CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Posted by Angella Diehl, Webmaster on July 5, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: July 5, 2023 from Acts 21:15-26

Theme: We should do what we can to accommodate the sensitivities of others in order to protect peace among brethren.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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We come today to the story of the apostle Paul’s arrival—at last—to Jerusalem.

He had been planning to make this visit for some time. It began to be in his heart all the way back in Acts 18:21; when he first sought to hurry past Asia Minor—saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem …” He was bearing a large gift that had been gathered from the Gentile Christians throughout Macedonia and Achaia—the result of a relief effort that was inspired to help the Jewish Christians who were suffering need in Jerusalem. Paul was eager to bring this gift—knowing that it might help solidify the union that now existed between Jewish and Gentile believers as ‘one new man’ in Christ. But this trip to Jerusalem had also been attended by several warnings. Repeatedly, the Holy Spirit moved upon the saints to tell Paul that “chains and tribulations” awaited him there (20:22; 21:4, 10-11). Yet, as we’ve seen, these warnings didn’t sway him. He was determined—at all cost—to bring this expression of love to the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. And as we will read on through the next several chapters of Acts, we find that “chains and tribulations” did indeed await Paul.

But before we’re told the story of how those troubles began, we’re told a fascinating story—in Acts 21:15-26—of what happened when he met up with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem; and of how they sought together to soften the tensions.

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Now; when it came to reaching unsaved people, we should remember that the apostle Paul had a policy. He sought—as best he could—to respect the traditions and to accommodate the expectations of the people whenever he shared the gospel with them. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, he wrote to his Corinthian brethren and said;

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

This was not because Paul was under any constraint. As he had made clear, he was ‘free from all men’. He could choose to fit into the customs of others, or choose not to do so—it was all up to him. Nor did this ever involve any compromises with sinful habits and practices. Paul would never have embraced unholiness in order to gain a hearing. Rather, when it came to customs and traditions—as much as he was able to do so—he ‘became all things to all men that he might by all means save some’. He did this for the sake of the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 9, he said this in order to encourage the Corinthian believers themselves to be willing to lay aside their personal freedoms and liberties for the greater cause of reaching others with the gospel.

Paul wrote a similar thing in Romans 14:14-19—this time, with respect to keeping peace within the church family over ‘debatable areas’ such as eating food that had been offered to idols:

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another (Romans 14:14-19).

Paul had learned to practice a kind of ‘cultural diplomacy’. Whenever necessary, he was willing to lay aside his own rights and freedoms for the sake of the sensitivities of others; and as much as possible, to fit in and conform with their traditions and practices—never in such a way as to conform with sin, and never in such a way as to compromise his message; but always from out of the motive of love and a desire to remove all barriers to the furtherance of the gospel.

And in the story in Acts 21—a story that immediately precedes the troubles that Paul faced when he came to Jerusalem—we see how Paul put this principle to practice. His example teaches us something that we need to learn while walking in this world as ambassadors of Christ—bearing the message of eternal life to unsaved people from a diversity of different traditions and backgrounds. It shows us that we should do what we can to accommodate the sensitivities of others in order to protect peace among people—and especially our brethren in Christ—for the sake of the gospel.

We can afford to do this as people who are—ourselves—truly free in Christ.

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So; let’s look together at how this principle was demonstrated to us in Paul’s experience. The story begins in Acts 21:15-17; with …

1. THE ARRIVAL TO JERUSALEM (vv. 15-17).

Verse 15 says;

And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem (Acts 21:15).

The “those days” that this comes “after” are the days that Paul and his traveling companions had spent in Caesarea—at the household of Philip. That was when the prophet Agabus had warned Paul of the bondage and arrest that awaited him in Jerusalem. Paul would not be persuaded to stay away from Jerusalem; and the final word on it all was, “So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, ‘The will of the Lord be done’” (v. 14).

Note the “we” in verse 15. Luke—the writer of the Book of Acts—was among those who were traveling with Paul to Jerusalem. They “packed” because the journey would involve a few days’ travel by foot. Luke goes on to tell us;

Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge (v. 16).

This man Mnason would have been a resident of Jerusalem; which would be why they could lodge with him. But it’s interesting to note that he was an ‘early disciple’. He must have been converted in Jerusalem during the earliest days of the church; and, sometime later, moved to Cyprus. This means that he might have been connected to Paul’s early missionary partner Barnabas; who was, himself, also from Cyprus (Acts 4:36). He might have been a Hellenistic Jew; and in that case, would have been a valuable partner in the delivery of the gift from the Gentile churches.

We’re told in verse 17;

And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly (v. 17).

