2/16/2025 Pastor Mark Vucekovich (Acts 15:1–35, “To The Brothers Who Are Of The Gentiles”)

(QUESTIONS)

Acts 15:1-35 (Go to the ESV Bible verses)

Key Verse: 15:23, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.“

1.  Describe Paul and Barnabas’ return to the Antioch church (14:26–28). What controversy arises, and why (15:1)? How is it handled (2)? What happens on their way (3) and in the Jerusalem church (4)? What can we learn from this?

2.  Who objects, and why (5)? With what issues does the Jerusalem church seem to be struggling (6)? What event does Peter mention, and how is this helpful (7–9)? How does he rebuke them (10)? What does he conclude, and why is this crucial (11)?

3.  How does the assembly respond (12a)? What do Barnabas and Paul add (12b), and how does it support what Peter said? What does James say (13–18)? How are the verses from Amos 9:11–12 helpful? What does he conclude (19–21)? Why should the Gentile believers abstain from these things (skim also Rom.14; 1 Cor.8)?

4.  Who is chosen to go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, and why (22)? Read verse 23. In this passage, count the number of times the words “Gentiles” and “brothers” are repeated. How can we see each other as “brothers” (Gal.3:26–28; Rom.15:7)? How can we treat each other as brothers practically (Rom.14:10,13,15,19)?

5.  In the letter, what do they say about those who went to Antioch earlier (24)? How are Barnabas and Paul described (25–26)? How does it conclude (28–29)? How does the church in Antioch receive this letter (30–31)? What do Judas and Silas do (32)? How is their leaving described (33)? What do Paul and Barnabas do (35)?

(MESSAGE)

Key Verse: 15:23, “…with the following letter: ‘The brothers, both the apostles and elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.’”

How do you see your fellow Christians? Some might agree with Linus in the Peanuts cartoon, who said, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand!” Some go church shopping and are so selective about the Christians they’ll let into their lives. Avoiding Christians different from us is probably not God’s design. In Acts, God has been using his witnesses to share the good news of Jesus across geographical, cultural and ethnic barriers. Now, in chapter 15 two very different churches have to come to terms with this new reality. It may seem irrelevant to us. But it’s showing us that in Christ we all need to develop cross-cultural relationships. The key term here is “brothers.” In Acts, “brother” is repeated 57 times, far more than any other New Testament book. What does it mean to see people as our “brothers” and “sisters”? How can we see one another this way? And why should we? May God speak to us through his word.

When Paul and Barnabas came back from their missionary journey to the church in Antioch, they declared all that God had done with them, and how God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (14:27b). It was exciting. But to them, it was really nothing new. The Antioch church began with Jewish Christians telling Greeks the good news about the Lord Jesus (11:20). Soon, God made Barnabas and Paul the leaders of this church. And ever since, God has been using these two to bring many more Gentiles to faith in Jesus. It was not their idea; the Holy Spirit sent them out to “open” this “door.” In their travels, they would first go to a Jewish synagogue, and when they were rejected, they would turn to the Gentiles. They were holding on to God’s command that his Servant Jesus be a light for the Gentiles (13:46–47). God was working with them in the hearts of many Gentiles to believe in Jesus and have eternal life (13:48). God’s plan all along was to send Spirit-filled witnesses of Jesus to the end of the earth (1:8). It was a great vision. But it was hard for his people to see and live by this vision. It still is.

Look at verse 1. These Jews are concerned about the number of Gentiles being allowed into the Christian community. Maybe they’re afraid that if Gentiles keep coming, they themselves will lose their Jewish identity. Maybe they think that in welcoming Gentiles “as is,” they’ll displease God. In the Old Testament God said that if anyone wanted to join his people he had to be circumcised (Gen.17:10–14; Ex.12:48–49). So they think they have to impose this rule, this “custom of Moses” on all Gentile believers. Verse 1 calls the Gentiles who believe in Jesus “brothers.” But these men tell them if they don’t get circumcised, “you cannot be saved.” They’ve made the law of circumcision not a racial or cultural but a core theological issue. Acts proclaims the good news in Jesus as the grace of God to us (4:33; 6:8; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3,26). But sadly, people usually prefer rules and laws. We mistakenly think that being strict about rules is more spiritual than grace.

