Acts 15: 1 – 41
My way or the highway
15 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” 12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. 13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the LORD who does all these things.’ 18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works. 19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” 22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 23 They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment— 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. 30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. 32 Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. 33 And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. 34 However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. 35 Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. 36 Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” 37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. 39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
The prophet Amos wrote in chapter 3 of his epistle to the Romans chapter 16 and it is one of the most abused Scriptures within Christendom by many sincere Christians. This statement is; “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”
What do the words ‘watch out for’ convey in this context? The KJV translates the ‘Greek word ‘skopein’ as ‘to mark’, and this rendition is relied upon for the various clandestine operations in which Christians are confused by conflicting advice.
This passage emphasizes the dependence of true unity upon doctrine. The concept of the possibility of scriptural unity on any basis that ignores or forfeits doctrinal truth must be rejected. There can be no heaven oriented unity in the climate of doctrinal diversity. Scriptural unity surely involves mutual love between the parties concerned, but it requires far more than mere love. This passage states it plainly; where doctrines that differ from and are contrary to THE DOCTRINE are taught and received, the result in not unity, but ‘divisions and occasions of stumbling.” Such statements as ‘it is not doctrine that unites us, it is love’ are not only unscriptural, they are totally anti-scriptural. The content of Romans 16: 17 alone is sufficient to successfully challenge the insidious doctrine of ‘unity in diversity.”
The phrase –‘doctrine’- can be the problem. Church’s teach differently. They do not teach the Word. They may open their bibles but they are not feeding the sheep.
We will see that as a result of his experience in what others had tried to impose on the people that he had lead to Christ Jesus became entrenched in Paul’s mind as he sent warning to the believers in Rome. His advice for when anyone comes into contact with others who are causing division by imposing u-scriptural legality upon other believers is to –‘Keep away from them.”
If you are in a church that has all this division and confusion then what should you do? Paul’s advice in his second letter to the Corinthians should be followed, “Therefore; Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”
When we came to the end of chapter 14 it described the end of a successful mission and we had the impression that all was well. The word was advancing. All hindrances had been swept aside. But there was one thing missing. And that is that in Acts Luke always follows up successful activity with a description of Satan’s counter attack. Pentecost was followed by persecution from the Temple authorities, the renewal of blessing we see in chapter 4 was followed by the failure of Ananias and Sapphira, the success of Stephen was followed by his martyrdom and the persecution of the church, Paul’s conversion and ministry was followed by persecution, Philip’s success among the Samaritans was followed by the behavior of Simon the sorcerer, the ministry of Peter was followed by his being called to account, followed by the martyrdom of James and his own imprisonment, and the ministries of Barnabas and Saul were followed by various tribulations. For Luke was aware that whenever God moves forward, Satan always seeks to hinder the work. And this was to be no exception as we will now discover.
Consider the situation. The Good News has been taken out to Cyprus and throughout large parts of Asia Minor. Not only have Jews and God-fearers responded but also Gentiles. There has been regular persecution, but each time the word has prevailed. But now return visits have been made and local gatherings have been set up, and they have returned to Antioch and continued their ministry there, and all is going smoothly. It appears as though Satan has given up, and as though opposition has died down, so that the teaching and growth of the churches can grow. Luke therefore now immediately reminds us that this is not true. The teaching is being established, but it is to be countered by false teaching. Where the truth is being established, there will always appear those who come to sow lies. For suddenly on the horizon appear so-called Christians who come with a controversial message, which will dog Paul for years to come. The question being raised now was as to how these Gentile converts were to be related to the Old Testament religion from which Jesus sprang and from which the Apostles also came, and it was to be raised by a counterattack of Satan.
