The Introduction of Timothy
In this Bible study, I shall focus on the circumcision of Timothy; however, by this, I shall answer a few other questions including, why did Apostle Paul circumcise Timothy.
Welcome to our Book of Acts Bible study. I am Leroy Daley. Every week we have a Bible study from the Book of Acts and today we are at Acts Chapter 16, a new chapter.
If you prefer to watch the video of this Bible Study, click this link.
Book of Acts Bible Study
In last week’s study, I showed why Apostle Paul started his second missionary journey and we looked at his initial visit to other churches in Asia.
So in this week’s study he continues on his second missionary trip with Silas and today I start at Acts 16:1. So I am going to read from the scriptures, Acts 16:1-5.
“Then came he to Derbe [he meaning Apostle Paul] 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 16:1
“Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.”
Acts 16:2
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.
Acts 16:3
And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.”
Acts 16:4
“And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.” Acts 16:1-5.
Acts 16:5
And that’s the end of our scripture reading for this Bible study. Now let me move on to important questions relative to this topic.
What Does the Bible Say About the Circumcision of Timothy?
So in the Old Testament and in the Bible, circumcision symbolizes the keeping of a perpetual covenant or agreement between the nation of Israel as a whole and the Lord God, that is the meaning of circumcision.
So circumcision is not for everyone and this is in a Biblical context.
what you do with your private life is up to you. You could be circumcised if you want to or you might not if you don’t want to.
Circumcision Is Personal
At 32, I was circumcised for biological reasons or physical reasons. I chose, so circumcision is not for everyone.
Now let’s go back to the start of this circumcision doctrine.
The Doctrine of Circumcision
“This is my covenant, which he shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” [And this is the Lord speaking to Abraham in Genesis 17].”
Genesis 17:10
“And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token [or a sign of the agreement] between me and you.”
Genesis 17:11
“And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.”
Genesis 17:12
“He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.”
Genesis 17:13
The final verse, verse 14.
“And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.”
Genesis 17:14
Who Was The First Person Circumcised in The Bible?
So that is what circumcision symbolizes in the Bible. It’s the keeping of a never-ending agreement between the nation of Israel and the Lord God.
In the Bible, who was the first man circumcised?
Ishmael, that’s my short answer. Ishmael.
After the Lord established this Perpetual Covenant with Abraham, he immediately circumcised his eldest son Ishmael.
He was the first man circumcised in the Bible. The scripture says:
The Origin of The Circumcision of Timothy
“And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; [you note what it says, Abraham’s house, which makes it very particular, it’s not for everyone, it’s for Abraham’s house] and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.”
Genesis 17:23
Why Did Paul Circumcise Timothy – Seeing that He wasn’t a Jew?
Against this background, why did Paul circumcise Timothy, seeing that Timothy wasn’t a Jew? We’re going to look at that. So why did Paul circumcise Timothy? Short answer, for the Gospel’s sake.
That is why Paul circumcised Timothy. Timothy was the product of an interracial union between a Jewish woman and a Greek man.
Recall that circumcision is of the Jews, Timothy wasn’t a Jew yet Paul took him and circumcised him, why?
If Timothy was only going to preach and teach to a Greek audience he wouldn’t need to be circumcised.
But remember, Paul went to Derbe and Lystra, and that’s a predominantly Greek area, and found Timothy who believed, yet he circumcised him.
But his audience was mixed. The audience in that region was predominantly Greeks or Gentiles but it was mixed.
It wasn’t totally a Greek audience, Jews and Greeks were among them.
For The Gospel’s Sake
So to appear blameless before both the Greeks and the Jews, it is prudent in the eyes of Paul and the Gospel, to be circumcised.
In this way, the Jews knowing that he was circumcised would have no reason not to listen to him.
On the other hand, it didn’t matter to the Greeks whether he was circumcised or not. They didn’t care because circumcision is not one of their traditions.
Thus, in this regard, he would encounter no blame from either group. Therefore, the preaching of the Gospel would not be hindered, not by the Jews or by the Greeks, because both Jews and Greeks would have no reason whatsoever not to listen to a Gentile preacher.
