Then the topic shifts rather abruptly. There is an odd remark pertaining to the Jewish believers -- "… and all of them are zealous for the law." The leaders of the Jerusalem church then proceeded to tell Paul that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem felt that Paul was teaching against the law asking not only the Gentiles, but the Jews to "turn away from Moses." The issue was dealing with their customs (specifically circumcision). [I thought we had that settled in Acts 15 :-(.] The leaders of the Jerusalem church told Paul that "... they will certainly hear that you have come." They were expecting a confrontation.
The Jewish believers were still holding to the laws of Judaism. This certainly isn't wrong, in and of itself, and may in fact be a very respectable lifestyle. However, this focus on "custom" failed to recognize the grace of God and our living by faith not works. Ironically, the rumblings against Paul were untrue. Paul did not preach against the law. He preached the fulfillment of the law in Christ Jesus. In Romans 13:9-10, he writes:
"The commandments ... are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." … Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."Furthermore, he approached the Jew and Gentile differently. For the Gentile - In Acts 15, he had defended the Gentiles in their freedom from the Jewish law. In verses 7-11 of Acts 15, Peter had joined Paul in this defense saying:
"Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
There was a letter sent relieving the Gentiles of certain customs but making a few requests for compliance in other areas. For the Jew - specifically for the customs of the Jews, for those who felt importance in keeping the law Paul encouraged them to do so. In Romans 14:14 he writes, "… if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean." Furthermore, when it was expedient for the gospel, he himself kept the law. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul says that for "... those under the law [he] became like one under the law …" He demonstrates this other-ness approach in his life in this passage.
Despite the falsehood of the accusations, Paul follows the Jerusalem church leaders' advice and goes through purification rites to demonstrate support of the lifestyle of the Jews after returning from spending time with Gentiles. The leaders' indicated that this would show the Jewish believers that Paul was obedient to the law and that the exception had been made for the Gentiles because theirs was a different calling albeit the same gospel.
Apparently, the Jews who were not followers of Christ, saw this as an opportunity to create division. In verse 27, when Paul entered the temple, we see that the "Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple." Apparently, they were following him around inciting resistance, riots, and general confusion. We see the crowd behavior that had been evidenced in other areas. Given the context of the preceeding verses, it is likely that even a few believers joined in this uproar. The accusations against Paul by this crowd was the same as those of the Jewish believers, "This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place."
Antagonist against the church will use divisions among us to hamper our impact. I believe Paul's experiences led him to discuss the importance of keeping unity within the body. In 1 Corinthians 12:25, he writes, "… there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other." As a body, let's not give those against the church, an open door to create barriers to the gospel through our petty divisions. I love the way Paul tells us to overcome this in Philippians 2:1-5:
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."An "other-ness" approach to living life ...
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