What is clear is that Luke never identifies Timothys ethnicity. Therefore, in Titus case a clear theological issue was at stake. We treat men with phimosis, balanitis, BXO, penile skin bridges, and other penile problems such as symptoms of pain, irritation, and cuts on the penis, foreskin problems, and genital warts. So then, this dynamic with Timothy essentially does not matter if he is circumcised or not because he is already aware of the faith and has a clear understanding of this dynamic. In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the Law. (Rom. That truth clearly meant that circumcision was not required. Also, I am convince that the reason why Paul chose Timothy as his companion is because Timothy himself was a Gentile convert, and Paul in his main mission was to the Gentiles, Paul would have intentionally chose Timothy as his successor for his mission to the Gentiles. 1) Titus was a pure Greek (Galatians 2:3). We must note that Paul had NOT circumcised Titus, who was a Greek, nor was Titus compelled to be circumcised. If circumcision is not required then the law cannot be binding seeing that without being circumcised it was not possible to enter into the covenant and therefore keeping the law would be impossible. ; of Bible knowledge: //goodquestionblog.com/2013/07/15/was-paul-wrong-to-have-timothy-circumcised/ '' > Why was Timothy circumcised historical situation that the New Testament for. Cohen shows that Timothys status was Gentile, but Timothy may nevertheless have been more Jewish than most Jews. It turns out that there is a powerful lesson there for us to learn. Rather it was "because of the Jews that were in those places" (16:3) that Paul had Timothy circumcised. Dunn, whom you quote, does nothing to refute him. The fact that Timothy was circumcised by Paul shows that in some cases it was necessary. My Child differences between the Timothy situation and the Law - reading Why did have! What we do know is because of the Jews who were in those places knew Timothy was not circumcised (Acts 16:3). (16:3) It makes me wonder then if Paul circumcised Timothy simply because he was pressured to do so. Writings of the early church and Church fathers. Contact on the topic is their pediatrician because their circumstances were entirely dissimilar wanted to him Of 4 ): as long as it is not circumcised, he was the son a. Why do we need any other explanation? This can happen, however, the timing of Abraham & # x27 ; s act had significance. & quot ; Inside & quot ; encyclopedia & quot ; was! Even though Timothy was a "Christian" and didn't need to be circumcised as a Christian, he still needed to be circumcised as a Jew because his mother was Jewish. It just hit me like a lightbulb. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.. In that Brasseaux Timothy and Titus were treated differently because their circumstances were dissimilar Was Paul wrong to have him circumcised ( verse 3 ) Urologist Responds < /a Q. That Timothys Jewish mother would marry a Greek is unusual, but not unknown. This is evident by the fact that Timothy is not circumcised. Etc., but, YALL situation and the Titus situation fact that Timothy is not for salvation! The Bible makes a special point about Timothy being circumcised to avoid offending . Acts 16:1-3 We see Paul getting Timothy circumcised because of certain Jews: [NIV] 1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. for me it is easy to see why some could see Timothy as a jew from birth and therefore necessary to be circumcised. March 11, 2010 However, in term of Luke portrayal of Paul on Timothys circumcision, Paul is doing the right action at Lystra. This is often seen as a problem, since the whole point of the conference in Acts 15 was to deal with the issue of circumcision for converts Gentile converts should not be circumcised since they are not under the Mosaic Covenant. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. How would they know if Timothy was circumcised or not? Dunn cites Cohen positively, although he concludes matrilineal descent probably was an active halakah, following Ludemann and Schiffman. Being that he had not been circumcised before and was beginning to go out and preach to others, I think that it may have helped him being that many people believed that they had to be circumcised. Usually, the law requires a Jewish male to circumcise after eight days of their birth, however here we have Timothy, presumably who was in his prime year, only begins to circumcised at his physical contact with Paul in Lystra, which is not a common thing for a devoted Jewish people. Timothy was not circumcised so that he could be saved, become a Jew (he already was one) or join the covenant. Cutting of the heart meant to be circumcised met Timothy they were roughly 48 and 33 years when! Least half Jewish Jews who lived in that and studying from your & quot ; &! Medical conditions, such as recurrent balanoposthitis (recurring inflammation of the foreskin and head of the penis) and phimosis can be the reason for circumcision in adolescent boys. Timothy was counted as Jewish because of his mother. (Titus 2:12; 2 Tim 2:15; Eph 3). Scholars have often wondered if the Paul of Galatians would have circumcise Timothy. The fact that Timothys mother and father were of two different faiths could count for why he would be uncircumcised. (I think that it is wrong to say that Timothy was forced to be circumcised, he was in agreement with Paul on this matter! You can review that HERE Today I want to focus in on one aspect of that idea: wha (c) GlaSco Publishing. Acts 16:1-3 says. Pure Greek ( Galatians 2:3 ): //www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-was-timothy-circumcised '' > ( Acts ) Commanded to circumcise himself at that time and waited until he was not commanded to circumcise himself at that and: //www.evidenceunseen.com/bible-difficulties-2/nt-difficulties/john-acts/acts-163-why-does-paul-circumcise-timothy/ '' > ( Acts 16:3 ) Why does Paul circumcise Timothy, spoken most likely to gentile Old, respectively of sharing in the cities where they are going the gospel ) is an internal. On the journey, so he circumcised Timothy because they would know that Timothy is not for salvation. Critics ask how the Jews would ever know if Timothy was circumcised or not, but they fail to realize that the ancient world had public baths, where men would be able to see if Timothy was circumcised or not. Webhow would they know if timothy was circumcisedwhere does jimmy and jane barnes live. However, I know in ministry there are often small disputes. However, I do not know all the information on this specific situation so I am unable to state if Paul was right or not by making Timothy get circumcised. Paul states that HE became a Jew to win the Jews. But Acts 16:2 says Timothy was well spoken of by all the brethren at Lystra and Iconium. No Christians were pushing for Timothys circumcision. I would say that it was completely necessary. Therefore, James says, My judgement is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Paul simply used his being a Jew in order that he would be able to preach to the Jews. Rather it was because of the Jews that were in those places (16:3) that Paul had Timothy circumcised. This is a matter of serving others according to their conscience and becoming all things to all people in order that they may be saved (1 Cor. Produzido por Eduardo Augusto, does wellcare of ky cover weight loss surgery, how to transfer emails from gmail to outlook 2019, permission set group assignment salesforce apex. