Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek. [Acts 16:2-3 (NLT)]
In Acts 16, we meet Timothy, the son of a Greek Gentile and a devout Jewish woman. Paul probably met him several years earlier when he preached in Lystra or Derbe. Both Timothy and his mother were Christ followers and it was from his mother that Timothy became knowledgeable in the Hebrew Scriptures. By the time Paul returned to Lystra, Timothy was a young man who was well-regarded by the churches in Lystra and neighboring Iconium. Seeing his potential, Paul asked the young man to join him on his second missionary journey. Before departing, however, Paul asked Timothy to be circumcised.
Considering the Apostle’s vehement disagreement with the legalists in Antioch, his appeal to the Jerusalem Council, and his letter to the Galatians that clearly stated his opposition to making circumcision a requirement for salvation, Paul’s strange request seems the height of hypocrisy to a 21st century Christian. It certainly did to me until I considered Paul’s request from a 1st century Jewish point of view.
Making the transition from an exclusive group united by blood, language, Torah, tradition, and circumcision into a group that was expansive and inclusive could not have been easy for the Jewish believers. Mosaic law purposely set apart Israel from the pagan nations around them. The Torah regulated what could be eaten, how it was to be butchered, what could be done on the Sabbath, and designated what was clean and unclean. Unlike Gentiles, Jews had mezuzahs on their doorposts, were to recite the Shema twice a day, and say grace after meals. Most important, as the outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and Abraham, circumcision was seen as essential to being one of the covenant people.
Finding it difficult to set aside their Hebrew heritage, most new Jewish believers continued to observe Jewish customs and laws after becoming followers of Christ. A problematic group were the legalists and Judaizers with their false doctrine that circumcision and observance of the Law were necessary for salvation. Other new believers, however, were separatists. While not insisting that Gentiles observe the law, they continued to faithfully observe it themselves and distanced themselves from Gentile believers. There also were traditionalists among these new believers. Although they associated with Gentile believers, they continued to observe the familiar customs of Judaism. Even Paul, who mixed with and preached to Gentiles, continued to live as an observant Jew and urged others to “remain as you were when God called you.” [1 Co. 7:17] For Paul, being a good Christian didn’t mean he had to be a bad Jew!
As a believer, Timothy was saved, so Paul’s request wasn’t a matter of his salvation; it was a matter of Timothy’s ability to evangelize. The young man was the product of a mixed marriage—something frowned upon by Jews. Although his father was a Gentile Greek, his mother was a Jew which meant Timothy was a Jew and, as a Jew, he should have been circumcised! Without this rite, other Jews would view Timothy as an apostate Jew or a Gentile. Paul often preached in synagogues where neither apostate Jew nor Gentile would be welcome. Paul’s request wasn’t theological; it was pragmatic. Out of dedication to his calling and respect for the Jews, the young man was circumcised so that he could witness for Christ in the synagogues. Timothy became a “Jew” to the Jews so that he could bring the Jews to Jesus!
I think Satan chuckles every time he sees another division in Christ’s church. He probably shouted with glee when the Southern Baptist Convention recently expelled five congregations (including the mega Saddleback church) and when the no-longer-united United Methodists lost 1,800 congregations and found themselves embroiled in lawsuits with many of those congregations. Although Methodist Bishop Tom Berlin sadly noted that, “The path of anger and hostility is not the Christian way,” it seems to have become the way of Christ’s church in the 21st century! While today’s issues are different, they are no less divisive than an issue that threatened the very existence of the early church.
When reciting the creeds as a youngster, I wondered why I said we believed in the catholic church when we didn’t go to one. My family didn’t attend the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our priest was married, and our service was in English, so why did we attest faith in the catholic church? It wasn’t until my confirmation class that I clearly understood that the creeds weren’t referring to the Roman Catholic church. Coming from the Greek katholikos (derived from kath holos, meaning “throughout the whole”), catholic simply means universal! The term originates from the first century and the words of Ignatius of Antioch: “Where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.”
Can worship be fun? In various translations, Hebrews 12:28 tells us to worship God with reverence and awe, honor and respect, or deep reverence. No where is there any mention of fun. In fact, except for the somewhat cynical and world-weary words directing us to eat, drink, and be merry in Ecclesiastes 8:15 Scripture uses the word “fun” in a negative way—that of “making fun” of someone. Hagar was sent away after she and Ishmael made fun of Isaac, Delilah accused Sampson of making fun of her with his lies, and the fertile Peninnah made fun of Hannah because of her barrenness. So, if, by “fun,” we mean mere amusement (especially at another’s expense), it doesn’t seem that fun and worship go hand in hand. On the other hand, if by “fun” we mean something deeper than light-hearted entertainment or diversion, perhaps it does.
Immediately after the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to the yeast a woman added to “three measures of flour” when making bread. While “measures” seems vague, the original word used wasn’t. It was seah (about a peck and a half of flour) and three seahs were over 167 cups (nearly 50 pounds) of flour. This was an enormous amount of flour for just “a little yeast” and, as He did in the previous parable, Jesus used hyperbole to emphasize the power of something very small. The question in this parable is whether the yeast is a metaphor for a bad or a good thing.
Devotions of the Heart 