《Unabridged Commentary Critical and Explanatory on Acts (Vol. 2)》(Robert Jamieson)
Commentator
At a time when the theological winds seem to change direction on a daily basis, the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible is a welcome breath of fresh air from conservative and orthodox teachers of the Christian faith. This commentary has been a bestseller since its original publication in 1871 due to its scholarly rigor and devotional value. Robert Jamieson (1802-1880), Andrew Robert Fausset, and David Brown(1803-1897) have crafted a detailed, yet not overly technical, commentary of the Bible that holds to the historic teachings of orthodox Christianity. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible is based on a detailed exegesis of the scriptures in the original languages and is a "must have" for those who are interested in a deeper appreciation of the Biblical text
Published in 1878, this is the unabridged version of Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary. This version includes the Greek and Hebrew words, along with double the content of the abridged version. Most online versions of JFB are abridged and include only a fraction of what the authors said!
It is worth noting that in the printed version, errors in spelling, punctuation, numbering, cross references have followed throughout the printing history of this one-volume edition of the Commentary. This electronic edition, then, may represent the first corrected edition.
15 Chapter 15
Verse 1
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
The brethren at Antioch being troubled about circumcision by Judaizing zealots from Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas, with certain others, are sent up to Jerusalem on the subject-The brethren of Phenice and Samaria rejoice to hear from them of the conversion of the Gentiles ()
And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised , [peritemneesthe of the Received Text, and-tmeetheete, of Lachmann and Tischendorf, have about equal support]
After the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. It may seem strange, after Peter had satisfied the brethren at Jerusalem, that the admission of Cornelius and his Gentile friends, as uncircumcised believers, to the fellowship of the Church, was according to the will of God (Acts 11:18), that the question should be raised afresh. But inveterate prejudices, especially in religion, die hard; and "that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel," without passing through the gateway of circumcision, was a truth so novel at that time, that nothing could reconcile even sincere believers to it but the divine seal set upon it in the case of Cornelius, while to the mere adherents of an ancestral creed, with its traditional usages, it would seem revolutionary and destructive. If such zealots for exclusive Judaism might be expected to have their stronghold anywhere, it would be at Jerusalem, the metropolitan seat of the ancient Religion. And since at Antioch the uncircumcised believers had not only been recognized as a true Church of Christ, but become the parent of a Gentile Christianity which threatened to eclipse that of the mother church of Jerusalem and its little daughters, we can hardly wonder at those Jewish zealots making a stand now as for life or death. The question, indeed, was much larger and more fundamental than might seem. For though the immediate point in dispute was only whether 'circumcision after the manner of Moses was necessary to salvation,' it was 'to the whole law' that they wished to bind the Gentiles (as is evident from Acts 15:5); and, says the apostle to the Galatians (Acts 15:3), "I testify to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law." On the same principle (as Humphry observes) 'the baptism of John stands for his whole ministry (Acts 1:22; Luke 20:4).
Verse 2
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them , [ zeeteeseoos (Greek #2214), not suzeeteeseoos (Greek #4802) - of the Received Text, which has no Uncial support.] That Paul and Barnabas should take the lead in this debate was natural, not only as being themselves Jews, but as having taught at Antioch the opposite doctrine. But the zealots (whom the apostle afterward scrupled not to call "false brethren," Galatians 2:4) were not to be put down by argument; and as they appear to have succeeded so far as to create an uneasy feeling among the Gentile converts (Acts 15:24, and Galatians 2:11-13), alleging probably that the brethren at Jerusalem were on their side,
They (the brethren at Antioch) determined , [ etaxan (Greek #5021), or 'arranged,'] that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them.} We know the name of only one of these "other" deputies - "Titus;" but as the apostle says of him, that being "a Greek" he would not compel him to be circumcised-in order that the liberty of the Gentile converts might be vindicated in his person (Galatians 2:4-6) - we may conclude that the other deputies were of the uncircumcised as well as he, and were sent expressly to represent that interest at Jerusalem. (On the time of this visit, see Introduction.)
Should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostle and elders about this question. In Galatians 2:2, the apostle says he "went up by revelation;" but this is not inconsistent (as is by some alleged) with its being the present journey. As before he was sent forth both by the Holy Spirit and by the church at Antioch (Acts 13:3-4). so now, though going to Jerusalem with a commission from the church at Antioch, he might at the same time be divinely directed to comply with that call.