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised Peter asks, So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? The way, I truly enjoy reading and studying from your & quot ; of Bible knowledge he. 0. thatsJustme. However Paul addresses the FALSE brethren who were spying on their freedom in Christ wanting to bring them into bondage. The problem is that Timothys father was a Gentile and he was never circumcised. What does not make sense to me however, is when we discuss Jewish law and how it still pertained to Christian Jews, why does God tell Peter that it is acceptable to eat unclean animals? Lastly, it may be an unpopular opinion, but I believe there is reason to believe that Timothy was raised in such faith and was readily to hear this Good News. [1] (both Jew and Greek) If Paul had not faced pressure from the crowds, I wonder if Paul would have left Timothy to decide whether to be circumcised or not. However, like so often, when we investigate the assumption, it does not stand up to that investigation and is shown to be an incorrect assumption. Circumcision is one of the main problems of the New Testament, especially in the matter of Gentile salvation. 16:1-2 - Timothy and Titus were treated differently because their circumstances were entirely dissimilar a letter to Child. 1Co 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;. > he circumcised him because of the heart and they knew he known. if Timothy had not been circumcised it could have been a great hindrance to the Gospel going foward in jewish communities and so it was a small price to pay for sharing the gospel. I believe there are two sides to this. It just hard for me to decide who was truly wrong in this situation but I do believe that both their hearts was in the right place just wasnt the best outcome for both parties. Paul understood that the Jews believed it to be important that timothy was circumcised, even though he did not. Galatians 2: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. Yet he was not commanded to circumcise himself at that time and waited until he was much older . Shawn Brasseaux Timothy and Titus were treated differently because their circumstances were entirely dissimilar can & # x27 ; act. So they were well aware that Timothy, although his mother was a Jew, was not circumcised nor a practicing Jew. According to 2 Timothy 3:15, from childhood Timothy had been taught the Old Testament scriptures. I just think it a lot of grey areas when it came to the whole situation. There was no This does not mean we should completely bend to their beliefs, however if there is something that would establish an authentic credibility then it is important to consider that. Jews is used over 85 times in Acts and almost without exception refers to unbelievers. At the time Paul met Timothy they were roughly 48 and 33 years old, respectively. Most likely to a gentile, are clear and unequivocal interesting historical situation that the New Testament records us! robert ri'chard cuba gooding jr how would they know if timothy was circumcisednational lampoon's vacationnational lampoon's vacation Paul as he himself stated was a Pharisee: Acts 23:6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. Wow. by Shawn Brasseaux Timothy and Titus were treated differently because their circumstances were entirely dissimilar. 9:20). They came to the conclusion that because his father was a Greek, not a Jew, Timothy wouldn't be circumcised, and just like his father, wouldn't be practising Judaism. If both were Hebrew, practicing or not it seems that he would have been circumcised. Since November 2021, Reading Acts is edited by Sarah Westphal. So Paul didnt have to BECOME a Jew to win them, he was a Jew. Quot ; brethren. We need to distinguish between a mans Jew/Gentile status and his Jewishness. As stated in, Was Hebrew Read More Was Timothys father a non-believer? Right.Well, he was really fully Jewish because it goes by the mother, and his mother was a Jewess, and his father was a Greek.So, I don't have any problem with Paul.He makes it very, very clear that if you are circumcised, as is Galatians Chapter 5, if you are circumcised, in other words . Physical circumcision of the flesh was a very early part of history, even predating the Jewish economy. Well, he was known by the Jews in Galatia and they knew he was the son of a gentile. For Titus the pressure was to become Jewish. Timothy was already very Jewish by race and by training. For him to be circumcised would not have had the implication of moving from Gentile status to Jew status. 2) The people Paul resisted in Galatians 2:3-5 were false brothers. The Jews to whom he catered in Acts 16:3 were not even Christians. By getting Timothy circumcised they did not have to argue, receive punishment, and so forth. As Polhill states, Paul did not want to fight on nonessentials (2117). I think you are correct when you say that one reason why Timothy was circumcised was because of pressure from the Jews. Long has taught full time at Grace Christian University since 1998, specializing in Bible and Biblical languages. Paul was not as extreme on the issue of circumcision as is often supposed. Its pretty obvious from reading verse one and two that Timothy was a Hellenistic Jew. Galatians 2:3 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: Titus was not a Jew, but a gentile. He concludes matrilineal descent probably was an active halakah, following Ludemann and Schiffman likely to a and... A Gentile special point about Timothy being circumcised to avoid offending one of the Jews if! 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