This week's ongoing Bible study will be part 3 of Acts chapter 15

The Council's Letter to the Gentile Believers

[Acts chapter 15, verses 23-41]

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Last week when we left off at the conclusion of part two of Acts chapter 15, the apostle James had just made some concluding remarks after Peter had finished speaking. A nearly unanimous decision had been made at that first Council at Jerusalem, which was that new Gentile converts to the Faith should not be compelled to practice Jewish customs. This teaching has served ever since as a kind of rule book on how the Gospel should be taught, as well as what not to teach. Under no circumstances should any Gentile be compelled to engage in any of the religious practices of their Jewish brethren in Christ. In fact, Peter conclusively argued that this should be the other way around, that all should adhere to the teachings of our Lord and Savior. Jesus taught us all that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled. Those were laws that had been covered over by the shed blood of Christ, and certified by his resurrection on the morning of the third day. Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!

This week as we move on to part 3 of Acts 15, we find the contents of the letter sent by the council at Jerusalem back to Antioch, a city in Turkey that still exists today. In it was contained the best news of all, which is that all are equal under the New Law of Christ, including Jews and Gentiles and everyone else. So let's continue this week where we concluded last, beginning at verse 23. “23) With them they sent the following letter:

'The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24) We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25) So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul — 26) men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27) Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28) It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29) You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.'

30) So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31) The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32) Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.” (Acts 15, verses 23-32)

Right from the outset, the purpose of the letter is quite clear. The letter was to put to rest false and misleading teachings about the Word of the Lord, which is tantamount to calling God a liar. These “teachings”, which we have already discussed at length, were perpetrated by the Pharisees – and they were affiliated with those who had handed Christ over to the Romans to be crucified. “25) So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul — 26) men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27) Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.” Let's not forget that the origin of the argument about Gentiles taking on Jewish customs had originated at Antioch. When Paul and Silas first reached Jerusalem, they encountered the same assertions there, with both Christian and Pharisee waiting to greet the two missionaries, one to welcome and embrace them, but the other to accuse and misled them – as if the Holy Spirit could somehow be misled.

Next, the church at Antioch – and elsewhere since the message was hand copied and resent countless times – was reminded that the two men sent as witnesses had risked their lives for the Gospel. This was far more, the apostles and elders wrote back, than any of those who had tried to inject false teachings into the Gospel had ever done for Christ – and ever would. The letter then reiterates that we went over last week, about food sacrificed to idols, abstention of meat from strangled animals and from blood. So, “....they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31) The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32) Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.” This entire episode concerning Jew against Gentile – and the most cherished beliefs of each – was now behind them all, and everyone was quite relieved that this matter of faith had been settled. And now let's conclude this week's ongoing study, starting at verse 33.

“33) After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them there. 34) But Silas decided to remain there. 35) But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. 36) Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.' 37) Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38) but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39) They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40) but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41) He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.” (Acts 15, verses 33-41)

So now we see that everyone went back to Antioch except for Silas, who presumably decided to remain and to study and learn from the apostles there in Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas continued to preach and teach the Gospel at Antioch, including the breaking of bread at “Shabbot”, which was celebrated daily. Interestingly enough, when we compare a Shabbot celebration with its Gentile equivalent, 'potluck dinners', we find they are fairly similar. One day Paul is feeling a bit nostalgic, so he decides it would be a good idea to revisit some of the churches they have planted. This, however, is where he and Barnabas came into quite a bit of disagreement. As you saw, their differences were over a choice of people who were to be on their team. “37) Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38) but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39) They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company....”

“John, also called Mark”, was the composer of the Gospel of Mark, as we know it today. So, for Paul to refuse to work with Mark comes as a bit of a surprise, but Paul could be a fairly rigid individual when it came to his beliefs. Evidently the apostle Mark, one of the original Twelve, had made a decision to step away from the ministry at some point in the fairly recent past. Presumably Mark was at a stage in his own walk with the Lord where he felt well enough to resume the ministry. Paul, on the other hand, felt that since Mark had left the ministry once before, he might change his mind and leave again. In fact this never did occur after Mark rejoined the rest of the apostles. He stayed with the early Church from then on, and was ultimately martyred for his faith.

So we can see that, in this regard, Paul not only underestimated Mark and so judged him when he shouldn't have, but Paul could be pretty tough when it came to his judgment of other people in general. Don't forget that, before Paul (then known as Saul) gave his heart to Christ, his prior occupation had been an undercover operative for the Sanhedrin. On occasion, he was well known for acting as judge, jury and executioner all at once. Paul was nobody to be trifled with, and he could get extremely tough in a hurry with other men. Let's not forget that this is the same man who said all gay people are condemned no matter what, and that all women should “be silent” during church services. I do not believe either of those last two are true. Prior to his conversion, Saul also thought all Christians should be killed no matter what, too. So we see clear evidence here that the apostle Paul could be very rigid and judgmental at times.

“Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.” And so, they resolved their conflict by splitting into two teams. And thanks to all that had occurred up to this point, the early Church continued to grow by leaps and bounds. Next week as we move on to chapter 16, we will find a new member of the early church's apostolic team of leaders, a young protege by the name of Timothy. I look forward to seeing you all back at that time. Enjoy the rest of your week!