Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 15:23

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.

23. And they wrote letters by them after this manner ] From the form in which the document is here given, we should judge that the original was in Greek. A translation from a Hebrew original would hardly have begun with a greeting and ended with “Fare ye well.” It seems likely that this was so too, because the population of Antioch, the chief town in Syria, would use Greek much more than Hebrew, at this date. The construction of the Greek in the beginning of this verse is not strictly grammatical, but such irregularities are not unusual in a passage which begins impersonally, as does Act 15:22.

by them (lit. by their hand)] This is a Hebraism. The letter was not delivered to Paul and Barnabas, but to the two ambassadors from Jerusalem. It is the oldest synodical circular letter in existence, and the only one of Apostolic times which has come down to us. Bengel suggests that it was composed by James, in the name and at the request of the assembly.

The apostles and elders and brethren ] The oldest MSS. omit the second and, thus making the Epistle run in the name of the apostles and elder brethren, and this rendering is adopted in R. V. The conjunction of the two last words to signify ‘the elders’ is very unusual, and after what has been said in the previous verse about the decree expressing the voice of the whole church as well as of the apostles and elders, it seems much more in accord with the rest of the narrative to adhere to the Text. Rec. which has a large amount of good MS. support.

in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia ] As we have no mention of this decree of the synod of Jerusalem in St Paul’s Epistles, we may suppose that the agitation on the subject, begun at Antioch, had spread only into Syria and Cilicia, and that the authoritative decision of the mother church quieted the controversy there, while it did not arise in the same form in other places.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

And wrote letters – Greek: Having written. It does not mean that they wrote more than one epistle.

By them – Greek: by their hand.

After this manner – Greek: these things.

Send greeting – A word of salutation, expressing their desire of the happiness ( chairein) of the persons addressed. Compare Mat 26:49; Mat 27:29; Luk 1:28; Joh 19:3.

In Antioch – Where the difficulty first arose.

And Syria – Antioch was the capital of Syria, and it is probable that the dispute was not confined to the capital.

And Cilicia – See the notes on Act 6:9. Cilicia was adjacent to Syria. Paul and Barnabas had traveled through it, and it is probable that the same difficulty would exist there which had disturbed the churches in Syria.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Act 15:23-29

And they wrote letters.

The Apostolic letter

1. A model of brotherly love and Divine wisdom.

2. A pattern for the modern Church.

3. A great standing deliverance from all ceremonial and ritualistic observances.

Improvement–

(1) Be not narrow-minded.

(2) Trust in Christ and not ordinances. (J. Dowse.)

The yoke broken

I. The relation of Christianity to Judaism. The decision was an admission that the Jewish ordinances were not permanent or essential. That old system had only a shadow of good things to come. It educated for the gospel, and having accomplished this its work really ended. The gospel succeeded. Christ was declared to be the end of the law to everyone that believeth; and the apostle to the Gentiles said, He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, but We are the circumcision which worship God, etc. To insist on the continued obligation of the Mosaic customs would be like drilling a reader in the alphabet. As well might the butterfly keep up its caterpillar existence–fly and crawl at the same time. For the Gentiles to practise the customs of the Old Law would be both irksome and also liable to lead to the error that salvation was dependent on these observances. Against this danger Paul most carefully guarded. The epistles to the Romans and to the Galatians are the strong ramparts which were erected to oppose it.

II. The tolerant spirit of Christianity. It seems strange to have such an example in the infant Church, since toleration is usually the fruit of long experience. Even more surprising is it, when we consider the antecedents of the men who displayed it. They were Jews, of a most bigoted race. One of the hardest lessons for men to learn is to unlearn, and act contrary to early convictions. Though they themselves, through force of habit, continued to observe the national customs, they would not bind the Gentiles to do the same. It is strange that this decision should have been ever forgotten. The intolerance which has resulted from losing sight of it has been the disgrace of Christianity. The greatest names have been in fault here. As an old divine says, Whilst we wrangle here in the dark, we are dying and passing to that world which will decide all controversies: the safest passage thither is by peaceable righteousness.

III. Christianity, while tolerant in spirit, has its self-denials (verse 29). If, after their conversion from heathenism to Christianity, they still continued to eat meat offered to idols, and to frequent the idolatrous feasts where it was served, they were more likely to relapse into their old heathen life. Evil communications corrupt good manners. The same thing in effect has to be perpetually guarded against. The Christian of today must, for his own spiritual good, beware of certain worldly habits and indulgences, lest he go back to the world. (A. H. Currier.)

Saying, ye must be circumcised and keep the law.—

Legal Christians

Thousands and tens of thousands of Christians yet live in the dreary shadow of legalism. God is only Lawgiver and Judge to them; and their experience is limited, first, to self-condemnation and suffering, then to violent endeavours of the spirit, or of the body, or of both to throw off this suffering, with results, sometimes of exhaustion, and sometimes of unnatural peace, and then to reaction into moral indifference, arising from a totally unsatisfied heart and soul. There are thousands of persons who think that they are Christians because they are endeavouring to live aright, but they are Christians because they are endeavouring to live aright no more than a person is at home because he is trying to go there, though he does not know the way. A child that has lost its fathers house, and that is striving to find it, is not at home, but is a wanderer; and the person that is simply endeavouring to live aright, and nothing more, and that when he measures his life by the law of God, as interpreted to him through his own conscience, is conscious of daily breaking that law in every direction, is no more a Christian than a wanderer is a child at home. For a Christian is one that has found his way home, and to the fatherhood of God, and not one that is merely seeking to do his duty. A Christian is a child under the parental roof, saying, Abba, Father. (H. W. Beecher.)

Our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Two heroes

I. The principles by which they were actuated.

1. The highest admiration for their Lord and Master.

2. An entire consecration to His service. We must honour Christ–

(1) From gratitude.

(2) From duty.

II. The work they undertook. To proclaim the name, etc. This was–

1. An arduous duty.

2. A disagreeable toil.

3. A continuous self-sacrifice.

III. The reward they attained.

1. A reward of their magnanimity.

2. The approbation of God.

3. An immortal crown.

IV. The instruction they impart.

1. That there is something more precious than life or pleasure–Christ.

2. That however humble our sphere we may hope to accomplish something for our Lord and Master.

3. That whatever efforts we may make for our Masters glory shall be acknowledged and rewarded by God. (Preachers Analyst.)

