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Romans 15:26 |
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For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Note 5 at Ro 15:26: Acts' account of Paul's travels does not give us any details about this collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem. However, Paul did mention it as being the reason he made his last trip to Jerusalem (Ac 24:17), and he wrote about it in his letters to the Corinthians.
In 1Co 16:1-4, Paul gave instructions for the collection for the saints in Jerusalem. In 1Co 16:1, he said that he gave the same instructions to the churches of Galatia. It is unclear whether he was saying he had also instructed the churches of Galatia to receive an offering for the Jerusalem saints or whether he was simply instructing the Corinthians to receive the collection in the same manner as the Galatians did. At any rate, Paul was only delivering the offerings from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia (this verse) during this trip to Jerusalem.
In 2Co 8:1-5, Paul spoke favorably about the attitude the churches of Macedonia (the churches of Thessalonica and Berea) had toward this offering. He acknowledged that the churches of Achaia (the Corinthian church) had purposed to send an offering a year before the Macedonian churches had (2Co 8:10 and 9:2). Paul gave the impression that the offering from the Macedonian churches was unsolicited (2Co 8:4).
Paul encouraged the Corinthians to participate generously in this offering, reminding them that they would reap proportionally to how they sowed (2Co 9:6). He stated clearly that they should not give under compulsion (2Co 9:7) or try to give what they didn't have (2Co 8:11-15). He gave them a tremendous promise of God's physical blessing on them if they participated (2Co 9:8-11).
This must have been a relatively large sum of money for Paul to be carrying to Jerusalem. Even though Paul could have demanded these people's trust, since he was the apostle that brought them the Gospel, he made provision for whomever they chose to accompany him to Jerusalem to make sure the money went for what it was intended (2Co 8:20-21 with 1Co 16:3).
This was a benevolence offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem.
