The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 172

clearly what are the purposes that ought to yield to the pressure of adverse circum- stancos, a1~<l :,vhat aro thoso that mu!,t be carried ~u~ to their end at all risks and at any cost; nnd 1t 1s the true test of manlmess and Chr1st1an princi pie to adhere to these last in spite of the persuasions of friends or the vituperation of enemies. '!.'he section hofore us contains the successive steps by which St. Paul carried out the purpose which be had formed of going to Jerusalem and arriving there in time for the Feast of Pentecost. The first distinct announcement of this purpose is made in eh. xx. 16, but it had probably been formed before he left Corinth, as related in eh. xx. 3. What were the exact reasons for it we are left to gather from scattered and incidental notices. It seems to have been connected with his deep love for the Jewish nation (Rom. ix. 1-5), and with the hope to which he clu1;1g that, by patience and ~ntinuance in well-doing, he should eventually overcome their obduracy of heart and wm them to the faith of the gospel. The line which he had marked out for himself was to show himself a. true Jew in all things; to respect the Law and the observances of the temple and the customs connected with it; and to bind all the Gentile Churches to the mother Church of Jerusalem in bonds of filial love, of which the offerings collected from the Gentile converts and sent to the poor saints at Jerusalem were the token and the result. In this spirit ho came up to Jerusalem" for to worship" (eh. xxiv. 11); in this spirit he brought "alms to his nation and offerings" ( eh. xxiv. 17) ; and in this •pirit he purified himself and entered into the temple (eh. xxiv. 18). If his hope waa by these means to win his countrymen to Christ, and bring about the predicted salvation of all Israel, this was a purpose to which all else must yield. And so when the "Holy Ghost witnessed in every city that bonds and imprisonment abode him at Jerusalem," when he was warned by prophetic voices at Tyre and at Ciesarea that every on ward step was bringing him nearer to some great affliction, he never flinched one moment from his purpose, but went forward with a willing mind that "the will of the Lord might be done." Being deeply convinced, probably by the constraining voice of the Holy Ghost within him (eh. xx. 22), that it was the will of God that he should go to Jerusalem, and there witness to the Name of the Lord Jesus, he went, not careful whether he were going to bonds or to death ; he went, neither yielding to fear nor allowing his will to be broken by the tears and entreaties of those whom he loved best; he went, to accomplish in prison, and at last under the tyrant's sword, the noblest mission that was ever committed to a son of man, and to win for himself a crown which will surely be one of the most bright and glorious that will glitter in the kingdom of heaven. And in doing so he has left us the priceless example of a stead- / ast purpose. Vers. 15-40.-The compomise. The introduction of Christianity into the world while the temple was still standing, and the Law of Moses with all its Levitical and ceremonial ordinances was still in force, might have issued in three ways. 1. All converts to the faith of Jesus Christ from among the Gentiles might have been forced to become Jews, as far as submission to the whole Law was concerned. 2. Or the Old Testament might then and there have been superseded by the New, and the Jewish believers as well as the Gentile converts have been brought at once into the possession of Christian liberty and immunity from the whole body of ceremonial observances. 3. Or it might have been provided that, while Jewish believers were still subject to the Law of Moses, those who believed from among the Gentiles should be wholly free from the bondage of the Law, and only subject to the institutions and precepts of Christ. The first of these issues was that which was contended for by the bigoted Jews of Jerusalem. They wished that all Christians should be as it were proselytes to Moses, only with the addition of faith in Jesus as the promised and long looked-for Christ. The second seems to be that toward which St. Paul's own opinion gravitated, and which the inexorable logic of the forcible suppression of the Mosaic institutions by the destruction of Jerusalem confirmed as being according to the mind of God. The third was a com- promise between the two former. And it was a compromise accepted by St. Paul. In deference to the prejudices of the Jewish people, and in a charitable consideration for opinions and feelings which were almost a part of their being, he was willing that the Christian Jews should still observe the laws and customs of their fathers, provided that the Gentile disciples were left absolutely free. And he was willing as a Jew hit:1,c)j ~P'fS-Jl, "1 178 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [en. xu. 1-40.