NOTES for Act 21:1-26

Paul has no doubt about the cause of the persecution and suffering that await him in Jerusalem. He knows that he will have to endure all this for the name of Jesus, since the Jews had long been outraged by his preaching of freedom in Christ, beside which faithfulness to the Mosaic law ceased to be the most important matter. Moreover, without hesitation he associated with Gentiles, entered their homes, and spoke to them of salvation in Christ without requiring them to live according to the law. Hatred of Paul in Jerusalem had reached such intensity that even the Jerusalem Christians, who continued to observe the law, regarded him with mistrust and suspicion. Yet Paul not only declares his readiness to die for Christ but also gives us a vital example of peacemaking in the spirit of the Gospel: for the sake of peace among Christians and Jews, he is prepared to submit to the law, observe the days of purification required by it, and offer a sacrifice in the Temple. Truly, in our age of indifference on one side and fanaticism on the other, this example of faithfulness to Christ—even unto death—and at the same time of love for brothers in blood and in spirit, and of accepting the existence of other ways of life and religious outlooks, is exceedingly important to us.