22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them—Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers—to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, 23 and they sent this letter by them,
“The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some of us, to whom we gave no instruction, have gone out and disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,
25 it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, and they themselves will report the same things by word of mouth.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:
29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And both Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a lengthy message. 33 And after they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers in peace to those who had sent them. 34 [But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] 35 But Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 And Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there was such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Acts 15: 22-41 LSB
Acts 15: 22-41
Vs. 22-23 It seemed good to the Apostles and elders, with the whole church - They sent men from the Jerusalem council, men of good standing in the church, to be witnesses that this is indeed where this letter comes from, and this is the teaching of the Apostles. There is a good principle here in that iron sharpens iron, going out by two you have the advantage of sharing the load, different strengths and gifts, accountability and encouragement. Here it is also a legal matter of the highest order, what is the actual gospel? These are the foundational teachings of the church, the standard for reform.
1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit. 2And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.… Luke 10: 1-2
1This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 2I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone,… 2 Corinthians 13: 1-2
Vs. 24-26 Some of us, to whom we gave no instruction - There's always those "hand me the microphone, I got something to say" guys out there. We have to be careful who we lay hands on, and even still people will go out and say, "I know this guy, I belong to that group, and this is what they would say on this matter", when clearly here, no one sent them to say what they are saying. It ends up being a different gospel, one of works, of conforming to ceremonial laws when the law was to reveal the trespass, to separate a people. No one was ever saved by their keeping of the law. "They went out from us" is often a harsh reality that we don't want to face.
…14Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying to you a lie. 15For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish— you and the prophets who prophesy to you.” 16Then I said to the priests and to all this people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Look, very soon now the articles from the house of the LORD will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying to you a lie.… Jeremiah 27: 14-16
…22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ 24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.… Matthew 7: 22-24
V. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas - Silas will later accompany Paul on another missionary journey.
We have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things - In other words, in addition to the witness of Barnabas and Paul, Judas and Silas would be two more witnesses from the home church in Jerusalem who would vouch for the authenticity and explain the necessity for the written instructions. - PA
V. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden upon you than these essentials - They verify salvation by grace through faith, that these new gentile believers do not have to become Jews first, circumcision is not salvific. Refer to previous posts:
V. 29 That you abstain - This goes back over what was discussed at the Jerusalem council with James, see links above.
Vs. 30-31 When they read it they rejoiced - What a burden this must have lifted, it's Christ alone. Paul and Barnabas had been teaching them the correct gospel all along. The feedback was that they show patience with those who were still under the law, that they not abuse their grace and cause those of the circumcision to stumble.
Vs. 32-35 Also being prophets themselves - A bonus with these men was that they were also able to teach and exhort, which help to further mature the believers at Antioch.
V. 36 See how they are - This is a great and valuable lesson for us. Paul didn't do drive by or hit and runs. He didn't give out the check this box if you want to be friends with Jesus track and then leave them on their own. Here we see the continued work of a shepherd, looking for fruit, discipling those who now profess Christ, helping them grow in the faith. There is nothing worse than being stagnant, being in a place where no one can give wise council, where everyone is good with anything you say, and no one evaluates it or challenges you. Some people love places like that because you can hide, but you won't grow. I love that Paul goes back to water Christ's garden everywhere that he has sewn seed.
…18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”… Matthew 28: 18-20
Vs. 37-41 Barnabas wanted to take John called Mark - The great argument here is always, who was right in this? I think both were right in their thinking. I've seen Pastors put off Barnabas, whose name means "Son of Encouragement", as being nepotistic or just an overly emotional guy, yet these were men who risked their lives for the gospel. It would be a violation of the Greek word to leave his motives at just family or feelings. It connotes intent born of consideration and thought, well aware of his cousin's past mistake. We do also see that not only Barnabas and Paul make up later, but Paul also notes a change in John Mark, there is reconciliation there as well. So then Paul was wrong? No, Paul was logical, and I would say 99 out of 100 times, his reasoning, based on the facts, would help in business, life in general, and the church, to help avoid catastrophe. I think they were both wrong in letting the contention get to the level it did, and Paul being the senior Apostle to the gentiles, I think that Macarthur makes a good point that Barnabas should have submitted. God, in his sovereignty, knew this faction would occur though, and as grievous as it was, instead of one team going out there was now two. Note in v. 40 that Paul chose Silas and left "committed" by the brethren, or with their blessing. It does not say the same of John Mark and Barnabas, but this is a great section to meditate on as differences will arise, but Christ must be all in all. When we do split or leave, then it needs to be for higher matters, things that go against the Word of God, violate sound doctrine, but not because of our egos. Some arguments are actually important and defining of times and matters in the church, but let us be gracious and not condescending, let us tell the truth in love, hoping that God will be glorified and His order and peace restored.
The NAS may be a bit weak translating it as "wanted" and the KJV a bit more on point by translating it as "determined" because the picture is of Barnabas deliberating and deciding on taking John Mark. Furthermore "wanted" is in the imperfect tense speaking of Barnabas' insistence in taking John Mark. It is interesting that the imperfect tense is also used in the next verse of Paul insisting. One gets the picture of Barnabas "wanting" and Paul countering with "insisting!"
Wanted (intended) (1014)(boulomai) refers to a settled desire, one born of or springing from reason and not from emotion. To will, to wish, to will deliberately, to intend, to have a purpose, to be minded. Boulomai underlines the preset determined intention which drives one's planning, wishing, resolving. In contrast, the verb thelo focuses on the desire ("wishfulness") behind making an offer. Boúlomai expresses also the inward predisposition and bent from which active volition proceeds. - PA
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.