In those early days when most converts to Christianity were Jews, their continuation in Jewish practices was not even questioned. It was just assumed. All had been circumcised on the eighth day. All followed Jewish religious practices. The difference between Christian Jews and their fellow-Jews was not in the customs that they observed, but in the recognition that they gave to the fact that Jesus, crucified and risen, was to them both Lord and Messiah, and that they saw salvation as having come through Him, bringing them under the Rule of God and having provided them with full forgiveness for all their sins. Now because they were His they sought to live according to the Law, especially as interpreted by His teaching, sharing all things in common with their fellow-believers, but faithful to their Jewish customs. By that means they hoped to win their fellow-countrymen.
Yet even among the Christian Jews there would be differences (as among the Jews themselves). A Messianic Jew who I know very well commented to a group of us that when you have two Jews arguing you get three opinions. There were some Jewish Christians, who interpreted their customs more strictly and were under the close eye of the Rabbis. Principally outside Jerusalem there were Jewish Christians whose interpretations of Jewish customs were somewhat less rigid. Outside Israel there were Jewish Christians who interpreted the Scriptures more allegorically and whose more direct contact with the Gentile world resulted in relaxations of certain customs.
Many of the converted Pharisees, for example, would regularly continue to follow through their Pharisaic ideas as Christians, and would be more strict in their religious practices than those who had been converted from among the ‘common folk’, the ‘sinners’, although now, because they were Christians, each would have more regard to the other. But all would still participate in Temple ritual and follow Jewish customs in one way or another, and see themselves still as ‘Jews’.
Then there would be those who had been converted as ‘God-fearers’ and were uncircumcised. They were welcomed wholeheartedly into the fellowship of believers, while of course only on the outskirts of synagogue worship, unless the synagogue was wholly Christian. But these God-fearers would be expected to take account of Jewish practices, especially when they ate with Jews, and would be expected to become acquainted with Jewish Law. And just as the Jews bore with God-fearers but felt that they should become full proselytes, so would many Christian Jews feel the same about Christian God-fearers. Many of the Christian Jews would look on their fellow-Christians who were not circumcised as not yet completely ‘Christianized’.
Of course when Cornelius and his fellow believers were converted in the unusual way in which they were, this had caused a problem. Many Jewish Christians had come to recognize with Peter that God was not calling on all converts themselves to become a full part of Judaism. They were even recognizing that for converted Gentiles there were to be different demands. Unlike Judaism they were being called on to accept Christian God-fearers on equal terms. And this had been agreed by the ‘Enquiry Group’ of chapter 11.
But there were still many Jewish Christians who did not think like that. None had felt able to argue openly in that case that God had made a mistake, but there was almost certainly an uneasy feeling among a number of Jewish Christians that all was not quite right in the matter of Cornelius, and a hope that it would not happen too often. It could be coped with because it was not in Jerusalem and they could after all be treated as God-fearers. And none would doubt that they now worshipped with fellow-believers in Caesarea (where Philip was ministering) and were thus in contact with Jewish Christian customs and worship. The hope of these Jewish Christians was that they would therefore gradually submit to Jewish ways themselves, and gradually become absorbed into Judaism. Yet they did have to swallow the fact that Cornelius and his fellow-Christian-Gentiles had not been required by the Jerusalem church to be circumcised, on the grounds that God had cleansed them and made them holy without circumcision. They could not argue with the decision. They could only feel that it was not right, and put their confidence in the fact that God would sort it out.
Once news had reached Jerusalem of the activities among Gentiles in Syrian Antioch as we learned back in chapter 11 official action had been immediately taken in dispatching Barnabas to oversee the situation, and there too they would be satisfied that there was a good nucleus of Jewish Christians in Antioch, so that once again the converts could be seen as God-fearers attached to a Christian synagogue with the hope that they would eventually become full proselytes. Furthermore Jewish Christian prophets had also gone to minister to them.
It was partly the hope of ensuring that getting Gentile Christians to follow Jewish ways that would be responsible for some of their own number from the circumcision party going to Antioch declaring the need for these believers to be circumcised. So the most fervent Jews among the Christians in Jerusalem and Judaea still saw Christianity as a reformed Judaism, and looked eventually for all Christians eventually to be circumcised and to conform to the ritual Law.
