18 May 2022
Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders.
From Acts 15:1-6, NRSV
In today’s reading we hear about the first big disagreement in the early church. For some of the Jewish Christians, it was hard to accept that Gentiles could be brought into the church without first becoming Jews and following the Law of Moses. Paul and Barnabas had been founding churches without first bringing the new members of these churches under the Law of Moses. They were confronted by some Jewish Christians about what they had been doing. Their first reaction was to try and reason and debate with these men from Judea. Realising the importance of this matter to the whole church, Paul and Barnabas were then sent to Jerusalem in order to discuss the matter with the apostles and elders. Whilst they were certain that salvation was for all, they knew that this matter needed to be resolved by the whole church.
- Why do you think that some Jewish Christians still wanted to maintain the Law of Moses?
- What can the approach of Paul and Barnabas show us about how to resolve conflicts within the church?
Pray for any situations of conflict that you are aware of and consider if there is any way in which you can intervene to bring about a resolution.
