Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Female): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith.

And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: Shalom. Open your Bibles, please, to Acts chapter 15. Let’s read the second half of this chapter to conclude, in the will of the Lord, with this 15th chapter of the book of Acts. We begin today in the reading from verse 22.

The theme of this second half of Acts chapter 15 is Jerusalem's council letter, which had been sent to the believers at Antioch. I begin the reading in verse 22.

Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren. And they wrote letters by them after this manner: The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.

Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment. It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.

And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still. Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

And some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, "Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do." And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; and Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

This is verse 41 of chapter 15 where I've concluded my reading this meeting. This second half of chapter 15, obviously, is a continuation of what we just had in the previous ministry meeting where, if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, there was a real challenge to the first early believers in Syria in the city of Antioch. Some of the Jewish people who came from Judea went down to the city of Antioch and they said to the Gentile believers, "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved."

What they have said, if you remember in our ministry meeting, they really said things that they ought not to have been said. Why? Because salvation is entirely by grace through faith in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, no more and no less. Circumcision would not help anyone to get saved. Keeping certain laws will not make someone saved and redeemed. We are only saved and forgiven on the basis of the finished work of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

So there was a problem because these Jewish believers who came from Jerusalem went down to these Gentile believers and kind of influenced them and said to them, "No, you cannot be saved unless you're keeping circumcision and the keeping of the law." It troubled the Gentile believers. So Paul and Barnabas had to go to Jerusalem to deal with the issue of that request from those certain men.

We have talked about it how Peter began to share with them in the Council of Jerusalem how he was used by the Messiah to open the door to the Gentiles and how the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit just the same like the Jewish believers. Then James, whose Hebrew name is Yaakov, he rose up and he gave what he instructed the brothers and sisters in the city of Jerusalem. He gave his statement.

He says, "Right now, God is taking out for himself from among the Gentiles a people for his name." And even though the nation of Israel is not gathered yet, God is going to restore the nation of Israel in the future day. So he gave instruction what to do and now they were going to write a letter to the believers in Antioch.

So, brothers and sisters, this is very interesting because the second half of this chapter deals specifically with the letter that had been sent to the believers in Antioch. I think it is very beautiful because you can see that frictions arose in the earlier part of the church age and they needed to deal with it.

Apparently, those men who did believe that the Gentiles had to be circumcised, they were quiet here and they let James and Peter lead under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. They did not cause trouble at that time at that meeting and they accepted the fact that the letter had to be sent to the Gentile believers.

By doing this kind of meeting, they avoided much trouble that could have happened already in the first-century church. What could have happened? That you would start to have two different churches, if you will: one only for Jewish people and one only for Gentiles. That is exactly what was not the mind of the Lord.

The Lord Jesus, the Messiah, died for mankind and he wanted to bring us into one body. So the Jewish people and the Gentile people would be one united in the body of Messiah. So that was a very important discussion that they have had in the Council of Jerusalem. In verse 22, that's where we begin today.

The apostles, the elders, and the whole assembly of Jerusalem decided to send this letter with some of the brethren to the city of Antioch. It says in verse 22, "Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren."

Now you see that was a decision that the whole church decided. In other words, they were guided by the elders, they were guided by the apostles, but according to verse 22, it says, "with the whole assembly," with the whole local church in Jerusalem. There was a united decision to send this letter with Paul and Barnabas, but in addition to that letter, they would send two individuals, whose names are Judas, Judah, surnamed Barsabas, and Silas. Those were chief men among the brethren.

Interestingly, the name of Judah, he was a son of a man by the name of Shabbat, or Sabbath you would say in English, but in Hebrew, it is Bar Shva or Bar Shabbat. Because the Shabbat was part of the law that God had given to our people Israel and it is interesting that this man was sent with Paul and Barnabas and a man by the name of Silas.

Now we don't read much about Judah. We know a little bit more about Silas because Silas became a fellow worker with the apostle Paul in his second missionary journey, but some suggested that this man by the name of Judah Bar Shabbat may have been the brother of another who is mentioned in Acts chapter 1 and verse 23, a man by the name of Joseph called Barsabas in Acts chapter 1 and verse 23.

They may have been two brothers who have accepted the Messiah, two Jewish believers, and one of them was named Yosef, Acts 1:23, and the other one by the name of Judah in Acts chapter 15 and verse 22. So here the decision is to send this delegation. Now this delegation was to go to the Gentiles and you notice that four of them are Jewish believers: Paul (Shaul), Barnabas (Bar Naba), Judah, and Silas.

Four Jewish believers were sent back down to the city of Antioch where there was a non-Jewish assembly and they were the delegation to bring a letter from the brothers and sisters of the city of Jerusalem. So it is showing that there is desire to have a harmony among the people of God. Jewish believers, Gentile believers united in the Messiah and let's deal with the problem that had already existed in the first century.

