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Acts 21:13-15
New Catholic Bible
Acts 21:13-15
New Catholic Bible
13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 Since he would not be dissuaded, we finally gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
Various Events and Paul’s Defenses at Jerusalem
15 Paul Is Welcomed by the Elders.[a] At the end of our stay, we made preparations and went up to Jerusalem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 21:15 The elders extend a cordial but anxious welcome. Paul gives the community of Jerusalem an account of his mission, and the Church offers thanks. In this Jewish city, in a community presided over by James, a relative of Jesus deeply attached to Judaism, Paul accepts to live in the Jewish manner—in accord with his dictum: “I have become all things to all” (1 Cor 9:22). He must also give proof of his good faith: if he does not impose the practices of Judaism on Gentiles, he does not on the other hand wish to turn away those of Jewish origin from those practices.
In fact, Paul does not blame Jewish practices but those who insist on making them the condition of salvation. As a Jew himself, he loyally consents to perform a typically Jewish act of devotion: he joins a group of pilgrims who have taken a Nazirite vow (see Acts 18:18); at the appointed time he will come to be purified in the temple in accord with the prescriptions of the Law (Num 6:1-21) and will even pay the expenses. The Book of Acts does not say anything about Paul bringing the collection of the Churches to this mother community that has fallen in need.
