Chapter 22 – Conference in Jerusalem

Narration

Acts 15:3-29
 

Paul and Barnabas stopped in a few towns on the way to Jerusalem, describing their experiences in preaching to the Gentiles and reporting the joy of salvation among these new believers.  Everyone rejoiced at the news.

In Jerusalem they were welcomed too, and many heard their reports with delight.  But some believers, so attached to their old ways of life and beliefs that it began to obscure the truth they had accepted, insisted that it was necessary to circumcise Gentiles and teach them to obey the law.

This, then, was the nub of the matter.  This was the question which had brought them all to Jerusalem.  The conference began with a review of the past, as Peter told of the initial preaching to the Gentiles which God had done through him.  He insisted that God had shown them clearly that he made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, but that both were offered salvation through faith in Jesus.

Next it was Paul and Barnabas’ turn to report on their first missionary journey, and they described the miracles God had done through them and the many who had believed.  You could have heard a pin drop all through their report – everyone was amazed and thrilled by the astonishing harvest of Gentiles.

At this critical time in the discussions, James, the Lord’s brother, spoke.  He pulled the threads together and came up with some practical suggestions as to how the current conflict could be resolved if there was a desire for unity.  There was, and it was agreed that the Gentiles should not be forced to keep the law, but rather that they should be encouraged to pay attention to some of the more fundamental rules of the law of Moses, which most Gentiles knew anyway.

He suggested that the Gentiles be instructed to keep four related things:

• Abstain from anything contaminated by idols,
• Abstain from fornication,
• Abstain from eating what is strangled, and
• Abstain from eating blood.

All the assembled believers agreed, and a letter was duly written to be distributed to every group of believers, whether it included Gentiles or not.  Everyone needed to know about this agreement.

The letter included an apology for the trouble caused by those believers who had travelled out from Jerusalem without authorisation and insisted on rules which were not part of the truth of the Way at all.  Paul and Barnabas were vindicated.  Peter likewise was glad that the matter was sorted out, though it was a little embarrassing for him.  Peter was always willing to graciously admit when he was wrong.  What an admirable man!

Book 6: The Second Missionary Journey

Chapter 23 – Arguments and Separation

Narration

Acts 15:30-40

Returning from the conference in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas took with them the letter and two representatives sent by the elders, one of whom was a prophet named Silas.

Once again, the believers in Antioch were gathered together to hear a report, and once again they were wonderfully pleased with the letter’s encouraging message.  It was confirmed: Gentiles were welcome, circumcision was not required, and keeping away from idols was a good thing anyway.

Silas was an interesting speaker who easily held the believers’ attention throughout what ended up quite a lengthy message.

Paul and Barnabas stayed for some time in Antioch, teaching the believers and preaching to any who were not yet believers.  After a while, however, they both felt it was time to leave.  They wanted to revisit the believers in all the places they had visited on their first missionary journey.

But there was a hitch.  John Mark was back in Antioch again, and Barnabas wanted to take him with them.  Paul disagreed, strongly, arguing that it was not wise to take with them someone who had let them down before.  His argument was good – they needed helpers they could rely on.  Yet Barnabas was sure that John Mark had changed and grown spiritually.

The argument was fierce and no path of agreement could be found.  In the end, Barnabas took John Mark with him and went home to Cyprus[1] to preach, convinced that this would be a good way to encourage Mark, since he already knew what to expect there.

Paul took Silas and they walked north together, having been committed by the believers to the grace of God.

Paul’s second missionary journey had begun.

Chapter 24 – Through Syria and Cilicia

Narration

Acts 15:41; 16:4-5

Paul and Silas travelled north through Syria and Cilicia, past Tarsus and on towards the towns where Paul and Barnabas had preached before.

Along the way, they met groups of believers and shared with them the letter sent with the conclusions of the conference in Jerusalem.  Paul’s wonderful ways of expressing the truths of the Bible strengthened the faith of the believers.

Sketch 24.1

“So I don’t need to be circumcised?” asked Zenas, a Gentile believer in Soli, a town on the coast of Cilicia.

“Exactly,” said Paul, emphatically.  “Circumcision was for the Jews, just as the law of Moses was for the Jews.”

“That’s a relief!” laughed Zenas.  “I would’ve done it if I had to, but…”

“If you are circumcised according to the law, then you need to keep the rest of the law as well: sacrifices, washings, feasts, tithing, Sabbaths, and all the rest.  In Antioch when this question arose, I had a brother with me called Titus who was Greek.  Some of the believers wanted him to be circumcised, but I used these arguments and they accepted that he didn’t need to be circumcised.”[2]

“That sounds sensible to me.  Getting circumcised didn’t seem to fit with the idea that Jesus had fulfilled the law and become the High Priest of a better covenant.”

