5 But we did not surrender to them even for a moment, in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
6 But from those who were influential (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people) - those influential leaders added nothing to my message.
7 On the contrary, when they saw that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised just as Peter was to the circumcised
8 (for he who empowered Peter for his apostleship to the circumcised also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles)
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who had a reputation as pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
10 They requested only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.
Vs. 5 - “we did not surrender” - I would expect nothing less from Paul. A man fervent for God. He met Jesus in a miraculous way. He was taught personally by Jesus. It is impossible for me to conceive the possible argument that would convince Paul he was wrong. Remember, it took a dramatic revelation to change Paul’s direction in life!
“The truth of the gospel might remain” - Later in this letter Paul writes, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” Jesus told his disciples, “I have come that you might have life abundantly” (John 10:10) See also: Luke 4:17-21, John 8:36.
“Remain with you” - Paul wanted the church to celebrate its freedom. This is not a one-time request, but a desire for them to be continually immerse in their relationship with their savior.
Vs. 6 - “whatever they were makes no difference to me” - This is an odd, kind of ‘snarky’ comment from Paul. He has just told us about going from Antioch to Jerusalem to clear up the ‘Gentile’ issue. (See: Acts 15) There he met with “influential people” (Gal. 2:2). Perhaps Paul was peeved that he had to defend his ministry to the Gentiles for Christ. He understands the church must define this issue, there must be unity of doctrine. Yet, Paul and Barnabas needed to ‘prove’ to the church leaders that ministry was valid, even though Jesus called Paul!
Technically, Paul is correct, “God shows no favoritism between people.” (Acts 10:34, Col. 3:11). God has one criterium with respect to your eternal existence: Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? Nothing else matters. Your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life, or it isn’t. (See: Rev. 13:5; 20;12, 15: 21:27). Money, reputation, accomplishments, lifestyle will mean nothing if you are not His child.
“Influential leaders added nothing” - (See: Acts 11:7-20). This is a major watershed in the growth of the church.
First, the Gospel message is simplified: Christ and Him crucified. (1 Cor. 2:2)
Second, there a lot more Gentiles than Jews. As the military might put it, “It’s a target rich environment.” As the Gentile portion of the church expands, the Great Commission is being fulfilled (Matt. 28:18-20).
Third, as wonderful as Judaism is (through which we have our Savior), requiring a non-Jew to become a Jew places an onerous restriction on new believers. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) Peter filled with the Holy Spirit stated this early, right after Pentecost, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).
Paul acknowledges the results of this meeting was to leave his ministry as is: Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, and welcoming the new converts as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The problem with requiring Judaism for salvation: it is directly from Satan. It is also possible the Jewish Christians were falling back into old habits. All their lives the Jews were told to avoid Gentiles. So they were required to start a new way of thinking. We do not break old habits and discard them. We must overwrite old habits with new better habits. Occasionally, the old habits will raise their ugly heads. We must confess our failing to Jesus, and pray for guidance to re-establish the new habits. We deal with the same issue (maybe not ‘Judaism’) in that we have behavior that is non-Christian - anger, lust, jealousy, etc. I know I should not to get angry at the idiots on the freeway. Yet, if I am not controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit… the old bad habit leaps out and takes over. I am not saying, “The devil made me do it.” It is my own desire! (See: James 1:13-16.)
Vs. 7 - “I was entrusted with the gospel” - The conference of church leaders listened to Paul’s and Barnabas’ testimony. Again, this was a monumental decision: Paul was called as an apostle, just as Peter was called.
Vs. 8 - “for He who empowered” - Jesus called Peter to follow Him. Jesus taught Peter, mentored him, and modeled what He wanted done. No one doubted Peter was an apostle. Jesus called Paul to be His missionary. Jesus taught Paul, and sent him forth. Based on this, the imprimatur of the church, the body and bride of Christ was conferred to Paul also.
Vs. 9 - “James, Cephas, and John” - They listened to Peter’s recount of the vision in Joppa. The discussion and prayer led them to conclude the ministry to the Gentiles was a genuine as the ministry to the Jews. James - the brother of Jesus Christ, John - the one whom Jesus loved, and Peter (Cephas) - who uttered the Great Confession (Mark 8:29) were the leaders of the Jerusalem church. It could be said they were the most important world leaders of the church. These three took the decision of the council and pronounced Paul and Barnabas as genuine missionaries of the church.
“Right hand of fellowship” - Curious idiom. It is a custom that endures to this day, and probably started long before the early church. My guess is this comes from combat. Most people are right handed. An extended right hand shows there is no weapon so the greeting is ‘safe’. (Just confirmed this in Wikipedia and on Google.)
Vs. 10 - “They requested only” - Care for the poor - widows, orphans, strangers, and poor - is an integral part of the Judie-Christian faith. (See: Exo. 22:21-22, Deut. 10:17-19; Psa. 10:14b; Isa. 10:1-2; Jam. 1:27) Jesus acknowledged that the poor and downtrodden will more likely turn to God and faith in Christ. Look at Jesus’ ministry. Who flocked to Him? The sick, the poor, the needy. Jesus provided hope. Who became virulently opposed to Jesus? The spiritual leaders of Judah.
The Jerusalem church leaders also asked Paul and Barnabas to teach the Gentiles to refrain from activities that would offend Jews. Jewish Christians were going to accept Gentile Christians as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. However there were things the Gentiles might do that would be very offensive to Jews. (See: Acts 15:28, 29)
- stay away from items associated with idols
- fornication
- meat from animals that have been strangled
- blood
Idols: The Jews had a ‘checkered past’ with respect to idols - starting with a golden calf (Exo. 32:1-6), Baal (Judg. 3:13, 6:25), Asherah (1 Ki. 16:33), and Dagon (1 Sam. 5:2-5), to name a few. As for Gentiles, idols were commonplace in the secular world around them.
Fornication: The sin of fornication, specifically adultery is one of the 10 Commandments (Deut. 5:18), and there are several other places in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy where sex outside of marriage is forbidden. Perhaps fornication, and adultery, was the only activity that might have similar recriminations in both the Jewish and Gentile world (on the other hand, many foreign religions of the day had ‘temple prostitutes’, so maybe fornication was not a big deal for non-Jews in their former lives.)
Meat preparation: The Jews were commanded to not eat the meat of animals that had not been slaughtered correctly, because the ‘life is in the blood’ (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11, 14; Deut. 12:23). As for meat, the Gentiles might think “Who cares how an animal is killed?”
Blood: Going back to slaughtering methods - “the life is in the blood”. Some pagan religions incorporate blood in the ceremonies, whether sprinkling, washing with, or drinking blood. The Jews know the only time is used in worship is with sacrifices at the altar in the tabernacle or temple. There were also strictures about blood applied to women’s menstrual period (See: Lev. 15:19, Matt. 9:20-22), they were ‘unclean’ and there was an offering that was to be made as an atonement for her uncleanness.
Gentiles had none of these restrictions with respect to blood. Paul was faithful to these admonitions, teaching and reminding Gentiles to be aware of others. (See 1 Cor. 10:23-29)
“I also was eager to do“ - Paul and Barnabas took offering gifts from the churches in the ‘world’ to Jerusalem because of the deep need there. (Acts 11:29-30)***
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