Acts 16:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

NIV: Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

NASB: Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

CSB: Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.

NLT: so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.

KJV: Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

NKJV: Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

Paul had just witnessed a major council in Jerusalem. This resulted in Peter and James, the leaders of the church, condemning any thought that Gentiles must be circumcised to follow the Jewish Messiah (Acts 15:1–21). Paul and Silas are traveling with the letter (Acts 16:4) explaining that the only requirements to be placed on Gentile believers was that they "abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality" (Acts 15:29). These are moderate requirements or reminders, meant to make Jewish believers feel comfortable sharing meals with their Gentile brothers in the faith. In addition, Paul's letter to the people here, in the district of Galatia, states that if Gentiles get circumcised because they think following the Mosaic law will save them, then Jesus is worthless to them (Galatians 5:2–6). He goes so far as to say those who teach such things should just castrate themselves (Galatians 5:12).

Yet, now, Paul takes Timothy, a resident of Galatia, and circumcises him. The difference here is in motivation: Timothy is Jewish since Jewish ethnicity passes through the mother (Acts 16:1). Paul senses the young man will have a major role in the church, and he doesn't want to give legalistic Jewish Christians any reason to find fault in him. If Timothy is not circumcised, the Jewish Christians might see it as a stumbling block to their faith (Romans 14:13). It's about ministry, here, not salvation, and Paul knows that sacrifice is necessary for the spread of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:12, 19, 23; Colossians 1:24).

Timothy will go on with Paul as his "true child in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul will continue the spiritual and personal training Eunice and Lois, Timothy's mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14–15), started. Timothy will represent Paul to several churches (1 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 2:19) and eventually pastor in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3).

Acts 16:1–5 records Paul doing something we might not have expected. He is with Silas in modern-day Asia Minor, telling the churches he had planted that the leadership in Jerusalem agrees Gentile Christians do not have to be circumcised. In Lystra, Paul meets a young Jewish man named Timothy—and promptly circumcises him. This is not a matter of salvation, but so older Jewish believers don't hassle the young church leader in the future (1 Timothy 4:12). Paul brings Timothy along, and the three continue visiting the churches in Galatia and Phrygia before picking up Luke and heading across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia (Acts 16:6–10).

Acts 16 follows Paul and Silas as they take the letter of Acts 15 into modern-day Asia Minor and Macedonia. They collect Timothy in Lystra and Luke in Troas. In Philippi, they meet Lydia and baptize her family. After expelling a demon from a fortune-telling girl, city officials illegally beat and imprison Paul and Silas. An earthquake frees them of their chains, but they stay and bring the jailer and his family to Christ. The next morning, Paul and Silas refuse to leave quietly, politely insisting that their civil rights have been violated. The officials apologize, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy go to Thessalonica.

Acts 15 ends with Paul and Silas spreading the news that Gentile Christians don't have to be circumcised. Acts 16 begins with Paul circumcising a Jewish man, Timothy, to prevent difficulties in preaching to older Jews as the boy grows into church leadership. Paul's second missionary trip finds the church growing east, into Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth (Acts 16:11—18:18). On his way back to Syrian Antioch, Paul will stop by Ephesus and soften the Jews for the extended ministry of Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos. During his first trip, Paul planted churches and ordained elders; in his second, he commissions more missionaries.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.