“You’re right again,” said Paul.  “We’ve been called to freedom in Christ, not to go back to the law of Moses.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘freedom in Christ’?  After all, the letter you brought gave us rules to keep.”

“True, and the Lord Jesus gave us many rules for our thoughts and behaviour, but our freedom in Christ saves us from the slavery of the law that leads only to death.  Of course, the law itself wasn’t bad – it was the people who were bad in not keeping the law.  But nobody except Jesus has ever kept the law completely.  Instead, people have turned the law into a checklist of rules and completely missed the intention behind it.  Jesus showed us how God wanted us to keep the law – what it meant.”

“So, freedom in Christ is freedom to follow a living Jesus instead of… a law that kills.”  Zenas thought for a moment, then laughed.  “It’s freedom to carry a cross!”

“Yes.  Freedom to serve; freedom to suffer; freedom to endure.  And then freedom to live forever.”

“I’m glad you’ve brought us this news.  Some brothers visited us and told us that we had to be circumcised.  They convinced some of us to be circumcised, but I was a bit doubtful.  I wanted time to think.”

“You made the right choice, Zenas.  The disciples and elders apologised for the wrong message that some people have brought.  Now that it’s been straightened out, all believers will know not to be taken in by things like that.  We aren’t going back!  Not back to the law – back to slavery.  We’re going forward with Jesus, forward to his kingdom.”

“I’m pleased to hear it.  But I’ve got a question about one of the rules we were sent,” said Zenas.  “The one about keeping away from things offered to idols.  Since idols are… are just lumps of wood or stone, surely they’re not worth worrying about.  Why do we need to worry about things offered to them?  Isn’t that saying they really are important?”

“That’s a really good question, Zenas,” answered Paul, a delighted gleam in his eye.  He was always happy when people pondered their religion.  “You’re right that idols are nothing.  A lump of metal or some carved piece of wood has no power, and making them look beautiful doesn’t give them any power that would make us fear them.  If you buy food in the market, don’t ask any questions about whether it’s been offered to idols or not.  Some will have been, some won’t – don’t go looking for problems.  You only have to avoid things offered to idols when you know they’ve been offered.  Imagine you’re in the market and someone tells you that this piece of meat has been offered to some idol; in that case, don’t buy it.  Choose another piece that hasn’t been offered.  Avoid the things offered to idols.”

“I can do that, but I don’t understand why it matters.  Does knowing that it’s been offered to an idol change anything for me?”

“No, not at all,” said Paul, animated as ever when presenting complex logic, “not for you.  But it’s for the person who told you.  The idol is important to them, so you are refusing to honour their idol because you want to honour God instead.  Tell them why you are refusing.  Explain your conscience and how important it is to you.  Perhaps it’ll convince them to leave their love of idols and learn to worship a true and living God.”

“Ah, I think I understand.  I’ll have to think about it more, but I suppose it makes sense that the conscience of the person I’m talking to is important and that I should take any opportunity I can to honour our God.  After all, if they have a conscience already, they’re more likely to be fertile ground for the truth about God.”

Paul stopped for a moment, deep in thought, then looked at Zenas.  “You know, I’d never thought about it quite that way,” he said, “but you’re right.  That makes the point even stronger, doesn’t it?  I get so much joy out of learning to understand God’s truth better.  Thanks for that idea, Zenas.”

“It seemed to come directly from what you said,” said Zenas, pleased to be able to help the apostle from whom he had learned so much, but a little surprised that his response should be considered novel.  “Thank you for explaining the letter to me, Paul.  I have so much to learn.  I’m glad I didn’t get circumcised.”

“I’m glad too,” said Paul.  “The brothers who’ve been teaching this have caused a lot of trouble, but hopefully this letter will stop it.  It needs to be stopped,” he added grimly, “before it takes people away from salvation and back to Judaism.”

“And then we’d be just another sect of Judaism like the Pharisees and Saducees, without the freedom to follow Christ.”

“Exactly.  Now you seem to be a bit of a thinker, Zenas, so I’ll mention a special case.  There is one situation in which I would consider circumcising a brother, and that would be when he was already Jewish or partly Jewish and wanted to come preaching with me.  In my preaching, I always visit the local synagogue first if there is one, and a Jew who wasn’t circumcised couldn’t go with me.  That would limit the work they could do.  However, the brother would have to agree to do it – I would never try to force it.”[3]

“Hmm,” answered Zenas.  “I’d have to think more about that one.”

Notes

[1] Acts 4:36
[2] Galatians 2:3
[3] See Acts 16:1-3.  The explanation included here is one possible explanation of Paul’s thinking with regard to the circumcision of Timothy.