Seder 154: Acts 21---Paul the Vow-Keeper

 In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on July 29, 2023, Kyle Kettering explained that the apostle Paul has often been misuderstood.  A major source of misunderstanding, he said, was the influential work of antisemitic German scholars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, who saw first century Judaism as legalistic.  Their views have been correctecd by more recent scholarship of the "New Perspective on Paul" and the "Paul within Judaism" schools.     

One statement of Paul's that is often misread is his "all things to all men" statement in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  On the basis of this passage, some have characterized Paul as a kind of chameleon, an insincere "people pleaser."  An important corrective to this characterization appears in Acts 21:17-26, where Paul confers with James and agrees to sponsor the Nazirite vows of four men.

Kyle made several points about this passage:

1. James the Just, the brother of Jesus, led the apostolic community in Jerusalem until 62 AD (see Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History).  James had had a personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus, as had Paul (1 Cor 15:7).
2. The messianic community rejoiced at God's work among non-Jews (Acts 17:20).
3. There was also a large movement among Jews.
4. Zeal for the Torah did not conflict, in their minds, with following Jesus.
5. Nothing in the Torah opposes Jesus, and no teaching of Jesus is in opposition to the Torah.
6. Paul keeps his vow and helps others keep theirs.  He places himself under the authority of the Temple.  

Paul later describes himself as a Pharisee (not an ex-Pharisee)and confirms that he remains a faithful Jew (Acts 23:6; 28:17).  The book of Acts supports the idea of a Torah-observant Paul.  He was not a chameleon but a faithful keeper of his commitments.