The motto of Christian service

During the American war with England, a young midshipman named Joel Abbot was serving under the United States flag. Winning the good opinion of the commander, he was put in the way of promotion by being commended to Macdonough, then controlling the forces on Lake Champlain. Reports were received that the English were accumulating a large supply of spars at Sorel. Could not the spars be destroyed? Who would undertake the task? Joel Abbot was sent for. Grimly the commander asked him if he were willing to die for his country. Certainly, sir: that is what I came into the service for, was the prompt reply. Entrusted with the dangerous commission, Joel Abbot fulfilled it in the spirit of his words. The perils and privations of his exploit were so great, that although he came back alive, he was completely prostrate for a considerable time, and his recovery was slow. Later, a sword of honour was voted him for his gallantry. How is it with soldiers of the Great King–workers for Christ? The test word of this service is Self-surrender for Christ.

A life hazarded for Christ

A touching story is told as characteristic of the missionary spirit by a friendly writer in the Contemporary. Rev. John Robinson was suddenly summoned one day to the Leper asylum to baptise a dying convert. My friend went in fear and trembling, baptised the dying man, consoled him, and then was seized with a throe of mental agony. It is the custom of many missionaries on receiving a neophyte, especially if sick, to give him the kiss of peace. Mr. Robinson thought this his bounden duty, but he was himself a half-breed, and he was absolutely persuaded of the Indian theory that leprosy, though non-contagious in the case of a white man, is frightfully contagious in the case of one with native blood in his veins. He hesitated, walked to the door, and returned to kiss the leper on the lips and then to lie for days in his own house, prostrated with an uncontrollable and not an unreasonable nervous terror. A superstitious fool, the doctor thought him. True soldier of Christ, say I, who, when his duty called him, faced something far worse than shot.

Christian self-devotion

For some time after Mr. Hunt settled in Somasoma, one of the Fejee Islands, his life was in daily danger from the hostile and cannibal savages. But he went on with his Christian work, and when the captain of an American warship heard of their threats to kill and eat the missionary, and sent to offer him an asylum on board his vessel, Mr. Hunt declined with thanks, saying that he regarded the horrible depravity of the natives as only an additional reason for risking his life to convert them.

Life hazarded in Christs cause

I. The spirit which is described in the text. Several particulars are included here.

1. Their ardent love for Christ Jesus. It was not always thus with these men. Pauls object was to root out the name of the Saviour. What occasioned then this marvellous change? In his case they were very extraordinary means. In other cases, the means are ordinary. The Spirit of God convinces them of sin, shows them that they have no help in themselves; but must accept Christ and His cross. And then they love Christ. They love Him

(1) For dignity of His person.

(2) For the perfection of His atonement. They love Him because He first loved them.

(3) Because He has taken their nature and their cause to heaven. When they see this, it is impossible but their hearts should glow with love to such a Saviour. The life He so dearly bought becomes His, and they hazard it willingly in His service.

2. Their high estimation of the gospel. Man is a depraved creature. This depravity exhibits itself in different forms; in one country in idolatry, in another in blasphemy, etc. Philosophers have bent over the scene and wept, and politicians have devised innumerable schemes to recover fallen creatures. But they have failed. Now God sent the gospel to redeem and sanctify man. Now the men, that hazarded their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus, believed that there was no other name whereby men might be saved; and therefore they published it. They had the conviction of an enlightened understanding, and an experimental enjoyment of the truth.

3. Their tender compassion for lost souls. Christs value met their enlightened judgment. What shall it profit a man, etc. They saw millions of immortal spirits, hurrying on to irremediable woe. Now when the men had this remedy, and saw souls in this condition, and had their hearts lighted with the heavenly fire, you do not wonder that they went forth and hazarded their lives to communicate it to lost souls.

4. The aggressive spirit in which they attempted to set up Christs kingdom. They did not wait till a petition came from these miserable souls, requesting them to send the gospel; or till a door was opened by some special act of the government of the country, or a change of opinion took place among the people; but wherever they could open their lips for Jesus Christ, there they went, though edicts were issued against them, and they were imprisoned and reviled and threatened with death.

5. Their exalted character in the opinion of the Church. They selected them to go on an important embassy, as men who copied most of their Masters spirit. It appeared to them, that the chief excellency was in hazarding their lives for Him. Doubtless many in their day considered them very visionary men, and thought they had better not plunge rashly into things; but the apostles and elders, those who had love to Christ, thought their zeal their glory, and held it up to the imitation and approbation of the Church.

II. Lessons.

1. We see in the text a picture of fallen and of regenerated humanity; and among which class are you? Here is one class of men, opposing those who come to them with the gospel; here is another, ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. He that is not with Me is against Me.

2. A suitable apology for all those who exhibit the same conduct. By many it has been upbraided as zeal without knowledge. But here is the answer; it is done for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. A soldier hazards his life, it may be, for fortune, for fame, for honour. But here are men who hazard their lives, without honour, fame or fortune, for the name of Jesus Christ.

3. One of the modes by which God augments the number of His servants and the efficiency of their service. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. It is not the cold, calculating, cautious men, who carry measures either in Church or in state; but the men who hazard their lives for the cause which they undertake.

4. The honour which God puts upon us by permitting us to send out such men to evangelise the world.

5. A spirit worthy of imitation. Who is willing to hazard his life for the name of our Lord Jesus? (J. Sherman.)

The true missionary

Once, in lifting from its shelf a certain folio, there fluttered out from between its leaves a paper dated 1763. It had evidently been mislaid as soon as it was written, and one hundred years after, just where the writer left it, I found it. It ran thus, We beg to certify that the bearer, Mr. John Wyers, is well known to us, and we do hereby commend him to all Christian Churches where, in Providence, he may come as a godly minister who hath much devoted himself to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was signed David Fermie, Thomas Blackett. My text is a line out of an old letter of introduction written by the elders of the Church at Jerusalem. Now, this old certificate is not to be torn up for waste paper as a thing that is now dead and done with. It is a live thing, it is wanted now, to show what kind of missionaries are wanted, and how the armies of Christ in the field of foreign service are to win the day. Just take the words as they stand.

I. Men. An ancient lawgiver said, that what Sparta wanted was not a wall of bricks but a wall of men. Men, said a certain sarcastic journalist, are cheap. No. If men be what is meant by certain advocates of muscular Christianity, then men are cheap, but when I look at Paul I remember that it is not muscle that makes a man. If you mean by a man, an undesigned result of molecular forces, then men are cheap, and they ought to be, but a man is not the consummation of a tadpole. If by men you mean an average human being, men ought to be cheap; but many a human being passes for a man who is not so much a person as a thing. What I mean by man is a son of Adam, who has been born again, and who is therefore a Son of God by faith in Christ Jesus, and of whom we may say, Like father, like son. I want to blow into infinite space the mean, false notion that anything will do for a missionary; anything will not do. Before you are a missionary you must be a man.

