The Jerusalem Council

Acts 15

            The question of how a Gentile could become a Christian dominated the early church. Strict Jewish Christians insisted on circumcision (cf. Galatians). (The issue also shapes Romans and Ephesians. It’s in Colossians, too.) This may seem like a non-issue to us, because, of course, we are Gentile believers, and this question was solved in the first century.

            The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 is one of the most prominent efforts at this resolution. There was “sharp dispute and debate” that resulted in a gathering in Jerusalem, still the emotional center of the church. One of the things that is interesting to me is that because this was ultimately a theological issue, it was heard mainly by the apostles and elders. Doctrine is never up for a vote! Peter tells about his experience with Cornelius from chapter 10; Paul and Barnabas relate their activity and “what God had done among the Gentiles.” No one could question that the Lord had blessed the inclusion of the Gentiles!

            James (the brother of Jesus, not the apostle, who had been executed by Herod in 12:2) announced as much. However, at the same time he said, “Let’s not make it difficult,” he added several stipulations. The best way to understand the letter is that the apostles and elders in the mother church were asking Gentile converts to be careful of those practices that were common among Gentiles but particularly offensive to Jews. That the prohibitions were not permanent or draconian is seen in Paul’s later discussion of eating meat sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8-9, where he takes the same line: “It’s probably nothing, but make sure you don’t give unnecessary offense.”