What happens? Look at verse 2a. Paul and Barnabas have “no small dissension and debate with them.” Why are they fighting this so hard? Why not just let Gentile believers get circumcised, to keep the peace? For one thing, adding circumcision to the Christian faith would sharply reduce the number of Gentile conversions. But the issue is much deeper. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says getting circumcised means thinking we need Jesus plus something else for our salvation. But if we add even a tiny law, we lose the essence of the gospel itself (Gal.1:6–7). Making any law essential for salvation takes us back to a whole system of laws that God is calling us to be free from (Gal.5:3). Accepting any law for salvation means that in fact, we’re rejecting grace (Gal.5:4). We go back to relying on rules instead of fully trusting God’s grace to us in Jesus.

But circumcision is a normal life custom for the Jerusalem church. Now these few legalists are making the Antioch church feel like they are not fully equals, even insinuating they’re starting a heretical sect.^[1] The Antioch church realizes this is serious. What do they do? Look at verse 2b. They appoint Paul and Barnabas and some others to go to Jerusalem to get clarification. Paul and Barnabas, the teaching pastors, have emphasized everywhere that all Gentiles need do is turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Lord Jesus. But now, this Gentile church needs to know whether the gospel they believe is the same as in the Jewish church. It looks like they might very well split off from each other.

So for the whole Christian movement, it’s a crisis. Persecution from without has been a threat; now, it’s division from within. Yet Paul and Barnabas don’t get consumed by it. Read verse 3. They go around sharing all about God’s work on their first missionary journey. They focus on what God has been doing. Phoenicia along the coast and Samaria on the way to Judea were famous as mixed race territories. Historically, Jews of Judea despised them. But in these places, too, people have accepted the gospel and been changed. So, the news of many Gentiles turning to Christ brings “great joy to all the brothers” here. These despised people who now believe in Jesus are also called “brothers.” Gospel work among undeserving sinners is still a source of great joy to those in Christ.

Look at verse 4. The team from Antioch is “welcomed by the church” in Jerusalem. “Welcomed” means “accepted with friendliness as honored guests.” This delegation might be a little surprised that not everyobody in the Jerusalem church is like the men insisting on circumcision. Paul and Barnabas are given the opportunity to declare all that God has done with them. Then it happens. Look at verse 5. These people are from “the party of the Pharisees.”^[2] They’re declaring Gentile believers not only get circumcised but also be “ordered” to “keep the law of Moses” (cf. 1 Tim.1:7). By this time, so many joined the Jerusalem church that even Pharisees found a home there. The danger in welcoming everyone is that the gospel may not be planted very deeply in some. And Pharisees have a strong influence due to their history and social status as religious leaders.

Verses 6–21 describe the debate among the Jerusalem church leaders. It’s not a closed meeting; it’s the original apostles of Jesus and the elders (6), plus the entire assembly (12). First up is Peter. Read verses 7–9. As the first leader of the church, Peter makes a powerful statement. What he says is rooted not in his personal idea but in fact. God chose to have him share the word of the gospel with Gentiles and cause them to believe. Then God gave these Gentiles the Holy Spirit, making them essentially the same as Jewish believers. God doesn’t make an issue of outward matters like culture or race; God knows the heart. And God cleansed the Gentiles’ hearts by their faith in Jesus. Physical circumcision can never do that. A clean heart is the best, and it’s real circumcision (Rom.2:29).

