Acts 15:6-21

Four names are mentioned in today’s reading: Peter/Simeon, James, Barnabas and Paul. [Notice that Barnabas is mentioned first here (v. 12); this is common when the two of them are in Jerusalem.] So of these four, Peter had trips to Samaria and Caesarea; Barnabas and Paul went to Cyprus and Asia Minor; and James stayed behind in Jerusalem. Yet James comes out as the leader, the spokesman, if you will. After all the others have spoken, his is the final say. But his final words come after much listening: And after there had been much debate… (v. 7); And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened… (v. 12).

I had said yesterday that this Jerusalem Council offers lessons for unity and church leadership. These few verses describe that perfectly. I have no doubt that during the “much debate” in verse 7 (I imagine that as a free-for-all discussion) that James and Peter were discussing the circumcision issue with the other church leaders – The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. (v. 6). Then they took the time to hear from the major parties who had been at the forefront of the Gentile missions. Then I’m sure the leaders gathered again and presented their recommendation. We’ll see tomorrow that the matter was resolved.

These few verses (1-21) provide a lesson for all of us. Where there are church “issues” we need to listen to one another; our church leadership needs to listen to the body; then in the end we need to defer to our church leadership (with prayer and fasting), trusting that they are being led by the Holy Spirit. Just that…!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 15:1-5

First, a couple of brief geographical items… Paul and Barnabas (and a large contingent of Christians) are based in “Antioch”. This “Antioch” is Syrian Antioch, about 300 miles north of Jerusalem, on the northeast coast of the Mediterranean, as opposed to Pisidian Antioch, which Paul and Barnabas had visited in chapters 13 and 14, in the heart of modern-day Turkey. So most mentions of Antioch, with no context or qualifier, refer to Syrian Antioch, the “secondary head” of the church outside of Jerusalem.

Second, when verse 1 says that “…some men came down from Judea…”, their coming “down” relates to the elevation of Jerusalem, which was built on Mount Moriah, the mountain where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. So “coming down” from Jerusalem does not mean going south like we would refer today. Instead, it’s an elevation thing.

This Jerusalem Council, most of chapter 15, is a good lesson in church unity and leadership, often referred to when divisive issues arise within the church. We’ll see more of how that works out in the next two days. Today all we have is Paul and Barnabas reporting the results of their missionary activity to believers in Phoenicia (Tyre, Sidon), Samaria, and Jerusalem – where for the most part their reports were well received: they “brought great joy to all the brothers” (v. 3) and in Jerusalem they “were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders” (v. 4).

The divisive issue is raised in verse 5: But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” And while circumcision is the divisive issue, it is worth noting that we see a number of Pharisees as believers! Some of them have come a long way, no doubt influenced by Peter and John before their Council (Acts 3-4), Saul’s conversion and testimony (Acts 9, ff.), and other events in and around Jerusalem and Judea. Pharisees as believers is a huge step forward for the Jerusalem church!! Glory!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 14:19-28

It’s so strange that Jews from Antioch would come all the way to Lystra (130 miles) just to harass Paul and Barnabas. Iconium was only 20 miles from Lystra, so some Jews from Antioch had probably followed Paul and Barnabas to Iconium and been part of the rabble that drove them out of Iconium. And then that harassment becomes deadly!! I’m trying to understand that Jewish mindset. Was it jealousy? Or was it fear? Why did they have such hatred for Paul and Barnabas that they would want them stoned and left for dead? The Jews could only stone people for blasphemy, so Paul and Barnabas talking about Jesus as that Messiah that the Jews had long expected must have set them off. It was a positive message that somehow got fully twisted in their minds.

