This week’s pericope is especially rich. It begins with a copy of the official letter sent from the Church leaders at what became known as “the Jerusalem Council.” The letter was written after there was a major dispute amongst the first Christian leaders in the early Church. I will share the body of the Letter with you first, and then we will talk about why it was written in more detail after.
From the apostles, the elders, and the brethren,
To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
Greetings.
Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”; to whom we gave no such commandment; it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
Farewell.
The writing of this official letter came out of the first convention of every major Christian leader in the early church. There was “no small dispute” between two different factions. On one side there were former Pharisees who maintained that if Gentiles were to be saved, they essentially needed to convert to Judaism first. The most important sign of the covenant for Jewish men was circumcision. Therefore, the former Pharisees were adamant that any male Gentile had to be circumcised to truly be saved. That was only the beginning for them. It is probably true that if even this one point was granted, these former Pharisees would have demanded that all Gentile converts to Christianity must come entirely under the yoke of the Mosaic Law.
The "other side" was represented by Paul and Barnabas who had been in the “trenches” of missionary work for some time. So many miracles had taken place. God had shown His favor towards their ministry to the Gentiles over and over. Peter had experienced the same kind of grace in his ministry to Gentiles. He had seen the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on them, just like he and the 120 had experienced on the day of Pentecost. He also had that amazingly mysterious dream that was repeated three different times for emphasis. Peter knew if God said something three times, he had better listen, for obvious reasons. God’s voice spoke to him clearly 3 separate times; “Do not call common anything that God has called holy.”
All of the miracles that Peter, Paul and Barnabas and their associates saw God do for the Gentile converts happened without them agreeing to be circumcised or come under what Peter called “the yoke” of the Law that even Jews were unable to bear.
In the middle of it all was James, the Lord’s brother. What a difficult position for him to be in. Being kin to Jesus, James was the one everyone looked to for the final word. However, even though no specifics are given in Scripture regarding the conversion of James, we can read between the lines to bring things into a little better focus.
Remember that we were told in John 7 that “even His (Jesus) brothers did not believe in Him.” It’s also achingly tragic that none of His brothers, including James, were at the Cross as He suffered and died. Jesus actually handed the responsibility of His own Mother off to His youngest disciple, John. There must have been quite a rift in the family of Jesus. If you feel bad about the dysfunction in your own family, this should encourage you. Even the Lord Jesus had difficulties with His own siblings, or rather, they had difficulties with Him.
And yet, something fascinating about James is embedded in an early Christian creed preserved in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in the fifteenth chapter.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Can you imagine that encounter? It almost makes me tremble just trying to imagine it! Think about this;
James and his brothers did not believe in the Divinity of their brother Jesus
It is inconceivable that they would not have been at least a bit vocal about their disdain for Him
In John 7, we learn that not only did they not believe in Jesus, they challenged Him to go “show” Himself at a particular feast where they knew He would be in danger of being hurt or even killed by His detractors
We see echoes of the jealous brothers of Joseph from the Old Testament willing to “sell or kill” their own highly favored brother
And yet, the Grace of the Lord Jesus triumphs every time.
Jesus showed Himself to Thomas who angrily proclaimed his obstinate unbelief, refusing to accept the testimony of ten of his closest friends and fellow disciples or to listen to any of the woman eyewitnesses. But Jesus met Thomas in his doubt, and transformed his unbelief to faith in a moment.
Peter denied the Lord three times with an oath. And yet, after His suffering and resurrection, Jesus prepared Peter a delicious breakfast, filled up his bank account with a huge catch of fish and reaffirmed his calling and election three times around a beautiful lakeside charcoal fire.
THAT is the goodness of God manifested in Jesus Christ.
And, at some point after His resurrection, He appeared to James, his brother. I can only imagine the torrent of tears that flowed in that moment, accompanied by sobs of repentance. Yet, because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, we know that He forgave James and even commissioned him to lead His fledgling Church.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound!
How ironic is it that Jesus puts James in charge of settling a “family dispute” amongst his other brothers? And yet, looking backwards 2000 years, we can see just what a perfect pick he was for the job.
After hearing both “sides” make their cases, James renders his “verdict”. During these proceedings, I have a feeling there was a silent prayer rising from his heart to the One he once knew both as earthly brother, and as Heavenly Lord and Master. I also think there were other things the disciples had shared with him that were running through his mind in those moments.
He might have been thinking about the Samaritan woman at the well. Perhaps John told him about the conversation he overheard and how this broken (non-Jewish) woman was one of the only people to which Jesus plainly declared Himself to be the Messiah.
Perhaps he was thinking about the Gentile Roman Centurion that Jesus praised as having greater faith than anyone He had encountered in Israel.
Maybe he was also thinking about the Gentile Syro-Phoenician woman with a demon-possessed daughter. Even though Jesus made it painfully clear to her that His earthly mission was first and foremost to the Jews, the interaction ended with Him granting her request and healing her daughter.
A myriad of other things went through his mind I am sure, but in the end, James chose to do what he thought would please his Brother and Lord.
He chose Grace.
And with that, the floodgates of Salvation were opened even wider, and that same Living Water has been flowing through Gentile lands for 2000 years.
PRN: God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for loving the entire world, Jews and Gentiles, that you paid the price we could not afford…the price of our Redemption and Salvation. Please help us to continue the work You started and Your disciples of every era have continued to this day. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
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