Paul returned to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) to celebrate one of the appointed times of the LORD. While there, the leadership of the body of believers there note the great work God’s Spirit is doing among the nations but point out opposition from some believers who claim that Paul is teaching believing Jews to disregard Torah — the first five books of the Bible — and tradition. This was a revisiting of the ruling by the Yerushalayim Council, recorded in Acts 15, on what standard the new believers from the nations were called to follow.
Some claim this passage shows Paul’s “being all things to all people,” by going along with the supposedly obsolete Torah. A new body of New Testament scholars are warming to what’s called the New Perspective of Paul, which views the traditional interpretation of “works of law” in the letters to the Galatians and Romans as referring to the Torah itself to be misleading. Today’s discussion of this passage is a beginning point for looking at “works of law” before the study of Galatians begins after Acts.
Thought questions
Acts 21:17-26 notes (PDF)
Who are the people who believe that Paul is teaching diaspora Jews not to keep the Law?
How many believers lived in the Land of Israel at this time?
Did the Jews who believed in Messiah convert to a new religion?
How does the decision of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 relate to this story?
What are the Noachide laws?
Where did they originate?
What is the purpose of the Noachide laws?
How does the purpose of the Noachide laws differ from the purpose of the Acts 15 Jerusalem Council?
What is the purpose of the Torah?
Can people keep the Torah?
How could Moses be considered “blameless”?
What is the “yoke” of Yeshua?
What is the “yoke” of the law?
What is the “yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven”?
How do the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Mishna help us understand this issue?
Speaker: Jeff