The mission of Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus and Asia Minor would not initially have caused a problem. Had they continued using synagogues as their base of operations and sought to bring their Gentile converts within the synagogue, initially as God-fearers, (with the hope of their eventually becoming full proselytes) this would simply have extended the pattern. But once the news came through from some of those synagogues of Paul’s blatant large-scale activity among Gentiles who were not attaching themselves to the synagogue stirred up Christian Jews in Judaea to feel that it was time that they did something about it. They must put a stop to these aberrations and ensure that all were on the path to Judaism. They themselves must go and teach them what was required of them.
15 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Please note that Luke does not say that these guys came ‘from Jerusalem’. He saw that that would have conferred on them an authority that they did not have, so he says that they were vaguely ‘from Judaea’. Their attitude was not that of ‘the church of Jerusalem’ but of Jews. His stress was on the fact that they did not have the authority of the church of Jerusalem behind them (as what followed would prove).
The message of these men would come like a bombshell to many Gentile Christians. To them these messengers were brethren, and appeared to have come from the very home of Christendom. Did this really mean that they had to become full Jewish proselytes, being circumcised and bound to keep the whole ritual and ceremonial Law of the Jews if they wanted to follow Christ? This was not what they had been taught up to this point. But many of them were ready for it if it was necessary. This was something that Paul resisted so vehemently.
It was no doubt ‘of God’ that this had not occurred until the arrival back of Paul and Barnabas. Had it done so it might have caused even greater confusion? But God was in control of affairs and had timed it accordingly.
The question can only be seen as almost irrelevant today. For we would rightly ask, ‘If Christ through His death has fulfilled all offerings and sacrifices, as the New Testament makes clear that He has in a number of places, and if, as the letter to the Hebrews emphasizes in detail, all such offerings are now redundant and all necessary rituals are now fulfilled in heaven by our heavenly High Priest, what further need is there for earthly ritual? Indeed, as Paul makes clear concerning circumcision, it is precisely on this basis that in Christ all who are His have been circumcised with a circumcision made without hands in the circumcision of the One Who was circumcised for us (Colossians 2.11). We are already circumcised in Christ. We have therefore been made alive, and have been forgiven, without the need for further circumcision (Colossians 2.13).
But it was certainly a question that still needed settling then, for it went to the root of what salvation is all about.
2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
Paul and Barnabas saw to the heart of the question and stood firm against these new teachers, disagreeing with the men and challenging the basis of their teaching and questioning their arguments. Indeed there was a strong and long-lasting discussion (‘no small dissension’). But it was finally agreed by the whole church that what was necessary was to go to the Apostles and the mother church in Jerusalem and discover their thoughts on the subject. They would seek guidance from the source. That would resolve the issue. So, the church at Syrian Antioch appointed ‘Paul and Barnabas’ and ‘certain other of them’ to go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and the elders of the church in Jerusalem in order to confirm what their view was on the matter. They wanted to be in agreement with their fellow-believers in Jerusalem.
3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.
This group therefore set out for Jerusalem under the official auspices of the whole ‘church’ (the whole group of believers) at Antioch, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, (which were both ‘unorthodox’ mixed areas) they gathered with the groups of believers there (the ‘churches’) and declared to them how many Gentiles had been converted on their missionary journey. And as a result of hearing the news all these brethren were filled with great joy. It was clear that they saw no problem with what Paul was doing. But then even the Jews there were not as strongly ‘Jewish’ as those in Judaea and Jerusalem.
4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.