II. That have hazarded their lives. This, in itself, is not matter for plaudit. Most extreme must be the case, when the author of life sanctions the hazard of life. But, while grace makes us understand the sanctity of life, grace inspires us with a will to give ourselves to the service of something higher than life. That man is not worth calling a man who lives to save himself. The man who answers to the standard we are now looking at, is a man who, being called to the service of Christ, is prepared, if need be, to hazard his life for that service.

III. For the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that the men hazarded their lives–

1. Out of love to Christ. The name of a person is the person to whom that name belongs. We all know the rousing, or soothing, or melting magic of a name. But no name has such power to stir the hearts of men as the name of Jesus Christ. When it was first uttered to the Jews, it stirred their hearts to hatred. Among the most inexorable and deep haters was Paul. He breathed out threatenings and slaughters till Jesus stopped him. After that, the love of Christ set his life on fire. What have we hazarded for Christ? Where is your love to Christ? Is that the thing you call love? Then love knows how to take care of itself; looks upon religion as a question of safe investment and social respectability; sometimes joins the Church like a traveller taking his ticket who books himself quite through, wraps his rug around him, and goes to sleep till the train stops; hates originality like the plague. What you call love I call prudence. But love, whether to God or man, tends to scorn of consequence, and to the forgetfulness of self.

2. Out of obedience to Christ. If ye love Me keep My commandments. The commandment now waiting for our obedience is, Go, make disciples of all nations. Now it is strange the first thing men in general do is to give their opinion about this. One man is of opinion that it is unnecessary; another, that it is impossible; another, that we should look at home; another, that we should civilise first; another, that every nation has already its own religion fitted to its own nationality. But Christ waits not for our opinion but our obedience. The question is how we can best obey. Some can best obey in this way, some in that. The principle is not that Christians should leave work at home for work abroad, but that all Christians are charged with the evangelisation of the world to do it between them. Though the difficulties may be massive, they are not your concern. Charge, is the captains cry. Say, as the negro said, Does Jesus Christ ask me to jump through that stone wall? Here I go at it.

3. In the service of their fellow men. It is a great service to save lives, and a noble thing when men do it at the hazard of their own. Lady Edgeworth, in the days of King Charles II, had suddenly to defend the family castle at Lissom, in the absence Of her husband. In doing so she had to go down and fetch powder from the castle vaults. On her return she said to the woman who had gone with her, Where did you put the candle? I left it stuck in the barrel of black salt. Then did that glorious lady go down to the spot where the candle was burning into the powder, and put her hand round it like a cup, and lift it up and take it out, and so at the hazard of her own life saved the lives of others. Dear, glorious lady, that was well done. The lifeboat with its brave crew shoots out into the night over the swaying hills of water, to snatch twenty men off from a wreck. On their return, when the cry comes on the wind, All saved, my heart gives a great bound, and I say, There is a noble service nobly done. The Son of Man came not t destroy mens lives, but to save them; and if it be a great thing to save the lives of bodies through the hazard of our own bodily life, it is a small thing to hazard it to save the lives of souls. Conclusion: We learn from these men–

1. How our faithful and mighty Master through all hazards keeps His servants alive until their work is done.

2. Only men like these hazard their lives, and the men who at Christs call to service most totally give themselves up, most totally let themselves go, are the men whom the King delighteth to honour. (C. Stanford, D. D.)

Who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.—

Preference for the spoken word

The Dean of Rochester said: A woman said about a certain preacher, Hes a very nice gentleman, but he has no deliverance. He himself had been wont for years to preach written sermons. One night, to his horror, the church was so dark that it was impossible to read his sermon. He passed through a brief period of anxiety. Then, thinking, Have I nothing to say to these people? Am I really a servant of God? He threw himself on the Holy Spirits help, and spoke as best he could. The churchwarden apologetically told him that the people said It was the best sermon he had ever preached, and they hoped he would never read another. Nor did I, said the Dean; and then I awoke not to find myself famous, but at any rate more useful than I had been before.

The spoken word

A preacher is, in some degree, a reproduction of the truth in personal form. The truth must exist in him as a living experience, a glowing enthusiasm: an intense reality. The Word of God in the Book is a dead letter, it is paper, type, and ink. In the preacher that Word becomes again as it was when first spoken by prophet, priest, or apostle. It springs up in him as if it were first kindled in his heart, and he were moved by the Holy Ghost to give it forth. He is so moved. (H. W. Beecher.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 23. Send greeting unto the brethren – of the Gentiles] There was no occasion to send such a letter to the brethren which were of the Jews, because that law which had been so long read in their synagogues taught them all those things; and therefore the epistle is sent exclusively to the Gentiles. The word greeting is in the original , to be well, to be safe; a very usual form in Greek epistles, the word being understood, I wish thee to be well.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The apostles and elders and brethren; the letter was wrote in the name of them all, that it might have the greater force, and better acceptance; that so strong a cord might not be broken by the false apostles.

Of the Gentiles; such as out of Gentilism, or paganism, were converted unto Christ; to whom the determination of this case was of the greatest concern; their right of belonging unto Christ, and having any hopes of salvation, being questioned, unless they would be circumcised.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

23. And they wrote . . . bythemThis is the first mention in the New Testament history ofwriting as an element in its development. And the combinationhere of written and oral transmission of an important decisionreminds us of the first occasion of writing mentioned in the OldTestament, where a similar combination occurs (Ex17:14). But whereas there it is the deep differencebetween Israel and the Gentiles which is proclaimed, here it is theobliteration of that difference through faith in the LordJesus [BAUMGARTEN].

greetingThe only otherplace in the New Testament where this word occurs (except in theletter of Lysias, Ac 23:26) isJas 1:1, which seems to showthat both letters were drawn up by the same hand [BENGEL].

the Gentiles in Antioch, andSyria, and Ciliciashowing that churches then existed inCilicia as well as Syria, which owed their existence, in alllikelihood, to Paul’s labors during the interval between his returnto Tarsus (Ac 9:30) and hisdeparture in company with Barnabas for Antioch (see on Ac11:25).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And wrote letters by them after this manner,…. Not that they made use of them as their amanuenses, to write their letters for them; but being written they put them into their hands, and sent them by them, and they were written in the following form:

the apostles, and elders, and brethren; which belonged to, or were members of the church at Jerusalem; they are severally set in their proper place and order: the apostles, Peter, and James, and John, and it may be some others first; for these God had set in the first place in the church; then the elders, or preachers of the Gospel, such as were Judas and Silas: and then the brethren, or private members of the church; who are called so, because they are of one family, and have one Father, and are partakers of the same grace and privileges: these,

send greeting; or their Christian salutation, wishing all peace and prosperity, both for soul and body, temporal, spiritual and eternal:

unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, and Syria and Cilicia; the brethren or members of the several churches in these parts, who were Gentiles, are particularly sent to; and not the brethren who were Jews; because they were especially concerned, and to them is the advice directed: Antioch is first mentioned, that being the place where the controversy began; but there being other churches in Syria, besides Antioch, in which were many Gentiles, and also in Cilicia, and particularly at Tarsus, Paul’s native place, and where he had preached, Ac 9:30 they are therefore mentioned, and being countries near to one another, it is very likely that the controversy had spread itself among them.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

And they wrote (). First aorist active participle of and the nominative as if a principal verb had been used instead of , the first aorist active infinitive (anacoluthon). This committee of four (Judas, Silas, Barnabas, Paul) carried the letter which embodied the decision of the Conference. This letter is the writing out of the judgment of James and apparently written by him as the President.

