Now therefore why tempt ye God
By hesitating about this matter, by disputing upon this point,
and by seeking for further proof and evidence of the will of God
in this affair; when it is so plain a case, that it has been his
will that the Gospel should be preached to Gentiles, without
obliging them to circumcision; that he has given his Spirit both
in his extraordinary gifts, and special grace, to uncircumcised
persons; particularly he has bestowed faith in Christ upon them,
whereby they have been led to the blood of Christ, typified in
circumcision, and are thereby purged from all their filth and
pollution, and so are the true circumcision: wherefore it is no
other than tempting God, a manifest opposition to him, and what
must give him offence, to debate about a point so clear; and
especially to attempt
to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither
our
fathers nor we were able to bear.
It is common with the Jews to call the law a yoke; frequent
mention is made of (aydyqp
ryn) and (twum)
(lwe) , "the yoke of the
commandments" F15, and (hrwth lwe) , "the yoke of the law" F16: and
by it here is meant, not circumcision only and barely, for that
the Jewish fathers had been able to bear, and had bore it; nor
the whole ceremonial law only, which consisted of a multitude of
commands and ordinances very heavy and hard; but even the whole
moral law, which circumcision obliged those who submitted to it
to keep it perfectly; see ( Galatians
5:3 ) , which neither the apostles, nor their fathers, were
ever able to do, nor any mere man whatever; and therefore this
yoke was intolerable and insupportable, and not to be put upon
the necks of the Gentile believers; who here are called
disciples, being taught the doctrine of the Gospel, and the way
of salvation; which was not by circumcision, nor by any works of
the law, but by the grace of Christ, as in the following verse.
F15 Targum in Cant. i. 10. & in Lam. iii. 27. Misn. Beracot, c. 2. sect. 2.
F16 Echa Rabbati, fol. 56. 3. Pirke Abot, c. 3. sect. 5. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 39. 3.