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NASB | Leviticus 19:19 ¶ 'You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Leviticus 19:19 ¶ 'You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear clothing of two kinds of material mixed together. |
Subject: Wearing the clothes of the Priests? |
Bible Note: MJH - I believe this passage is one of the great illustrations of Paul’s brilliance in his presentation of the Gospel. Another would be Acts 17:16-31 (esp. vs. 23), where just like chapter 21, Paul assimilates himself to those around him that he might obtain the greatest hearing of God’s message. While the Mosaic covenant was quite insignificant, even an offense, to most Gentiles, it was obviously not to Jews. Paul did not mind walking in accordance with that which he had, his entire life, held so dear, especially if it afforded him an opportunity to preach the Gospel to his countrymen. So, he recognized and had already been confronted with the conflict that arose where freedom and legalism clash, even the legalism of God’s own covenant. Now Paul new, that the Law was good (Rom 7:12), so it was understandable to him that Jewish believers would indeed become more ‘zealous for the Law,’ once converted to faith in Christ. I believe the scriptures make clear that the Jews, beginning with Peter (Acts 10:9-48), were quite resistant to the type of freedom from the Law, that believers had in Christ, and that this resistance created the division described by these verses (Ch 21, etc). But, Paul realized from the beginning that believers, especially Gentile believers, had no obligation to be under the Law in order to obtain and maintain salvation. At his point we can view the events of vs. 22-24 in one of two ways; that this inner circle of believers had come to understand fully the Gospel that Paul preached; that possibly they were, like Paul, making an effort to create an acceptable environment for him to present the Gospel to his Jewish brethren. Or that they still perceived a difference between Jewish and Greek believers, which may be indicated by vs. 25; and were simply trying to prevent a riot. Either way the Holy Spirit’s intent on merging these two peoples into ‘one new man’ (Eph 2:15), is quite clear throughout the New Testament, most notably in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, his letter to the Romans, as well as illustrations peppered throughout all his writings. This transition from the ‘old’ to the ‘new’ was evidently quite painful for all, to the extent that even the aged Peter may have been still awed by the magnificence of this grace, evidenced by his comments in 2 Peter 3:14-16. Being that Paul’s intent was that all men hear and receive the Gospel, and that he had special affection for his countrymen, it is no surprise that he would take most any measure to gain an audience. Forgive me, but this is just a long-winded way of saying what he wrote so adequately of himself in 1 Cor 9:19-23: "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it" P.S. How long it was before Paul realized exactly, the implications of his message, and, whether James, in his zeal for righteousness, was ever more than a passenger in this quest is of personal curiosity to me but doesn’t seemed to be indicated anywhere in the scriptures. mp |