The apostles and the elders, brethren ( , ). So the oldest and best MSS. without (and) before “brethren.” This punctuation is probably correct and not “elder brethren.” The inquiry had been sent to the apostles and elders (verse 2) though the whole church joined in the welcome (verse 4) and in the decision (verse 22). The apostles and elders send the epistle, but call themselves “brothers to brothers,” Fratres Fratibus Salutem. “The brothers” ( ) addressed (dative case) are of the Gentiles ( ) and those in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, because they were immediately involved. But the decision of this Conference was meant for Gentile Christians everywhere (16:4).

Greeting (). The customary formula in the beginning of letters, the absolute infinitive (usually ) with the nominative absolute also as in Jas 1:1; Acts 23:26 and innumerable papyri (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 1902f.).

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Greeting [] . The usual Greek form of salutation. It occurs nowhere else in the salutation of a New Testament epistle save in the Epistle of James (i. 1). See note there. It appears in the letter of Claudius Lysias (ch. 23 26).

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “And they wrote letters by them after this manner; (grapsantes dia cheiros auton) “Through the hand of these brethren they (the church) was writing (wrote) to them,” (the Antioch church) as follows: This was a resolution, adopted first by recommendation of the inter-church fellowship or association council, then sent by authority of the Jerusalem church, sent forth as a recommendation, not a mandate or law, to other churches of the Lord, Mat 20:25-26.

2) “The apostles and elders and brethren,” (hoi apostoloi kai hoi presbuteroi adelphoi) “The apostles and brethren and elders,” of and from the Jerusalem church.

3) “Send greeting unto the brethren,” (adelphois tois chairein) “Greetings to the brethren,” or send, extend greeting to the brethren, a certification of the authority of the letter that followed, and of Silas and Judas, whom they also sent to accompany the returning brethren, and to bear the written resolution message.

4) “Which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: (tois kata ten Antiocheian kai Surian kai Kilikian eks ethnon) “To the brethren out of the nations or Gentiles, to those throughout Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia,” thus intended to be used as a circulatory, advisory letter among Gentile churches, Act 15:28-29; Act 16:4.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

(23) And they wrote letters by them.Literally, wrote letters by their hands. What follows, unless we assume a deliberate fraud, is clearly the transcript of a documentthe first in the long list of decrees and canons and encyclical letters which mark the Churchs history.

The apostles and elders and brethren.The MSS. present a singular variation of readings, some of the earliest omitting the conjunction and article before the last noun, and giving the Apostles and elders, brethren. Such a mode of speech, however, is foreign to the usage of the New Testament, and it is probable that this reading originated in a desire to bring the text into harmony with the later practice of the Church, which excluded the laity from all participation in its synods. (See Note on Act. 15:22.)

Send greeting.Literally, wish joy. The formula was common in Greek epistles, but is not used in the New Testament, except here and in Jas. 1:1. As it is reasonable to suppose that this letter was written or dictated by him, its occurrence is prim facie evidence of the authorship of the Epistle that bears his name, and which, on the view taken in these Notes, had been already written to the Church of the Circumcision.

Unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles.The letter was therefore addressed to them exclusively (see Note on Act. 15:20), as the Epistle of St. James had probably been previously addressed to the Jews of the dispersion, and not to the Gentiles.

In Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.The mention of the latter country is important as showing the extent of St. Pauls work there prior to his joining Barnabas at Antioch (Act. 11:25). There also he had founded churches in which Gentile converts were admitted as such to full communion.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

23. Apostles elders brethren Clerical and lay are here associated.

Syria Including here all between the Mediterranean and the Lebanon range, but excluding Judea and Samaria.

Greeting It is a curious “undesigned coincidence” that the word greeting is used but once more in the New Testament, and that in the Epistle of James. We may safely from this infer that this letter is also an epistle written by James, and that both are by this same hand.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘The apostles and the elders, brethren, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting.’

The letter is addressed a little more widely than just to Antioch itself. ‘Syria and Cilicia’ was the province in which Antioch was found. The church at Antioch had by now established groups throughout their area, and it was recognised that the surrounding church groups would also have been affected by the visitors and they wanted the letter to be all-inclusive. Cilicia was in fact where Paul came from originally and where he had conducted much of his early ministry before Barnabas had sought him out and brought him to Antioch. But the letter was not an encyclical. We are not told that it was sent to other parts of the Christian world. It was a brotherly letter from one group (Jerusalem and Judaea) to another (Antioch and Syria and Cilicia), a warm response to their request for guidance.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Act 15:23-24 . ] while they wrote , should properly agree in case with . Anacoluthia in carrying out the construction by participles is frequent; here it conforms to the logical subject of . . . See Bernhardy, p. 463; Winer, p. 527 [E. T. 709]; also Pflugk, ad Eur. Hec . 970.

] so that they were to be the bearers of the letter.

As the letter was directed not only to Antioch and to Syria (whose capital and chief church was Antioch), but also to Cilicia , we are to infer that in this province also similar dissensions between Jewish and Gentile Christians had taken place, and had come to the knowledge of the apostolic assembly.

The genuineness of the letter is supported as well by its whole form which, with all distinctness as to the things forbidden (the designation of which is repeated exactly in Act 21:25 ), yet has otherwise so little official circumstantiality, that it evidently appears intended to be orally supplemented as regards the particulars as also by the natural supposition that this important piece of writing would soon be circulated in many copies (Act 21:25 ), and therefore might easily, in an authentic form, pass into the collection of Luke’s sources. [40]

] i.e. the whole church, Act 15:22 .