So Paul and Barnabas flee a short distance to Derbe where they make more disciples. Then they re-trace their steps to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch strengthening the believers there. That is, Paul and Barnabas were not willing to leave their new converts (presumably, mostly Gentiles) without further encouragement and guidance. Theirs is a strong message of discipleship. And in the very next chapter we will see Paul and Barnabas desiring to return to these same cities, again to strengthen and encourage them (15:36). I truly admire their dedication to those new converts. Glory!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 14:8-18

It’s so strange that Jews from Antioch would come all the way to Lystra (130 miles) just to harass Paul and Barnabas. Iconium was only 20 miles from Lystra, so some Jews from Antioch had probably followed Paul and Barnabas to Iconium and been part of the rabble that drove them out of Iconium. And then that harassment becomes deadly!! I’m trying to understand that Jewish mindset. Was it jealousy? Or was it fear? Why did they have such hatred for Paul and Barnabas that they would want them stoned and left for dead? The Jews could only stone people for blasphemy, so Paul and Barnabas talking about Jesus as that Messiah that the Jews had long expected must have set them off. It was a positive message that somehow got fully twisted in their minds.

So Paul and Barnabas flee a short distance to Derbe where they make more disciples. Then they re-trace their steps to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch strengthening the believers there. That is, Paul and Barnabas were not willing to leave their new converts (presumably, mostly Gentiles) without further encouragement and guidance. Theirs is a strong message of discipleship. And in the very next chapter we will see Paul and Barnabas desiring to return to these same cities, again to strengthen and encourage them (15:36). I truly admire their dedication to those new converts. Glory!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 14:1-7

Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. (v. 3) Luke makes a powerful statement here, that the Lord was personally intervening – that He “was testifying” (or “bearing witness”) to the words that Paul and Barnabas were speaking, allowing “signs and wonders to be done by their hands”. Luke also notes that Paul and Barnabas were speaking “with reliance upon the Lord”. So put these two items together – if we speak boldly with reliance upon the Lord, will He testify to His words with signs and wonders done by our hands? Do we have that kind of confidence in the Lord’s power in this day and age? I daresay that I fail in this regard. I have seen “signs and wonders”, but mostly they have come as a surprise. And I have spoken boldly about the Lord, but probably not with complete reliance upon Him. I’ve got a lot to learn…!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 13:42-52

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. (v. 45) Again, Jewish leaders’ jealousy, even though in the previous verse we see “almost the whole city” gathering to hear Paul and Barnabas. But rather than listen themselves, jealousy overcomes the Jewish leaders to see that they are losing their crowds. Then they get belligerent just a few verses later (see below).

But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing… (v. 50a). I’ve always been intrigued by this verse, the “devout women of high standing” being recruited by the Jewish leaders to stand against Paul and Barnabas. Why would the Jewish leaders feel it necessary for women to speak up? Did their voices carry greater weight? In my (failed) memory I had thought that this incident had occurred on a number of occasions in Acts, but 13:50 is the only one. What surprised me, however, was just the opposite, that “…a number of the leading women…” in Thessalonica were mentioned as converts (Acts 17:4). Later we will see more women in leading roles in Paul’s ministry.

Slava Bohu!

Acts 13:26-41

There’s a lot of information in these sixteen verses; I can’t touch on them all, but I’ll hit a few.

Here’s the one that hit me the most: …and for many days He appeared to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem… (v. 31). Paul is saying here that Jesus appeared alive after His resurrection ?only? to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. That alone is strange, that Jesus would appear only to His disciples. But what is doubly strange is that Peter said the same thing a few chapters back: …but God raised Him on the third day and made Him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. (Acts 10:40-41). Peter even emphasizes, “…not to all the people…” (op. cit.) I posted earlier, wondering why Jesus did not appear to Pilate or the Jewish leaders. Again, I wonder – but I do not question!!!

