The
Conclusion of the Council at Jerusalem
[Acts
chapter 15, verses 13-22]
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Last
week as we left off at verse 12, a council had been convened at
Jerusalem among the leadership of the early Church to discuss whether
Jewish customs should be mandatory for non-Jewish believers, all of
whom were united in their faith in Christ. Paul and Barnabas had
first encountered this erroneous teaching on their first missionary
journey together, and they had brought this to the attention of the
apostles in Jerusalem. Peter, having heard all sides in this
discussion, makes an eloquent statement against the whole idea of
forcing Gentiles to undergo circumcision and to celebrate the Jewish
Holy Days. He quotes extensively from the Old Testament – the only
Bible in existence at that time – to make his arguments known.
Then, Peter bears witness to what Saul and Barnabas have told him
about the success of their journey, capturing the imaginations and
inspiring the souls of everyone there.
This
week, we'll take up where we left off as Peter concludes his speech
before the group, starting at verse 13. “13)
When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen
to me. 14) Simon has described to us how God first intervened to
choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15) The words of the
prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: 16)
“‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its
ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17) that the rest of
mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things — 18) things known from long
ago.”
In the above
passage, Simon was Peter's given name, as you recall from our studies
of Luke's gospel earlier in this series. Like everyone else, James
was also struck by the salvation of the Gentiles, which had
previously been outside the scope of his experience just like the
other apostles. Keep in mind that it was the apostle Luke who was
writing this – the only non-Jew out of the original Twelve. James
then quotes from Amos 9: 11-12 in verses 16-18. Although he was a
Gentile, Luke made it his business to make sure he was well versed on
the Torah, the Jewish Bible, to broaden his understanding of the
faith of his Jewish co-workers of the Gospel, not to mention that of
his Lord and Savior. “After
this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I
will rebuild, and I will restore it....”
Here we find the prophet Amos writing about the restoration of the
Temple at Jerusalem, and of the coming of the Jewish Messiah, who was
Christ himself.
“....that
the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear
my name, says the Lord, who does these things — things known from
long ago.”
This is the exact point at which Amos prophesied of the unity of Jew
and Gentile under one Cross, a prophesy that had seen its fulfillment
at the Day of Pentecost. And so first Peter, and now James has added
his thoughts on this topic, which brings us to the second half of
this week's study, beginning at verse 19. “19)
'It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult
for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20) Instead we should write
to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from
sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
21) For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the
earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.' 22)
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to
choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were
leaders among the believers.”
(Acts 15, verses 19-22)
Turning
the Gentiles away from their new faith by imposing Jewish practices
upon them is counterproductive, James argued, and so it was pointless
to continue doing so. The early Church was shooting itself in the
foot by turning away Gentiles and attempting to make Christianity a
religion for Jews only, James stated, unless the Gentiles did certain
things pertaining to the Old Law. I'm sure he quoted from Christ's
teachings – which we know today as Matt. 5: 17 – pertaining to
the fact that Jesus had already fulfilled that Law. Peter had
previously answered the original question in much the same way in
verse 11 of last
week's study.
“....we
should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food
polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled
animals and from blood.”
Instead of turning Gentiles away, James admonished his Jewish
brethren, we must open up persistent communications with them. We
should 'write to them', which in today's world would be a blitz of
phone calls and emails telling as many people about Jesus as
possible. You know, like I try to do with this blog? Not to mention
my website....
The
part about food that was sacrificed to idols is something seldom seen
in the Western world today, although there are those who make a
bigger deal about the turkey they baked for the holidays than about
the church service that Thanksgiving or Christmas Sunday. The reason
that blood and strangled animals were mentioned by James was because
they are forbidden in the Old Law. Moreover, the consumption of blood
and the meat of strangled animals has to do with Luciferianism and
the Occult. As for abstaining from sexual immorality, that is
something that humanity still struggles with, and all the more so for
true believers. But those who succeed in avoiding sexually immoral
behavior do so because they rely on the Holy Spirit that dwells
within them, rather than solely on their own abilities and human
willpower.
“For
the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest
times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
This strikes me as being a bit of a rough translation. What James was
actually trying to say was that if any follower of Christ wanted to
learn Jewish laws and customs, let them attend a synagogue on their
own. But as for their faith in Jesus, in order to continue to
maintain it, all true believers should attend church as it was in the
first century A.D. As they did, James was telling them, they should
all practice their faith as it was meant to be practiced, not what
some 3rd
party said they should do.
“Then
the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose
some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were
leaders among the believers.”
This was the way the Church grew back then. In this case Paul,
Barnabas and the others – to whom the Jewish question was
originally asked – were going back to Antioch to bring the answer
to this question back with them, along with Silas and Judas
Barsabbas.
We
don't realize how easy and convenient our lives have become until we
view life in the first century. News traveled at a snail's pace back
then. Even our modern “snail mail” seems fast compared to back
then. At least today's postal workers have those little white vans.
All communication traveled on foot and was delivered by word of mouth
back then, and so the four servants of the Lord set out from
Jerusalem on foot headed north, bringing the news back to Antioch,
where this whole journey from the last couple of chapters began. They
carried with them a letter explaining everything I have written about
this topic of Jew vs. Gentile. This included the best news of all,
which is that all are equal under the New Law of Christ, including
Jews and Gentiles and everyone else. Next week when we return, we'll
delve into the contents of that letter, as well as what happened
during the return trip. See you then, OK?
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