Why did St Paul circumcise Timothy?

[docsuth]

In Acts 16.3 Paul circumcised Timothy " . . . because of the Jews . . .". Just prior to this, in chapter 15, at Jerusalem the apostles went to great lengths debating members of the Circumcision Party and concluding that gentiles were not required to be circumcised to be a Christian. They then sent a letter to Antioch instructing the faithful that they did not need to be curcumcised. So why did Paul circumcise Timothy?

 

[Spencerian]

In Acts 16.3 Paul circumcised Timothy " . . . because of the Jews . . .". Just prior to this, in chapter 15, at Jerusalem the apostles went to great lengths debating members of the Circumcision Party and concluding that gentiles were not required to be circumcised to be a Christian. They then sent a letter to Antioch instructing the faithful that they did not need to be circumcised. So why did Paul circumcise Timothy?

Hi.

As Timothy’s ministry in Antioch was to many Judaizers who were skeptical of anyone who wasn’t circumcised, Paul had Timothy (a man born into a mixed marriage of a Jew and Gentile) circumcised to dissuade any arguments about the matter of adhering to the Old Covenant so as to have these people concentrate more on the teachings of Christ and the New Covenant.

Note that not even Peter himself was immune to the influence of the Judaizers. Paul himself called Peter on his equivocation about the matter.

See also this Catholic Encyclopedia article on circumcision as well as this Catholic News Agency article on Timothy’s life.

 

[SonCatcher]

Timothy, being the child of a Jewish woman and a Greek man, was in a unique position. Greeks considered one’s father to determine his nationality. Jews considered one’s mother to determine his nationality. As both a Jew and a Greek, Timothy had the potential to be embraced by both peoples and be a unifying influence in the early Church.

Also, the early Church still expected Jewish Christians to generally continue Jewish traditions. That included circumcision. Since Timothy was a Jew, those Jewish Christians in his charge and Jewish non-Christians he encountered expected him to be under the Abrahamic Covenant in addition to the New Covenant. Essentially, he did this to prevent scandal.

Recall, this is after the council that determined circumcision was unnecessary for gentile converts where Paul was a major influence. Paul would not have circumcised Timothy without extremely good reason.