Did Jesus death put an end to all sacrificial laws?

     

Why did Paul continue sacrificing after Jesus death?

Acts 21:26 “Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.”

The Law of Moses was still valid for the Apostles. This is evident from Paul's reason for accepting the Nazarite Vow by offering to pay for the sacrifice of four Jews.  

Didn't this happen

So that we don't have to do this anymore?

So why did Paul continue sacrificing if Jesus death was the all end sacrifice to end all sacrifices?

Paul was willing to pay for the sacrifices of three animals for himself and twelve animals for the other four men. That's fifteen animals that Paul was willing to pay for, to be sacrificed for him and the four Jewish men that were under the Nazarite Vow. And they all believed in Jesus.

Let’s take a step back to see what the context of this sacrifice was from Acts 21:

Acts 21: 20-26 “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.  What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.  Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.  But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.”  Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them."

Why did Paul fulfil the Nazarite vow and sacrifice?

The reason why Paul initially took the Vow, was to dispel fabrications that he was teaching Jewish believers living outside the Land of Judah, that they should not circumcise their sons, nor keep the Law of Moses :

 Acts 21:21: 'and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their sons, nor to walk according to the customs.'

This stemmed from a misunderstanding of what Paul was teaching about the Law of Moses and about circumcision among the Gentiles. Paul condemned any Gentile for wanting to be circumcised in order to be sure of his salvation (Gal. 5:1-5) but in doing so he made certain aspects of the law seem irrelevant.

Did Paul teach us that the law is irrelevant?

In 1st Cor. 7 Paul tells those who come to Jesus that if they came circumcised, they were to remain that way. This of course would refer to all the Jewish believers and their sons. So Paul didn't reject circumcision altogether as we know he had Timothy circumcised.  So this double standard was confusing to the gentiles as it seemed there was a different set of criteria for salvation for the Jews and a different set of criterion for the gentiles.  

Paul circumcised Timothy

It would appear that those who are called in circumcision, would also be allowed by Paul     ( note this is Paul in his own authority, not  by Jesus  or Abraham or Moses or God himself – allowed by ‘PAUL’)  to circumcise their sons, as this is what the Law decrees for the literal Seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

 Acts 16:3:  “Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places,  for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”

 Paul ends with the statement that the important thing is to keep the Commandments of God. This can be seen specifically as the Law of Moses.  So though Paul said circumcision was irrelevant to one's salvation - he practiced it to show that he was not making the law irrelevant which sowed even more confusion amongst the gentiles.

How Paul's sacrifice contradicts his teaching about Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice

If the traditional Nazirite Vow is in effect in Acts 21, and the New Testament tells us that Paul was still sacrificing animals after the death of Jesus…then what was the point of Jesus dying?  Was not the death of Jesus supposed to be the end of all sacrifices?  Did not his death also negate all other sacrificial laws and ceremonial laws as Paul himself taught? 

So what is a Nazirite Vow?

The Nazirite/Nazarite vow is taken by individuals who have voluntarily dedicated themselves to God. The vow is a decision, act, and wish on the part of people whose desire is to yield themselves to God completely. By definition, the Hebrew word nazir, simply means “to be separated or consecrated.”

The conditions of the Nazirite vow which Paul performed in Acts 21 - are originally outlined in Numbers 6.   This vow has five features:

1.      It is voluntary,

2.     Can be done by either men or women

3.     It has a specific time frame

4.     It has specific requirements and restrictions,

5.     At its conclusion a sacrifice is to be offered.

Examples of those whose parents took the Nazarene vow for their children and dedicated their children to God:  

1.       1 Samuel 2:18-19  “Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.”   Hannah (Samuel’s mother) dedicated Samuel to God and Prophet Eli recognizes that Samuel is special. 

Samuel was set apart by his parents at an early age

 2.  Judges 13:5 :“ …no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb…”  Samson is made a Nazirite from the womb.  Samson’s special nazirite condition was that he couldn’t get his hair cut.  You can find the context of the story in Judges 13:1-5   Samson’s father, Manoah, is told about the consecration of Samson.

        3.    Luke 1:15 “For he (John the Baptist) will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.”  - Which also begs the question how come the Holy Spirit was with John before the apparent Pentecost – but that’s another topic.  John the Baptist received the Nazirite vow from birth (Luke 1:13-17).

John the Baptist was a Nazarite also from birth

Elaboration on the five (5) conditions of the Nazirite vow

1.       The vow must be voluntary:  The Bible says, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite’” (Numbers 6:2). This shows that it is individuals who take the initiative to consecrate themselves (or their children) to the Lord. There is no divine command involved; it is generally done by the individual by his own choice.

2.     Both men and women could participate in this vow: as Numbers 6:2 indicates, “a man or woman.” The Nazirite vow was often taken by men and women alike purely for personal reasons, such as thanksgiving for recovery from illness or for the birth of a child. However, under the Mosaic law, the vow or oath of a single woman could be rescinded by her father, and that of a married woman by her husband (Numbers 30).

3.     The vow had a specific time frame, a beginning and an end:  as these two statements indicate: “Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD... Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of his separation is over” (Numbers 6:8,13a). So, the Nazirite vow usually (but there were exceptions) had both a beginning and an end.

4.     The vow had specific rules and restrictions involved:  Three conditions are given to the Nazirite.  Numbers 6:3-7  tells us that:

•        He/she was to abstain from wine or any fermented drink, not even allowed to drink grape juice,  eat grapes or raisins, not even the seeds or skins of grapes.
•          Next, the Nazirite was not to cut his hair for the length of the vow.
•          Last, he was not to go near a dead body, because that would make him ceremonially unclean. Even if a member of his immediate family died, he was not to go near the corpse.
•  

5.     Specific steps needed to be done after completing the vow:

Numbers 6:13-20 gives is the details of what must be done:

• ·         A sacrifice was made (vv.13-17)
• ·         The candidate’s hair was cut and put on the altar
• ·         The priest completed the final sacrificial process, which ended the vow (v. 20).

 Numbers 6:21 “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to the law of the Nazirite”

Evidence that Paul took the Nazirite Vow:

                      

 Paul himself kept the “ritualistic old testament law” of the Nazirite vow, but at the same time was preaching that it was all "done away with".  

Acts 18:18-19 “So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him.   He had his hair cut off ( growing hair was a condition of the Nazarite vow)  at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow(clearly the  Nazirite vow).”

Paul taking a vow 

 The most significant ritual of these in the context of Jesus’ death being the sacrifice to end all sacrifices - being the sacrificial law.  Paul still practised sacrificial rituals.    

This contradicts his other teaching found in Romans 3:21-22 where Paul says “…God makes us just and holy without the need of a law.  God makes us holy by means of faith in Jesus Christ…”  So why couldn’t Paul just have faith in Jesus – instead of going down the tedious ritualistic path of the Nazirine Vow?  Wasn’t his faith in Jesus adequate before God?  Clearly not…

What did Jesus say about commandments of God?

  Matthew 5:17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” NLT

Conclusion:

Clearly Jesus did NOT come to do away with the Law – as Paul himself demonstrated unwittingly by offering a sacrifice.  Even though Paul taught that the law was irrelevant - he contradicted his own teachings himself by actually submitting to the ritualisitc laws like circumcision and sacrifice. Here's the link to clearly demonstrate the contradictions of Paul's teachings to Jesus' teachings:  Paul vs Jesus

 Which raises serious questions about the very purpose for Jesus coming to earth in the first place.  Was it to die for our sins as the sacrificial system was alive and well after he died.  Here  is the link to the ransom dogma:  A closer look at the Randsom Dogma that covers the topic about Jesus paying the price for our sins.