Peter rebukes them. Read verse 10. Putting God to the test means making him angry. They think their legalism is pleasing God, but really it’s infuriating him. “Placing a yoke on the neck” means enslaving and burdening. The “yoke” is not just circumcision but “the law of Moses.” This doesn’t mean the heart-moving moral and ethical laws about loving God and fellow humans,^[3] but all the ritual laws––the nit-picky, dietary, cleansing and holiness laws^[4] which made life hard to live. To these, the Jewish rabbis added “traditions of the elders” (Mark 7:1–13). They were constantly criticizing and judging one another for not keeping them strictly or perfectly enough. It was so much, honestly, nobody could bear it. Peter concludes. Read verse 11. This is the simple gospel. We all are saved only through believing in the grace of the Lord Jesus. This salvation is the same for everybody, Jew and Gentile, any race, any time, any place. There’s absolutely no need to add anything else to it. So, Peter is saying that Jews and Gentiles actually become brothers through their common faith in the grace of Jesus. Anyone who receives the grace of Jesus by faith is our true brother and sister. Paul writes in Galatians 3:26–28, “…for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” For those who are used to hierarchy, and categorizing and classifying people, this is a most uncomfortable statement. But this is the truth of the gospel that God calls us all to live by. How does the church respond? Read verse 12. The silence means people can’t argue with what Peter just said; they agree. They also allow Paul and Barnabas to describe the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles when they simply preached this gospel. These signs and wonders were done by the mighty work of the Holy Spirit. In light of this, extra laws are totally irrelevant.

Next, James speaks up. This James is the half-brother of Jesus (Gal.1:19).^[5] After Peter fled due to persecution, God allowed James to lead the church.^[6] As leader, James makes the decisive statement. Read verses 13–14. “Simeon” is “Simon Peter”; through him, God chose to take from the Gentiles “a people for his name.” This means they now belong to God. Anyone who receives the grace of Jesus by faith belongs to God. To support this truth, James quotes Scripture. Read verses 15–18. These words are from the prophet Amos. Of all the places in the Old Testament that mention God’s plan to save the Gentiles, James picks the prophet Amos. It’s so interesting: in its themes, Amos is much like the Book of James in the New Testament. Amos’ main theme is the universal justice of God. God holds people of every nation accountable to his justice. Amos rebuked his people’s pride, easygoing life, social inequality, moral decay, and religious complacency, and he challenged them to have genuine piety. He also predicted that soon Northern Israel would be destroyed, but that God would still carry out his own plan for the world. God would destroy the thresholds of the temple and go after all his unrepentant people looking for hiding places. But God would raise the booth of David that had fallen and restore its ruins. It’s so that “the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name” (16–17; Amos 9:11–12). God preserved the lineage of David to send Jesus for all mankind to seek him, and to redeem all the Gentiles called by his name. James, with prophetic insight, could see what God was doing.

How does he conclude? Read verse 19. Here “trouble” means “to cause extra difficulty, hardship, and continual annoyance.” This is what legalism always does. James blesses Gentile believers and greatly values their turning to God through faith in the grace of Jesus. Then he adds some necessities to maintain fellowship. Look at verse 20. This describes how unconverted Gentiles lived at the time. Mainly they were known for idolatry, sexual immorality, and disrespect for life, seen in their consuming blood. Such amoral behavior is rampant in our culture today. The message here is that, if we want to live as Christians, not only do we need to receive Jesus’ grace by faith; we need to leave the corruption of the world. If we’re still indulging in idolatry and immorality, we’re not living a Christian life. Idols are not really statues, but anything and anyone that captures our hearts. In this context, these requirements are not only about personal spiritual health and growth, but so that new Gentile believers can be close with Jewish believers who are serious about keeping their lives free of such things.

What comes next? Look at verse 22a. The Jerusalem church decides to choose men from among them and send them back with Paul and Barnabas to the Antioch church, out of the sincerest respect. Read verses 22b–23. “They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: ‘The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.’” “Brothers” is repeated here three times. Jewish Christians in the Jerusalem church are not all burdensome legalists; they’re brothers in Christ. Gentile Christians in Antioch are not all unclean idolaters and sexually immoral; they’re brothers in Christ. As Paul wrote elsewhere, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor.5:17). It’s especially amazing that Gentiles, who had no hope and were without God in the world, are brought near through the blood of Christ; now they’re fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph.2:12–13,19). As we see in the rest of the passage, this encouraging letter brought joy to the many new Gentile believers, and it resulted in peace, not division (31,33).