This might have been because—almost immediately—Paul and his traveling team brought the gift to the leaders of the church. Acts 24:17 seems to indicate that this was so.

But then comes …

2. THE EXPRESSION OF CONCERN (vv. 18-22).

Verses 18-20 tell us;

On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord (vv, 18-20a).

James was the half-brother of our Lord; and was also the lead pastor of the church in Jerusalem. He was the one who—back in Acts 15—had guided the church in making the decision not to require the believing Gentiles to conform to the Jewish ceremonies and rituals; but only “to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20). This was so that the Gentile Christians would not live in a way that would be insensitive or harmful to their Jewish brethren.

James was an important and wise leader in the early church. But whereas before, he and the other church leaders were concerned about the Gentile believers not unnecessarily offending the Jewish believers, they were now concerned about how Paul—a Jewish man—might offend the Jewish brethren who were still faithful to their traditions. Verses 20-22 tell us;

And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; 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. What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come” (vv. 20b-22).

The accusations that had been made about Paul were completely untrue. We have no record anywhere that Paul had taught such things. In fact, it hadn’t been too long before this time that Paul himself “had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow” (18:18). He himself was a pious Jewish man. Many Jewish opponents of the gospel he preached, however, had spread untruths about him. Those false accusations must have preceded him to Jerusalem.

So; what to do? The Jewish believers would gather upon hearing the news of Paul’s arrival; and so, it was very important to show that Paul was no threat whatsoever to their devotion to the law. And so; in verses 23-25, we find …

3. THE PROPOSAL OF A SOLUTION (vv. 23-25).

James and the leaders said;

“Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law” (vv. 23-24).

The vow that these four Jewish believers had taken was a Nazarite vow. According to the law written in Numbers 6, they had separated themselves unto the Lord for a period of sacred devotion. They were not to cut their hair during the days of their devotion. And Numbers 6 tells us that, when the days of their vow were fulfilled, they were to bring a specified offering to the Lord and give it to the priest:

Then the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering; and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering (Numbers 6:16-18).

A Nazarite was probably not working or earning his pay during the time of his vow. It might have been difficult for him to then be able to afford the necessary offering. And so, it was considered a very great act of piety for another Jewish man to assume the cost and pay for the necessary offerings. The leaders of the church were saying that Paul should be that man. If he purified himself (after having spent such a long time among the Gentiles) and then himself paid the expenses for these Nazarites, it would have demonstrated to the Jewish Christian community that he did not teach against the Jewish law—but rather upheld it in a devoted manner.

Now; this suggestion would not be a matter of—somehow—compromising the gospel message. It would not have been saying that people needed to keep the law in order to be righteous before God. This is made clear by what we find the church leaders saying in verse 25;

“But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality” (v. 25).

The decision set forth in Acts 15 was still in effect. No one had to live under Jewish law in order to be saved. But rather, this was a move that was intended to avoid hurting the consciences of the Jewish believers, or offending their devotion to Jewish traditions. Plus, it would have shown to them all that Paul did not preach against those traditions—but rather, upheld them as a Jew himself.

And that leads us to the example of Paul; and to …

4. THE WILLINGNESS TO ACCOMMODATE (v. 26).

We’re told in verse 26;

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 (v. 26).

Now; did Paul do wrong in this? Some have suggested that he did. Some have suggested that this constituted a lapse in Paul’s Christian devotion; and that he fell short of the gospel. But it helps to consider that Paul was more devoted to the truth of the gospel than anyone else. He was the one who said,

“I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain” (Galatians 20:21).

And yet, he apparently didn’t see this as a denial of the grace of God at all. He didn’t consider himself to be made more righteous before God by paying the expenses of these Nazarites. Rather, he considered that it removed barriers from further fellowship with his Jewish brethren—and also opened doors for the advancement of the gospel. We’d have to say that if Paul was wrong in doing this, then so were the Nazarites for whom he paid the expenses—and so were the church leaders who recommended that he do so—and so was James, who had also recommended it; yet had been the very one who issued forth this decision in Acts 15:19-21;

“Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath” (Acts 15:19-21).

No; this wasn’t a lapse from the gospel at all. This was a matter of acting wisely in order to help advance that gospel.

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Dear brothers and sisters; you and I may not encounter the same exact kind of situation that Paul had encountered. But the principle remains as true for us as it was for him. As people who have been made free from the law in Christ, we must be willing to act in a sensitive way toward the scruples of others in order to protect peace among people—and especially our brethren in Christ—for the sake of the gospel.

We do no wrong in giving up our liberties in Christ in order to better share Him with others.

AE