The Jerusalem Council

INTRO

Our one word for the book of Acts is Authority. In Acts 15, the authority of sharing the gospel came into question when Gentiles were converted to follow Jesus. Missionary William Carey once said, “Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine!” But that is the opposite of what God has called us to do—to walk out our witness before others. Acts 15 records the meeting of the Jerusalem Council as the apostles and the church elders determined how these pagan converts could be brought into the church.

TEACHING

Acts 15:1–5: A group of men came from Judea (who were also known as Judaizers) and taught that circumcision was required as a part of salvation (v. 1). These Judaizers “wanted the Christian faith to become a sect of Judaism. . . . they wanted Gentile believers to become Jewish proselytes.”¹Because of the argument, the church called Paul and Barnabas to meet with other Christian leaders in Jerusalem (v. 2). The argument about adding circumcision as a requirement for faith in Jesus was like trying to re-stitch the veil in the temple after it had been torn from the top down (Luke 23:45). Jesus had already removed the barriers, and now the Judaizers wanted to put those barriers back in place (Ephesians 2:14–16). Finally, the Judaizers were trying to put the yoke of the law upon the Gentile believers (Galatians 5:1). The church today has to be careful not to creep back into the mentality of putting believers under additional requirements for salvation. As Paul and Barnabas traveled to Jerusalem, they shared about the conversion of the Gentiles, creating joy among the church (v. 3). They were welcomed in Jerusalem by the church and its leaders (v. 4). However, some of the believers who were Pharisees claimed again that circumcision and keeping the law of Moses were necessary for Gentile converts (v. 5).

Acts 15:6–11: The Christian leaders (known as the Jerusalem Council) assembled to decide (v. 6). All sides were debated until Peter finally addressed the assembly, reminding them that God had called him to deliver the gospel to the Gentiles and that God gave these believers the Holy Spirit (vv. 7–8). Peter emphasized that God made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles and questioned why they were trying to put an extra yoke on the Gentile believers that God didn’t intend (vv. 9–10). Wiersbe explains, “God erased the difference” between them.²Verse 11 contains the last words of Peter recorded in the book of Acts: “On the contrary, we believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.”

Acts 15:12–21: The assembly then listened to Barnabas and Paul describe all God was doing through the Gentiles (v. 12). Then James (Jesus’ half-brother) added what he had heard of God’s movement through Simeon (vv. 13–14) and reminded the assembly that the prophets had also proclaimed God’s Word for the Gentiles (vv. 15–18) (Amos 9:11–12; Isaiah 45:21). Note James did not come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah until after Jesus’ Resurrection. James proposed a solution to the argument—no circumcision but abstinence “from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood.” (vv. 20–21).

Acts 15:22–29: The council agreed to these conditions and decided to select men to go out with a letter explaining their decision (vv. 22–29). Wiersbe points out three accomplishments that came out of the council’s decision:

1. The decision brought the church together in unity, preventing it from being split by disagreements.
2. The decision created a united approach to how the church could witness to the lost.
3. The sharing of the decision blessed the churches and the believers who received it.3

Acts 15:30–35: The messengers delivered the letter to Antioch, and the believers there rejoiced because of its encouragement (vv. 30–32). The messengers were sent back to the brothers in Jerusalem, while Paul and Barnabas, among others, remained in Antioch preaching the message of Christ (vv. 33–35).

Acts 15:36–41: In time, Paul and Barnabas visited all the places where they had preached to check on how the new converts were doing (v. 36). Barnabas wanted John Mark to go along, but Paul didn’t want John Mark with them because John Mark had left them one time before (vv. 37–38). This caused such a disagreement between Barnabas and Paul that they separated company. Barnabas took Mark with him and went to Cyprus (v. 39). Paul took Silas with him and traveled through Syria and Cilicia (vv. 40–41).

CLOSING

At the end of Acts 12, the story of Acts transitions from the preaching and evangelism of the apostles to the missionary journeys of Paul.