Thank you for your good questions. Let us read Acts 21:18-26 (NASB). “After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; 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 children nor to walk according to the customs. What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.’ Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.”

If we compare this passage to Numbers 6:1-21, it is likely that Paul paid the expenses as part of the process to release four men from the Nazarite vow that they had taken. Paul had a sincere desire to reach all of the Jews with the gospel and did not want to offend young Jewish believers who were still keeping the law. Paul even said in Romans 9:3, “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” He also said in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 (NASB), “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.”

Paul’s heart was in the right place, but it would have been wrong for Paul to participate in offering sacrifices for those four men. We see this from Paul’s own writings. He was inspired to write what Jesus said to his Father in Hebrews 10:6: “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.” Paul also wrote in Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” If you read Hebrews 10:4-18, you will see that Paul believed that Jesus’ sacrifice WAS enough. For example, Hebrews 10:14 states, “For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” God mercifully intervened for Paul by causing Jews from Asia to come to the temple, interrupt the process, lay hands on Paul, beat him, and then Paul was arrested by Roman soldiers (see Acts 21: 27-33). We never read that Paul participated in doing sacrifices, although it appears that he was going to do that if the Jews from Asia had not interrupted the process.

One of the wonderful things about God’s Word is that we are told the truth. We learn about the good and bad decisions of people like the Apostle Paul. Paul had already been warned not to go to Jerusalem. We read in Acts 21:4, “And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.” However, Paul yearned so much for the salvation of the Jews that he went to Jerusalem anyway. God marvelously overruled and caused the wrath of man to prevent Paul from participating in offering sacrifices, which would have contradicted Paul’s inspired teachings. Paul believed that Jesus’ sacrifice was all that was needed for our salvation, but he was willing to do anything for the sake of the salvation of his countrymen, the Jews.  (DJ)  (705.1)