Now look at this, brothers and sisters, verses 23 to 29. We have the letter itself. What was written in this letter to the Gentile brethren in the city of Antioch? A few points just to point out to us all. The first thing in that letter, they began with greetings. Acts 15 and verse 23, it says, "And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia."

The first thing they do in the letter is they kind of say, "Shalom, brothers and sisters in Cilicia. We are greeting you from the local assembly in Jerusalem to the local assembly in Antioch. We say Shalom, we greet you, we wish you well, and it is all of us together." Notice: it is the apostles, it is the elders, and it is the brothers and sisters.

The whole assembly sending letters. Those customs that we sometimes see today when groups of brethren write letters to another assembly or another local church, this is something that some even carry on today. These practices that we practice today began already in the city of Yerushalayim when the letter was written to the believers in the city of Antioch.

This is so nice when you greet each other. I remember in my traveling in various places around the world in ministry, sometimes letters are being read and you can see that a group of one assembly write a letter to the other assemblies and they wish them the Lord's blessing and they greet them. There is a commendation to commend a certain brother or a certain sister into this assembly because they recommended the people that they are sending to this assembly.

So they send this letter and it is the whole assembly together: the apostles, the elders, the brethren are there. The whole assembly are greeting the other believers of the Gentiles in the city of Antioch. And immediately when they wrote the introduction with the greetings, they began to deal with the issue that brought about all this problem.

What was the issue? Some came down from Jerusalem saying to the believers at Antioch, "You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised." And so here in verse 24, they are immediately pointing out the wrong teaching that certain men have taught. And they say right away in verse 24, "Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law."

Notice they add at the end of verse 24, "to whom we gave no such commandment." You see they are telling to the believers at Antioch, "Listen, we didn't send them. We didn't command them to teach these things to you. We didn't expect from them to go and trouble you with words, subverting your souls." Actually, the word for "trouble," it's like to cause you to be confused.

Giving two kinds of messages. That's where we get the word Babylon (lebalbel), to confound, to confuse you. The second word here, "subverting your souls," this is like ruining your souls. When you tell somebody who just simply accepted the Messiah Yeshua and God gloriously saved and confessed his or her sins and says, "God be merciful to me a sinner," and then they're saved and their sins are forgiven, and then they are starting to be taught with false teaching that ought not to be taught, it caused them to be confused. It's actually ruining their joy in their souls.

They said, "Listen, we're going to deal with this issue." In this letter, they immediately addressed this. Brothers and sisters, this is very important for us to get a hold of because we are responsible not to give a wrong sound when it comes to teaching, when it comes to the truth of the word of God, especially with respect to salvation.

When someone tells us in order for one to be saved he has to also be circumcised or keeping a certain day or keeping a certain holiday, otherwise he or she are not saved, this is wrong. This is not found in the Bible. And what it does to a believer, it's actually confusing him or her and also ruining the joy that they have in their hearts when they have accepted the Messiah and have their sins forgiven.

So that is very important and so they immediately dealt with that issue. They pointed out to this issue. Apparently, there were some believers at Galatia and this area that actually have adapted this kind of teaching. And the apostle Paul had to instruct them in the book of Galatians that they were wrong in adapting it. Look, turn with me to Galatians 5, please.

The whole book of Galatians, the letter to the Galatians was written by the apostle Paul in order to deal with these issues that rose later on and some have adapted this kind of thing. He said to them in Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith the Messiah has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

Don't entangle with a yoke of bondage. This exactly what we read earlier in Acts chapter 15 in the same chapter in verse 10. This yoke neither we nor our fathers were able to bear. We read Peter said this and here Paul saying, "Don't entangle with a yoke of bondage." Verse 2 of Galatians 5, "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, the Messiah shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to the whole law. The Messiah is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."

Do you think that God will justify you by being circumcised or by seeking to keep the laws that God is going to justify you? Listen, you have fallen from the grace of God. In fact, if you think that you are justified by the law, you will find it very quickly that the law is only condemning you rather than justifying you because by the deeds of the law there is no flesh shall be justified.

It is only on the basis of the finished work of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who finished the work for us on the tree. That's how we get to be justified. So they pointed to this problem. Those certain men, they came down from Judea, they trouble you, they subvert your souls. We did not send them, to whom we gave no such commandment. They went on their own and they have taught these things on their own.

And so in verses 25 and 26, there was a decision they write in the letter to deal with that problem. They said now in verse 25, "It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul." We have gathered together in Jerusalem and we made a decision that we are going to send some men with Paul and Barnabas to you to deal once and for all with this problem.

Then they pointed out something about these two Jewish believers, Paul and Barnabas. They said about them that they were men that have hazarded their lives.