Atos 15
R.C.H. Lenski · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 15
Lenski - We now see why Luke says nothing about the church in v. 6; the laity did not participate in the debate, the speakers were those immediately concerned, the apostles and the elders officially. We may take it that the Judaizers had their full say, and that their contentions were also answered. All that, however, was only preliminary, and Luke passes it by. (The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles) Debate (2214) see zetesis from zetéo Warren
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Lenski says they are testing God because "They are not dealing with these Gentiles but with God himself and with his will as he has made it so clearly known. They are tempting or trying God to see whether he will keep still to their contradiction of his will or will resent it and punish them." (The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles) As an aside in the early days of the church (about 30-33 AD) Peter had asked Ananias' wife Sapphira "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test (same verb - peirazo)?" (Acts 5:9+) One wonders if these legalists in the assembly remembered what happened to Sapphira after Peter's question, but if they did, it would have made them very uncomfortable! Ger - Peter charged the assembly not to test God by challenging his authority but, rather, to trust Him in the prerogative He has exercised. He argued that demanding Gentile circumcision and their subsequent Torah observance would involve exactly such a presumptuous test. (Ibid) Put to the test (tempt)(3985)(peirazo from the noun peira = test from peíro = perforate, pierce through to test durability of things) is a morally neutral word simply meaning “to test”. Whether the test is for a good (as it proved to be in Heb 11:17) or evil (Mt 4:1 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil") depends on the intent of the one giving the test and also on the response of the one tested. (See study of similar word dokimazo) Ger - Peter called the Torah, the Mosaic Covenant, an arduous yoke (similar to Paul's argument, Gal. 5:1), an unbearable burden which Israel, from its inception as a nation, had never been able to impeccably keep. God had established the New Covenant through the Messiah for precisely that reason (Jer. 31:31-32; Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:7). Therefore, they should not force the Gentiles to attempt what not even Jewish believers could endure. By placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke - To place a yoke on the neck was an ancient idiom which pictured restricting people! Toussaint adds that "Putting a yoke on the disciples' necks was an appropriate way to state the second result, for "taking the yoke" was used to describe Gentile proselytes coming into Judaism. It spoke of an obligation." Messianic Jewish writer Steven Ger adds that "Yoke" was a common rabbinic designation for the Torah, cited in the Mishnah concerning proselytes taking up "the yoke of the commandments." (Mishnah, Berakhot 2:2) While rabbinic literature, both ancient and contemporary, is filled with eloquent testimony to the joys and delights of keeping God's gracious gift of Torah, the average Jew has not often found this to be the case, particularly when filtered through the interpretive grid of the rabbinic oral tradition. Peter was merely stating a candid fact, one that could be bluntly reaffirmed by countless Jews throughout Jewish history." Thus Peter's metaphor is crystal clear that the "yoke" stood for anything added to faith, in this specific case referring to the addition of circumcision and keeping of the Mosaic Law. The picture is of yoke that was so "heavy" (figuratively speaking) that the fathers in the Old Covenant did not have strength to bear. Paul's words in Galatians are a good "commentary" writing "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Gal. 5:1) Jesus castigated the Pharisees with a similar declaration that "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders (COMPARE TO A "YOKE"), but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.(Mt 23:4) Disciples (3101)(mathetes from math- = "mental effort that thinks something through") in this context describes followers of Christ, those who had believed in Jesus, Jew and Gentile. Yoke (2218)(zugos or zygos related to verb zeúgnuni = to join especially by a yoke, to bind) literally a wooden bar over the neck of a pair of animals joining them to pull together. Figuratively a connector which unites two to move (work) as one. THOUGHT - You can mark it down as an immutable principle that God’s law, apart from the grace of Christ, is a heavy yoke that no one can bear. So if you are a believer don't place yourself under legalistic burdens. And be balanced for grace is not a license to sin or be "law less." Freedom is not the desire to do as you please (THE WORLD'S DEFINITION), but is the (supernatural) power to do as you should. Which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear - The fathers refers to all the Jewish ancestors from the day the nation of Israel was created by God up to the day Peter is speaking. The fathers had barely left Egypt before they began to worship a golden calf. So even at the outset Israel could not bear the yoke of the Law! Peter's logic is flawless for he is saying in effect that the believing Pharisees wanted to put a yoke on the necks of the Gentiles that they themselves had failed to bear! Works in the flesh never work when "yoked" with faith in the Savior! Paul expressed a similar idea in his sermon in the synagogue in Iconium (which resulted in conversions among Jews and Gentiles, but which eventually got him run out of town!) "through Him (cf "through the grace of the Lord Jesus" in Acts 15:11) everyone (NOTE NO ETHNIC QUALIFICATIONS) who believes (NOTHING ELSE NEEDED) is freed (JUSTIFIED) from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses." (Acts 13:39+) No human being other than the God-Man Jesus Christ ever fulfilled the Law perfectly (cf Heb 4:15), i.e., they were never able to bear its yoke. In Matthew 11 Jesus substituted His light and easy "yoke" of the Gospel for the yoke of the Law, as He gave the invitation to all who had ears to hear “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke (same word zugos but clearly a different result than trying to bear the yoke of the Law!) upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (BOTH EASY AND LIGHT CONTRAST WITH THE LAW!).”