And certain men which came down from Judea To Antioch; they were not sent by the apostles, they came down of “themselves”; who they were, is not certain; that they were “judaizing” Christians, and teachers among them, is plain from the following account: according to Epiphanius [[6]] they were…

When therefore Paul and Barnabas Who were the ministers of the uncircumcision, and were just returned from preaching the Gospel among the Gentiles, with success, and were advocates for them, being witnesses of the grace that was bestowed on them, and therefore opposed the sentiments of these men:…

And being brought on their way by the church That is, either being accompanied by some of the brethren of the church some part of the way, out of respect unto them, or being provided by them with things necessary for their journey; see they passed through Phenice and Samaria; which both lay between…

And when they were come to Jerusalem Paul and Barnabas, and the rest that came from Antioch with them: they were received of the church; that is, that was at Jerusalem, in a very kind and respectful manner; they were received into their houses, and accommodated with everything convenient for them:…

But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees Which was the strictest sect of religion among the Jews: which believed; that Jesus was the Messiah, and professed their faith in him, and were members of the church, though they still retained many of their pharisaical tenets, and are…

And the apostles and elders came together And also the brethren, or private members of the church, even the whole church, as appears from (Acts 15:22, Acts 15:23) .

And when there had been much disputing Pro and con upon this subject; many had spoken; and much had been said, and a great deal of time had been taken up about the thing in controversy: Peter rose up; not only out of respect to this venerable assembly, but to signify that he had something to say;…

And God which knoweth the hearts Of all men; he being omniscient, the searcher of the hearts, and the trier of the reins of the children of men, knew with what sincerity Cornelius sent for Peter; and with what vehement desire and longing expectation he and his family and friends waited for his…

And put no difference between us and them Neither in the extraordinary gifts, nor special grace, of the Spirit; giving them the same graces of faith, hope, and love, admitting to the same privileges and immunities of the house of God, and giving them a right and title to the same inheritance of the…

Now therefore why tempt ye God By hesitating about this matter, by disputing upon this point, and by seeking for further proof and evidence of the will of God in this affair; when it is so plain a case, that it has been his will that the Gospel should be preached to Gentiles, without obliging them…

But we believe Who are circumcised; the Arabic version adds, “and are sure”; for what follows is a sure and certain article of faith: that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; not through circumcision, or by any works of the law, moral or ceremonial; but through the grace of Christ…

Then all the multitude kept silence Upon this oration of Peter’s, there was a profound silence in the whole assembly, among all the brethren of the church, who were come together on this occasion; they were all satisfied with, and by their silence acquiesced in, what Peter said; and waited to hear…

And after they had held their peace Meaning not the multitude, but Paul and Barnabas; when they had finished their account, and had done speaking: James answered; or rose up, as the Syriac version reads, he stood up and began to speak.

Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles James begins with taking notice of Peter’s speech, and agrees to it, and confirms it; for by Simeon is not meant, as some have thought, the Simeon that took Christ in his arms, who had been dead long ago; but Simon Peter, who had…

And to this agree the words of the prophets In several of the prophecies of the Old Testament, which plainly speak of the calling of the Gentiles; though James thought it sufficient to produce only one instead of many: as it is written; in (Amos 9:11, Amos 9:12) and this is agreeably to the Jewish…

After this I will return That is, after the Lord had destroyed the sinful kingdom from off the face of the earth, and had sifted the house of Israel among all nations, and the sinners of his people were slain with the sword; after all this he promises to return and show favour to them: this is the…

That the residue of men might seek after the Lord The rebuilder and proprietor of this tabernacle, and who dwells in it; that is, attend his worship, pray unto him, and seek unto him for life and salvation: in Amos these are called, “the remnant of Edom”: and design the remnant according to the…

Known unto God are all his works These are the words of James, and not of Amos; all the things which God does in the church and in the world, they were all foreknown and predetermined by him: from the beginning of the world; or from eternity; even all his works of creation, providence and grace:…

Wherefore my sentence is Opinion or judgment in this case, or what he reckoned most advisable to be done; for he did not impose his sense upon the whole body, but proposed it to them: that we trouble not them; by obliging them to be circumcised, which would have been very afflicting and disturbing…

But that we write unto them Or send an epistle to them, to this effect, concerning the following things: that they abstain from pollutions of idols; that is, from eating things offered to idols; see for not idolatry, or the worshipping of idols itself, is here spoken of; for that was no indifferent…

