Paul was warmly welcomed by the believers in Jerusalem, and then went to see James. This is presumably James the brother of Jesus who wrote the letter bearing his name. Paul gave them a report of his work among the Gentiles.
They then explain to Paul why he is mistrusted by many. Paul had indeed taught the Gentiles that they did not need to be circumcised, and this greatly angered zealous Jews. However, Paul was not against the Law as such. We need to realise that because of their cultural situation, the Jews would only see the matter from their perspective, they would not appreciate how things looked from a Gentile perspective. Paul was able to see things from both sides. In order to demonstrate the truth of the matter, it was suggested that Paul join in with some purification rites, and he agreed to this.
It is worth remembering what an important debate had taken place in Acts 15, and the vehemence with which Paul argues in letters such as Galatians and Romans. Yet he was still happy to go along with the suggestion here. Why? Because he had a clear view of what the argument was about. The Law was only a problem when it was seen as essential to salvation, Paul had nothing against the Law as such. When we get involved in disputes, we may well start off being correct about the central matter, but then we lose sight of the kernel of the matter, and problems arise because of side issues. We can learn a lot from the way Paul handled things. He knew what was really important, and what it was OK to compromise about.
No comments:
Post a Comment