] the well-known epistolary salutation of the Greeks. [41] Comp. Act 23:26 . The letter addressed to Greek Christians was certainly written in Greek. But that it was actually composed by James (Bengel, Bleek in the Stud. u. Krit . 1836, p. 1037) does not follow at least from Jas 1:1 , although it is in itself possible, and indeed from his position in Jerusalem even probable. The similarity in the expression of the decree with Luk 1:1 , does not justify us in doubting the originality of that expression (Schwegler, Zeller), as the subdivision in the protasis and apodosis was very natural, and the use of almost necessary.

] destroying, subverting , elsewhere neither in the N.T. nor in the LXX. and Apocrypha; but see Xen. Cyr . vi. 2. 25; Polyb. ix. 31. 6, ix. 32. 8; Dem. 895. 5. “Non parcunt iis, qui dubitationes invexerant,” Bengel.

.] without , because in . the sense of commanding is implied. Khner, ad Xen. Anab . v. 7. 34. Comp. on Act 14:14 .

The . is the , Act 15:10 , which was imposed with circumcision, Gal 5:3 . And the is the whole law, not merely the ceremonial part.

. ] So arbitrarily had they acted.

[40] According to Schwanbeck, the letter is derived from the “Memoirs of Silas.” In this view, of course, it must be assumed that ., ver. 22, did not stand in the text at all, or not here .

[41] See Otto in the Jahrb. f. D. Theol . 1867, p. 678 ff.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

XVIII

SAUL FROM HIS CONVERSION TO HIS ORDINATION

See list of references below.

The theme of this section is the history of Saul from his conversion and call to the apostleship, up to his ordination as an apostle to the Gentiles; that is, it extends from Act 9 over certain parts of Acts up to chapter 13, but not all of the intervening chapters of Acts. The scriptures are Act 9:17-30 ; Act 11:25-30 ; Act 22:17-21 ; Gal 1:5-24 ; Act 15:23-41 ; 2Co 11:23-27 ; 2Co 11:32-33 ; 2Co 12:1-4 ; Act 26:20 , which you have to study very carefully in order to understand this section. The time covered by this period is at least nine years, probably ten years, of which we have very scanty history. We have to get a great part of our history from indirect references, and therefore it takes a vast deal of study to make a connected history of this period.

Two scriptures must here be reconciled, Act 9:19-26 and Gal 1:15-18 . The particular points conflicting are that Luke in Act 9 seems to say that immediately, or straightway, after his conversion Saul commenced to preach at Damascus, and the Galatian passage says that straightway after his conversion he went into Arabia and remained there a long time before he returned to Damascus. The precise question involved in the account is, Did Paul commence to preach “straightway” after his conversion, as Luke seems to represent it, or did he wait nearly three years after his conversion before he began to preach? Luke’s account in Act 9 seems on its face to be a continuous story from Damascus back to Jerusalem, without a note of time, except two expressions: “And he was certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus,” and then a little lower down he uses the expression, “when many days were fulfilled.” Luke’s account says nothing about Saul’s leaving Damascus, his long absence and return there. In a very few words only he tells the story of three years. With his account only before us, we would naturally infer that Saul began to preach in Damascus “straightway” after his conversion, but we would also infer that this preaching was continuous there after he commenced, until he escaped for his life to go to Jerusalem. But the Galatian account shows that he left Damascus straightway after his conversion, went into Arabia, returned to Damascus, and then took up his ministry there, and, after three years, went to Jerusalem. This account places the whole of his Damascus ministry after his return there.

The issue, however, is not merely between Luke’s “straightway” and the Galatian “straightway,” though this is sharp, but so to insert the Galatian account in the Acts account as not to mar either one of the accounts, and yet to intelligently combine the two into one harmonious story. In Hackett on Acts, “American Commentary,” we find the argument and the arrangement supporting the view that Paul commenced to preach in Damascus before he went into Arabia, and in chapter II of Farrar’s Life of Paul we find the unanswerable argument showing that Paul did not commence to preach until after his return from Arabia, and that his whole ministry at Damascus was after that time, and then was continued until he escaped and went to Jerusalem.

The Hackett view, though the argument is strong and plausible in some directions, breaks down in adjustment of the accounts, marring both of them, and failing utterly in the combination to make one intelligent, harmonious story. The author, therefore, dissents strongly from the Hackett view and supports strongly that of Farrar. In other words, we put in several verses of the letter to the Galatians right after Act 9:19 .

Let us take Act 9 , commencing with Act 9:17 : “And Ananias departed, and entered into the house; and laying his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way which thou earnest, hath sent me, that thou mayest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and he arose and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. And he was certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus.” And Gal 1:15 reading right along: “But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood; neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus.” All of that must follow Act 9:19 . Then we go back and read, beginning at Act 9:20 : “And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God,” that is, straightway after he returned from Arabia. Then read to Act 9:25 , and turn back to Gal 1:18 : “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas.” Then go with Act 9:26 : “And when he was come to Jerusalem, he essayed to join himself to the disciples.” The following is a harmony of these scriptures:

It is intensely important that you have this harmony of all these scriptures. You divide all of this into four parts just like the Broadus method in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I have in four parallel columns made the harmony complete in the passages mentioned, showing how far to read, and then taking up the one that supplies, so that one can read the entire story without a break. In column 1 of this harmony read Act 9:17-19 ; in column 2, Gal 1:15-17 ; returning to column 1 read Act 9:20-25 and 2Co 11:32-33 ; then in column 2, Gal 1:18 (except the last clause); then back to column I and read Act 9:26-27 ; in column 2, Gal 1:18 (last clause) and Gal 1:19-20 ; then back to column I, read Act 9:28-29 (except last clause); then in column 3 read Act 22:17-21 ; in column 1, Act 9:29 (last clause) to Act 9:31 ; in column 2, Gal 1:21-24 ; in column 4, Act 11:25-30 ; Act 12:25 . This is the harmonious story of Paul. Then read for purposes of investigation, Act 15:23-41 in order to get the information about his Cilician work, also read 2Co 11:23-27 to find out what part of the sufferings there enumerated took place in Cicilia. Then read 2Co 12:1-4 , as this pertains to Cilicia. Then read Act 26:20 and ask the question, When did he do this preaching in Judea, and was it during his Cilician tour? This gives all the scriptures. Carefully read it over in the order in which the scriptures are given. It makes the most perfect story that I have ever read. It does not mar any one of the four separate cases. It does combine into one harmonious story and gives us an excellent harmony of these scriptures.

The value of this harmony is very evident. This arrangement mars no one of the several accounts of the story, but does combine them into one harmonious story, and provides an explanation for Luke’s “certain days,” “many days,” the Galatian “three years,” Luke’s “straightway,” and the Galatian “straightway.”