Verse 3
And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
And being brought on their way (or 'escorted') by the church - in token of respect, and to mark the importance attached to this journey,
They passed through Phenice and Samaria - along the great Roman road which followed the coast line from north to south, a road even yet not quite obliterated;
Declaring (to the Christians of those parts) the conversion of the Gentiles. We have seen that some of the scattered disciples "traveled as far as Phenice and Cyprus, preaching to none but unto the Jews only" (see the note at Acts 11:19). Here we have the fruits of their labour in those parts. Those in Phenicia would seem to have belonged, chiefly at least, to Tyre (Acts 21:3-6) and Sidon (Acts 27:3). And they caused great joy unto all the brethren. If these converts were from among "the Jews only," they must have had more enlarged views of Christianity than the zealots of Judea; but perhaps a Gentile element may have helped to liberalize them.
On reaching Jerusalem, the Antiochene deputies are received by the whole church, and Paul and Barnabas relate their missionary proceedings-The zealots having insisted that the Gentile converts should be circumcised, the apostles and elders hold a Council to decide the question ()
Verse 4
And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
And when they were come to Jerusalem. This was the apostle's third visit to Jerusalem after his conversion; and it was on this occasion that the circumstances related in Galatians 2:1-10 took place (see there).
They were received - `received cordially,' or 'welcomed' [ paredechtheesan (Greek #3858), as the rarer form, is perhaps preferable to apedechtheesan-of the Received Text.]
Of the church - here evidently meaning the members of the church at Jerusalem generally, as distinguished from its office-bearers, who are next mentioned.
And of the apostles and elders - at convention of all the Christians at Jerusalem, as a mark of respect to the deputies of so distinguished a body of Christians as that of Antioch; in the expectation, too, of hearing from them exciting tidings of the work among the Gentiles; and hoping that the ferment among themselves on the subject of circumcision might thus receive a check.
And they declared all things that God had done with them - (see the note at Acts 14:27.)
Verse 5
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed - `of the believing Pharisees;' just the quarter from which such zealots might be expected to arise. Saying, That it was needful to circumcise them - that is, the whole Gentile converts of Antioch, whose accession to Christianity the deputies had just "declared."
And to command them to keep the law of Moses. They did not question the reality of their conversion, nor the propriety of recognizing them as believers, but contended that their right to the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant and their standing in the church was incomplete without circumcision.
Verse 6
And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
And the apostles and elders came together - not, however, without "the church," as appears from Acts 15:12; Acts 15:22-23.
For to consider of this matter. It will be observed that when they had simply to hear from the deputies what God had done among the Gentiles through them, they were received not only by "the apostles and elders," but by "the church" (Acts 15:4); but when it became necessary to deliberate and decide on the vital question of circumcising those Gentile converts, it is said, "the apostles and elders came together to consider of this matter." It will be seen, however, from the sequel of this narrative that the apostles and elders did not, like most hierarchical councils in later times, sit 'with closed doors.'
The debate-The address of Peter-The report of the Missionaries-The summing-up and proposal of James ()
Verse 7
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
And when there had been much disputing - the apostles, meanwhile, sitting silent,
Peter rose up - the paramount position which he had all along occupied at Jerusalem, and the part assigned him in receiving Cornelius and his Gentile party into the Church, giving him a special claim to be heard on this question.
And said unto them. It has been remarked that this is the last mention of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles; and in this view it is delightful to find him here pronouncing in favour of those enlarged views of the Gospel, to the establishment of which the life-labours of Paul were devoted.
Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago - many years before this; as if to intimate that long before this they ought to have held the question to be settled by the facts which he was about to mention.
God made choice among us - or 'among you,' according to the preferable reading.
That the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe - (Acts 10:1-48.)
Verse 8
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And God, which knoweth the hearts - implying that the state of the heart before God is the real test of one's rightful standing in the visible Church; and though this cannot be certainly known to men, no principle can be sound which goes in the face of it.
Bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us - (Acts 10:44.)
Verse 9
And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Whereas "the uncircumcision of the flesh" of those Gentile converts was regarded by the zealots as rendering them 'unclean,' Peter says, that God, in "purifying their hearts by faith," had abolished that outward distinction between Jew and Gentile, making both one in Christ.
Verse 10
Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Now therefore why tempt (or 'try')yeGod - standing in the way of His demonstrated purpose Now therefore why tempt (or 'try') ye God - standing in the way of His demonstrated purpose,
To put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? This, as has been already remarked, was not the yoke of mere burdensome ceremonies, but of an obligation to fulfill "the whole law," to which everyone became "debtor" who was circumcised (Galatians 5:1-3); a yoke which just in proportion as one became more earnest and spiritual, he would feel himself the more unable to bear.
Verse 11
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus [Christ] (this bracketed word is of very doubtful authority) we shall be saved, even as (that is, no otherwise than) they - circumcision being to the Jew no advantage, and the want of it to the Gentile no loss, in the matter of salvation; for the grace of the Lord Jesus must do all for both, and the same for each.