Acts 21:17-21 - The brothers and sisters received us warmly

21:17-19

The believers in Jerusalem welcomed Paul warmly.The next day Paul met with James and all the elders, and Paul “reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry”. Why is Luke telling us all this? Paul is about to encounter all sorts of trouble and opposition in Jerusalem. Luke is wanting to make clear that the church, the Jewish church, welcomed Paul and had no problem with him. It was unbelieving Jews who had a problem. It is a key point of the New Testament that the gospel is the natural (or rather supernatural) continuation of all that is found in the Old Testament. It is the fulfilment of the prophecies in the Old Testament.

21:20,21

The Jewish believers welcomed Paul’s message and praised God for it. They also stress that many Jews believed, and were also zealous for the Law. They then raise a possible bone of contention. There were reports that Paul taught “all the Jews who lived among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses”. This was not true. Paul taught that Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised. Jews were free to be circumcised. A problem would arise if they started trusting in their circumcision rather than in Christ.