This is not meant to be a verse-by-verse teaching from the book of Acts. It is meant to give some historical background for the time in which the epistles of the New Testament were written, so that we can better understand their content.
For the first nine chapters of the book of Acts, the apostles and early disciples were preaching only to other Jews or Gentile proselytes to the Jewish faith. In Acts chapter 10, Peter preached to the first Gentiles at the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. For this to happen, God had to give two visions, one to Cornelius and one to Peter, to overcome their prejudice. Peter had to overcome an Old Testament Law based mindset that did not allow him to associate with Gentiles. This vision was repeated three times for Peter to help him transform from his old thinking. So Peter obeyed God and went and preached the gospel to the house of Cornelius. This was the first time the gospel was preached to Gentiles. The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the gospel as they believed.
Acts 11:1-2 "Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God (the gospel). And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, "You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!" This was contrary to the Jewish customs of the Old Testament. So Peter explained about the vision he had received from God. He explained how he preached the gospel to them and God gave the Gentiles the same gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 11:18 "When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."
In Acts chapter 13, Paul took his first missionary journey and traveled to Galatia, a province with four main cities. He went to the synagogue of the Jews and preached the gospel to the Jews and devout Gentile proselytes. In Acts13:43-46, it says "....many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God (the gospel). But when the Jews saw the multitudes (which included Gentiles), they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." This shows the prejudice that existed in the Jews, who were of the Old Testament mindset. Acts:13:48 "Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord." So both Jews and Gentiles were born again in the city of Antioch in Pisidia.
Acts 14:1 "Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Gentiles believed." In Acts 14:6-21, Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in the cities of Lystra and Derbe. Apparently, only Gentiles believed, because the Jews were not mentioned. Paul and Barnabas returned to their home base in Antioch. In Acts 14:27, it said they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Acts 15:1-2 "And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren (Gentile Christians in Antioch), "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question."
Acts 15:5-6 "But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them (Gentiles who believed the gospel), and to command them to keep the Law of Moses. Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter." After there was much dispute, both Peter and James addressed the group and decided with the elders that there was no need for the Gentiles who accepted Christ to follow the Law of Moses or to be circumcised.
What went unspoken, and I did not see for a long time, was that the Jews who believed in Christ were going to continue to follow the Law of Moses, including offering animal sacrifices in the Jewish temple. I understood that the Jewish believers in Jesus continued to be circumcised and followed the Jewish customs, but I did not fathom that they were continuing to offer animal sacrifices in the Jewish temple 20-25 years after Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead. The council at Jerusalem took place sometime between 48-50 A.D., some 18 to 20 years after Christ arose from the dead. This division between Jewish and Gentile Christians created all kinds of problems and misunderstanding in the early church. Let us see from scripture how this progressed.
Acts 21:18-26 "On the following day Paul went in with us to James (the pastor at Jerusalem), and all the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality." Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each of them."
This passage shows that even the apostle Paul was not perfect and erred in what he did. Paul had such a love for his countrymen. But in a misguided attempt to influence them, he compromised concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ and was ready to offer an animal sacrifice in the Jewish temple. This also shows that the Jews at Jerusalem were zealous for all aspects of the Law and regularly participating in animal sacrifices in the Jewish temple some 20-25 years after Jesus had been raised from the dead. This was likely a Nazarite vow according to Numbers chapter 6. Honestly, I found this shocking when I first saw it. It shows the confusion and great struggle that the early Christian church had in breaking away from the Old Testament Law.
The accusation that Paul was teaching all the Jews who were among the Gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses was true. The book of Galatians, Paul's epistle to the Galatians, was written to both Jewish and Gentile Christians in the region of Galatia. He told them they were no longer under the Law and that circumcision was no longer needed. Most of his other epistles teach that Christians are no longer under the Law. This applied to both Jewish and Gentile Christians who were reading these epistles.
It is very interesting to note that the epistles written by the Jewish Christian elders at Jerusalem do not mention that the Jewish believers in Jesus are no longer under the Old Testament Law and do not need to follow the Old Testament laws and customs. These epistles include the epistles of James, Jude, 1 and 2 Peter, and the epistles of John. All of the epistles of Paul tell both Jews and Gentiles that they are no longer under the Old Testament Law. These epistles would have been offensive and highly controversial to the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. The book of Hebrews, written to the Jews, would have been the most offensive. It states that the Old Testament is obsolete. It makes me wonder if that is why the authorship is unknown!
Keith Oliver
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