The word “brothers” (repeated in this chapter eleven times) is saying that we’re all dear family in Christ. We’re united in him in the closest possible way. We share the same faith and identity, and the same grace. Instead of focusing on our differences, we need to see our brotherhood. Can you see it? For some people, human family background is so important. But even if we’re literally orphans, or from a devastated human family, in Christ we’re all adopted by his grace into God’s family. We have absolutely no claim to this based on our human family or religious connections. Only by faith in Christ and his grace of forgiveness are we now allowed into God’s family to have such deeply loving relationships.

The Bible calls our Lord Jesus “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom.8:29b). His amazing grace sanctifies us, so he’s not ashamed to call us brothers (Heb.2:11–12). In fact, in his grace we’re all “brothers beloved by the Lord” (2 Thess.2:13). In his famous Parable of the Lost Son, Jesus described the older son complaining that “this son of yours…has devoured your property with prostitutes.” But his father told him, “…this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:30,32). This sinner, returning only by grace, is “this your brother.” In this brotherhood we’re to show no partiality (James 2:1). We’re to live a holy life, not use others for our own lust (1 Thess.4:3–7). If we see a brother or sister poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, we’re called to give the things needed for the body.^[7] Paul saw those not wise according to worldly standards, not powerful, not of noble birth, as brothers (1 Cor.1:26). He taught us to see even a weak person as “the brother for whom Christ died” (1 Cor.8:11). The way Paul saw people was key to the fruitfulness of his ministry.

As members of God’s family, we’re called to love and mutually support each other––spiritually, emotionally, and practically. We’re called to the same mission, to live as ambassadors of Christ’s love in this world (2 Cor.5:20). In Christ we all share this glorious purpose. Paul wrote a letter to the Romans, a diverse community of both Jews and Gentiles. After explaining the gospel, he rebuked them, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother?” (14:10a) He said, “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (14:19). The truth of our brotherhood in Christ changes not only the way we view each other but even our goals.

It starts in our own families. If a husband and wife are constantly criticizing and judging each other, no matter how hard they work, they’re not going in a good direction. Before trying to do a lot, our way of thinking needs to change, based on the truth in Christ that we are brothers and sisters. We all have blind spots, hidden judgmentalism, and even racism in our hearts. We don’t trust or open our hearts to each other, for many reasons. But we need to accept the truth that in the grace of Jesus and by faith in him, we’re dear brothers and sisters. God wants us not to hide from or elevate above each other, but to unite with each other in our Lord Jesus. In the summer of 1982 after an ISBC, I received a gift Bible as an award. On the dedication page were these handwritten words: “From: Your friend and brother in Christ, Samuel Lee.” No title. No qualifications. He heard my long life testimony and knew all my sins. But he called such a sinful and weak person like me his friend and brother. That he considered himself my friend and brother was mind-blowing to me. When I was a boy there was a popular song, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. At the time I was too young to get it. But after I became a Christian, I could. People can be crippled by sin or by legalism, even our fellow Christians. They need carrying.^[8] Do we see each other as brothers? Can we carry each other with hope, with gladness, with willingness?

Let’s read verse 23 again. May God move our hearts to see each other in Christ as the dearest brothers and sisters.

^[1] Earlier, Gentile believers in Antioch sent an offering to Jerusalem when they heard they were going through a famine (11:27–29). But now the issue of circumcision is threatening to sever this relationship and isolate them.

^[2] This word “party” can also mean “heresy.”

^[3] Cf. Rom.13:8,10; Gal.5:14.

^[4] Cf. Mark 7:10; Heb.7:27; 10:1–2,5–25.

^[5] For Peter’s leaving, see 12:17. James the brother of John (the disciples of Jesus) has already been martyred by Herod (12:1–2). At first, James the brother of Jesus didn’t believe in him (John 7:5). But after Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead, he appeared to his brother James (1 Cor.15:7a), who received the gospel and was changed.

^[6] In the Jewish way of thinking, though James was not one of the original twelve apostles, he could lead because he was Jesus’ half-brother.

^[7] James 2:15–16; cf. 1 John 3:17.

^[8] In Galatians 6:2, the word “bear” can also be translated as “carry.”