After Paul said goodbye to the Ephesian elders, he continued by boat across the Mediterranean sea back to the city of Tyre, in Syria, north of Jerusalem. He stayed with disciples there and they warned him not to go to Israel. Then he went to the house of Philip, one of the seven, who had four daughters that prophesied. While he was there, a prophet named Agabus visited and took Paul’s belt and bound his hands and feet and said this is how the Jews will bind you and deliver you to the Gentiles in Jerusalem. They all cried and begged him not to continue. Paul said, “Why are you breaking my heart, I am willing to be imprisoned or even die for the Lord Jesus.”
Paul continued on with some joining him and stayed with Mnason and then went to Jerusalem where he visited with James and all the elders. He related all the things that God had done with the Gentiles on his trip. They rejoiced with him. They were happy to see him, but there was a problem.
Then they told him that the Jewish believers were zealous for the law and were told that Paul was teaching the new believers to abandon the laws of Moses. He was not requiring the Gentile believers to circumcise their children or follow their customs. To demonstrate his participation, they wanted Paul to join four men for a week who had made a vow. Paul must shave his head, pay for an offering, abstain from food offered to idols, blood, animals that had been strangled (instead of killed by the levitical method) and sexual immorality. Paul agreed and was washed and presented himself at the temple.
Before the seven days were up, some Jews from Asia (modern Turkey) riled up the crowd. They had seen Gentiles believers and assumed Paul had let them into the Temple with him, defiling the holy place. They dragged him out and were intending to kill him. The tribune of the Cohort (the local Roman authority) heard of the disturbance and sent in soldiers. Once the centurions arrived, the crowd stoped beating Paul. The tribune came and arrested Paul, putting him in two chains and lead him to the barracks. Paul tried to speak, but the crowd was too loud. The tribune asked if he was the Egyptian who stirred up a revolt and lead 4000 assassins into the wilderness. Paul said that he was a Jew from Tarsus and asked to address to the crowd.
In this section, Paul goes to Jerusalem, knowing that he will face conflict. He is prepared to demonstrate his loyalty by the traditionalists by going through purification rituals. The letter of compromise that the council had made up earlier, bought time, but did not settle the tension between those who believed in following the laws of Moses, and those who believed in pure faith of Jesus Christ. Could faith purify non-Jews without following food laws or circumcision. We still wrestle with this problem today in Christianity. Does faith in Jesus alone save us or do we also have to follow the Old Testament rules or even Western Christian traditions? Are we willing to face conflict for Christ, compromise with other believers and meet them halfway. Should Paul when hearing the warnings, avoid the place where he thought God wanted him to go?
