Acts 21:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.

NIV: The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

NASB: Then Paul took along the men, and the next day, after purifying himself together with them, he went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

CSB: So the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering would be made for each of them.

NLT: So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.

KJV: Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

NKJV: Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

To prove to legalistic Jewish Christians that Paul still reveres the Mosaic law, the elders of the church in Jerusalem have asked him to help four men complete what was likely a Nazirite vow. A Nazirite vow is a voluntary, temporary commitment to total dedication to God. The adherents, in this case men, abstain from anything made from grapes and do not cut their hair. At the end of their vow, they must present a sacrifice and shave their heads. If they become unclean, particularly by accidentally contacting a corpse, they must go through an eight-day cleansing ritual and restart their time (Numbers 6:1–21).

Since the men's purification takes seven days (Acts 21:27), some scholars think this is a reset—the difference between eight and seven days may be because Luke counts days in the Greek way and not the Hebrew way. But the offering for a reset is merely two birds each; eight birds wouldn't cost much. The offering to fulfill the vow includes a female lamb, a male lamb, a ram, unleavened bread, loaves of bread, crackers, oil, and a grain and drink offering. Such an expense for four men would go a long way in proving Paul's devotion to the Law and be a sacrifice for someone who supports himself on the field (Acts 18:2–3; 1 Corinthians 9:4–7; 1 Thessalonians 2:9).

Paul arrived in Jerusalem with several men—Jews and Gentiles—who came from modern-day Turkey, Greece, and Macedonia. He presents money collected by their home churches for the church in Jerusalem (Acts 20:4). One of these is Trophimus from the city of Ephesus in Asia, the large district in western Turkey. At some point in this week, Jews from Asia see Paul with Trophimus in the city. When they later see Paul in the temple, they assume Trophimus is with him. Legally, Trophimus is allowed to be outside the temple, in the court of Gentiles. To bring an uncircumcised Gentile into the temple is against the Mosaic law and, since it would be the defilement of a religious structure, it is also against the Roman law. The false witnesses accuse Paul as he stands amidst the temple crowd. The people beat him, and the tribune of the Roman outpost arrests him (Acts 21:27–36).

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.