The Councils Letter to the Gentile Believers; Acts 15:22 – 35 – Part 1

Church History: Date: A.D. 49-50
22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul 26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. 30The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 34"It seemed good to Silas to remain, but Judas went alone to Jerusalem." 35But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
This letter is the result of the consultation that was held at Jerusalem about the imposing of the ceremonial law upon the Gentiles. It is likely that much more was said about it than is recorded here; but it was brought to a head, and the advice which James gave was universally approved and was unanimously agreed to. Letters were sent by messengers to the Gentile converts, acquainting them with their sentiments in this matter, which would be a great confirmation to them against the false teachers. They sent men of their own company to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas. This was agreed to by the apostles and elders, along with the entire church, who, it is likely, bore the costs of their journey. They sent these messengers, to show their respect to the church at Antioch, as a sister church. Even though a younger sister, they looked upon it as the same level with them. They also desired to know their state or condition. They were sent along to encourage Paul and Barnabas, and to make their journey home more pleasant, for it is likely they travelled on foot. Their presence provided credibility to the letters they carried, that it might appear a solemn embassy, and more attention might be paid to the message, which was likely to meet with opposition from some. They wanted to keep up the communion of the saints, and cultivate an acquaintance between churches and ministers that were at a distance from each other, and to show that, though they were many, yet they were one.