For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, &c.] That is, for many years past, even from the times of Ezra, the law of Moses has been publicly expounded by them, whom the Jews call Derashim, preachers, or expounders, in every city where there was a synagogue; and every city…

Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church The opinion, judgment, and advice of James, being approved of by the whole body of the apostles, ministers, and brethren of the church assembled together on this occasion; they unanimously agreed, to send chosen men of their own company…

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…

Forasmuch as we have heard By the report of Paul and Barnabas, who were sent by the church at Antioch to Jerusalem, to acquaint them with the state of their case: that certain which went out from us; have troubled you with words, or doctrines: subverting your souls; removing them from the doctrine…

It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, &c.] Or together; in one place, as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it; see though certain it is, that as they were in one place, so they were in one mind; and their unanimity was proper to be mentioned, in order to engage a…

Men that have hazarded their lives As at Antioch, in Pisidia, where a persecution was raised against them, and they were expelled out of the coasts of that place; and at Lystra, where Paul was stoned, and left for dead, and this they did, not for any sinister and selfish ends, for any worldly gain,…

We have sent therefore Judas and Silas The chosen men before mentioned, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth; as are written in these letters; which would both confirm and explain things unto them.

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us By various things they had reason doubtless to conclude, that they were under the influence and direction of the Holy Ghost in this affair; as by the spirit of prayer that was among them; by that power and energy with which many of them spoke on this…

That ye abstain from meats offered to idols Which explains what is meant by pollutions of idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication (See Gill on Acts 15:20) In Beza’s most ancient copy, and in three other manuscripts, and in the Complutensian edition, it follows, “and…

So when they were dismissed That is, Paul and Barnabas, with Judas and Silas, by the apostles, elders, and church at Jerusalem: they came to Antioch; or “came down to Antioch”, as the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions read, agreeably to and when they had gathered the…

Which when they had read That is, when the brethren of the church at Antioch had read the letter delivered to them; for not Paul and Barnabas, or Judas and Silas, who were sent with it, read it, but the brethren to whom it was sent, as was proper.

And Judas and Silas being also prophets themselves As well as Paul and Barnabas, and others, that were at Antioch; see and by prophets are meant, not only such who had the gift of foretelling things to come; though such there were, and these might have that gift; but such who were able to explain…

And after they had tarried there a space How long is not certain; the Arabic version renders it “a year”; and it is probable enough, they might stay there so long, till things were thoroughly settled, which were thrown into great disorder and confusion, by the pleaders for circumcision: they were…

Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still Though he had leave to go, and was actually dismissed with Judas; and doubtless intended to have gone with him, but for some reason or another he changed his mind, and thought fit to continue at Antioch some time longer: and the design of…

Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch As well as Silas: teaching and preaching the word of the Lord; the Gospel of Christ; not the word of men, but the word of the Lord, of which he is both the author and subject: this they preached in season, and out of season, with power, purity, plainness,…

And some days after That Judas was gone to Jerusalem, and which they had spent in teaching and preaching the word of the Lord at Antioch: Paul said to 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; by the “brethren…

And Barnabas determined Or consulted, and contrived in his own mind, and purposed within himself; the Alexandrian copy, and two of Beza’s, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read, “he would”, or was willing; he had a mind, a very great desire, to take with them John, whose surname was…

But Paul thought not good to take him with them He did not think him worthy, or a fit and proper person to go with them, as the word used seems to signify, and therefore he refused to take him: the Syriac version renders it, “but Paul would not take him with them”; and, the Ethiopic version is very…

And the contention was so sharp between them About this matter; Barnabas insisting on it, that John Mark should go with them, he being a relation of his; and in whose favour it might be urged, that his mother Mary was an excellent good woman, who had received the saints into her house, in a time of…

And Paul chose Silas To be his companion and assistant; this being the design of the Holy Ghost in influencing his, mind to stay longer at Antioch, after he, with Judas, was dismissed by the church to go to Jerusalem, (Acts 15:33 Acts 15:34) and departed; that is, from Antioch: being recommended by…

And he went through Syria and Cilicia Antioch was the metropolis of the former, and Tarsus, the apostle’s native place, was in the latter; and in both these countries he had been before, and had been the instrument of converting many souls, and of planting churches, which he now visited, as he…