Acts 21

What happens when you convert to Christianity? Do you have to give up all of your old beliefs, practices and traditions? What if some of those are part of your culture? What if they define who you are socially? Are all Christians meant to fit a cookie cutter mold?

By the time of Paul, the Jews had been around for a long time, and during that time they had developed their own sense of national identity. That sense of identity includes a strong pride in self-preservation that we see even still today, and it's not completely misplaced. It seems like nearly every generation has someone or something that is trying to annihilate the Jews. They were enslaved in Egypt after God sent them there for protection. They were enslaved by the Babylonians. They were scattered by the Romans. They were rounded up and imprisoned by the Nazis. And even now, they are on the hit list for most Palestinians. Generally speaking, they've got a reason to be looking over their shoulder. The only problem is when they spend too much time looking over their shoulder worrying about protecting themselves and not enough time looking forward letting God protect them.

I believe that it was God's intent to position Jerusalem as a city to reach the world with the Gospel. It would be the literal "city on a hill" that Jesus described, but when the opportunity came to take that step, the city leaders rejected God's messenger (Paul) and closed the gates effectively shutting out the rest of the world and sealing their fate. We know from history class that the center of Christianity then shifted to Rome and we also know the trials and setbacks that ensued as a result of that transition. I wonder what things would be like if Jerusalem had embraced Paul and recognized that he was both a Jew and a Christian?

Ironically, Paul was attempting to demonstrate that he could be true to his heritage and be a Christian by going through the purification ceremony. He was probably in the temple to complete the purification and thus show the Jews that he was sincere when he was arrested. Thankfully, God sent the Roman soldiers to rescue him, and I do mean rescue. When you first read the passage it seems that the Romans were also just arresting Paul, but you have to realize that the penalty for a Gentile that entered either of the inner courts of the temple was summary execution. There was no trial, there was just death. And the same penalty was carried out against any Jew that brought a Gentile into the inner courts. The temple guard would have killed Paul if the Romans had not intervened to save his life, and that is also interesting because we know that the Romans tended to not interfere with internal Jewish politics, law, or traditions. Normally, they would have let them execute the offender. Really, it was a miracle that Paul was saved.

Another interesting thing is that the church leaders understood the fact that a person did not have to surrender their identity to become a Christian. They asked Paul to affirm his identity as a Jew by partaking in the purification rites, but at the same time they reiterated to the Gentiles that the traditions of Judaism did not extend to them and that they were not expected to follow the same traditions. Essentially, they were telling everyone present that Christianity is about one thing only: Jesus. Outside of that, you are who you are and you should not have to be someone else just to be a Christian.

Are you able to accept people with different national identities, different customs, different traditions, or even different physical appearance as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Or are you more like the Jews; concerned that your religion and your identity will be destroyed if you let outsiders join your group?