With this harmony before us, we can see why Luke is so very brief on the account of Paul in Act 9 . His plan is to tell the story of the Jerusalem church up to the end of Act 12 . All matters apart from that are briefly noted, and only as they connect with Jerusalem, the center. But from Act 13 he makes Antioch the center, and we are told of his arrest, and later on he shifts back to Jerusalem, and then back to Rome, and thus winds up the history. Remember the centers: First center, Jerusalem; second center, Antioch; third center, Jerusalem, and fourth center, Rome.

Saul did not commence preaching at Damascus immediately after his conversion because he had nothing to preach. He had not yet received the gospel. A man cannot by sudden wrench turn from propagating the Pharisee persecution to propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ. He must have the gospel first, and must receive it direct from the Lord. After you take up the New Testament passages showing how he received the gospel, you will see that he did not receive it while at Damascus. Indeed, we have the most positive proof that he did not receive it there.

But why did he go into Arabia, where in Arabia, and how long there? Being willing to accept Christ as his Saviour, he needs time for adjustment. He needs retirement. He needs, like every preacher needs after conversion, his preparation to preach and to know what to preach. He went into Arabia for this purpose, and, of course, Arabia here means the Sinaitic Peninsula, or Mount Sinai. Up to his conversion he had been preaching Moses and the law given on Mount Sinai. Now he goes into Arabia to Mount Sinai, the very place where God gave the law to Moses, to study the law and the gospel, and comes back to us, having received of the Lord the gospel as explained in Galatians.

There are some analogous cases. The other apostles had to have three years of preparation, and under the same teacher, Jesus. They would have done very poor preaching if they had started immediately after their conversion. Jesus kept them right there, and trained them for three years. Now Paul commences with the three years’ training, and he goes to Arabia and receives the three years’ preparation under the same teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He not only knows the facts of the gospel as we know them from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but as one that was there right at the time, and he gets it firsthand from the Lord Jesus Christ himself telling him all the important facts bearing upon the remaining of the incarnation of Jesus, where he came from in coming to the earth, how much he stooped, what the coming signified, of his death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension. We get the harmony of the gospel by studying the books, but he did not get it as we do, but by direct revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ. He introduces a statement concerning the revelation that he received, and he is careful to tell the Corinthian church how that Christ died, was buried, and rose again in three days. It took three years and a half in the analogous cases of other apostles.

Elijah went into Arabia and into this very mountain when he was perplexed; and there came an earthquake, and God was not in the earthquake; and there came a fire, and God was not in the fire, but there came a still, small voice showing Elijah what he must do. Take the case of Moses when the revelation was made to him that he was to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians. God told him the methods and the means and sent him into the same Sinaitic Peninsula. He stayed there forty years in study and preparation, and then delivered Israel.

John the Baptist remained in the wilderness thirty years in order to preach six months. Neither did Jesus open his mouth to preach a sermon until after his baptism, and was led into the wilderness and tempted of the devil, and then came back and immediately commenced to preach. More hurtful mistakes are made by unprepared people taking hold of the Scriptures than in any other way. A certain colonel, when asked by a zealous young preacher, “Well, colonel, what do you think of my sermon,” answered, “Zealous, but weak.”

We have only to read Gal 4 to see the significance of Sinai and Jerusalem, which shows the revolutions which took place in his mind while he was in Arabia. If the apostle Paul had not gone into Arabia, but had been sent to Judea under the old covenant, which is Jerusalem, as Jerusalem now is, the Christian world would have been a Jewish sect. You have only to read to see how certain of the apostles clung to the forms and customs of the Jewish law and claimed that one could not be a Christian without becoming a Jew and being circumcised. What would have been the effect if God had not selected this great life and revealed to him the ministry of the gospel that had been rejected by the Jews and given to the Gentiles, so that foreigners and aliens might become citizens and saints? For a more elaborate discussion of this subject see the author’s sermon on the Arabian visit.

Just before the ministry at Damascus he went into Arabia and returned. He was in Arabia over two, perhaps three years. As he stayed about three years before he went back to Jerusalem, his ministry was not very long in Damascus. The record says, “straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus,” etc. What kind of sermons did they have? The Jews over at Damascus that were still holding to the Mosaic law could not yet understand this revolutionary preaching, and right there at Damascus, he received one of the five Jewish scourgings that are mentioned in 2 Corinthians, which gives a list of the number of times he received the forty stripes save one, and the number of times beaten with the Roman rods, and the number of times scourged with the Jewish scourge. Finding the scourging was not sufficient, they laid a plot against him. They conspired and set a watch at every gate all around the city to kill him. The walls at Damascus have houses built on them, as you can see to this day. They put him in a basket and from a window in the upper story they letrbim down by the wall. Aretas was king of Damascus at this time) and he stationed soldiers at every gate to keep watch, and while they were watching the gates, Paul escaped from the window in an upper story, as given in the thrilling account of 2Co 11:32-33 . Also Luke gives the account, saying that the brethren let him down in a basket by the wall. Now he being let down, started to Jerusalem. Three years have elapsed since he left there, a persecutor, and he returns now a preacher of the Lord Jesus Christ. That presents this connected account.

But why did he want to go to Jerusalem to see Peter? Commentaries say he wanted to get information from Peter; Catholics say that Peter was Pope. Whatever he wanted to get, I think he derived nothing from Peter. When he came there they expressed distrust of him. If he had commenced to preach at Damascus “straightway” after his conversion, in three years’ time some notice would have gotten to Jerusalem, and there would not have been this distrust when he got there. Only one had heard of this change and his beginning to preach, and that was Barnabas, of the Jewish church. When Barnabas related Paul’s experience, they received him and he went in and out among them. But he was there only two weeks.

He commenced immediately to preach to the Grecians, and it stirred up the people as it did at Damascus, and they were so intensely stirred that they laid a plan to kill him. So he left, and there are two reasons for his leaving. When the brethren saw the Jews were about to kill him, they sent him to Caesarea and over to Tarsus. That is one of the reasons for his leaving. Paul gives an entirely different reason. He says, “And it came to pass when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance, and Jesus came unto me saying, Make haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. Get thee far hence and preach to the Gentiles,” and he, therefore, went.

