LIFE SCRIPTS

17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” 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.
Acts 21:17‭-‬26 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/act.21.17-26.NIV

Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem was met by some interesting events. Apparently, the Jews viewed Paul as a person who opposed the law of Moses. So there was hostility toward Paul and his entourage. Though he was received well by the members of the church, he would face a challenge out in the streets when encountering radical Jews who knew all about his mission trips. So the believers devised a strategy. They chose some men among them who would take Paul through some purification rites for him to be accepted by the Jews. Remember that Jerusalem was the seat of religious Jewry. Paul was to comfirm that he lives by the law to gain acceptance among the Jews there. He even went to the temple to give notice on the dates of purification. This was in accordance to the old testament law. He went through all these rituals to gain acceptance but only for him to be arrested later in a few verses to come. Paul was never meant to be the darling of religious Jews who followed strict observance of the Torah. The mere fact that he chose to preach to Gentiles, live among them, eat with them and befriend them rubbed them the wrong way. Paul had become irredeemable. He was a sellout among them. A man who had received sterling legal education to become a rabbi from Gamaliel had now become a turncoat betraying the same faith he once worked so hard for. Our allegiance to Christ will put us at loggerheads with those who held us so dear in our past. It doesn’t matter how much we try to ‘clean’ ourselves, we shall always be viewed differently just as Paul. In other words, we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. So what should we do when faced with such situations? Just be true to Christ because opposition will come whether we try to endear ourselves or not.