Arriving in Jerusalem they were well received by ‘the Apostles and elders’, and by the whole church at Jerusalem, and they had fellowship together, and Paul and Barnabas gave them full details of all that had happened on their missionary journeys. That all the Apostles were there present is very doubtful. A number were presumably out obediently proclaiming the Good News in distant parts, and while one or two who were not too far off may have been called in to welcome the deputation from Antioch, it would probably not have been practicable for all to return. Nor must we see this as an official council. It was simply a consultation between two sister churches. Thus ‘the Apostles’ here must mean those of them who were present, seen as representing the whole. Indeed there may only have been Peter and James the Lord’s brother, for only they are mentioned. And perhaps we may add John (Galatians 2.9) who may well have been regularly ‘paired off’ with Peter (3.1).
5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
So the circumcision party began by putting their case. They included among them Pharisees who had come to believe in Jesus Christ, but considered that the teachings of the Pharisees had to be maintained. They argued that all who responded to Christ and became Christians had necessarily to be circumcised so as to enter into the covenant, and must then observe the whole Law of Moses. This would involve among other things Temple worship and the offering of sacrifices when in Jerusalem, the payment of the Temple tax, separation from Gentiles who did not observe the laws of cleanliness wherever they were, regular washings in order to maintain cleanliness, avoiding all that could render unclean according to Jewish principles, abstaining from the eating of blood and of various meats, strict observance of the Sabbath by not working, and a following of the multitude of Laws that governed the daily living of every Jew.
6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
It was right that these matters be brought up because that was why the Apostles and elders had gathered together to consider the matter. A pronouncement on the issue was required. Indeed it was a question on which decision needed to be clarified. We should not therefore see this as unnecessary dissension.
7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
As a result there was a great deal of discussion, and then finally, when much had been said on all sides, Peter stood up and declared his position. He reminded all present of his own experience with Cornelius and his fellow-Gentiles many years before, and of how God had chosen him to take to these Gentiles the Good News with the result that they had believed. What had been especially significant was that God, Who knows the heart of all men, had borne witness to the fact that, even while they were uncircumcised, he had cleansed their hearts by faith, for He had given to them His own Holy Spirit in precisely the same way and with the same signs as He had previously done to the Jews who believed. God had openly and deliberately made no distinction. He had treated both circumcised Jews and uncircumcised Gentiles in the same way. He had cleansed both in the same way. He had sanctified both by His Holy Spirit as Peter would comment in his first letter chapter 1 in the same way. And He had evidenced the significance of this to Peter in a vision. He had made it clear that because He had cleansed them from heaven they were to be seen as cleansed and holy, and in no way to be treated as ‘common’ or unclean (they were not to be bathed or circumcised).
10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Now if God had done this freely for these Gentiles without demanding circumcision, who were they to demand otherwise? What right had they to test out God by putting the yoke of the Law on the necks of new disciples, a yoke which had proved too much even for the Jews? In view of the fact that proselytes were seen in Judaism as having ‘the yoke of the Law’ put on them this was significant.
By speaking of ‘the yoke of the law’ the Jews were not, of course, intending to indicate something too heavy to bear. To them it was a yoke of guidance as they marched in step with the law, and therefore a blessing from God, although many did within their hearts in fact find it too heavy. It is typical of Peter’s forthrightness, which we may be certain was not appreciated by all, and that he brought out openly what others felt in their hearts.
In just a few words Peter was challenging all the un-necessary burdens that the Pharisees had loaded upon people - ‘Why do you test out God?’ The idea here may be:
• 1) To ask them who they thought that they were to put God on trial?
• 2) To ask them who they were to put God to the test by requiring the Gentiles to walk under the whole yoke of the Law with its many added requirements according to the traditions of the elders, when they were not all necessary. He was saying that to make such demands on them, when Israel themselves had failed to maintain these demands satisfactorily and indeed found them in many cases too heavy a burden, even though they had been brought up to them, was surely testing God beyond reasonable limits. It was forcing God to follow their dictates. It was making God’s salvation depend on their ability to keep the Law as interpreted by man, thus challenging God to give them the extra that would enable them to achieve what were unnecessary requirements, and making Him responsible if they failed.
