16:1 "Then he
(Paul) came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there,
named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father
was Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and
Iconium. 3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and
circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew
that his father was Greek. 4 And as they went through the cities, they
delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles
and elders at Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and
increased in number daily."
Working with people is tricky business. Even to His own
disciples Jesus admitted "I have many things to tell you but you are not
able to bear them now." We humans are "married" to our ideas,
strapped to our cultures, and restricted by our religious ideas. Truth seems
like a threat and an enemy when it crosses the grain of what we already
believe.
Today we find Paul traveling again with Silas now and he
meets a young man named Timothy. He is impressed by this young man and wants to
make him part of the team. There is a problem though. Timothy is what elitist
Jews called a half breed. His mom is a Jew but his dad is a Greek and as a
result he was never circumcised. Does he need to be? No. Will it keep him out
of God’s kingdom or make him less of a child of God? Absolutely not.
So then why does Paul do something unexpected and get him
circumcised? Isn't this the same Paul who just came from a council in Jerusalem
where he argued against the need for circumcision? Is he back pedaling? Has he
begun to compromise his firm belief that nothing can be added to what Jesus has
done for us?
For sure not. Paul's motive had nothing to do with the gospel
or pleasing God. It had everything to do with wisdom and how to work with
people. The Jews are struggling with the idea Gentiles don't need circumcision.
Timothy is half Jew. In the minds of a Jew circumcision is not optional. A Jew
is circumcised. Period. Paul wants Timothy to be able to preach and work for
the salvation of his fellow Jews who did not yet know Jesus. The Good News was
enough of a barrier. There was no need to add another barrier. Again let's be
clear: Timothy was not circumcised to make him "more saved", he was
circumcised to facilitate his acceptance among the Jews and eliminate an
unnecessary barrier.
When I was 17 I went with a team of youth to the Ukraine for
6 weeks where we taught English classes by day and shared Jesus every evening.
We worked closely with the church leaders. They coached us on the dos and
don'ts of the culture. One of the don'ts was wearing shorts. Respectable people
kept their legs covered. The average temperature when we were there was 44
degrees C. Another cultural norm was standing for prayer as a sign of respect
for God.
Now neither of those practices were salvation issues. They
had nothing to do with a command from God. But guess what? We kept our legs
covered and stood to pray in order not to offend the locals and damage our
ability to share Jesus with them.
Wise as serpents and harmless as doves. We must be wise,
humble, teachable, and willing to do whatever it takes to reach people while
never compromising the Gospel. The same Paul who wrote to the Galatians that to
be circumcised was to make Jesus of no value to them was willing to have
Timothy circumcised to bridge a cultural divide. See the difference? Motive is
everything. That's why the Bible says man looks at the surface but God looks on
the heart.
Never twist the Gospel to get "more saved" but
always be willing to bridge a cultural divide.
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