Don’s Daily Devotions

Acts chapter 15 v 36-41:

V36:  Some time later, Paul speaks to Barnabas of revisiting the churches founded on their previous journey, to see how they are and encourage them. In this we see a real concern for their continuing spiritual welfare and growth.

V37:  Barnabas, ever the great encourager, wants to take John Mark with them again.

V38:  Paul rejects this, because Mark left them on that first journey – as this verse clearly suggests, when things became difficult and perhaps dangerous. So Paul feels he is not to be trusted with such ministry again.

V39:  This becomes such a cause of dissention between Paul and Barnabas that they separate – no longer, it seems able to work amicably together! This seems amazing – 2 such men of God, who have worked together to such blessing. Bible commentators ( and preachers ) disagree about who was right and who was wrong – but whatever we conclude, let us be on our guard. Satan loves to divide believers, to split churches and disrupt the work. If it could happen to 2 such men, let us ever beware of causes of division ( Remember 1 Corinthians 10 v12.) Barnabas now takes Mark with him to his homeland of Cyprus. Some point out we hear no more of him in the NT. Was he wrong then to take Mark’s part? Was it coloured by the fact that Mark was related to him, as we learn in Colossians 4 v10?  But consider Paul’s own words in 2 Timothy 4 v11 – at the end of his life he has come to value Mark highly, and wants to see him again. To me this is more evidence of Barnabas’ ministry of encouragement bearing fruit. He looked through a young man’s failure to what the Lord could and would do with him in time to come, and was surely instrumental in this.

V40-41:  For all Satan’s efforts to disrupt, God’s work goes on, His kingdom advances. ( Matthew 16 v 18.)  Paul now chooses Silas,( surely ” v34″ is valid in explaining this.) They set off together on what will be the second great NT missionary journey, commended by the Antioch church. First, they revisit  the churches of the first journey, but soon they will break new and significant ground, as God directs their ministry.

Acts chapter 15 v 30-35:

V30-31:  So they come to Antioch, and deliver the letter to the church there, who are greatly encouraged and rejoice in this clarity. It emphasises that the church is One in Christ – there are not to be separate and distinct ” Jewish and Gentile” groups, or terms of faith.

V32:  Judas and Silas remain a while and teach and encourage the believers at Antioch, when they are called ” prophets”, it surely has its “ongoing meaning”, not so much foretelling the future, as declaring God’s Word with God-given power and authority.

V33:  Then the Antioch church send them back to Jerusalem,  with their blessing and in the peace of the Lord. Is there, then, an inconsistency with v40, where Silas becomes Paul’s new missionary companion?

V34: If you read either the ESV or the NIV, this verse is not printed in the main text, as it is in the AV and NKJV, but printed as a footnote. It says ” But it seemed good to Silas to remain there”. and as it stands certainly removes the problem of v40. There are 2 slightly different textual traditions of the NT, and theESV/NIV follow the one where the verse does not appear. But surely, it’s content explains v 40, whether in the original text or not, and suggests it is valid.

V35:  Paul and Barnabas remain a while at Antioch, still active together in ministry, along with ” many others “. All this speaks of a steadily growing church, under God’s continued blessing.

Acts chapter 15 v 23-29:

V23:  They bear a letter from the church, with the authority of the Apostles and Elders, welcoming the Gentile believers in Antioch and the other churches planted as brothers ( and sisters ) in  Christ, and greeting them warmly.

V24:  It emphasises that those men who came to Antioch and demanded legalistic burdens for the Gentiles ( v1.) did not come with the authority of the Jerusalem church, nor were sent by them.

V25-26:  So, they have sent Judas and Silas back with Paul and Barnabas ( who are spoken of as ” beloved” in Christ. ) It is not entirely clear if the reference to ” men who have risked their lives” for Christ’s sake refers to Judas  and Silas, or Paul and Barnabas – but probably the latter, as we know was the case on their missionary journey.

V27:  And Judas and Silas will endorse  by word of mouth all that the letter says.

