Acts 21:26 "The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them."
These four men had just completed a Nazarite vow. A Nazarite vowed to abstain from wine, not cut his hair, and stay away from dead things for a period of months and oftentimes years. Kind of an odd vow, but it in it's cultural context it signified an isolation from society and allowed the Nazarite time to focus and rely on God. Paul joins these men in the culmination of their vow and pays their offering-along with a good shave, the final act to fulfill their vow. Paul oftentimes spoke of freedom from the law and said that Jewish customs and traditions were not necessary under the new covenant. Interestingly, here Paul seems to affirm and even assist with an ancient Jewish custom. Paul once said, "to the Jew I became like a Jew" and in Acts 21 he demonstrates this. Paul would do what he had to do in order to advance the gospel and keep the young and fragile church together.
I can learn from this. How can I become who I need to become in order to advance the kingdom? I need to lay my pride down and look for ways to engage with culture and use what I can for the cause of the kingdom.
Dear Jesus, help me find common ground with others today for your sake. Amen.
