²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them. ²⁷When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

Many have struggled with Paul’s participation in this Jewish ritual. Was he compromising his convictions? The fact that Paul did at times keep the customs of the Jews is evident. He had previously made a vow that involved a haircut. Rather than thinking the apostle contradicts his own teaching, it is better to see in his actions a greater understanding of his teachings about law and grace and how they work out in everyday life.

Being a believer in Jesus Christ, fully participating in the grace of our Lord, does not require the elimination of all aspects of Judaism; one is still free to continue in Jewish customs. What has changed is how believers are to look at those customs. No longer are religious customs required to be right with God, because grace, working through faith, has made us right with God and justified in His eyes. Customs such as purification are no longer to be seen as making a person pure; they merely symbolize that we accept the purity God has given through faith. By analogy, the Christian ritual of baptism does not make us clean or pure; rather, it symbolizes that we have been made clean and pure—we are forgiven for all of our sins. Baptism doesn’t make that happen; it symbolizes that it has already happened. Likewise, Jewish customs may be retained, so long as they are understood through the lens of grace through Jesus. Thus, Paul can participate in the purification ritual at the feast of Pentecost with integrity and in good conscience.

However, his plan to stave off criticism went afoul—his detractors were determined to find fault with him regardless. Now they added the claim that Paul had brought Gentiles into the temple. The outburst did not come from the Jews that Luke described in verse 20 as believers, but from the “Jews from Asia.” These were the Judaizers, stirring up trouble wherever they could, being obsessed with undermining Paul’s gospel preaching.

Lord, I accept that some will reject my testimony no matter what I do or say.