Monday, March 15, 2010

Reflections on Acts 15


    Acts 15 (Contemporary English Version)

  1. Some people came from Judea and started teaching the Lord's followers that they could not be saved, unless they were circumcised as Moses had taught.
  2. This caused trouble, and Paul and Barnabas argued with them about this teaching. So it was decided to send Paul and Barnabas and a few others to Jerusalem to discuss this problem with the apostles and the church leaders.
  3. The men who were sent by the church went through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling how the Gentiles had turned to God. This news made the Lord's followers very happy.
  4. When the men arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, including the apostles and the leaders. They told them everything God had helped them do.
  5. But some Pharisees had become followers of the Lord. They stood up and said, "Gentiles who have faith in the Lord must be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses."
  6. The apostles and church leaders met to discuss this problem about Gentiles.
  7. They had talked it over for a long time, when Peter got up and said: My friends, you know that God decided long ago to let me be the one from your group to preach the good news to the Gentiles. God did this so that they would hear and obey him.
  8. He knows what is in everyone's heart. And he showed that he had chosen the Gentiles, when he gave them the Holy Spirit, just as he had given his Spirit to us.
  9. God treated them in the same way that he treated us. They put their faith in him, and he made their hearts pure.
  10. Now why are you trying to make God angry by placing a heavy burden on these followers? This burden was too heavy for us or our ancestors.
  11. But our Lord Jesus was kind to us, and we are saved by faith in him, just as the Gentiles are.
  12. Everyone kept quiet and listened as Barnabas and Paul told how God had given them the power to work a lot of miracles and wonders for the Gentiles.
  13. After they had finished speaking, James said: My friends, listen to me!
  14. Simon Peter has told how God first came to the Gentiles and made some of them his own people.
  15. This agrees with what the prophets wrote,
  16. "I, the Lord, will return and rebuild David's fallen house. I will build it from its ruins and set it up again.
  17. Then other nations will turn to me and be my chosen ones. I, the Lord, say this.
  18. I promised it long ago."
  19. And so, my friends, I don't think we should place burdens on the Gentiles who are turning to God.
  20. We should simply write and tell them not to eat anything that has been offered to idols. They should be told not to eat the meat of any animal that has been strangled or that still has blood in it. They must also not commit any terrible sexual sins.
  21. We must remember that the Law of Moses has been preached in city after city for many years, and every Sabbath it is read when we Jews meet.
  22. The apostles, the leaders, and all the church members decided to send some men to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Silas and Judas Barsabbas, who were two leaders of the Lord's followers.
  23. They wrote a letter that said: We apostles and leaders send friendly greetings to all of you Gentiles who are followers of the Lord in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
  24. We have heard that some people from here have terribly upset you by what they said. But we did not send them!
  25. So we met together and decided to choose some men and to send them to you along with our good friends Barnabas and Paul.
  26. These men have risked their lives for our Lord Jesus Christ.
  27. We are also sending Judas and Silas, who will tell you in person the same things that we are writing.
  28. The Holy Spirit has shown us that we should not place any extra burden on you.
  29. But you should not eat anything offered to idols. You should not eat any meat that still has the blood in it or any meat of any animal that has been strangled. You must also not commit any terrible sexual sins. If you follow these instructions, you will do well. We send our best wishes.
  30. The four men left Jerusalem and went to Antioch. Then they called the church members together and gave them the letter.
  31. When the letter was read, everyone was pleased and greatly encouraged.
  32. Judas and Silas were prophets, and they spoke a long time, encouraging and helping the Lord's followers.
  33. The men from Jerusalem stayed on in Antioch for a while. And when they left to return to the ones who had sent them, the followers wished them well.
  34. But Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached about the Lord.
  35. (SEE 15:34)
  36. Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit the Lord's followers in the cities where we preached his message. Then we will know how they are doing."
  37. Barnabas wanted to take along John, whose other name was Mark.
  38. But Paul did not want to, because Mark had left them in Pamphylia and had stopped working with them.
  39. Paul and Barnabas argued, then each of them went his own way. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus,
  40. but Paul took Silas and left after the followers had placed them in God's care.
  41. They traveled through Syria and Cilicia, encouraging the churches.