• 3) It includes the danger of distrusting The Holy Spirit’s guidance and going against His revealed will, with a view to seeing what He would do about it.
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
Whereas the truth as they now saw it in Jesus was that neither they nor the Gentiles would be saved by keeping the burden of the whole Law. Indeed as believing Christian Jews they believed that their salvation had come to them, and would one day in its full finality come to them, not through their Law-keeping but through the totally unmerited favor of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they believed that the same would be true of believing Gentiles.
Peter wanted them all to stop and think that this was what coming to Christ had meant for them all? They had come to Him because of their own shortcomings. They had come because they had ‘repented’, because they had had a change of mind and heart about their sins and had wanted to be rid of them. They had come precisely because of their failure to ‘keep the Law’. And it was in Him, and through His grace, His unmerited loving-kindness and mercy, that they had received forgiveness for all their sins. That was how they had been made right with God. It was not through anything that they had done, but wholly through Him. How then could anything extra be asked of the Gentiles?
Thus Peter makes clear that, while he is content that Christian Jews still carry out the customs of their forefathers, he does not want them to see them as contributing towards their salvation. For all, whether Jewish Christian or Gentile Christian, their dependence is to be totally on ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus’ which has provided the means of salvation through His cross, a salvation which is enjoyed by faith. To take any other attitude is to ‘fall away from grace’.
Many teachers do not want to teach on the book of Ezekiel chapters 40 through 48. In these chapters we see that a new temple will be built and sacrifices will be offered on the altar. So, many questions arise as to why this would happen. As Peter describes to us here in this verse we see an answer that our Holy Lord allows the Jewish people to carry out their customs of their forefathers.
12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
Peter’s words had moved them all to silence. Living in Jerusalem they had not really been faced with the heart of matters like this before. They must mostly have recognized the truth of what Peter had said, and that, of course, he was right, but they had not previously had to face up to its implications. They had gone on living as Jews because that is what they were. They had been brought up to it. And they would go on living like it. But they had not stopped to consider whether salvation was possible without it.
Then they continued to listen as Barnabas and Paul. Please note the switch in order of the name listing. In Jerusalem it was Barnabas who had the greater status, and probably spoke first. He went through in detail what God had wrought through them, and the great signs and wonders that He had done. These signs and wonders would be seen as demonstrating His full approval. And they told them all that had happened among the Gentiles, and explained how many of them had responded to Christ and were now worshippers of the living God through Him, even in places where there was no synagogue. Then they explained how they now met in their own groups under elders and worshipped God continually, with the Holy Spirit active among them. They had formed ‘churches’. The full story of God’s glorious activity was being explained so that all might know the facts for themselves.
13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:
Once all had listened to the long account of what God had done through Barnabas and Paul, there was silence. They had been given much to think about. And there must have been a feeling of great relief when James, the Lord’s brother spoke up. They would know that he would give a balanced view, showing full respect to the Law of Moses.
They well knew his holy life, and why he was named ‘James the Just’. They knew that he obeyed the Law of Moses to the full, more than they all. They knew how much time he spent praying in the Temple. And they knew that he had been brought up with Jesus in his daily life, and had once known Him as a brother, and now knew Him well as his Lord. His words certainly had to carry special weight. Furthermore he was unquestionably one of the leading elders of the Jerusalem church, very much admired and looked up to, and very influential because of what he was. We can imagine a hush falling on the assembly, as he rose to speak. All knew what the crucial effect of this man’s words would be.
14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.
James called Peter ‘Symeon’. This use of Peter’s Hebrew name ‘Symeon’ was both tactful and fully understandable. It was tactful because it linked Peter firmly with his Jewish background. It would make clear that in the end Peter was essentially Jewish
James then refers to Peter’s description of his evangelization of Cornelius and his fellow-Gentiles. All knew about this, and how through it God had undoubtedly taken from among the Gentiles ‘a people for His name’. Given the acceptance by the general enquiry carried out by the Jerusalem church of what Peter had done earlier, and that in the light of all the facts this was really not open to dispute. And if the uncircumcised Gentiles were already ‘a people for His name’, then no necessity for circumcision arose.
