The New Testament Daily (with Jerry Dirmann)
Oct 15, 2026 · 17 min · 8 segments
The Book of Acts reveals the birth and explosive growth of the early Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. Written by Luke, this book follows the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea…
Jerry DirmannHost
And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.
Paul wanted to have him go on with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek." Now wait just a minute.
And eventually, the po- the apostles and elders at Jerusalem listen to Paul and Barnabas tell the testimonies of how Gentiles were coming to the Lord and the miracles that were happening, and eventually they came to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit was indeed leading them to tell the Gentiles, "You do not have to be circumcised to be saved.
They read this letter to the church at Antioch saying, "You do not have to be circumcised and keep the law to be saved as Gentiles." And then we come to Chapter 16, and this Paul, who advocated for not being circumcised to be saved, he comes and he finds Timothy, a great young believing man who had a, a very strong believing mother and grandmother, and, uh, he wants to take Timothy into the ministry.
What in the world is happening? Well, it's just as clear as anything, and let me tell you what's happening here.
He's circumcising Timothy because Timothy wants to go into the ministry, and if you're gonna go into the ministry and you wanna reach all people, then that means that you have to do what Jesus said.
Jesus said, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." What does that mean, take up his cross? That means you're gonna have to die to yourself.
And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.
Paul wanted to have him go on with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek." Now wait just a minute.
And eventually, the po- the apostles and elders at Jerusalem listen to Paul and Barnabas tell the testimonies of how Gentiles were coming to the Lord and the miracles that were happening, and eventually they came to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit was indeed leading them to tell the Gentiles, "You do not have to be circumcised to be saved.
They read this letter to the church at Antioch saying, "You do not have to be circumcised and keep the law to be saved as Gentiles." And then we come to Chapter 16, and this Paul, who advocated for not being circumcised to be saved, he comes and he finds Timothy, a great young believing man who had a, a very strong believing mother and grandmother, and, uh, he wants to take Timothy into the ministry.
What in the world is happening? Well, it's just as clear as anything, and let me tell you what's happening here.
He's circumcising Timothy because Timothy wants to go into the ministry, and if you're gonna go into the ministry and you wanna reach all people, then that means that you have to do what Jesus said.
Jesus said, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." What does that mean, take up his cross? That means you're gonna have to die to yourself.
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