When, in the case of all men whom he hopes to benefit, he never flatters the flesh, but aids and encourages the spirit; II. When, in all things which he does in order to benefit others, he never surrenders the one thing needful, but preaches Christ, even as He is set forth in the Word of God, and received by faith in the heart.
Paul among the brethren at Jerusalem, or, What will enable us to bear the infirmities of the weak? I. Christian love, which is willing to bear them; (a) it has a tender regard for the wants of the weak, and (b) and nobly practises self-denial, in adapting itself to for them in word and deed. II. Christian strength, which is able to bear them; it possesses (a) the liberty of the spirit, by which it distinguishes between the form and the essence, the shell and the kernel; and (b) firmness of character; for even in subordinate matters it never surrenders principle, or denies the Lord for the sake of pleasing men.
Footnotes:
Act_21:17. ἀðåäÝîáíôï is far better attested [by A. B. C. E. and Cod. Sin.] than ἐäÝîáíôï [of text. rec., and found in G. H.]. Luke is the only writer in the New Test. who employs the compound ἀðïäÝ÷ïìáé , and he introduces it several times [once in his Gospel, ch: Act_8:40, and five times in the Acts. Lach. Tisch. and Alf. read ἀðåóÝîáíôï .—Tr.]
Act_21:20. a. According to external testimony, the reading èåüí is undoubtedly preferable to êýñéïí . [The latter, adopted in text. rec., is found in D. H., while A. B. C. E. G. Cod. Sin. and Vulg. (Deum) exhibit èåüí , which reading is recognized by Lach. Tisch. Alf., and several other recent editors.—Tr.]
Act_21:20. b. The words ἐí ôïῖò Ἰïõäáßïéò are found in the uncial manuscripts A. B. C. E., and in several versions [Vulg. in Judaeis], and this reading is supported by that of Cod. Cantab. [D. and also by the Syr. vers.], namely, ἐí ôῇ Ἰïõäáßᾳ , while the genitive ôῶí Ἰïõäáßùí was inserted to suit ôῶí ðåðéóôåõêïôùí . The latter reading is sustained only by the two latest uncial manuscripts [G. H., but without ôῶí before Éïõä .], and by several versions. [Lach. and Tisch. read ἐí ôïῖò Éïõä . Alf. reads, with text. rec. simply Ἰïõäáßùí , and, with Meyer and de Wette, regards the other reading as an adaptation to ἐí ôïῖò ἔèíåóé in Act_21:19.—Cod. Sin. omits both readings, without furnishing a substitute.—Tr.]
Act_21:21. ðÜíôáò [of text. rec.] is so strongly attested [by B. C. D (corrected). G. H. and Cod. Sin.], that the omission of the word must be regarded as unauthorized. [A. and E. omit the word; D (original), has åἰóßí for ðÜíôáò . Lach. and Tisch. drop the word, but Alf. retains it.—Vulg. eorum … Judaeorum.—Tr.]
Act_21:24. [Instead of ãíῶóé , of text. rec., from G. H., the reading ãíþóïíôáé is found in A. B. C. D. E. and Cod. Sin. Recent editors generally insert the latter. Alford, who adopts the view of Meyer and de Wette, says: “ ãíῶóé is a grammatical correction after ἵíá .”—Tr.]
Act_21:25. a. ἐðåóôåßëáìåí is very decidedly sustained [by A. C. E. G. H. and Cod. Sin.], and should be preferred to ἀðåóô ., which Lachmann has adopted on the authority of two uncial manuscripts [namely, B. D. Alf. reads, with text. rec. ἐðåóô .; Vulg. scripsimus.—Tr.]
Act_21:25. b. Lachmann has cancelled the words: ìçäὲí ôïéïῦôïí ôçñåῖí áὐôïὺò , åἰ ìÞ , on the authority of A. B., of three minuscules, and of some versions [Vulg. etc.]; but they were probably dropped in all these cases [by copyists], for the reason that they do not occur in the parallel passage, Act_15:28-29 [where other verbal variations occur.—Tr.]. Five uncial manuscripts, on the other hand [C. D. E. G. H.], and numerous minuscules exhibit these intermediate words, which should be retained as genuine. [Alf. retains them, but Cod. Sin. omits the whole, without any apparent correction by a later hand.—Tr.]