15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
Then James supports Peter’s case from the prophets, citing them as infallible Scripture (‘it is written’). The quotation he is going to refer to is taken from Amos 9.11-12.
16 ‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the LORD who does all these things.’ 18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works.
Amos is speaking to the northern kingdom of Israel. This may therefore be seen as the promise that one day, after God’s threatened judgments have passed, the house of David itself will be restored as rulers over all Israel, and that once this is set up those who remain of Israel will seek after the Lord, accompanied by all the Gentiles on whom the Lord’s name is called. It is thus expressing the Messianic hope and the idea of the coming of the everlasting King. Only when He has come will all things be put right.
That it is more the restoring of the Davidic rulers that was in Amos’ mind, than the place of worship, comes out in the fact that at the time of the prophecy the Temple was still standing and would hardly therefore be described in this way. It was the ruling house of David which, as far as Israel and Amos were concerned, was fallen down and in ruins. Note also how in Isaiah 16.5 ‘the tabernacle of David’ again refers to the ruling house of David.
This being so, it would mean that he saw in Jesus’ birth, resurrection and exaltation the rebuilding and restoring of the house of David’s rightful kingship. He may possibly also have seen the resulting work of the Spirit in Acts 1-6 as the ‘residue of men (of the house of Israel) seeking after the Lord’. That being so, he says, the conversion of Gentiles must necessarily follow represented by ‘all the Gentiles on whom His name is called’. This fits easily in with his ‘God did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name’ (verse 14).
I take special note of the words of verse 18, “Known to God from eternity are all His works. This is probably an additional comment by James emphasizing that what God intends to do He prepares His people for beforehand. It was a warning not to dismiss something that God has previously revealed from of old.
We see this happening in the warning of the disciple Luke who said in chapter 21, “20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
When the Roman army under Titus laid siege to Jerusalem many Christians understood the warnings our Precious Holy Spirit had inspired Luke to write down so they left the city thus saving their lives.
I want you to stop and realize the significant thing happening to the believers. I am amazed at the wisdom our Holy God has given to these uneducated people. So consider what is happening here. While all were allowed to air their views it was not a question to James of coming to a consensus, however important that might be, but a question of finding the mind of the Lord. Thus he was seeking a divine contribution. Here we have the half brother of our Lord Jesus Christ who did not believe in Him until our Holy Master made a personal visit to him after His resurrection. Consider the great work The Holy Spirit is doing in the mind and life of James?
The group was certainly aware of their meeting with Peter and his interaction with Cornelius. What that signified had been agreed at their previous similar enquiry and was now repeated. It was therefore the divine will. Now therefore it was a question of what the Holy Spirit said, and as far as he was concerned the Holy Spirit had spoken to him, (and through him to the others), from the Scriptures. And that really decided the matter. It was not a question of coming to agreement but of knowing the divine will. And God had spoken. All else was irrelevant. Men like James do not descend directly to comparing arguments. They may listen but they then look directly to God and pronounce their view.
19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,
Having satisfactorily settled from Scripture that God had promised in the last days to call many Gentiles to Him, and that therefore the calling of the Gentiles as Gentiles was Scriptural, James now gives his own judgment, and that is that in general they do not trouble Gentiles who turn to God with the details and intricacies of Jewish Law. God has called them as Gentiles, not as Jews. They are not therefore under the Law, but under grace (Galatians 5.4).
James knew how important his view would be to those who were most likely not to approve of abandoning the need for circumcision. But his view showed how closely he sought the mind of God, and having come to that mind, he wanted all to know that as far as he was concerned it was decisive. It was his judgment as one who had sought the mind of God. And it was seen as that because all knew James, and what he was. It was not that he had not listened to all the arguments. It was that in the end compared with the mind of God they were superfluous.
