Commentaries:
People's Commentary (NT)
Acts 16:3
Go forth with him. As a traveling companion.
And circumcised him. Not because he thought it necessary to
salvation, but "because of the Jews". Wherever Paul traveled, he first
labored in the Jewish synagogues. If one of his traveling companions
was a Gentile, it would arouse Jewish prejudice so as to close their
ears. Hence, since "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision was
anything" (1 Corinthians 7:19), he complied with the principle that he states
in 1 Corinthians 9:19. In Galatians 2:3 it is stated that when Titus, a Greek,
went up to Jerusalem, he was not compelled to be circumcised. Had he
been, it would have been a concession to the Judaizing Christians who
insisted that circumcision was necessary to salvation. Here the case
was different. No Judaizing party made such a demand, and the act was
one of pure expediency, in order to reach more unconverted Jews. These
examples teach us to accommodate ourselves to the prejudices of others
as far as we can without the sacrifice of principle. From other
passages (1 Timothy 4:14 2Ti 1:6), we learn that, at this time probably,
Timothy was ordained by the elders, and received special gifts by the
imposition of the hands of the apostle.
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Acts 16:3
Acts 20:4
Acts 21:21
1 Corinthians 4:17
1 Corinthians 9:20
Galatians 2:4
1 Timothy 4:12
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