Here was the Cilician ministry, its sufferings and its revelations. He was over there five years, and some of the sufferings enumerated in 1 Corinthians II are bound to have occurred in that period; some of the shipwrecks, some of the scourges, some of these stonings. In 2Co 12 he says, “I knew a man in Christ, fourteen years ago,” so if you drop back fourteen years you find yourself there with Paul in Cilicia. In 2Co 12:1-4 we find the revelations that occurred there. One of the revelations there was that marvelous revelation that he received (2Co 12:4 ): “How that he was caught up into Paradise.” Here the question arises, Was it in this tour that he preached on the coasts of Judea? In Acts he seems to say that he preached at Damascus first and then at Jerusalem, and in Cilicia, and on the coasts of Judea. We have no history of his preaching on the Judean coasts beyond his statement, and if he did not preach on the coasts of Judea at that time, when do we find a period in his life before that where he could have preached on the Judean coasts? On his way to the Jerusalem conference. Therefore, he says, “While I was in Cilicia, and the five years I was at Tarsus, and just a little way from Tarsus on the Judean coasts.”

Let us consider the Antioch ministry. The record says Barnabas had gone to Tarsus in order to find Saul and bring him back with him, and that Barnabas and Saul preached a year at Antioch. A great many were brought into the church. It was the first time in the world where Jew and Gentile were in the same church together, socially, eating and drinking with each other. But Paul now makes his second visit to Jerusalem. The last of chapter II tells us that Agabus, one of the prophets, foretold a drought in Judea, and Paul and Barnabas took a collection over to them. Later, when Paul is making his last visit to Jerusalem, Agabus meets him and gives that remarkable prophecy which we find in Act 21 , about what would happen to Paul if he went to Jerusalem, he having received the revelation from the Holy Spirit. But the condition of Jerusalem when he arrived was awful. Herod, as we find in Act 12 , was persecuting the church, and had killed James and imprisoned Peter. Paul comes just at that time. On his return to Antioch he finds a new companion, Mark.

The Romanists place here Peter’s first visit to Rome. They take two passages of scripture, one Act 2 , where Peter visits all parts, and they say when he left Jerusalem this time he went to Rome, and got back to Jerusalem in time for that big council in Act 15 . So far as Bible history goes, there is not a bit of testimony that Peter ever saw Rome. I think he did, but we do not get it from the Bible.

Here arises another question, Did the shock of our Lord’s appearance to Saul on the way to Damascus, likely injure him physically in a permanent way, and permanently affect his sensibilities? My opinion is that it did. He was never a strong man after that. His eyes always gave him trouble. Though the scales fell from his eyes, and he was not entirely blind, his eyes were weak, and he had to grope his way in walking. There are two pictures of Paul which greatly contrast his physical appearance. Raphael gives us a famous cartoon of Paul at Athens, and one of the most famous pictures of the great apostle. We find a copy of it in most Bible illustrations, certainly in any Roman Catholic Bible. Another picture is by the artist, Albrecht Durer. It is called a medallion, a carved picture, and it presents a little, ugly, weak, bald-headed, blear-eyed Jew. Durer’s picture is the one that fits Paul’s account of himself, and not Raphael’s.

I here commend, in addition to Conybeare and Howson’s Life of Paul and Farrar’s History , Lightfoot on Galatians.

QUESTIONS 1. What is the theme of this section?

2. What is the scriptures?

3. What is the time covered by this period?

4. What two scriptures must here be reconciled?

5. What is the problem here?

6. What is the Hackett view of it?

7. What is the real solution of it?

8. Show how the scriptures are made to fit this scheme.

9. How may we show the harmony of these scriptures?

10. What is the value of this harmony?

11. Why did not Saul commence preaching at Damascus immediately after his conversion?

12.Why did he go into Arabia, where in Arabia, & how long there?

13. What are the analogous cases cited?

14.What was the added value of this preparation to Saul?

15.What sermon commended in this connection & have you read it?

16. Describe the ministry at Damascus.

17. Why did he want to go to Jerusalem to see Peter?

18. Explain the distrust there & its bearing on preceding question.

19. How long was he there?

20. What of his ministry while there?

21. What two reasons for his leaving?

22. How long was the Cilician ministry, and what its sufferings and its revelations?

23. Was it in this tour that be preached on the coasts of Judea?

24. Describe the Antioch ministry, and how long was it?

25. What carried Paul on his second visit to Jerusalem, and when does Agabus again appear in this history?

26. What was the condition of Jerusalem when he arrived?

27. Where do the Romanists place Peter’s first visit to Rome?

28. On Paul’s return to Antioch, what new companion had he?

29. Did the shock of our Lord’s appearance, to Saul on the way to Damascus likely injure him physically in a permanent way, and permanently affect his sensibilities?

30. What two pictures of Paul greatly contrast his physical appearance, and which is most likely true to nature?

31. What special authority on this period, in addition to Conybeare and Howson, and Farrar’s History, commended?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

23 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:

Ver. 23. And wrote letters by them ] For the better confirmation of the weak and confutation of the wilful, to be as a standing monument.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

23. ] The omission of before , found (see var. read.) in all the first MSS., can (as Neander observes against De Wette) hardly have been occasioned by hierarchical considerations, seeing that it occurs as early as Irenus, and that it would be equally against the strong hierarchical view to call the presbyters . , writing, as they were, to the . It seems very much more probable to me that the words were inserted to bring the decree into exact harmony with the beginning of Act 15:22 . In this, the first official mention of , it is very natural that the import of the term should be thus given by attaching to it. See, on the whole, Bp. Wordsw.’s note.

] This mention of churches in Cilicia , coupled with the fact of Paul’s stay at Tarsus (ch. Act 9:30 to Act 11:25 ; see also Gal 1:21 ), makes it probable that Paul preached the gospel there, and to Gentiles , in accordance with the vision which he had in the temple (ch. Act 22:21 ).

] Not a rendering by Luke of the Hebrew , as Grotius; for the Epistle was certainly written in Greek , as intended for Gentiles. The only other place where this Greek form of salutation occurs in an apostolic document (we have it in the letter of the chief captain Lysias, ch. Act 23:26 ) is in Jas 1:1 , which Bleek has remarked as a coincidence serving to shew his hand in the drawing up of this Epistle.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Act 15:23 . . . ., but in R.V. “the Apostles and the elder brethren,” see critical notes. The phrase as it stands in R.V. has been called meaningless (Page), but Hort, Ecclesia , p. 71, while admitting that the phrase is unusual, defends it as indicating that they who held the office of elder were to be regarded as bearing the characteristic from which the title itself had arisen, and that they were but elder brethren at the head of a great family of brethren ( cf. Knabenbauer in loco ). It is of course quite possible that . is merely to be taken as in apposition to . and ., meaning that as brethren they sent a message to brethren (Wendt, Felten, Page). . . . ., see below. : amongst the Epistles of the N.T. only that of St. James thus commences, as has been often pointed out by Bengel and others. The coincidence may be a chance one, but it is the more remarkable, since the letter may well have been written and dictated by St. James in his authoritative position. On the phrase in letters see Mayor’s interesting note on Jas 1:1 . It occurs again in Act 23:26 , but nowhere else in N.T.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

And they wrote = Having written. In Act 15:30 it is called “a letter”.

after this manner. The texts omit.

greeting. Greek. chairein. Literally to rejoice. Figure of speech Ellipsis (App-6). I bid you to rejoice. Compare Fr. adieu, (I commend you) to God. Compare Act 23:26. Jam 1:1.

in = throughout. Greek. kata, as in Act 15:21.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

23.] The omission of before , found (see var. read.) in all the first MSS., can (as Neander observes against De Wette) hardly have been occasioned by hierarchical considerations, seeing that it occurs as early as Irenus, and that it would be equally against the strong hierarchical view to call the presbyters . , writing, as they were, to the . It seems very much more probable to me that the words were inserted to bring the decree into exact harmony with the beginning of Act 15:22. In this, the first official mention of , it is very natural that the import of the term should be thus given by attaching to it. See, on the whole, Bp. Wordsw.s note.