V28-29:  The terms of the letter are repeated ( but specifically said to be the Holy Spirit’s revealed will ) The repetition again emphasises the importance of what is being said – how the Gentiles do not need to ” become like Jews” to be saved – Indeed, Jews like Gentiles are saved only by God’s grace, through faith in Christ ( Ephesians 2 v8-9.) We must realise what a major step this was for the early church, and how God is making His will and purpose clear, through His dealings with both Peter and Paul, and His revealed  Word in the OT. Yet the issue will raise it’s head again, as some of Paul’s letters show. Do we sometimes resist what the Lord is saying to us?

Acts chapter 15 v 19-22:

V19-20:  So James, clearly as led by the Holy Spirit, gives his judgement. Gentiles who trust in Christ are not to be burdened with the demands of the Law, but are exhorted to put away any trace of their pagan background, it’s idolatry and lifestyle, and also to avoid eating what would give offence to their Jewish brothers. This is not to impose OT Laws on them, but to to urge them to be mindful of Jewish scruples. Nor are we to see this as an ongoing “rule of life” for non-Jewish believers, but as an act of Christian love for that day, when the church was still primarily composed of Jewish people.

V21:  In this, they show regard for the OT Law, read every Sabbath in the synagogues ( from which many of these early Gentile converts have come, as previous ” God-fearers.”

 V22:  Now the Apostles, Elders and the whole Jerusalem church decide to send chosen men from among them to accompany Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch, no doubt to affirm the decision of the church personally. The 2 chosen men are Judas Barsabbas, of whom we learn little more, and Silas, who will become significant in the next round of Gospel expansion, alongside Paul.

Acts chapter 15 v 12-18:

V12:  All fall silent, as Barnabas and Paul ( an unusual return to the ” original order” in which they were first linked together ) tell how God has blessed and sealed their ministry to many Gentiles.

V13-14:  After they speak, James, as leader of the Jerusalem church, sums up what they have all heard, repeating how Simeon ( Peter’s Jewish name in its full form ) has told them of God’s undoubted saving choice of Gentiles.

V15-18:  He emphasises how this accords with, and was foretold in OT Scripture, quoting from Amos 9 v11-12. The quotation is slightly different from how those verses appear in our English versions of Amos, because he is quoting from the Greek version of the OT commonly in use even among the Jews at this time ( the Septuagint ) but there is no change of meaning – God declared through Amos how he would one day redeem not only Israel but chosen Gentiles too.

Acts chapter 15 v5-11:

V5:  Despite the general welcome from the Jerusalem church, Paul and Barnabas now face critical opposition from ” some believers …of the party of the Pharisees.” They are called believers, but they are still caught up in their legalistic background, and say that Gentile converts need to accept circumcision and the full weight of the law of Moses. Paul would later write of how he was set free from such legalism by God’s grace. ( Philippians 3 v5-9.)

V6-7:  The Apostles and Elders gather to consider this – clearly it is still a point of contention for some, but Peter reminds them how God has already sent him to the Gentiles ( the household of Cornelius, inch 10.) and brought them to saving faith.

V8-9:  And how the Holy Spirit sealed their conversion, and taught Peter that there was no difference between Jew and Gentile in the matter of faith – all is by God’s grace, through faith in Christ, with no other conditions.

V10-11:  How then can any seek to oppose God’s will, and lay the burden of the Law on Gentile converts, when the Jews themselves could never keep it or be saved through it? ( Compare Galatians 2 v15-16.)

Acts chapter 15 v1-4:

V1:  The issue of how Gentiles are to be received and accepted by the ( original ) Jewish believers remained a contentious one.Some Jews from Judea arrive in Antioch, telling the Gentiles there that they must become “Jewish” to be saved, receiving circumcision and coming under the Jewish laws. This was, of course, a denial of the true Gospel. Verse 24 will make it clear that they did not come with the authority of the Jerusalem church, or of James, it’s leader.

V2:  Paul and Barnabas at once take issue with them, and the Antioch church send them, with some others, to Jerusalem to clarify this whole issue with the Elders and Apostles there, for it is vital for the truth of the Gospel – Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. ( Ephesians 2 v 8-9.)

