Acts 15:5
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But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM TO DECIDE ON THE NECESSITY OF CIRCUMCISION FOR THE GENTILE CONVERTS. (Acts 15:1-35) certain men--See the description of them in Gal 2:4.
Open source ↗Hitherto we have, with a great deal of pleasure, attended the apostles in their glorious travels for the propagating of the gospel in foreign parts, have seen the bounds of the church enlarged by the accession both of Jews and Gentiles to it; and thanks be to that God who always caused them to triumph. We left them, in the close of the foregoing chapter, reposing themselves at Antioch, and edifying the church there with the rehearsal of their experiences, and it is a pity they should ever be otherwise employed; but in this chapter we find other work (not so pleasant) cut out for them. The Christians and ministers are engaged in controversy, and those that should have been now busied in enlarging the dominions of the church have as much as they can do to compose the divisions of it; when they should have been making war upon the devil's kingdom they have much ado to keep the peace in Christ's kingdom. Yet this occurrence and the record of it are of great use to the church, both for warning to us to expect such unhappy discords among Christians, and direction to us what method to take for accommodating them. Here is, I. A controversy raised at Antioch by the judaizing teachers, who would have the believing Gentiles brought under the yoke of circumcision and the ceremonial law (Act 15:1, Act 15:2). II. A consultation held with the church at Jerusalem about this matter, and the sending of delegates thither for that purpose, which occasioned the starting of the same question there (Act 15:3-5). III. An account of what passed in the synod that was convened upon this occasion (Act 15:6). What Peter said (Act 15:7-11). What Paul and Barnabas discoursed of (Act 15:12). And, lastly, what James proposed for the settling of this matter (Act 15:13-21). IV. The result of this debate,…
Open source ↗15:5 These Pharisees were believers, yet they retained their strong adherence to the law of Moses. Paul argued against their message most strenuously (see Gal 1:6-9; 2:14–3:14).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.
When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,