`Acts 15:1' *Some men* came down from Judea and taught the
*brothers*, "Unless you are circumcised after the custom
of Moses, you can't be saved."
Some men
Jewish Christians, believers in Christ.
brothers
Brothers in Christ, in this case, the converted Gentiles.
This sets the subject of almost the entire chapter 15 (up to verse
33). The complete and entire issue was whether or not circumcision was
required in order to be saved. The question was not whether it was
required for other purposes, but only whether or not it was required
for salvation. The Jews (Christians) from Judea said that it was, and
Paul, God's chosen apostle to the Gentiles, said it was not. Paul made
his decision according to the Holy Spirit and according to Torah. It
must be clearly appreciated that Paul's ruling did not contradict
Torah in any way.
Since Torah specifies that all male children of the Chosen People must
be circumcised on the eighth day, how then is it that Paul's ruling
did not violate the Torah? It is because there is a clear precedent in
Scripture showing an exception to this commandment. During their
wanderings in the wilderness, the Israelites failed to circumcise
their children (Joshua 5:5). The parents were punished for their
disobedience, but the children were uncircumcised through no fault of
their own. This is the kind of circumstance in which the converted
Gentiles now found themselves.
When the uncircumcised Israelites drew near to the promised land, God
was with them, and they conquered all the lands of the Transjordan.
When, however, it came time to cross the Jordan and take possession of
the Promised Land, then God instructed Joshua to circumcise the
people. God would not violate His Covenant regarding circumcision and
the inheritance of the land.
*Genesis 17:8-10*
I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land
where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession. I will be their God."
God said to Abraham, "As for you, you will keep my
covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their
generations.
This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and
you and your seed after you. Every male among you shall be
circumcised.
In like manner, it will only be necessary for the Gentiles to be
circumcised in order to enter fully into the Covenant made with
Abraham, to enter the Promised Land. This is a physical promise, with
a physical condition. The Promised Land is not a spiritual location
(as some modern Christians appear to believe), but a real, physical
location.
It goes without saying that the Holy Spirit knew that Israel was about
to be sent into another period of exile, and that it will only be
after this period, when the Temple is rebuilt, that the Gentiles and
Jews alike will be able to return to the Promised Land, their
inheritance from God, given to Abraham and his seed. Anyone who is in
Christ is the seed of Abraham, and heir according to the promise.
`Acts 15:2' Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small
discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and
Barnabas, and some others of them, to go up to Jerusalem
to the apostles and elders about this question.
It can be seen that this was not an easy matter to decide. Paul,
however, knew the correct answer because he was guided by the Holy
Spirit on this, while the others were not (the Holy Spirit does not
argue against himself). Those arguing against Paul knew that the Torah
required circumcision.
`Acts 15:3' They, being sent on their way by the assembly,
passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the
conversion of the Gentiles. They caused great joy to all
the brothers.
The whole subject and focus is on the conversion of the Gentiles.
`Acts 15:4' When they had come to Jerusalem, they were
received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders,
and they reported all things that God had done with them.
Paul reported the great success he was having in saving the Gentiles.
`Acts 15:5' But some of the sect of the *Pharisees* *who
believed* rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise
them, *besides* to command them to keep the law of Moses."
Pharisees
I.e., Jews.
who believed
Who were Christians.
besides
'Besides' is the correct word here for Greek 'τε', not 'and', as
it is most frequently translated.
Those Christian Pharisees rose up to say that besides commanding the
Gentiles to keep the Torah (which was a given), they must also be
commanded to be circumcised in order to be saved (see verse 1). Here,
it is not repeated, "in order to be saved."
Note that there is a subtle mistranslation of verse 5 in most Bible
versions: they have the word "and" instead of the correct word,
"besides". An example of the translation of 'τε' as 'besides' is given
in the Concordant Greek Text, which appears in the accompanying
illustration.
The Greek word "te" may be translated "and" or "besides" or "both",
depending on circumstance, but this is a fact known by very few
people. The wrong choice is made by many translators because they have
misconstrued and misunderstood the whole issue that was being debated,
wrongly assuming that the debate was concerning whether or not the
Gentiles were to keep Torah. In fact, it was just a given that the
Gentiles would need to keep God's Law, not one letter nor one serif of
which will be altered until all is completed, as Yeshua clearly
explained in [Matthew 5:17--20].