20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
Four major principles were, however, to be required of Gentile Christians. The first two were basic. They involved the avoidance of open contact with and participation in idolatry, including the avoidance of meat offered to idols and thus constituting part of the sacrifices made to them, and the avoidance of all sexual misbehavior, the latter often being directly connected with pagan worship. The former would have been a denial of the oneness of God, and have involved them in contact with evil spirits. The latter was basic to the maintaining of human society on a godly basis, and especially necessary as a requirement in a Gentile world where casual sex was treated carelessly and even sometimes approved of and made into something which brought religious benefit.
The second two were necessary if Jewish and Gentile Christians were to be able to eat together, and as Christians were to have ‘all things in common’ this was essential. The two complement each other. The eating of blood had always been forbidden because it represented the life, and the life belonged to God alone (Genesis 9.4-6). And to eat meat that had only been strangled, and not slaughtered in a way that would let the blood drain out, would have been to eat the blood. No Jew could eat with a non-Jew unless he could be sure that the meat had been properly drained of blood - Thus the importance of the regulations. It was not a question of whether these things were necessary for salvation. It was whether they were necessary for fellowship in common.
22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 23 They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
Having come to their conclusions the church meeting closed. They had heeded the request of their sister church and would now send them details of their conclusions.
In the light of the inward looking and enflamed nationalistic zeal and exclusivist position which were growing up among the Jews themselves, for they were gradually building up towards the soon-coming rebellion against Rome that would result in the destruction of Jerusalem, it was a brave letter. It went against the trend. Once known the details would no doubt soon spread? It would unquestionably set the Christian Jews at odds with their more zealous Jewish fellow-citizens. They would be in danger of being looked on as traitors. But it was to their credit that they did not consider that. It was God’s will that they had wanted to know. And it was a clear expression of how The Lord Jesus Christ had completely transformed their own attitudes that this did not hinder them for a moment from sending the letter.
The letter is addressed a little more widely than just to Antioch itself. ‘Syria and Cilicia’ was the province in which Antioch was found. The church at Antioch had by now established groups throughout their area, and it was recognized that the surrounding church groups would also have been affected by the visitors and they wanted the letter to be all-inclusive. Cilicia was in fact where Paul came from originally and where he had conducted much of his early ministry before Barnabas had sought him out and brought him to Antioch.
24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment— 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
They first of all made clear that those men who had come among them in Antioch and had troubled them had not been sent with any authority from them. They had received no authority or command from the church in Jerusalem and Judaea. They had simply been acting independently on their own authority. Thus anything that they had taught could be disregarded, for it was contrary to the views of the Apostles and the Jerusalem church.
They then expressed their deep regret that those at Antioch had been ‘troubled (stirred up) with words’ and that their ‘souls had been subverted (plundered)’. The expressions are strong. It was a recognition of how deeply affected they knew those at Antioch to have been, and the unnecessary searching of soul that it had unnecessarily caused, and they regretted it.
They then stressed that their message was a united one from the whole body of the church. They assured them that they had ‘come to one accord’. They were all agreed. Sadly it would prove not to be fully true, for there would still be those who through the coming years would fight against the decision, and go round denying it, but it was true of the church as whole. And it was certainly the apostolic position.
And finally they stressed their total oneness with, and admiration for, ‘Barnabas and Paul’, whom they could call ‘beloved’, and whom they pointed out were men who had ‘hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ They were greatly concerned that all should recognize the standing that the two had in the eyes of all the leaders in Jerusalem.
27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.
In order to ensure that there could be no doubt about the agreed situation they were sending Judas and Silas, so that they would not only have the letter, but would hear by word of mouth all that had been said and agreed from the mouths of elders of the Jerusalem church. There could be no tampering with a verbal witness, especially such distinguished ones, and it would bring home the message more really and personally.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
The final conclusion was then laid out, and it is pointed out that its real source was the Holy Spirit. It was He who had guided their discussions, especially as the One Who had been given to the Apostles in order for them infallibly to come to the truth. Thus their decision was not just to be seen as that of the church, but of the Holy Spirit Himself to Whose guidance they had continually looked.