Remember, at this stage, Timothy was going to start traveling with Paul and Paul’s contingent of Believers and this was on the Second Missionary Journey in Asia.
The Circumcision of Timothy – Why Did Paul Circumcise Timothy and Not Titus?
A final question on this, why did Paul circumcise Timothy and not Titus?
Short answer, the situation, and circumstances concerning Titus were different from those of Timothy. Let me expound on this.
The first thing we need to be aware of is the fact that Timothy wasn’t circumcised by Paul because of him, or Titus wasn’t circumcised either because of him.
Instead, Paul did not circumcise Titus because the audience did not require it.
Remember the leaders in Jerusalem, according to Galatians in Jerusalem, did not see it fit for Titus to be circumcised, they did not request it.
They made no comment about it and that is what Paul said in the scripture.
It’s About Them!
On the other hand, the former was circumcised because it could affect the perception of the Jewish audience, how the audience saw Timothy, it could affect them.
So neither Titus’ non-circumcision nor Timothy’s circumcision was about them, it was about the Jewish audience.
Both Timothy and Titus were Greeks, therefore naturally, neither requires circumcision according to the Greeks, irrespective of the fact that Titus was a full-blown Greek and Timothy was half-Greek, it didn’t matter, he was still considered Greek.
Neither Titus nor Timothy in these respective situations requires circumcision by the Greeks, but Timothy was not circumcised because of the Greeks but because of the Jews.
In Titus’ situation, the Jews Believers had no problem with him being uncircumcised. However, in Timothy’s case, Paul circumcised him to prevent the Jewish Believers and leaders in the audience from having any problems with him.
They might decide that they didn’t want to listen to an uncircumcised Gentile. That’s the Jews, they might decide that.
In conclusion, Apostle Paul did not circumcise Titus because it was not necessary. He had no opposition from the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and there was no Greek opposition either concerning Titus.
But in Timothy’s situation, Apostle Paul circumcised him because he wanted him to travel with him on his second missionary journey. The scripture gave the reason Paul circumcised Timothy in Acts 16:3, it reads:
Paul’s Reason For The Circumcision of Timothy
“Him [meaning Timothy] would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: [it tells us here that Paul circumcised Timothy because of the Jews who were in that region, not because of Timothy being Greek or half-Greek but because of the Jews] for they knew that his father was a Greek.”
Acts 16:3
And we know that the Greek has no tradition of circumcising their male child on the eighth day after birth, none at all.
So they knew that now, they would know that Timothy was not circumcised and they would take offense at him being in the company of Jewish men or Believers or even preaching to them.
Finally, Paul circumcised Timothy, not because of Timothy, but because of the Jews.
They knew that his father was a Greek and they might not receive favorably, the teaching and preaching of Paul or of any member of his contingent of Believers, namely Timothy because he was a Greek and uncircumcised.
So ultimately, Paul circumcised Timothy. He didn’t want anything to impede the gospel and that is why Paul circumcised Timothy.
Conclusion
In closing, generally, the nation of Israel does not receive uncircumcised men of other nations readily, even up to today.
They see us as they saw Goliath, as uncircumcised Philistines.
Even Samson, remember when Samson wanted a wife and told his dad to go get this Philistine, his dad said, why are you getting a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? See Judges 14:3.
So do we need to be circumcised to be saved? No!
If you are a Jew and a Believer you still need to be circumcised, because there is an agreement between you and the Lord and you need to keep it, and keeping it is being circumcised.
It’s a perpetual agreement between the Jews and the Lord, even in the New Testament era. The circumcision is the sign that they are keeping that Covenant that the Lord made with their forefathers.
However, if you are not a Jew, you need not be circumcised to be saved. With us, circumcision is of the heart.
But Jews must always be circumcised to keep that perpetual agreement between them and the Lord Jesus Christ
I thank you for your time today, and as always, I bless you in that powerful name of Jesus Christ. The blessings of the Lord are on you.