V3:  As they travel through Phoenicia and Samaria, they visit the churches there and report how God has indeed brought many Gentiles to faith, which these churches receive with no doubts or qualms, but with  great joy.

V4:   Arriving in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas are welcomed warmly by the “mother church”, including the Elders and Apostles, and again they speak of what the Lord has done through them. Notice the consistent emphasis not on what Paul and Barnabas have done, but what God has done through them, by His grace and to His own glory

Acts chapter 14 v 24-28:

V24:  They return then through Pisidia and Pamphilia. The encouragement of the believers in Antioch must actually have taken place at this stage, though summed up with the other churches in the previous verses.

V25-26:  They preach in Perga, though nothing is recorded of the outcome of their ministry there, then take ship from the port of Attalia and sail back to their sending church, Antioch in Syria.They are sure they have completed the work they have been set apart for at this stage, according to God’s will, and by His enabling grace alone.

V27:  They give a full report back to their sending church – reminding us that missionaries are answerable to the church they are sent by. If even Paul knew this was so, clearly it should be a lasting principle in Christian service. One man has said ” the NT knows nothing of “lone ranger missionaries”. They emphasise in their report the reality of God’s grace to the Gentiles, and their salvation through faith in Christ.

V28:  After this, Paul and Barnabas stay in Antioch for an unspecified length of time, settling back into their home church, and perhaps resuming their ministries there.

Acts chapter 14 v 19-23: 

V19:  Everything changes, with the arrival of antagonistic Jews from Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium, who must have pursued the missionaries from their own district, such is their bitterness against the Gospel. They turn the crowds against them, and Paul in particular, whom they drag outside the city and stone – leaving him for dead! How fickle and easily manipulated crowd emotions are, as with the crowds who welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday and howled ” crucify Him” 5 days later.

V20:  Believers – clearly there has been ministry in Lystra not recorded in this record, which has brought some to faith – gather around Paul, and he comes to, and is able to get up and go with them into the city. Some suggest he was dead and the Lord has restored him, but there is really no suggestion of this in the text. In 2 Corinthians 11 v 25 Paul speaks of how, among his sufferings in Christ’s service, ” once I  was stoned”, perhaps referring to this occasion. Then Paul and Barnabas travel on to Derbe.

V21-22:   As they preach in Derbe, God blesses their ministry and many are saved. No more detail is  given here, but ch 16 v1 suggests Timothy was one of them, and perhaps his mother too. The Apostles now begin their return journey back to Antioch in Syria, but first they revisit the new believers in Lystra ( despite the recent persecution there ) and then in Iconium and Pisidian Antioch. They seek to encourage them in the faith, warn them of hardship they will surely face for Christ’s sake ( Remember His own words in John 16 v33.) and exhort them to remain steadfast. Such ” after-care” for new Christians should always mark church-planting ministries.

V23:  They appoint Elders in the churches, surely with specially Holy Spirit given discernment, for these men themselves can not have been Christians for long, or have received much teaching themselves as yet – yet they must have shown evidence of the gifts needed for their new offices, all in the hands of the Lord, to whom Paul commits them.

Acts chapter 14 v 14-18:

V14:  Paul and Barnabas are horrified – as servants of the living God to whom alone belongs the glory.

V15:  They seek to stop the crowds, protesting that they are only mortal men like these Lystrans – but declaring they bring them a message of ” good news” – the root meaning of the Greek word translated as Gospel in our English versions.This is the truth that can deliver them from their false and vain religion to find the true and living God.

V16-17:  They tell them God has in the past left other nations ( than His covenant people Israel ) to their false religions, yet He has given witness to His true being and nature in His providential provision for all men. We note how differently Paul presents the Gospel to these Pagans to his previous synagogue audiences, where he can take them to the OT and how it points to and is fulfilled in Jesus. Here, with no such common ground, he speaks of God in creation and providence. He will do this again in Athens, in chapter 17. ( See also Romans 1 v19-20; Matthew 5 v44-45.) We are reminded of the need to ” start where men are”, in our Evangelism.

V18:  Yet even this declaration hardly prevents the crowd from offering them sacrifice. We see what a grip wrong beliefs can have on the hearts and minds of people.