4.
The trouble concerning circumcision
15:1-34
a.
A conference of the apostles and elders held in Jerusalem
vv. 1-21
Acts 15
:1
15:1
And certain men
1came down from
aJudea and began to teach the
bbrothers,
2cUnless you are
3dcircumcised according to the
4ecustom of Moses, you cannot be saved.
Acts 15
:2
15:2
And when no little
1dissension and discussion with them came about through Paul and Barnabas,
the brothers directed Paul and Barnabas and certain others among them to go up to the apostles and
aelders in
2bJerusalem concerning this question.
Acts 15
:3
15:3
They therefore, having been
asent forward by the
1bchurch, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail about the turning of the
cGentiles; and they brought great joy to all the
dbrothers.
Acts 15
:4
15:4
And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were
areceived by the
bchurch and the apostles and the elders, and they
cdeclared the things that God had done with them.
Acts 15
:5
15:5
But certain men from the
asect of the
1Pharisees who had believed rose up from among
them, saying, It is
bnecessary to
2circumcise them and to charge
them to
3keep the
claw of Moses.
Acts 15
:6
15:6
And the apostles and the elders were
1gathered together to see about this matter.
Acts 15
:7
15:7
And when much discussion had taken place, Peter rose up and said to them,
1Men, brothers, you know that from the
2early days God
achose from among you that through my mouth the
bGentiles should hear the word of the
cgospel and believe.
Acts 15
:8
15:8
And God, the Knower of
ahearts, bore witness to them, giving
them the Holy
bSpirit even
cas also to us;
Acts 15
:9
15:9
And He made
ano distinction between us and them,
bcleansing their
1hearts by faith.
Acts 15
:10
15:10
Therefore why are you now
atesting God by placing a
1byoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Acts 15
:11
15:11
But we believe that through the
1agrace of the Lord Jesus we are
bsaved in the same way also as they are.
Acts 15
:12
15:12
And all the multitude became silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul
arelating all the
bsigns and wonders God had done among the
cGentiles through them.
Acts 15
:13
15:13
And when they
1finished speaking,
aJames answered, saying,
2Men, brothers, listen to me.
Acts 15
:14
15:14
1Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take out from
them a
apeople for His name.
Acts 15
:15
15:15
And with this the words of the prophets agree, even as it is written,
Acts 15
:16
15:16
a"After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the
1tabernacle of David which has fallen; and I will rebuild its ruins and erect it again,
Acts 15
:17
15:17
So that the remainder of men may
aseek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles
1upon whom My
bname has been called,
Acts 15
:18
15:18
Says the Lord, who is making these things known
1afrom of old.''
Acts 15
:19
15:19
Therefore I judge that we do not harass those from the Gentiles who are
aturning to God,
Acts 15
:20
15:20
But that we write to them to abstain from the
acontaminations of
bidols and
cfornication and what is strangled and
dblood.
Acts 15
:21
15:21
For 1Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who proclaim him in the
2synagogues, he being
aread every Sabbath.
b.
The solution
vv. 22-34
Acts 15
:22
15:22
It then seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole
achurch to choose men from among them to send to Antioch together with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, who is called
bBarsabbas, and
cSilas, leading men among the brothers,
Acts 15
:23
15:23
Writing to them and sending by their hand
the following: The apostles and the elder brothers, to the
abrothers throughout Antioch and
bSyria and Cilicia who are of the Gentiles, rejoice.
Acts 15
:24
15:24
Since we have heard that certain ones who went out from among us have
atroubled you with
their words, unsettling your souls, to whom we gave no instruction,
Acts 15
:25
15:25
It seemed good to us, having become of
aone accord, to choose men to send to you together with our
bbeloved Barnabas and Paul,
Acts 15
:26
15:26
Men who have
1risked their
2alives for the
bname of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 15
:27
15:27
Therefore we have sent Judas and
aSilas, who themselves will report the same things by word
of mouth.
Acts 15
:28
15:28
For it seemed good to the Holy
aSpirit and to us to lay upon you no greater
bburden than these necessary things:
Acts 15
:29
15:29
To abstain from things that have been sacrificed to
aidols and blood and things strangled and fornication, from which if you carefully keep yourselves, you will do well. May you be strong.
Acts 15
:30
15:30
So when they had been sent away, they went down to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they handed
them the letter.
Acts 15
:31
15:31
And when they read
it, they rejoiced at the encouragement.
Acts 15
:32
15:32
And Judas and Silas, also being
1aprophets themselves, exhorted the brothers through much speaking and
bconfirmed them.
Acts 15
:33
15:33
And when they had spent some time
there, they were sent away with
apeace from the brothers to those who had sent them.
Acts 15
:34
15:34
1But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
5.
The problem of Barnabas
15:35-39
Acts 15
:35
15:35
And Paul and Barnabas stayed in
aAntioch, teaching and
bannouncing the word of the Lord as the gospel with many others also.
Acts 15
:36
15:36
Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brothers in
aevery city in which we announced the word of the Lord,
and see how they are doing.
Acts 15
:37
15:37
And Barnabas intended to take
aJohn, who is called Mark, along with
them also;
Acts 15
:38
15:38
But Paul did not consider it suitable to take with
them this one who
awithdrew from them in Pamphylia and did not go with them to the work.
Acts 15
:39
15:39
And there was a
1sharp contention, so that they separated from each other; and Barnabas, taking Mark along, sailed away to
aCyprus.
6.
The second journey
15:40—18:22
a.
To Syria and Cilicia
15:40-41
Acts 15
:40
15:40
But Paul chose
aSilas and
1went out, having been commended to the
bgrace of the Lord by the brothers.
Acts 15
:41
15:41
And he passed through
aSyria and Cilicia,
bconfirming the
cchurches.
