Daily Scripture Reading Acts 15:19-41
The Bible is a big book and contains many teachings. There is a lot of history. It contains commands. There are verses here and there that give us insight into the values and priorities of God.
One of the concepts taught in the Bible is the concept of Christian unity. This means unity is something Christians should be concerned about; however, the Bible only mentions unity a few times. While it is important, no where does the Bible indicate unity should be our highest priority.
Unfortunately, in recent decades, modern Christianity has developed an unhealthy obsession with unity to the point that most Christians have the mentality that unity trumps everything. Unity is treated as the ultimate goal. The obsession with unity is so unhealthy that unity is often used as a weapon to overlook sin.
Today we are going to read about an occasion when Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement. This passage teaches us that the early church did not treat unity as the highest priority. In fact, something beneficial arose from the lack of unity between Paul and Barnabas.
The 15th chapter of Acts records a significant debate that was held in Jerusalem regarding whether or not Gentile believers had to be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses. During this discussion, Peter recounted his experience of being told by the Spirit to take the gospel to some Gentiles and James quoted some verses from the prophet Amos. Then James stated their conclusion, which is contained in the opening verses of today’s reading. The pronoun “I” in the following verses refers to James.
Acts 15:19 Therefore I judge that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,
Acts 15:20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from sexual immorality and from what is strangled and from blood.
Their conclusion was Gentiles do not need to be circumcised, nor do they need to obey the Mosaic Law. Having said that, James listed a couple provisions of the Mosaic Law that James and the apostles believed the Gentile believers should observe.
Acts 15:21 For from ancient generations, Moses has those who preach him in every city, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
This is another passage that gives us insight into what they did during their synagogue services. Every Sabbath, they read from the Pentateuch, the first five books of scriptures.
Acts 15:22 ¶ Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them—Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers—to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas,
Acts 15:23 and they sent this letter by them,
“The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.
Syria and Cilicia were Roman provinces. Antioch was a city in the province of Syria. The province of Cilicia was west of Syria.
Acts 15:24 Since we have heard that some of us, to whom we gave no instruction, have gone out and disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,
The apostles were clear that the men who had gone to Antioch teaching that Gentiles had to be circumcised had not been sent by the apostles.
Acts 15:25 it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Acts 15:26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 15:27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, and they themselves will report the same things by word of mouth.
Paul and Barnabas had been sent by the church at Antioch to Jerusalem to get a resolution on this question regarding Gentile believers. The apostles sent Judas and Silas along with Paul and Barnabas on the return trip to Antioch.
Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:
Acts 15:29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, you will do well. Farewell.”
Now the church in Antioch had in writing the declaration that the Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised or obey the Law of Moses.
Acts 15:30 ¶ So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
Acts 15:31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
Acts 15:32 And both Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a lengthy message.
Acts 15:33 And after they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers in peace to those who had sent them.
The pronoun “they” refers to Judas and Silas. The church at Antioch sent Judas and Silas back to Jerusalem.
Acts 15:34 [But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.]
Notice the brackets around this verse. There is doubt as to whether this verse was part of the original text.
Acts 15:35 But Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.
Take note of the words “long time”. Many days elapsed between the time Judas and Silas were sent back to Jerusalem and the events we will read about next. The text does not define “long time”. It doesn’t say if it was weeks, months, or years.
Acts 15:36 ¶ Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”
Acts 15:37 And Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.
Acts 15:38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.
John Mark had accompanied Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus, but after the group sailed from Cyprus to Pamphylia, John left them.
Essentially, Barnabas wanted to give John Mark a second chance. Paul did not.
Acts 15:39 And there was such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.
Take note of the words “sharp disagreement”. Their different outlook on this was so strong they separated.
Acts 15:40 But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
The Bible doesn’t tell us who was right and who was wrong. There were valid arguments to both sides. Paul wanted a companion who was totally committed, and John Mark had demonstrated a lack of total commitment. On the other hand, perhaps Barnabas was confident John Mark had changed and was fully devoted to the work by that point in time.
In recent decades, Christianity has adopted the mentality that unity trumps everything and should be pursued at all costs. While the Bible does mention unity, no where does the Bible treat unity as the ultimate goal and something that should be sought at the expense of everything else.
This modern mindset would have forced Paul and Barnabas to ignore their differences and stay together as a team for the sake of unity. However, that is not what they did. Instead, they split up.
Splitting up was actually beneficial. There were now two teams preaching the word. Furthermore, Paul was mentoring Silas and Barnabas was mentoring John Mark, which was increasing the number of men who could do the work.
Acts 15:41 And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
The 13th and 14th chapters of Acts tell us about Paul and Barnabas traveling through Cyprus and Asia Minor. John Mark had been with them in Cyprus, but not Asia Minor. At this point Barnabas and John Mark went to Cyprus, and Paul and Silas went to Syria and Cilicia, Cilicia being in Asia Minor.
When Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement, they did not pretend their differences did not exist. Nor did the church force them to stay together. Instead, they split up, with the result that there were two teams instead of just one and two men were being mentored instead of just one.
What are some examples you have seen of Christians having a difference of opinion, but the church forcing them to pretend their differences did not exist so as to “preserve” unity?
What are some ways unity is actually destroyed when Christians are forced to pretend their differences don’t exist?
What are some examples you have seen of unity being used as a weapon to overlook sin?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”