Acts 21:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.

NIV: They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.

NASB: and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

CSB: But they have been informed about you—that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to live according to our customs.

NLT: But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs.

KJV: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

NKJV: but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

Paul has been traveling around modern-day Turkey, Macedonia, and Greece, bringing Jesus' offer of salvation to the Gentiles. Meanwhile, the church in Jerusalem has been drawing more and more Jews. The Jews understand that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who forgives their sins and promises a physical resurrection. They are being taught, correctly, that to follow Christ is no contradiction to their Jewish faith. God's commands as found in the Law of Moses are still in effect for the nation of Israel, which is not to say they are mandatory for salvation. Nor is participating in them meaningful to non-Jews.

Somehow, the Pharisaical Christians hear that as Paul spreads the message of salvation to the Gentiles, he is telling Jews they should stop following Mosaic law. This is not just a denominational issue; it's a crime punishable by death (Deuteronomy 13:1–5).

This raises a point which often needs clarification: did the Jews of the early church need to continue practicing Judaism? The answer is that they did not need to do so for salvation. Salvation is by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9); Jews today are part of the church, not the theocracy of Israel. However, their identity as God's chosen people selected to provide the Messiah to save the world is still expressed through the Law. Paul knows this. It's why although he firmly teaches Gentile Christians do not have be circumcised, he circumcised Timothy, a young Jewish Christian, to avoid undue offense (Acts 16:1–3).

The whole issue must be incredibly frustrating to Paul. His Jewish bona fides are impeccable (Philippians 3:2–6). He's out in the dangerous world, rescuing people from demons, and the Jews in Jerusalem are worried he's telling people their diet is too restrictive. But he has already resolved to be what he needs to be so others can be focused on the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:19–23). When the elders of the Jerusalem church ask him to fulfill a Jewish ritual, he does so. But in the course of the week, before being fully able to complete the ritual, Paul is accused of something else he didn't do. A riot ensues and Paul is arrested by the Romans (Acts 21:22–36).

Acts 21:17–26 is an account of Paul reporting to the "upper management" of the early church. He has spent the last several years along the coastline of the Aegean Sea, establishing the church in Ephesus and building up the congregations in Troas, Macedonia, and Corinth. Now he returns to Jerusalem to give an account of his ministry. James and the elders of the Jerusalem church also have news: a rumor is going around claiming Paul teaches that Jews who worship with Gentiles should entirely forsake the Mosaic law. Ironically, when he cooperates with the elders' recommendation to prove his respect for Old Testament truth, Paul is again falsely accused and arrested.

In Acts 21, Paul returns to Judea from his third missionary journey and promptly gets arrested. He begins by visiting Philip in Caesarea Maritima. Church elders in Jerusalem ask Paul to help men fulfill a Nazirite vow, to dispel rumors he has apostatized his Jewishness. While doing so, Ephesian Jews accuse Paul of bringing one of his Gentile Ephesian companions into the temple. The Roman military tribune keeps the enraged crowd from tearing Paul limb from limb by arresting him.

Acts 21 fulfills the fears of many of Paul's friends. Throughout the last part of his third missionary journey the Holy Spirit has been telling him he will be arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 20:23–25). When Paul reacts to dire personal prophecy, the Jesus-followers in Caesarea Maritima try to stop him from going on (Acts 21:8–14). Through a complicated trail of rumors, lies, and wrong assumptions, things go according to the Holy Spirit's foreknowledge and Roman soldiers arrest Paul. He will face the next 5 years in custody in Caesarea and Rome, but he will spread Jesus' story the entire time (Acts 22—28).

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.