The Dictionary of Biblical Phrases. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Acts 16v1 Luke records that Paul was very much the leader of the missionary pair. When they arrived at Derbe and Lystra they found a young man – Timothy. Son of a Jewess and with a Greek Father. He would be an ideal candidate to have as an assistant instead of John mark. But there was one problem. He was uncircumcised. The evangelistic team were going to go from Synagogue to Synagogue preaching the Glad tidings of the coming Kingdom. And everyone in the team needed to be circumcised. Because if Timothy was uncircumcised then his life would be in danger. Paul circumcised Timothy. He did the thing that his mother was unable to do and which his father had left undone. From this we see that while the Church was growing the nation of the Jews carried on alongside Christianity without change. And so we have an interesting thing that the one who taught freedom from the Mosaic law for gentiles more than anyone else, carried on within the framework of Judaism himself and his team. Christianity did not cause Judaism to cease but ran alongside it with out contradiction.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 19:30:25 +0000