Gloriographs by Rick Reynolds

15 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. ³ Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. ⁴ When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.” ⁶ The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. ⁷ After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹ and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”¹² All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. Acts 15:1-12

Up to this point there was no quibbling about the terms of salvation, but it’s ramifications. It was its propensity to “turn the world upside down” that drew the fire and ire of the leaders. Here seems to be described the enemy’s change in tactics, to attack the message not the messenger. The tack-on terms of circumcision and continued allegiance to the law insisted on by “the men” from Judea for salvation were totally unacceptable, and you could sense the exasperation of Paul and Barnabas as they engaged in no small debate with them. But cooler heads prevailed in deciding for the time being to resolve the matter in Jerusalem with the pillars of the church. I guess you could say this was going to be the very first church “convention.”

So Paul and Barnabas set out for higher ground, passing through Phoenicia and Samaria, not wasting the opportunity to describe along the way “in detail the conversion of the Gentiles,” and they were “bringing great joy to all the brethren.” Once in Jerusalem, in a quickly arranged “missions conference,” the first of its kind, they were met by the apostles, elders, and the church, and they declared “all that God had done with them.”

We take from this that not only are we to share Jesus with the lost, but we should be just as eager to share the accomplishments of the gospel with the saved. This brings great joy to the body and encourages others to engage in its proclamation.

Now to the matter at hand. It was only fitting for Peter to rise to his feet to remind all of God’s choice of “his mouth” (a touch self-deprecating!) to first share Christ with the Gentiles. This act was in turn authenticated by their receipt of the Holy Spirit. Going forward, there would be no distinction between one group from another. All would be “cleansed by faith” and “saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” There would be no concomitant “burden to be borne” (yoke) that historically the Jews could not even bear.

For the time being, the participants in the conference were silenced, with the void filled by “listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating “what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.” It is notable in that Barnabas is mentioned first, as these men may have still looked to him as the rightful “chief speaker.”

¹³ After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me. ¹⁴ Simeon [Peter] has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. ¹⁵ With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶ ‘After these things I will return,
And I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen,
And I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will restore it,
¹⁷ So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,’
¹⁸ Says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago.

¹⁹ Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, ²⁰ but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. ²¹ For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”Acts 15:13-21

The convened would then vote “yea” for this encouraging compromise proposed by leader James to ease the “culture shock” of the Gentile world on the tightly-wound Jews.

²² Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, ²³ and they sent this letter by them. Acts 15:22-23