Though the Apostle was firmly resolved to do his duty, and quite ready to lay down his life for Christ's sake, if called upon to do so, it grieved him to give pain to his friends; and therefore he reminds them, that all their sorrow and weeping would but distress him more and more—break his heart, as he expressed it, without in any way changing his settled purpose to go up to Jerusalem.
When St. Paul had thus declared his unalterable determination, those who had tried to persuade him not to carry it out, did what they should have done at first: they left the whole matter in the hands of God, for "when he would not be persuaded," they "ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done." Thus St. Paul's example had a good effect upon the brethren.
St. Luke then says, "And after those days we took up our carriages, and went to Jerusalem." The word "carriages" here does not mean conveyances to take people from one place to another, but rather such things as they carried with them—their baggage, in short. Some of the disciples from Cæsarea went with the Apostles. Amongst them was an old disciple, a native of Cyprus, called Mnason, who appears at this time to have had a house in Jerusalem, where St. Paul and his company were to lodge. St. Luke tells us, "And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord."
Chapter XXII.—TUMULT AT JERUSALEM.
St. James, and the elders of the Church at Jerusalem, glorified God, upon hearing of the conversion of so many Gentiles by the teaching of St. Paul, and then they "said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: and they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come."
The elders feared, that St. Paul's coming to Jerusalem might cause a disturbance amongst the Jewish converts; who, though Christians, reverenced the Law, and could not bear that it should be neglected. They had heard exaggerated accounts of what the Apostle had taught; for he had never said that it was wrong to observe and do the things commanded by Moses, and that therefore they ought not to do them. He had only said, that it was not necessary to keep the ceremonial Law; and that it was useless to do so, because no man could obtain eternal life by any such outward acts. St. Paul's great object was to make the Jews understand, that the Law given by Moses, was only meant to be binding until the Messiah came; and that as Jesus had now visited his people, the ceremonial part of the Law was done away with. God no longer required it to be observed: therefore, if the Jews chose still to observe it, they must not imagine that by doing so they would now find favour with God: the only way to gain his favour was by believing in Jesus Christ, and trying, out of love for Him, to obey all the commands and precepts of the Gospel: all who thus strove to please God, would find favour in His sight, whether they kept the ceremonial Law or not. The Jewish converts at Jerusalem, not clearly understanding what St. Paul had taught, were set against him; and as they would be sure to meet together to discuss the matter, as soon as they heard of his arrival, the elders now said to one another, "What is it therefore?"—that is, what can be done to quiet the fears of these Jewish brethren. The plan that the Apostles and elders now proposed, was one that would show the Jews, that St. Paul did not think it wrong to observe the forms of the Law, though he taught that it was not necessary to do so. What this plan was, we shall hear from what they now said to St. Paul, "Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law."
To understand this speech, we must remember that even in the time of Moses, the Children of Israel were in the habit of showing their piety, and their wish to serve God, by devoting themselves for a time to the performance of special acts of worship; separating themselves from their brethren, for the observance of certain forms and ceremonies. A person who thus separated himself for a time from others by a particular profession of religion, was called a Nazarite; and the Lord Himself gave Moses directions, as to the outward forms and ceremonies to be observed by every one, who should vow the vow of a Nazarite. To take the vow of a Nazarite was a voluntary act; that is, it was at the choice of any person to take it: but once taken, the person who had thus devoted himself to the special service of God, was neither to drink wine, nor any of the drinks made from fruits or honey: he was to drink water only, that his head might be cool and clear, and better able to attend to his religious studies and exercises. Then he was not to shave his head, nor to cut his hair; neither was he to do any of the things usually done upon the death of a relation, because such mourning for the dead would render him unclean.
Some persons vowed themselves to be Nazarites for life; others only for a certain number of years, months, or even days: and at the end of the time, the Nazarite was to bring certain offerings unto the priest to be presented to the Lord: then he was to shave his head at the door of the tabernacle, and burn the hair in the fire which consumed the peace offerings. After all the appointed ceremonies had been gone through, the Nazarite was free from his vow, and might return to live like other people. You will, I hope, remember Samson, who was a Nazarite from his birth; and who fell into great trouble, because his vow was broken, when his hair was cut off by Delilah.
Now at the time when St. Paul came to Jerusalem, there were four men there, who had taken the vows of a Nazarite for a short time: their time was nearly out, and the elders proposed that St. Paul should join them in abstaining (or keeping) from such things, as they were forbidden to do; and that he should "be at charges with them," that is, pay for the sacrifices they must offer, before they could shave their heads, and be free from their vows. The Jews looked upon it as an act of piety, for any person to pay the expenses of those who had taken the vow of a Nazarite.