Another item in that verse 31 quote above: …those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem… All of Jesus’ disciples came with Him to Jerusalem from outside Jerusalem. All twelve, in fact, were Galileans except Judas who very possibly was from either the Transjordan or the south of Judea – but still, not from Jerusalem. I wonder if this item had any bearing on the Jewish leaders’ unwillingness to accept Jesus as the Messiah – not only did He not come from Jerusalem, but also His entire group of followers was from outside Jerusalem. Paul certainly contrasts Jesus’ disciples with …those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers… (v. 27). Interesting…

For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize Him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. (v. 27) Just a bit of clarity on this strange sentence construction: the “them” (five words from the end) refers to “…the utterances of the prophets…, earlier in mid-sentence. So leave out “which are read every Sabbath” and the sentence reads more clearly.

Finally, one last time Paul connects Jesus with His Old Testament forebears: what God promised to the fathers, this He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus (vv. 32-33). Jesus IS the long-ago promise of the Father through the prophets!!

What a glorious passage!!!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 13:13-25

And John left them and returned to Jerusalem… (v. 13b) Some of you may not know it, but this is a key item in Acts. It will show up later when Paul and Barnabas are ready to go off on their second missionary journey (vv. 15:36, ff.). This “John” is John Mark, also known as Mark, the writer of the second Gospel.

Paul preaching: God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin… (v. 21). A small item here… Paul mentions Saul’s lineage here, from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the twelve tribes of Israel, but he does not mention David’s tribe, Judah, from whom the Messiah would come. Why this disparity? Paul was himself also from the tribe of Benjamin. And the tribe of Benjamin has a storied history. Read the full story in Judges 19-20 of how Benjamin came to be the smallest tribe. So both (King) Saul and Paul came from Benjamin – worth noting that two huge Jewish leaders would come from this smallest tribe.

Beginning in verse 16 we have the first and longest of Paul’s sermons that are recorded in Acts (see https://www.leadershipresources.org/blog/list-of-sermons-in-acts/). Paul’s sermons often follow a pattern of history, Jesus, repentance, and salvation. Today we have only the first half of that sermon, with Paul tracing highlights of Jewish history before introducing Jesus and John the Baptist. The rest of the sermon, focusing on Jesus’ death, resurrection, and salvation through Him, will come tomorrow.

Slava Bohu!

Acts 13:4-12

You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy… (v. 10) I chuckle every time I read Paul’s description of Elymas. I’m sure Paul was referring to his deeds, not his actual person, but he has harsh words, nonetheless! Recall that Peter had met up with a magician/sorcerer named Simon back in chapter 8 and Peter had properly chastised him – much less harshly than Paul’s words to Elymas. And with Simon we saw some hint of repentance; we don’t see any of that with Elymas. He is struck blind and that’s where the text leaves him, being led about by the hand. But Sergius Paulus, the proconsul believed, and Elymas was his friend; maybe Elymas also turned to faith. We can only hope!

But Saul, who was also called Paul… (v. 9) Here we have the first occurrence of Saul’s name being changed to Paul – and Paul never again being referred to as Saul. We also see a change from here on (except while in Jerusalem) of the listing of “Barnabas and Saul” changing to “Paul and Barnabas”. Paul, in fact, is the lead figure for the entire rest of the book of Acts. The proconsul may have been Paul’s first convert – and that conversion may have forever changed Paul. GLORY!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 13:1-3

That’s quite a diversity of prophets in Antioch – hailing from Cyprus, Crete, Tarsus, Lybia?, and Judea?!

We have not heard much about Saul since his visit to Jerusalem and his going back home to Tarsus (9:26-30). It’s now been about ten years since his conversion. We saw that Barnabas went to Tarsus to bring him back to Antioch (11:25-26) and that they have now been there for a year or so, including their trip to Jerusalem to bring famine relief to the disciples in Jerusalem (11:29, 12:25). Now, from this point forward most of the rest of this book will be devoted to Saul.

My Study Bible pointed out that this missionary trip to which the disciples were sending Barnabas and Saul was not the result of a planning meeting – not a “vision, goals, and objectives” retreat – but the Holy Spirit responding to their worshiping, praying, and fasting. A model for all of us, for all time, for all ways…!

Slava Bohu!