Traditions are very strong and can sometimes have greater impetus in a person's life than scripture, even though the tradition may go against scripture. A case in point is the problem described in the accounts of chapter 15. It was great that many were believing the good news of Jesus Christ, including the Gentiles, but it was bothersome to some Jewish believers that the Gentile believers did not also observe the law of Moses, a primary observance of which was circumcision. There were some in this group who took it upon themselves to remedy the situation and went to the church in Antioch to teach the need for these Gentiles to be circumcised "according to the custom prescribed by Moses" in order to be saved. How was it possible for something that had been observed for centuries as important in a Jew's relationship with God to suddenly be discarded as unimportant? It was great that Messiah had come and that even Gentiles were included in the kingdom He was establishing, but this surely did not do away with Judaism. However, as Jesus Himself pointed out in an exchange with the Pharisees over observances of the law, it does not work to put new wine in old wineskins, for the new wine will burst the old skins. The kingdom established by the Messiah was new wine and the law an old wineskin. The principles of the law would be observed in spirit as the Holy Spirit worked in a person's life.

It was important that this controversy regarding circumcision be resolved lest it divide the church and halt the spread of the gospel. Although Paul and Barnabas engaged these self-imposed crusaders in serious debate, it was not enough that they defeat their arguments in Antioch. This was an issue that needed to be resolved for the whole church, both Jewish and Gentile churches. Therefore, Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem by the Antioch church. There "the apostles and the elders assembled to consider this matter." (15:6) It is not surprising that the argument for circumcision came from "the believers from the party of the Pharisees." Those speaking against requiring circumcision included Peter, Paul and Barnabas, and James. Their arguments against this requirement were two-fold: 1- The experiences they had in which the Holy Spirit was given Gentile believers as it had been given Jewish believers, and 2- the evidence of Old Testament scriptures. The prophet Amos was quoted by James as representative of the Old Testament prophets.

It was James, evidently the head of the Jerusalem church, who made the closing arguments and then offered a suggestion. In his judgment, "we should not cause difficulties for those who turn to God from among the Gentiles, but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood. (15:19-20) The list of things from which all were expected to abstain was a practical expectation. Sexual immorality was not appropriate for Christ's followers under any circumstances, but since sexual immorality was rampant in the Gentile societies, it was likely to leak into the church and this was a guard against such an occurance. As for the other two items on the list, they were obvious offensives to many new Christians and would surely cause problems and therefore should be avoided out of respect for one another.

James' conclusion and suggestion were strongly accepted by the Jerusalem 'council' and wise consideration was given the communication of this decision to the Gentile Christians in Antioch. It was communicated both in writing and by official witnesses. The letter was accompanied to Antioch by "Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers." (15:22) The letter was received with rejoicing by the Antioch brothers. Also, a new 'missionary' - Silas - was introduced to the task of evangelizing the Gentiles.

1 comment:

  1. I very much agree with your statement that "It was important that this controversy regarding circumcision be resolved lest it divide the church and halt the spread of the gospel." But was the ruling of the Jerusalem Council merely a "practical" solution to a problem? Ezekiel 33:23-26 covers most of the same ground as the ruling of the Council— as I see it, they were interpreting the Hebrew scriptures in regards to the Gentiles rather than setting those Scriptures aside. Leviticus 17:10-14 discusses blood and restrictions on "strangers"— Gentiles. Leviticus 18:26 applies the restrictions on sexual abominations to the stranger— to Gentiles. Ezekiel 14:7-8 and Deuteronomy 29:16-18 discuss idolatry and the Gentiles. Above all, Acts 15:11 makes it clear that we are all saved in the same way— through the grace of Jesus. See also Romans 10:12, Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11. Somehow we are more divided now than ever. Paul envisioned a world that was "neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision" (Colossians 3:11) and yet we— through the centuries— have added difference upon difference that has driven Christians and Jews further far apart. The practical ruling of the Council seems to be that they envisioned the Gentiles coming to a greater knowledge of the Scriptures through the synagogue (Acts 15:21). Some perhaps would be circumcised— see Romans 3:1— but the Law of Moses never required the "stranger" to be circumcised. With all our differences, how will we ever have the unity described in Isaiah 66:18-23?

    I have written more on this topic at http://biblicalprospector.blogspot.com/2010/03/acts-15-jerusalem-council.html

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