Acts 21:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Having arrived in Jerusalem, Paul went the very next day with his companions to the Apostle James. The presbyters of the Church then gathered to him. All listened with great sympathy to what Paul told them about the working of the Gospel among the Gentiles.

James only observed that there were now several thousand believing Jews in Jerusalem who nevertheless strictly kept the law of Moses.

He added that certain Judaizers, who everywhere tried to present Paul’s actions in the worst light, had spread a rumor among them.

They claimed that Paul not only freed the Gentiles from observing the Mosaic law, but also forbade Jews living among the Gentiles to circumcise their children. They claimed he generally taught them apostasy from the law.

When the Apostle Paul arrived in Jerusalem, the apostles and the other brethren who were there received him cordially. They glorified God as they listened to his accounts of what God had done through his hands among the Gentiles.

Yet all were troubled by the fear that the Apostle of the Gentiles might suffer insult and violence from the Jews. They had heard of him that he taught Jews living in the Diaspora not to circumcise their children and generally not to live according to the law of Moses.

To dispel this prejudice against Paul among the Jews, and thereby deliver him from the danger threatening him, the Jerusalem presbyters gave Paul counsel. At their head was James, the brother of the Lord according to the flesh.

They advised Paul to take part in a temporary Nazirite vow held by four Christians from among the Jews. They also advised him to take part in the public performance of the rites of this vow in the temple.

But since he had already appeared, it was necessary somehow to refute the false rumor and prove publicly that it was groundless.

For this purpose the assembly advised the Apostle Paul to perform the Nazirite rite. They also advised him to take upon himself the expenses of four other Jewish Christians who had likewise taken a vow.

These men did not have sufficient means to cover all the expenses required in this rite.

“Then all will know that what they have heard about you is not true, but that you yourself also continue to keep the law.”

The danger was truly great. The people, irritated by the unjust oppression of the Romans, were in extreme agitation. They were ready to pour out their discontent on the first person who could arouse their suspicion.

So what then? How should one act in order to destroy this prejudice and expose the slander? This had to be done, because the people would surely gather.

They would hear that Paul had come and, gathering, would wish to determine how true the rumors spread about him were. Was it true that he was an apostate from the law and taught apostasy?

James and the presbyters do not say what might come of this for Paul. Yet in their words one hears an involuntary fear that bad consequences could follow for Paul if the people gathered.

The advice given to the Apostle Paul by the zealots of the law was that he should prove his reverence for the ritual law by fulfilling one of its forms. This was the offering of a purifying sacrifice, together with a donation for others for the same purpose.

It was well intentioned, but rather artificial and therefore futile. The time of Pentecost was crowded and consequently rather tense. At this time a very great multitude of Jews had gathered in Jerusalem.

It could be expected that many of Paul’s enemies would also appear there. Because of their malice, no proof from Paul concerning his high respect for the law of Moses could be accepted before them.