(Mt 11:28-30+) Comment - When one took Jesus' yoke circumcision and kosher eating were matters of liberty and choice, not to be forced on others or allowed to become a cause for pride nor a mark of one who was especially "holy" (especially when compared to Gentile disciples who were neither circumcised nor ate kosher). Able (2480)(ischuo from ischus = might) means to be strong in body or in resources, having efficacy. It refers refers to strength that "gets into the fray" (action), i.e. engages the resistance. Ischuo in the present passages speaks of their Jewish ancestors as NOT having the required personal resources to accomplish the objective of keeping the Law (relying on their fallen flesh). It is interesting that Paul uses ischuo later refuting the call to circumcise believers writing "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means (ischuo = more literally avails or accomplishes) anything, but faith working (energeo in present tense) through love." (Gal 5:6+) What a contrast with the use of ischuo in Php 4:13+ where Paul testifies "I can (ischuo) do all things through Him Who (endunamoo in present tense = continually) strengthens me." Bear (carry, endure)(941)(bastazo from basis = foot) means literally to take up and hold (Jn 10:31, 20:15, Acts 21:35) or to bear (Mt 3:11, Mk 14:13, Lk 22:10). The meaning in this present passage is figurative and means to bear something burdensome, specifically the legal requirements of the Mosaic Law. What a contrast this burdensome yoke is to bear in our flesh versus bearing it when we believe in Christ and take His yoke, for John writes "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3)
Atos 15
Lenski comments that "The fact that later Peter himself did not live up to his own words in Antioch and had to be rebuked in public by Paul (Gal. 2:11–21+) changes nothing as to the truth and the import of Peter’s address here in Jerusalem; it only points a warning for us lesser men." (The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles) Acts 15:12 All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. KJV Acts 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. relating Acts 15:4; 14:27; 21:19 Acts 15 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE END OF THE DEBATE! All the people kept silent - The assembly (including the opposition) held their peace after Peter's speech. The debate had come to an end. No one dared to contradict Peter! "The silence was eloquent!" (Lenski) Kept silent (4601)(sigao) means they said nothing but kept quiet after Peter's speech. In Acts 12:17 after Peter had been miraculously released from incarceration, he had to motion with his hand to call the saints "to be silent" so he could explain how he had escaped. And they were listening - Luke uses the imperfect tense which emphasizes how attentively everyone was listening. It is as if the missionaries would speak a word and the crowd but immediately "grab" that word and this occurred over and over. The saying that "hanging on every word" would be an apt description of the audience. How many preachers would love to have such attentive listeners! This scene reminds me of "Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening (imperfect tense) to His word." (Lk 10:39+) To Barnabas and Paul - Luke reverts to placing Barnabas before Paul. Recall that "When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them." (Acts 15:4) Now they seem to add the signs and wonders to validate without a doubt that it was what God had done with them.
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Lenski - Barnabas spoke first because he was the older man and was better known than Paul in the congregation in Jerusalem. (The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles)
Atos 15
Lenski points out that in relating the signs and wonders "They thereby clinch the decisive point of Peter’s address, namely that God bestowed the same miraculous manifestations on Cornelius and on his house that he had bestowed on the 120 Jewish believers at the time of Pentecost. God did those signs and wonders among the Gentiles, for no apostle ever worked a miracle by his own volition. The apostles were only his instruments as the significant dia (expresses instrumentality or means) once more states. Peter’s experience was already sufficient, but that experience was multiplied in the case of Barnabas and of Paul. God had thus set his seal of approval on the work of receiving Gentiles into the church by faith alone without circumcision and other Levitical observances." (The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles) God had done through (dia) them among the Gentiles - We see the same phrase referring to what "God had done with them." (Acts 14:27+, Acts 15:4+) and the similar description "with reliance on the Lord." (Acts 14:3+) Luke repeatedly emphasizes that these missionaries were not superhuman but were mere men who were pliable, willing instruments in the hand of the Almighty God. To use Paul's description, they were vessels "for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." (2 Ti 2:21+) THOUGHT - What a powerful and vital truth. We are to be like gloves who continually, submissively, humbly, willingly allow God's hand to do with us and through what He wills to be done for our good and His glory! Does this not convict all of us who too often think we are doing God's work and yet we are relying on our power? God make us ever mindful that we are but created instruments in the Master's hand and for Thy glory in Christ. Amen. (See similar THOUGHT on what God had done with them)
Atos 15
Lenski writes that "It seems to have been the Jewish custom (see Acts 6:3 for another instance) that the chairman formulated and offered the resolution and himself simply presented it to the assembly for adoption or otherwise." Lenski adds an interesting note that "James belonged to the Hebrews and not to the Hellenists (on the distinction Acts 6:1+). He, no doubt, lived in the Jewish fashion, for in Gal. 2:12+ some who came to Antioch from him influenced even Peter to eat only with them and in a marked way to turn from the tables of the Gentiles. This fact made his address the more effective."