And their advice was that there was to be no question of a need for them to be circumcised or live according to Jewish ceremonial customs. There were, however, three or four things that they felt it necessary to enjoin.
This remarkable conclusion demonstrated how much the Holy Spirit had been involved in their decision. They had been able to throw aside the trappings and get to the core. You can almost hear the words, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself’. So the 4 points indicated by James being repeated in the official announcement did the following;
1) Indicated that God must be God and God alone.
2) Indicated especially His lordship over all life.
3) Inculcated consideration by Gentile Christians for their fellow Christians among the Jews.
4) Lay at the very heart of right and considerate behavior before God and man.
30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.
Upon the return to Antioch the church called together a special service.
31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.
The contents of the letter came as a great strengthening and encouragement to the church at Antioch, and it resulted in great rejoicing. They were delighted with that fact that what they had believed had been vindicated and their freedom in Christ confirmed.
32 Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.
Meanwhile they also enjoyed the ministry of Judas and Silas who as prophets exhorted them and confirmed them in their faith. There was a mutual ‘sharing in common’ between the churches. This is a further illustration of the fact that the main task of prophets was not foretelling but forth telling. The fact that the ministry of these two men could be so continually acceptable emphasized the genuine unity between the two churches.
33 And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. 34 However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
Then once they had spent some good time there, they were sent back to their own church with expressions of peace and goodwill from the Christians of Antioch which were to be borne to their brethren in their sister church.
35 Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Everything now having settled down, and the crisis being over, Paul and Barnabas now returned to the situation as it had been. It was as though the crisis had never happened. All was as it was before the interruption, with the added blessing that the issue had been resolved once and for all as far as they were concerned. They continued with their teaching and preaching of ‘the word of the Lord’ in Antioch, along with many others who did the same. And the result of the wise decision that had been reached was that the word which had come from God, the word about ‘the Lord’, continued to spread and be multiplied.
36 Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”
After some days’ is vague and allows for a considerable amount of time. But eventually Paul suggests to Barnabas a round trip in which they will visit all the cities where they had proclaimed the word of the Lord, in order to ensure that the churches were prospering, and no doubt with a view to ministering to them.
37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
Barnabas was clearly happy to fall in with the idea, but when the matter was further considered Barnabas wanted his nephew John Mark to come with them. Paul on the other hand did not agree with this. In his view Mark could not be depended on. He had failed once on their previous mission, he could fail again. He was unreliable. And experience had shown him how important it was that all the party on any of their journeys was reliable.
39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
We must recognize that there are times when Christians will on principle take up differing positions, and may have to do things differently. It is inevitable, and as long as it does not cause division, is healthy. Paul certainly never speaks of Barnabas in any other than a friendly manner, and we can be sure that Barnabas, that supremely gracious man of God, was the same. Paul would in fact later soften his attitude towards Mark, probably because Mark later demonstrated how reliable he was, and Mark would also later become a help to Paul in his ministry and one on whom he learned to depend. During his first imprisonment at Rome, Paul mentioned Mark to Philemon as a fellow-laborer present there with him (Philemon 1.24), and to the Colossians he speaks of him as one who was a fellow-worker in the Kingly Rule of God and as one who had been a comfort and strength to him (Colossians 4.10-11), while during his second imprisonment, he writes to Timothy: "Take Mark and bring him with you; for he is profitable to me for ministry" (2 Timothy 4.11).
41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
We close this chapter with Paul, along with Silas and possibly one or two others then journeyed through the region of Syria and Cilicia, visiting older churches which he had set up prior to visiting those that he had set up more recently, and then reaching his newer converts.
