268
The Acts of the Apostles
of the church at Jerusalem should continue to cherish prejudice against
him, they would work constantly to counteract his influence. He felt
that if by any reasonable concession he could win them to the truth
he would remove a great obstacle to the success of the gospel in other
places. But he was not authorized of God to concede as much as they
asked.
When we think of Paul’s great desire to be in harmony with his
brethren, his tenderness toward the weak in the faith, his reverence for
the apostles who had been with Christ, and for James, the brother of
the Lord, and his purpose to become all things to all men so far as he
could without sacrificing principle—when we think of all this, it is less
surprising that he was constrained to deviate from the firm, decided
course that he had hitherto followed. But instead of accomplishing the
desired object, his efforts for conciliation only precipitated the crisis,
hastened his predicted sufferings, and resulted in separating him from
his brethren, depriving the church of one of its strongest pillars, and
[406]
bringing sorrow to Christian hearts in every land.
On the following day Paul began to carry out the counsel of the
elders. The four men who were under the Nazarite vow (
Numbers
6
), the term of which had nearly expired, were taken by Paul into the
temple, “to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification,
until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.” Certain
costly sacrifices for purification were yet to be offered.
Those who advised Paul to take this step had not fully considered
the great peril to which he would thus be exposed. At this season,
Jerusalem was filled with worshipers from many lands. As, in fulfill-
ment of the commission given him by God, Paul had borne the gospel
to the Gentiles, he had visited many of the world’s largest cities, and
he was well known to thousands who from foreign parts had come to
Jerusalem to attend the feast. Among these were men whose hearts
were filled with bitter hatred for Paul, and for him to enter the temple
on a public occasion was to risk his life. For several days he passed in
and out among the worshipers, apparently unnoticed; but before the
close of the specified period, as he was talking with a priest concerning
the sacrifices to be offered, he was recognized by some of the Jews
from Asia.
With the fury of demons they rushed upon him, crying, “Men of
Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men everywhere against