] This mention of churches in Cilicia, coupled with the fact of Pauls stay at Tarsus (ch. Act 9:30 to Act 11:25; see also Gal 1:21), makes it probable that Paul preached the gospel there, and to Gentiles, in accordance with the vision which he had in the temple (ch. Act 22:21).

] Not a rendering by Luke of the Hebrew , as Grotius; for the Epistle was certainly written in Greek, as intended for Gentiles. The only other place where this Greek form of salutation occurs in an apostolic document (we have it in the letter of the chief captain Lysias, ch. Act 23:26) is in Jam 1:1, which Bleek has remarked as a coincidence serving to shew his hand in the drawing up of this Epistle.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Act 15:23. , having written) Who dictated the Epistle, or wrote it, and in what language, is not expressed. There could be no suspicion as to its genuineness. No other epistle given by the primitive Church is extant at the present day, although there were many given: ch. Act 18:27; 1Co 7:1; 2Co 3:1. , in the nominative case, coheres with . Comp. 2Co 10:2; 2Co 8:23, , , etc., note.-, by) An abbreviated expression for, they wrote, and by their hand ( ) sent.-, these things) Many things are put down in this letter out of the speeches of Peter and James.-, Syria) It is not to be wondered at, that the books of the New Testament were soon (early) translated into the Syriac language.-) wish joy (greeting), in truth: see Act 15:31. Believers do not always use very warm forms of compliment, but sometimes employ every-day forms in a more elevated sense. So Act 15:29, , farewell. So Jam 1:1, , greeting (bids salutation). Peter employs other words. From this we may infer, that this epistle was composed by James in the Council, as being especially in consonance with the speech of James; for instance, , to trouble unnecessarily, Act 15:19, and , to trouble, Act 15:24, , to abstain, Act 15:20; Act 15:29.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

The apostles: Act 15:4, Act 15:22

greeting: Act 23:26, Rom 16:3-16, Jam 1:1, 2Jo 1:3, 2Jo 1:13, 3Jo 1:14

brethren: Act 11:18, Act 14:27, Act 21:25

Syria: Act 15:41, Act 18:18, Act 21:3, Gal 1:21

Reciprocal: Jer 29:1 – of the letter Mat 4:24 – Syria Mat 18:18 – General Act 6:3 – brethren Act 6:9 – Cilicia Act 11:30 – to the Act 14:23 – elders Act 15:1 – the brethren Act 18:22 – he went Act 20:17 – the elders Act 21:18 – all Act 21:39 – Cilicia Act 22:3 – a city Act 27:5 – Cilicia Rom 1:7 – To all Gal 2:9 – we should 1Pe 5:1 – elders

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

3

Act 15:23. This document began as a greeting to the Gentile brethren, not only those in Antioch, but also those in the whole provinces of Syria and Cilicia.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Act 15:23. And they wrote letters by them after this manner. The word letters, printed in the English version in italics, is superfluous; it does not appear in the original Greek. There was only one official document sent round, a faithful transcript of which St. Luke has no doubt given us.

The apostles and elders and brethren. An important variation in the text of the original Greek occurs here. The older MSS., with the exception of Codex E. (Laudianus), omit , and, before the word brethren the verse, then, must be read thus: The apostles and the elder brethren, or: The brethren which are elders, sent to the brethren, etc. . . . greeting. Upon this reading of the older MSS. Wordsworth remarks: (1) Paul and Barnabas are said to go up to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem concerning this question, Act 15:2. (2) The apostles and elders are said to have met together to consider this matter, Act 15:6. (3) Paul is said to have gone through the cities, delivering to them to keep the decrees determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, Act 16:4. This triple mention of apostles and elders, without the addition of any other party, is significant. It seems to indicate that the apostles and elders constituted the Council, as far as the deliberative voice and definitive sentence were concerned; and therefore the decree was promulgated in their names.

Unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. This geographical notice of the peoples mentioned specially in the decree of the Council gives us some idea how widely the preaching of Paul and his companions had extended, and how great had been the harvest of the Lord already in those early days. The mention of Syria here gives us an insight into the activity of the missionary enterprise of the Antioch Christians. Successful missions had been carried on through that great and rich province, of which we have no record in the Acts,missions, doubtless, conducted by men of the school of Paul and Barnabas; in Cilicia, too, the native country of Paul, congregations of believers in the Crucified had sprung up, and apparently were already flourishing communities.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

See notes on verse 22

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

Verse 23

The apostles, and elders, and brethren. There is no more remarkable trait in the character of the apostles than the scrupulousness with which they refrain from the assumption of ecclesiastical authority over the church. Men were never placed in circumstances more favorable for forming, or for the means of executing, ambitious designs. Notwithstanding the high personal influence which they must necessarily have possessed, they are always very slow to assume the exercise of any great official authority. They call meetings for consultation; they suggest; they propose; but it is the whole body of disciples that decide and act. (Acts 1:15,21,22,23,6:2,3.) In the remarkable case here recorded, they do not assume that they are to decide the question. They call a meeting; they consult; they argue; they state facts; and they admit of counter arguments and statements, and then the decision, when it is made, goes forth in the name of the apostles, and elders, and brethren.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

The destination of this letter throws light on extensive missionary activity that had taken place, which Luke did not record. We know of the mission to Antioch, but Luke mentioned nothing about the evangelization of Syria. We know that Paul had done missionary work in Cilicia, but Luke did not tell his readers anything about it. Here we learn that there were churches in these regions already, as we may have assumed but now know for sure (cf. Act 15:41). Antioch was the capital city of Syria and Cilicia, which Rome administered as a single province until A.D. 72. [Note: Neil, p. 175; The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., s.v. "Cilicia," by E. M. B. Green.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)